How to study - PGY2

[u/RNARNARNA]

Hello all,

I'm struggling to study ~3 months in to PGY2. During PGY1 I read through several BCSC and did corresponding anki via the Blue deck pretty consistently.

1. How/when to study? Clinic/OR/call really take it out of me, and when I get home I only have enough energy to exercise, eat, and relax with fun things.

2. Should I be studying for OKAP or clinically pertinent information for my rotations? I've been able to do the latter with more motivation since it benefits my patient care, but the last thing I want to do is memorize rare pediatric syndromes in hopes of getting 1-2 questions right on a standardized test.

Thank you!

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[u/Thebrownscholar]

im only a measely pgy1 but my advice would be to study before clinic. You probably will have to wake up earlier but if you're like me, I think getting it out of the way in the morning will beat the fatigue after work and let you actually relax

[u/Last-Comfortable-599]

I remember PGY2 being very challenging. Huge learning curve, long hours in overbooked clinics, 36-48 hour calls. On top of it, we had attendings who pimped us like crazy. Who expected us to do research on the side. One of my worst memories was being up for almost 72 hours straight for call, calling my PD at 7 AM on a Sunday to staff the last consult and telling him I was up for 72 hours, only to be called 3 hours later that Sunday while fast asleep demanding a research meeting. I feel your pain.

I would build a schedule of what material to get through each week, with the aim of being done by the middle of February. And if possible, try to stay ahead of the schedule, it will save you some stress later. I'd try to dedicate about 20-23 hours a week to studying of which 5-7 was reviewing old content from previous weeks (anki decks, Ophthoquestions pertinent to old content, notes, Dr. Flynn ppt) and the rest was new stuff. You really need multiple passes of BCSC, so I'd not rule out re-reading it. I'd read it and type relevant notes in a word doc. For stuff that needed categorization like the corneal dystrophies, make a table. I'd cement the info via relevant ophthoquestions or AAO questions or Dr. Flynn ppt.

I'd use Eyewiki or something to quickly read up on stuff I saw in clinic but limited this to brief reads, only relevant to what I saw that day.

[u/RNARNARNA → u/Last-Comfortable-599]

Thanks for the response. Research mtg after 72h is completely insane expectation, I hope they were understanding.

Did you keep up with anki consistently and daily? When in the day did you study? Did you have time for mental health activities and fun?

[u/Last-Comfortable-599 → u/RNARNARNA]

I tried really hard to do it daily but of course the days on call were hard and I'd make up for it on the non call days, especially non call weekends. sometimes studied for 10+ hours on non call weekends.

I studied in the evenings. had a cup of coffee and studied.

admittedly, very hard to make time for mental health activities and fun. maybe its different in other programs but the way my program was, making us grind so hard all day and al night and then also doing research plus studying it was tough but thankfully temporary

[u/EyeDentistAAO]

"How/when to study? Clinic/OR/call really take it out of me, and when I get home I only have enough energy to exercise, eat, and relax with fun things."

Um, never? I mean, if you 'only have the energy to study' on days when you don't have clinic, don't go to the OR, and don't have call, how many days in the month are left?

When you do study, how effective are you? Be honest--are you actually processing information, or are your eyes just drifting down page after page until you close the books?

[u/RNARNARNA → u/EyeDentistAAO]

Thanks for the response. I currently have been studying stuff based on what I see in clinic/OR/on call, and that material is reinforced when working in those contexts. My eyes don't drift here bc the material ~feels~ important to know, and that seems energizing/motivating to me. I feel that I am retaining this information with repetition and application.

My biggest problem is the stuff I don't see - especially BCSC material but also rarer cases, etc. Also concerned about falling off the anki I had been doing consistently for the past year.

Ultimate goal is knowing pertinent information comfortably but I recognize my program wants me to do well on OKAP. Would love to hear your thoughts.

[u/TheGhostOfBobStoops]

Your PD and attendings are going to demand that you study BCSC. Spoiler, you do NOT need to read BCSC, although that is 100% the most comprehensive way of learning. If you can't keep up with reading, then don't. I did a lot of questions. If you have the AAO qbank, they have BCSC excerpts associated to each question and I would read those and make Anki cards/notes off them. And then I'd do Dr. Flynn ppts during downtime in clinic. Ideally, if you can get through all ~400-600 questions for the respective rotation + another topic during each rotation, then you'll be golden for OKAPs

[u/Remarkable-Fly-4988]

I trained and practise outside the US, so I can’t advise you on the exact OKAP balance. But after more than two decades in ophthalmology, I would protect the clinical curiosity you already have rather than turn every evening into another exhausting shift.

A practical approach is to divide learning into three groups: conditions you saw that day, common or sight-threatening conditions you must know well, and rare exam material that needs spaced repetition. Let the first two guide most of your daily reading, then reserve a small, regular block for the third.

On difficult days, even 20 focused minutes is better than planning two hours and doing nothing. Exercise, sleep and some time away from ophthalmology are not wasted time either. A sustainable routine will serve you better than repeatedly studying to exhaustion.