Study Skills
Draft · not yet reviewed by AlexAnki for medical school: how I used it and when to start a board deck
The short answer
Use Anki every day for memorization and pair it with questions for application. Start a board-focused deck, such as AnKing, earlier than feels necessary, ideally during first year or the summer after. It works best done consistently over a long stretch. I started the board deck in third year and wish I'd started sooner.
What is Anki, and why do medical students use it?
Anki is a flashcard app that uses spaced repetition. It shows you a card again right before you're likely to forget it, so the material moves into long-term memory instead of fading after the exam.
That matters in medicine because nothing goes away. Concepts from first year show up on Step 1/Level 1, again on shelf exams, and again on Step 2/Level 2. If you cram for each class exam, you end up relearning the same material three times.
How should I use Anki alongside class?
Early in medical school I did what I did in college: attend lectures, take detailed notes, rewrite them, review with friends. It was slow. As I moved toward board materials, I leaned more on Anki, because efficient repetition did more for me than beautiful notes.
A few rules that held up:
- Do your reviews every day. Missed days stack up fast, and a big backlog is the most common reason people quit.
- Pair cards with questions. Cards are the memorization layer. Questions are where you learn to use what you memorized. See how to use UWorld.
- Keep your deck count small. Anki counts as one of your resources. Adding deck after deck runs into the Resource Cap.
When should I start a board deck like AnKing?
Earlier than feels necessary. A board deck rewards consistency over a long period, which is exactly what first and second year give you.
I started doing the AnKing board deck regularly during third year. I wish I had started it sooner. If you're looking at a quiet summer after first year, building a daily board-Anki habit is one of the most useful things you can do with a small amount of time. See class vs board materials for how that fits with your school's exams.
Before medical school
How did I use Anki in third year?
This is where a board deck earned its place. At the start of each rotation, I made it a priority to work through the deck's cards for that shelf and commit those facts to memory. That gave me the memorization base, and question banks did the rest.
I also used Anki in the gaps. Between patients, instead of picking up my phone, I'd do cards or look up the condition I had just seen. Those small blocks add up over a rotation. My full third-year flow is in how to study during third year.
How does Anki fit with First Aid and other resources?
You can study First Aid straight from the book, or study the First Aid content through a board Anki deck. Either way, the goal is to understand everything in it. Many curated board decks also fold in material from resources like Pathoma, which is one reason a single good deck can replace a stack of separate notes.
What if I've fallen behind on reviews?
It happens to almost everyone. A few things that help:
- Stop adding new cards until reviews are back to a manageable daily load.
- Clear the backlog over several days rather than in one marathon.
- Use dead time, like commutes and waiting rooms, for review only.
Then get back to the daily habit. The tool only works if it's consistent.
Key takeaways
- A set number of cards and a set number of questions every day is a simple system that holds up all the way through boards.
- Start a board deck earlier than feels necessary. I wish I had started mine before third year.
- Use Anki for memorization and questions for application. You need both.
- Small gaps in a clinical day are perfect for cards.
Everyone also asks
When should I start the AnKing deck?
Earlier than you think. A board deck works best when you do it daily over a long period. I started mine in third year and wish I had started during first year or the summer after.
Should I make my own Anki cards or use a premade deck?
For board content, a well-built premade deck saves a lot of time. I moved from writing my own notes to a board deck and used it as my memorization layer for every shelf.
Is Anki enough on its own?
No. Anki gets facts into memory. Questions teach you to apply them. The most effective people I knew did a set number of cards and a set number of questions every day.