Psycho-Babble Social Thread 508935

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brain boosting for sitting written exams

Posted by deeta on June 7, 2005, at 5:46:22

Hi ALL,
I'm a psychiatry registrar in Australia and am part of the web team for our website
www.anzapt.org
we're trying to put together an article for trainees who are preparing for their fellowship( royal australian and new zealand college of psychiatry) written exams where we canvas all and sundry for their approach to boosting their brain for max performance in pre exam study and exam performance:
so far I have exercise, ginko biloba
7 hrs+ sleep per night.
any other cognitive tricks to enlist as much of the brain per unit time
to assist in laying down the right kind of memory that can be retrieved
in the right kind of way...it's all a bit soft but anything will help
and these kind of registrar articles are the most popular? if you have
any ideas or even better facts let me know. ::)

 

Clarify?

Posted by PM80 on June 7, 2005, at 16:06:28

In reply to brain boosting for sitting written exams, posted by deeta on June 7, 2005, at 5:46:22

What exactly are you asking for? Tips for exam-study?

 

brain boosting for sitting written exams

Posted by deeta on June 7, 2005, at 16:14:12

In reply to Clarify?, posted by PM80 on June 7, 2005, at 16:06:28

> What exactly are you asking for? Tips for exam-study?
>
Yes, anything that helps with efficiency and enhances laying down the right kind of memory, so not just drugs, any other cognitive techniques/ life style changes?

 

Re: brain boosting for sitting written exams » deeta

Posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 7, 2005, at 23:37:58

In reply to brain boosting for sitting written exams, posted by deeta on June 7, 2005, at 16:14:12

Rosemary, Lemon, and Mint essential oils blended.

I know, it sounds hippedy do dah, but it's been proven to work. It assists memory and mental clarity.

 

Re: brain boosting for sitting written exams » deeta

Posted by alexandra_k on June 7, 2005, at 23:56:05

In reply to brain boosting for sitting written exams, posted by deeta on June 7, 2005, at 5:46:22

Are you interested in what we think is effective?
Or what has been shown to be effective?

With respect to the latter you could do a journals search
With respect to the former
I have vague memories...
There are study tips available from the virtual pamphlet collection or whatever it is called...(there is a link to that from off the students board)
It had some useful stuff to say with respect to preparing for multi choice exams, there might be some helpful stuff on written exams too.

I am having vague memories...
Of getting copies of past years exams and sitting them under test conditions to prepare.
Finding common themes and hazarding an educated guess with respect to what questions are likely to focus study on that area.
Basically... What I find most useful to do to prepare for written exams (by which I am assuming you mean essays???) is to practice by writing essays. From off the top of my head. Then do a little more reading to fill in some of those blanks then back to the top of my head then a little more reading etc etc.

IMO you can drink coffee etc till the cows come home but there is no substitute for hitting the books and testing yourself by writing from the top of your head.

It is just that drinking coffee etc might help one stay awake so you can do those other kinds of stuff for longer.

 

Re: brain boosting for sitting written exams

Posted by alexandra_k on June 8, 2005, at 0:08:03

In reply to Re: brain boosting for sitting written exams » deeta, posted by alexandra_k on June 7, 2005, at 23:56:05

Sorry, that wasn't what you asked for.

Coffee is good.
V is good (energy drinks)
Also practice writing in a situation that mimics test conditions.
You have better access to info if the conditions under which you encoded it are comperable to the conditions under which you retrieved it.
One way of doing that is to study / practice writing in the room in which you have to take the exam.
Or a comperable room.

 

Re: brain boosting for sitting written exams

Posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 8, 2005, at 8:39:33

In reply to Re: brain boosting for sitting written exams » deeta, posted by Gabbi-x-2 on June 7, 2005, at 23:37:58

> Rosemary, Lemon, and Mint essential oils blended.
>
> I know, it sounds hippedy do dah, but it's been proven to work. It assists memory and mental clarity.

Also, caffeine has been proven to more than double the amount one is able to memorize.
It has to be above what one normally drinks if one is a regular coffee drinker though.

 

Re: brain boosting for sitting written exams

Posted by PM80 on June 8, 2005, at 9:06:34

In reply to brain boosting for sitting written exams, posted by deeta on June 7, 2005, at 5:46:22

I find energy drinks (I drink Red Bull) is better than coffee, both for studying and remembering. It has less caffeine than a cup from starbuck, but something or some combo of things works better for me.

I try to remeber in concepts. I remember the why and how more than the what. If I know how and why then I can redetermine the what when I need to. Learning a big picture is much more efficient than memorizing a bunch of little pictures.


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