First test

Well that day has finally come, the first test of medical school.  It was a fair exam, and on every question I remembered that topic being addressed during lecture, however there is sooo much material that is introduced during lecture.  Most of the first week's material was review of simple cell biology and physiological concepts, but there were also plenty of details that were new to me.  I was fortunate that this test was given so early, as it only counts for 10% of our grade and gives us an opportunity to see how well our study methods are working out. 

 I didn't feel too confident after the test, especially after hearing how confident other people sounded.  There were at least 15 questions out of the 60 that I was unsure about.  I studied really hard for the mini and put in about an average of about 7 hours of study time per day, not including class.  I realized that I got distracted by prep/cook time and just unexpected things that seem to happen here in Dominica: ants invading the house over the smallest crumb, brown water or no water (our water was out for a day), IT problems, and simply getting adjusted to the island.  Overall, I'm satisfied with the amount of time I spent studying, however my time spent studying could've been much more efficient.  Therefore, instead of doing something fun after the Mini like many of my classmates, I just grabbed a pizza and went home.  I ate it, got greeted by a couple of ants, then decided to take a nap.  I woke up and listened to some Joe Budden's Mood Musik 3, which put me into a sad mood.  Then I listened to some Drake, which put me in a sadder mood, then looked on the internet to figure out how to revamp my study habits.  Then I listened to Kendrick Lamar's the Heart pt. 1-3 and Social Club's Summer of George.  Now I feel reenergized.  

After browsing I figured out a few things about how my study habits will change:

I have always tried to learn every single detail introduced in a lecture, and that hurt me during this test.  I didn't spend enough time focusing on the major concepts and memorizing what the professors implicitly told us that we need to memorize.  This week I will review Netter's flashcards of a specific muscle group in the morning, create condensed study packets of the lecture notes immediately after class, preview the next morning's lecture, and review yesterday's lecture.  I'm shooting for a 85% or better on the next Mini, which is 3 weeks from now.  Success is measured daily, not just during exam time, and I'll try to keep that in mind these next few weeks.