How To Study Physiology-Are you in need of a way to study physiology and come out with flying colors? Well, you are on the right article.
Physiology is one of the most essential subjects to study if you’re a student of medicine, nursing, or any other health-related study that has to do with human lives. This is because as a health practitioner you need to know why a patient is showing specific clinical signs and symptoms, and also why you’re conducting particular investigations and treatment.
Physiology is a great subject and even though it can be sometimes it can get really confusing, all you have to do is dedicate your time and put your mind to it.
In this article, we will be looking at what physiology is and how you can study physiology and be a bright student.
What is Physiology?
Physiology is coined from the Greek words “physis” which means “origin” and “logia” which means “study off”, and it is the scientific study of a living system’s functions and mechanisms. A person who practices physiology is called a physiologist. Physiologists explore the mechanical, physical, and biochemical changes that take place inside a typical, healthy human body.
Physiology is a course in which you must understand the process more than remembering concepts. Hence, if you plan to study Physiology, you should also be familiar with Anatomy, because both are interconnected.
How To Study Physiology?
· Create a suitable environment to study
By creating a suitable learning environment, you can improve your academic success. Outstanding results will be achieved through a combination of effective time management, excellent reading, and note-taking abilities, drawing abilities, developing appropriate test-taking techniques, and hard work. Make sure to identify all of the distractions in around you that are interfering with your focus, then starve your distractions and feed your focus. That is the key to success.
· Know your basic Physiology
I want you to have in mind that Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology are not only useful for tests; they are also needed in our everyday life. It is not necessary that you become an expert in Anatomy and Physiology to understand what happens inside the body during illness.
So If you’re studying the Physiology of the Brain, ensure to remember the basic anatomical structure of the brain, surrounding structures, blood supply, and how the areas of the brain affects each function and the physiology of the brain. Now when your professor lectures about stroke in class, it will be easier for you to understand how a blood clot restricts the cerebral artery and how it influences the functions of the brain.
· Source for resources to study
There are so many resources available to aid you in studying like textbooks, class handout, online materials, lab materials and a lot more. I will have you know how important it is that don’t depend only on what you are being taught in class. For you to study physiology better, it is very important that you make use of a lot of study resources because it will broaden your understanding of physiology and also anatomy.
· Know and understand the teaching style of your lecturer or professor
Every teacher has their own particular style of teaching to help them flow with their students. When you understand the teaching style of your lecturer, then you can figure out the best way to prepare yourself for the class.
· Don’t read to pass exams; read to understand
One common mistake among students is that they read to pass their exams so they end up cramming the text in their books and go to offload all they’ve crammed during exam but this is not a good way to study physiology because it will not even work.
As we have said earlier that physiology is a knowledge that we make use of in our day-to-day life so it is very important that you try to understand every concept and term you come across when studying physiology because if you try to cram them, you could forget them easily unlike when you study to understand.
When you study to understand, what you study will stick to you and you won’t easily forget it.
· Always take notes
One thing is that you won’t get to remember everything you hear in class so it is very necessary that you take notes while the lecture is going on, because this will help you during your personal studies.
When you take notes it will help you understand better during your personal studies because you will recall what was being discussed in class.
These notes will also serve as key point to help you prepare for exams.
· Know the best time and best way to study
We don’t get motivated to study all the time which is the reason why you will have to know the best time to study. When you know the best time to study, you will know how best to make your study schedule because the best time for you to study is the time you will be able to study extensively, understand and process what you are studying better.
When you are able to process what you are studying, you will stay focused and study for a longer. So it is very necessary that you figure out your best time to study, it could be early in the morning, after class or at night. You should study when your brain processes information better; because this will help you understand and recall all what you are studying.
· Study everyday but not all the time
Physiology is an essential subject in the medical line and so giving your time to studying will help to be knowledgeable in the course and you can do this by studying every day.
As good as studying everyday day is, it shouldn’t be every time so you don’t get overwhelmed and stressed. You should make out time to study everyday maybe 4 to 6 hours because it will help you perform better and excellently in physiology.
· Create mnemonics and word association
Mnemonics can be very useful in studying especially for students in the medical field because it is a great memory boost. It helps you remember concepts, terms and key points.
Mnemonics help you to store and remember information in a short period of time. So many medical students have used this and have testified to its effectiveness in helping them recall information faster and easier.
· Record the lecture
This can only be done if the lecturer permits and this will help you remember everything that was discussed in class. Recording the lecture gives you the opportunity to listen to the lecture over and over again and with this, you get to understand better.
· Time Management
If you really want to excel in your academics, then you must have in mind that time is valuable and yet limited and so you will have to use it wisely.
Time management is an important quality that every student should develop because it will help you stick to any study schedule you set out and avoid procrastination.
You should learn to allocate time to everything you do and also know how to prioritize your activities. With time management, you will be disciplined enough to work with time allocated for every task.
· Join a study group
Study groups are very important because they help students study better. For a course like physiology, it will be really helpful for you to study with your friends to find out what they know about the subject and how you all could work together and share ideas and thoughts.
In the study group, you can all discuss past questions, discuss topics, and quiz one another as all these will help you understand the subject better.
Studying together will act as a motivation to always want to study yet to avoid distractions; your study group must have a limited number.
· Don’t just memorize the theories; Understand It
It will be very difficult to memorize facts you don’t understand. You can decide to create a diagram with all of the mechanisms and a study sheet for each disease. If you attempt to memorize the facts, you will end up forgetting them easily. Hence, you must understand the physiological processes involved in disease.
· Design Study Sheets
Creating study sheets for each exam is similar to flashcards and can be really helpful. You can make a note on one page that covers every vital point of that chapter using other resources such as lecture notes, textbooks, and flashcards. This will really help you to revise the notes in a short period of time before the exam.
Let me give an example, if you’re building a study sheet on Cardiovascular Physiology, you can add more sub-sections like Baroreceptor Mechanism, Postural Hypotension, and so on, and then include the Physiology of each on one page. So you can compare and get a good understanding of the progression of the disease.
Frequently Asked Questions
Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP) is widely recognized as a difficult course, often characterized by high drop, withdrawal, and failure rates (10, 23).
Here is the best Study Tips for Physiology as a Pre-Med:
Draw Everything
Prepare Before Lecture Starts
Rewatch/Relisten to Lectures
Procrastination
Study Groups
Memorization
Stagnation (One Study Strategy)
Setting Unrealistic Goals.
Final Note
Understanding how difficult physiology can be, we have revealed some tips that will help you study physiology and become more knowledgeable in the subject. Mind you, these tips are just guidelines, you can still try some other things that you feel might work for you to help you perform excellently as a physiology student.
Reference
rishacademy.com – How To Study Physiology
studentdoctor.net – Succeed Physiology Student
dummies.com – 10 Study Tips For Anatomy And Physiology Students