As the old saying goes - fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Whether you're an undergraduate medical student or a junior doctor, your career progression can often hinge on your exam results. Preparation is a key factor between success and a resit.

Here are a few simple tips for organising yourself and getting the most out of your revision time: 

1. Create a Calendar

Coming up with a revision calendar is a simple practice but allows you to focus on your end goals. Divide the number of days you have until your exam by the number of topics your exam will cover. Make sure you account for any topics that you think will need more revision time, and those that you know inside and out. Ticking off a finished revision subject day by day can be a real morale boost (especially if you give yourself a little treat at the end!)

If you don’t have time to create your own calendar, use AI to help you make a calendar! One tool we love is Reclaim. AI. Reclaim.AI is a time management app that is paired with your Google Calendar, removing the headache of allocating your timeslots yourself. This time-blocking app will add everything to your schedule, whilst taking into consideration the tasks you already have in your calendar. For example, if you realise you haven’t factored in an exam that’s coming up in four weeks. You can give reclaim a due date and a time allocation of how many hours you need per week to get this task done… and voila! Reclaim will integrate your new task into your schedule without disrupting your previous arrangements.

For more great advice on how AI can transform your revision, read our blog, Medical Revision, AI to the Rescue?

2. Team Up With a Study Buddy

If you’re living with other medical students then this will be easy, but if not try finding a study buddy who has the same free time and revision habits as you. Not only is this a fool-proof way to ensure all topics are covered, but you can alternate testing each other's knowledge in recap sessions at the end of each meet-up. If you prefer to revise on your own, having someone who you can discuss topics with can still be helpful – especially if you feel like you haven’t thoroughly understood a subject.

3. Organise Your Notes

Go through your notes online and consolidate them into manageable bullet points or flashcards. This refining process of reading in detail, skimming and scanning across your notes will help you understand the material and commit it to memory. At the end of this process you should have a pretty neat stack of concise subjects and topics, which are perfect for any last-minute cramming you feel you need to do to complement, your revision.

4. Time Efficiency

As you can imagine, time efficiency is essential when organising your revision. One of the great features of the Pastest app is the ability to complete questions offline and on the go.  Whether you’re commuting to work, or have a spare 10 minutes in between lectures, the Pastest app can be a great tool to help you make the most out of your day.

5. Prioritise Topics

Another great tip to help you organise your revision is prioritising topics that you struggle with, or that carry a lot of weight within the exam. By identifying these areas, you can begin allocating more time and attention to these areas, allowing you to master the most important topic areas and smash your exam! Pastest offers an amazing progress tracker within your medical subscription. This allows you to have a topic-by-topic breakdown of your strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to turn your weaknesses into your greatest strengths!

These are just a few tips to kick-start the revision process and set you off on the right foot. By combining these with our selection of courses, past exam papers, video lectures and podcasts, you can learn to your own preferences and take your career to the next stage.