SPEED READING FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS Day 1: 1. Preparation - Setting your goal before reading the book.

- Focus. - Relax. Know that your best IS good enough, no matter what the result is because if you get bad feedback it’s your technique that didn’t work – not your incompetence!

2. Preview

- Survey the book you are about to read. Read titles, Subtitles, Bold-Faced words and the first and last paragraphs.

- After previewing it write a certain summary about what you think the book is about.

- This will allow you to reset your goals based on what you want to learn from the book and what the book is designed for.

3. Photoread

- With a relax state of mind, start off by stating goals for reading the material.

- When you Photoread, tend to just blur your eyes on the book. This will tend to relax your eye on the pages of the book. As you tend to scan it, 1-2 seconds per page.

- After doing that, try to answer the question "why did the author write this?"

4. Mind-Probing

- Put the book down and ask yourself what you would like to learn from the book - Next, review the book for 5-10 minutes in search for the answers to your questions.

5. Reflection

- Before sleeping, reflect on what the book is about and purpose to dream about the book and remember the dream.

- Keep a note pad by the bed to write down thoughts about it that may come to you in the night. Look up those concepts in the book first thing in the morning. Write any dreams in your notes.

Day 2: 1. Preparation - Just like in Day 1, set your goals, focus, and relax. 2. Super Read and Dipping - Spend 30-40 minutes going through the entire book.

- Slow down on areas in the areas that meet your previously stated interest.

3. Rapid Reading - Rapid read as necessary to get the desired level of detail - based on your current reading goal. 4. Mind Mapping (this will take you about 6 minutes)

- Write down the table of contents headings. - Review the chapter outlines to make sure you’ve listed all of

the major themes. - Draw ray lines, connecting associated major ideas on your

paper and include helpful drawings wherever is helpful. - Put this piece of paper at the beginning of your notes for that

class and review the MindMap 2-3 days later. 6. Brainstorm MindMap

- Brainstorm all ideas about the book in single words.

- Connect those associated words with ray lines, allowing you to further ingrain the memory synapse structure in your brain so that when you super read this will be automatically be inserted in to those “folders” that you managed to create in day 1 inside your brain.

7. More super reading and Dipping, or Rapid Reading

- Repeat super reading and dipping, and the steps 2 and 3 above as necessary.

8. Examine dreams

- Examine the dreams that may relate to what you are reading.

- Quiz yourself about the facts related to the dreams you have.

- Look up the facts immediately about the dream-initiated trivia. Always keep a notepad by your bed with a pen just to remember what you dream about.

9. Confidence

- Confidentially allow periphery knowledge to become conscious. Act “as if” you know the material already.

- Test this confidence with Practice Questions. - Repeat Super-Reading and Dipping until the day before the

exam. - Get a good night’s sleep and eat breakfast before the exam.

To summarize this course in speed-reading, Day 1 consists of previewing the books and just the photoreading step. There is no actual reading on the first day.

You don't actually read the book the first you see it. You just have to prepare first your brain by creating "folders" in your brain to store the future information that you will accumulate.

Day 2 will be the actual reading and creation of those note

cards and MindMaps.

SAMPLE STUDY SCHEDULE You can cover several books simultaneously. For example, do

the Day 1 activities for Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Anatomy. This will take less than 2 hours. Then go exercise and play a game with your friends.

On Day 2, do the Day 2 activities for these three books. Then

do Day 1 activities for one or more books. Now that you’ve made your brain sticky to retain this

information, just revert to Super reading and Dipping and begin to incorporate the rest of the 5 Step Study Method. Specifically, do practice questions before you feel like you’re ready. Then keep alternating Practice Tests with Super reading and Dipping.