BCSC: strategies for retention?

[Super66]

Senior residents, what specific strategies did you use to retain BCSC material, especially the more mundane/rote things like anatomy, measurements/distances (things like "volume of the orbit" etc.) ?
I'm fairly sure passive reading is not going to work for me based on my experience with the first 50 pages of Fundamentals...

Past study habits have basically entailed doing as many practice questions as possible and/or multiple passes through lecture material.

I do plan on using Ophtho Questions at some point, but not sure if that is adequate or not or also when to start using it. Will ask the upper levels at my program, but thought I'd check in here too.

Appreciate any advice/thoughts.

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[DrZeke]

Senior residents, what specific strategies did you use to retain BCSC material, especially the more mundane/rote things like anatomy, measurements/distances (things like "volume of the orbit" etc.) ?
I'm fairly sure passive reading is not going to work for me based on my experience with the first 50 pages of Fundamentals...

Past study habits have basically entailed doing as many practice questions as possible and/or multiple passes through lecture material.

I do plan on using Ophtho Questions at some point, but not sure if that is adequate or not or also when to start using it. Will ask the upper levels at my program, but thought I'd check in here too.

Appreciate any advice/thoughts.

Notes can take the whole year and are really hard. Reading along side Friedman is helpful. Also reading and underlying and highlighting and jotting in margins were helpful. Everyone is different...


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[salami bahama]

Anyone use Anki and like it/have time for it?

 

[peter2013]

Do an ophthoquestion, read about it in the BCSC, take notes on what you read

 

[Eyes T]

I don't know if reading BCSC from cover to cover (to cover to cover...) is necessarily an effective strategy. You might have to trudge through the fundamentals book to lay the groundwork, but I personally found it more effective and easier to retain by reading about what I saw that day in clinic or doing some focused reading based on what clinic I was rotating through. This may be heresy and perhaps not the best advice, but I might have read 30-40% of the whole series throughout my training. I relied on ophthoquestions, Friedman (which is covered with notes throughout) and guyton's optics review book to get through the OKAPS and the boards. Wills is also an excellent and practical clinical resource. You'll figure out what is best for you and the best use of your time while trying to squeeze in patient care, research and your outside life/interests.