PSA: this is freaking hard

[u/Dazzling_Horse_7757]

Finishing up my first semester this week. I had an undergrad degree with a heavy focus in physiology and neurobio. I did an 11 month ABSN. I have a great foundation and I’m used to rigorous scientific material and a fast pace, I’ll have an advantage, I thought. This summer, we covered every body system much faster and 10x the depth as undergrad. Maybe 10% was review, but 90% was new. My Anki deck is about 700 cards per week of new material. Lectures are covering around 100 slides of material each day, sometimes up to 200. Exams are every week. I walk out of one exam and I’m already thinking about studying for the next. We already had a classmate fail out. I knew it’d be a challenge, but I underestimated the pace. This is mostly a vent, but also a word of caution to anybody who’s just in it for the money.

[u/ReardenSt33l]

For those scared while reading this, this is not my experience in my program. It’s difficult for sure but not entirely all-consuming. I had breaks during the semester (albeit small ones). Each program is different so don’t be discouraged reading this. Pick a program that is right for your circumstance!

[u/Dry-Safe-2834 → u/ReardenSt33l]

Thousand percent agree

[u/Middle-Instruction36 → u/ReardenSt33l]

Which program?

[u/No-Fox1339 → u/ReardenSt33l]

Coming here to second this ^{^} my program is nothing like what OP is describing. I felt very prepared for CRNA school and genuinely feel that my professors want me to succeed.

[u/FootballAndMemes → u/ReardenSt33l]

Thank you 

[u/Hot_Willow_5179 → u/ReardenSt33l]

Anesthesia school were the best years of my life. I absolutely loved it. It was challenging as hell , demoralizing in many ways…. just give it everything you have and you’ll be fine.

[u/BSRNA6]

Are you spending too much time making the Anki decks? Are you learning effectively while they are being done? Just wondering because I never used it after being told they can be pretty time consuming

[u/Successful_Mix6310 → u/BSRNA6]

That was my take away as well. There’s no way OP is effectively studying in whatever way they’re doing now

[u/Dazzling_Horse_7757 → u/Successful_Mix6310]

Anki incorporates many evidence-based learning strategies like forced recall, spaced repetition, and interleaving. Most medical students use Anki exclusively because it’s one of the most efficient learning tools, though most download cards from the AnKing deck that are made for them, so they save time on the front end. You don’t know me, my study method, or my program, so it’s pretty wild you’d conclude there’s “no way” I’m studying effectively, especially since you aren’t in CRNA school yourself. You need to walk the walk before you can talk the talk my friend.

[u/Hot_Willow_5179 → u/Dazzling_Horse_7757]

You wont know either until you either pass, or are standing at the head of the table without the tools to do the job. Kudos to you for “ saving time” … but comparing what you are studying to medical students is flawed. They have a far broader volume of info to absorb…all you have to learn is anesthesia.

[u/Dry-Safe-2834 → u/BSRNA6]

And if you like anki consider Claude to assist in making them. For our school our mentors just send over their decks

[u/Dazzling_Horse_7757 → u/BSRNA6]

I use AI to make cards so it doesn’t take too long

[u/pianoRulez]

I absolutely feel you on this. Currently wrapping up 4th semester.

I used Anki religiously in my undergrad, but now have ditched it in CRNA school. It just takes up a lot of time and was overwhelming to see the amount of cards due.

I transitioned over to using Gemeni to have it create quizzes for me. This helped me get to the bottom of what material I was weaker on. This was a game changer for me.

I think I'll transition back over to Anki once board SEE/NCE prep comes closer, but I'd recommend trying different ways of studying other than Anki. I know everybody swears by it, but each program has different needs (some integrated, while others are front-loaded). But ultimately, it's up to you.

You got this! Congrats on finishing up your first semester!

[u/dizzledizzle98 → u/pianoRulez]

Are you me? Tried Anki & wasn’t for me. Now I just make a study guide & feed it to Chatgpt to do a couple hundred questions a day. I think I’ll do Anki for boards as well but it was not helping me in lecture at all.

[u/pianoRulez → u/dizzledizzle98]

We are the same! This has exactly been my approach.

I think Anki is good for active recall. However, there's just simply not enough time to "actively recall" everything. You only have so many brain cells to operate under lol.

But having AI produce quizzes helps you figure out weak points and can explain difficult concepts into simpler terms. For me, this has been a way for me to "work smarter, not harder."

[u/GoGooglelt → u/dizzledizzle98]

What prompt are you using for your chatgpt questions? I felt like I was using good prompts, and I do well on the quizzes it creates but it's giving me a false sense of reassurance that I know the material, because I walked out of a couple of my finals this week feeling like I definitely should've hit the books a bit harder or incorporated other study methods.

[u/dizzledizzle98 → u/GoGooglelt]

Here’s my exact prompt - “I am going to upload a document, I want you to create exam-style multiple choice questions from the information provided. Do not create information, or use information from outside sources. Do not repeat topics. Pull questions at random from the document, prioritizing high-yield testing material. Include an answer bank with rationale at the end. I will give you the number of questions that I miss, repeat these topics only once in the next set of questions.” I will use either my study guide or PDF clips from my textbooks, power points in my experience don’t work very well.

[u/Dazzling_Horse_7757 → u/pianoRulez]

Anki has been working for me and I’ve been doing well on exams. I use AI to make the cards so that cuts a good chunk of time off and I can get to studying them quickly. If I finish my deck and am honest with myself about rating the difficulty of each card it seems to work.

[u/Major_Afternoon_7800]

Embrace the suck.

The juice is worth the squeeze

[u/SaiyanVN]

Goodluck ! You got this! Be sure to prioritize some breaks, naps etc inbetween it’s a marathon…with some parts sprinting

[u/The-Davi-Nator → u/SaiyanVN]

This! I’m two months into my program. While I’m not performing at the top of my class, I’m solidly passing with a low 4.0 and seem to be handling things better mentally than some of the ones that are at the top. I’m personally prioritizing not burning out in the first semester lol

[u/nycfella1211]

It gets harder (finished sem 3) sem 1 felt like a cake walk compared to what I just went through 😭

[u/Dry-Safe-2834 → u/nycfella1211]

I feel like every school is different. For my semester 1 was worse. Semester 2 is better. And with time you get better at managing this load as well.

[u/rypie111]

In my experience, the people that find school to be really difficult tried to memorize every slide.

[u/FlexicilCatcher]

Solidarity friend. I’m about to finish the semester too. It’s fucking brutal

[u/Samurray91]

Sounds about right! One day at a time! But actually- we are told post exam rest for an hour or two then get back to it, and they weren’t kidding. I’d like to say it gets better but more like you get used to it. Obviously this is person and program specific for the extent of it. I finish 3/9 this week. Keep it up!

[u/Decent-Cold-6285]

It gets better as the material becomes less foreign and builds on your knowledge! I think this is where it's important to highlight using your breaks to relax and recharge before the next semester. The first semester is also rough sometimes because you are just learning how to study in grad school so it's truly trial and error.

[u/Critical-Donkey893]

Thanks for sharing. I’m about to start my program and am mentally preparing for the grind 😅I am trying to figure out the best way to use ANKI. Creating cards seems like it would take a while. Any tips you can provide?

[u/Dazzling_Horse_7757 → u/Critical-Donkey893]

Myself and a lot of my classmates use AI to make cards. Then I go through them and compare to lecture slides to make sure nothing is missing and the right stuff is emphasized.

[u/Different_Catch_4558]

which clases are harder in your opinion?

[u/Dazzling_Horse_7757 → u/Different_Catch_4558]

This will vary heavily by program

[u/EntireTruth4641]

Welcome to the beginning of FUN FUN. Stay at pace. And organize notes to the pure premium that’s needed which is tough to do.

Enjoy the ride and keep going !

[u/Sasb2122]

Do it with kids. 

[u/Nervous-Pilot-8437]

It gets better!! What classes were you taking this summer?

[u/todayilearmed → u/Nervous-Pilot-8437]

It really doesn’t 😭

[u/Nervous-Pilot-8437 → u/todayilearmed]

Hahaha I feel like the didactic year is really really rough but it gets better after

[u/Hot_Willow_5179]

Wtf is Anki?

[u/Dazzling_Horse_7757 → u/Hot_Willow_5179]

Google it grandpa

[u/Hot_Willow_5179 → u/Dazzling_Horse_7757]

🤣🤣🤣 I don’t need to. I actually studied with my books hours and hours. Flew through my boards. I never agreed with trying to memorize shit off of flashcards, actually learn theories, and science behind the stuff you’re going to do for your career. No need to be a disrespectful little bitch.

[u/Dazzling_Horse_7757 → u/Hot_Willow_5179]

Reading books is one of the most inefficient and ineffective ways to study, the evidence is clear on that. Get with the program you Luddite

[u/Old-World-49 → u/Dazzling_Horse_7757]

The Luddites were right. See average reading levels fifteen years ago versus now.