【Med 5】如何整理筆記作考試溫習用 How to organise your notes for exam revision

簡介 Introduction:

• 我之前喺 Med 5 嘅小提議 入面提及過可持續學習，其實係咩嚟呢？「可持續學習」呢個名係我自己諗出嚟架啫，其實大意就係將你學過嘅知識整理，分類，再同時將新學到嘅嘢整合，到考試嘅時候你就有一份屬於你自己嘅 ___ Notes 啦！因為 med 5 教過嘅嘢太多，係無可能於一時三刻喺考試之前還得晒，所以真係要好好計劃下點樣設計一個適合你自己嘅讀書方法。
• I have mentioned the idea of "sustainable learning" previously in the little sharing with med 5. What actually is sustainable learning? It is basically the concept of organising, categorising and integrating your existing notes with newly acquired knowledge. By the time of your Final MB exam, you will have your own ____ Notes! As a matter of fact the amount of bookwork needed in your final year of medical school is quite substantial. You will go through a lot of material, and there is no way you can revise the stuff from the whole year just before your exams. Therefore you really need to think hard to come up with a study plan which suit you best!

• 我自己就係用 Evernote 嘅，因為佢免費同埋基本功能齊全，同埋我一開始就將我啲 Notes 整理咗入去。而另外嘅選擇有 Microsoft Office 嘅 OneNote，各有各好啦。有興趣比較下嘅可以Google 下，已經有好多人做過review 啦。
• For this purpose I use Evernote, as it is a free software with reasonable basic functions. Another popular option is OneNote from Microsoft Office. They have their respective strengths and weaknesses, and if you are interested you may Google them for reviews.

方法 Method：

• 我一開始就將我哋兩份神 Notes H 同埋 J 作為骨幹，合咗體先，再將佢哋按唔同專科分門別類，方面日後溫書用。上圖係我放完之後嘅大致組織，分開 Med 同 Surg 先，再細分唔同subspecialties。
• I started with H and J Notes as the backbones of my notes. I combined them and categorised them according to specialites so that they will be handy when I need them later. The photo above is the rough structure after I have done so. I separated them into Medicine and Surgery first, then further divided them into different subspecialties
• 我會將每個大 topic 都先作一個獨立 entry，如果個 entry 發展得太好，例如好似 colorectal carcinoma 呢啲大topic，我會再拆一啲出嚟，例如FAP同HNPCC，CRC Follow Up 等等。之後你上堂／bedside／跟 clinic時寫嘅 notes 就可以加番落呢個框架入邊，或者開新 entry。
• Within each subspecialties, I listed out the major topics as individual entries If a certain topic is too well developed, e.g. colorectal carcinoma, then I will subdivide them into smaller entries, like FAP, HNPCC and Follow up for CRC etc. New knowledge acquired during lectures, bedsides or clinic teaching will be added to the corresponding entry, or as a new entry. 

好處 Benefits：

• 呢個方法嘅好處就係你可以將啲常見嘅 topic 整合，例如 valvular heart diseases 好多書同 lecture 都有講嘅，combine 咗就可以集百家之大成，同時可以更新，溫書嘅時候唔使睇十份一樣嘅嘢，可以睇一份 notes 就得喇。
• With this method you can combine information from various sources. Some common topics such as valvular heart diseases are mentioned in many lectures, books and notes. After combining them in your own notes in Evernote you will only need to read it for revision. No need to go through different books and notes.
• Evernote 跨平台（iOS，Android，Windows，Mac OS）免費使用！OneNote 都有免費版，但係好似功能上無收費版咁完善。
• Evernote supports multiple platforms including iOS, Android, Windows and Mac OS, and is free for its basic functions (which are sufficicent). There is also free version of OneNote but maybe its functions are not as complete as the one included in Office.
• 另一個將 notes電子化嘅好處就係方便攜帶，當你上 ward 比抽爆，氣氛僵硬之際，你就可以靜靜雞偷睇一下（唔係個個醫生都鍾意你被抽書時睇電話架，同埋我都唔係太贊成喺病人前面攞部電話出嚟撳）。
• Another advantage of this method is that you can bring your notes anywhere in your phone or tablet. When you are defeated by the questions being thrown at you in the wards, and the doctor seems to be irritated, you can have a peek at your notes and search for the answer (by the way not all doctors like their student reading off their books or phone when they are asked questions, and I do not suggest using the phone in front of patients).
• 而 Evernote 都可以比你上 lecture 嘅時候 jot notes，我見有好多人 med 5 都係帶電腦去lecture即場打 notes，我都覺得係一個好辦法，因為你會即刻將上堂學到嘅新知識輸入電腦，方便你之後再整理同溫習，但係呢個方法你要真係溫返先得，唔好打完就算，如果唔係就無意思。呢個app 仲可以錄音添，如果你打唔切／抄唔切咁都係一個辦法。
• Evernote allows you to jot notes during lectures so that you can immediately digitise your knowledge so that you can organise and revise them later. But the problem is of course you will have to really read them later instead of just typing them down, otherwise it would be utterly pointless. Another function it supports is audio recording so that you can just record down the whole lecture and can focus on listening instead of typing. 
• 有份屬於你自己，又咁信得過嘅 notes，當你要突然間溫返啲嘢（例如去考丁vi）咁就可以好方便咁攞出來溫啦！
• You will be able to make your own notes which are the most reliable! When you suddenly need some revision (e.g. when you are invited for distinction viva) you will have the material ready!

壞處：

• Evernote並唔係最好嘅文字處理軟件，佢 format 文字同圖片有時會有啲奇怪（請善用shift + ctrl + v)。可能 OneNote 會出色啲。
• Evernote is not the best word processing software. It tends to mess up bullet points and gives you extrememly large picutres. Maybe OneNote is better in this area (afterall it is in the Office series).
• 電子化 Notes 可能無手寫咁入腦，所以要靠你將兩樣方法一齊用，相輔相成，就可以互補不足。
• I somehow find it more difficult to memorise notes digitised in the computer than written or printed materials (maybe I m old haha), so you may need to use both the computer and written forms of revision together and complement each other.

大家參考下啦！我唔係咩gold medalist，考試唔係最高分果啲，但係我覺得呢個方法可以令我輕鬆啲面對 Final MB，希望你都覺得有用啦！
I hope you guys will find it useful! I am not a gold medalist, but I think this method allows me to prepare for the final MB in a less stressful manner. This is merely a reference and I hope you will find the way that is most suitable for yourself!

後記：好似OneNote真係都唔錯，可以參考下呢篇講OneNote嘅文章