12 May 2015

how I create my revision posters

Sorry it has taken my so long to write this post - the pictures were taken back in February/March so I have no excuse! Anyway, here is how I create my revision posters.

First off, I'm not sure how applicable this can be to other subjects but I find them super useful for each of the conditions I need to know about for exams. By limiting my page size to A4, I have to choose what information is essential to know with the more intricate details left within my revision notebook

I try and make the heading as attractive as possible and I also like to use coloured A4 paper just because I feel like it. These posters aren't colour coded in anyway. 


Within the posters, I use mini post-it flags or page markers. I divide the page into thirds or halves, depending on the condition and then try and organise it in a logical manner.


For example, my leukaemia poster is divided into halves because there are acute and chronic types of leukaemia. These halves were then divided in half again because there are two types of leukaemia (myeloid and lymphoblastic).


For me, the most important parts of a condition are:
- the definition;
- clinical presentation;
- investigations;
- management and;
- prognosis.

Occasionally, I'll include some pathophysiology, risk factors and causes too. Sometimes, these bits are fit above and below the line drawn on either side of the poster title (you can kind of see this in the COPD poster in the first photo above where I've noted the pathophysiology with keywords).

This can be applied to any topic because all you need to do is decide what the most important bits you need to know are and then arrange it in a logical way on the piece of paper. Because I plan on using these for years to come, I try and make them as neat as possible - and I would recommend doing the same because you won't look at an ugly poster twice but you will keep on staring at something you deem aesthetically pleasing.

I hope this has been useful and I know that this method won't work for everyone. You might want to adapt some parts of it to suit your own way of learning but fitting everything onto a single side of paper is a good way to ensure that you get the basics nailed before moving onto the niche detail.

I've had a few people ask on Instagram about sharing the posters I've made for each condition but at this moment in time, it won't be possible as they are done in line with the learning objectives outlined by my university. These learning objectives are not allowed to be shared so I'd rather not run the risk of getting in trouble with my medschool if that's okay. I know you can see what my COPD poster says but as I'm only sharing one or two of these posters (I've shown a pancreatitis one before in the past), this isn't such a problem because I've now got over 50 of these self-made posters :)

4 comments

  1. OMG! Angela ... these are beautiful!
    How much time does it take you to make one of these? I try to summarize my classes, but I'm too slow :( and end up wasting so much time, I'm studying dentistry so this is a very usefull way for me, it worked in the past but now I just have NO time :( the patients take most of my day, so when I arrive home I just want to sleep.
    I LOVE♥ your blog!
    Greetings from Chile.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ange, they take me about 20 mins each as I try and do them slowly to ensure that the info actually enters my brain. I know that feeling all to well but I find the time taken to make good notes mean that time is saved during revision periods :) x

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  2. Hello!
    Really nice organization of your notes :D I'm jealous of how neat they are :c
    I was wondering what the model of the pen in the 2nd picture is?
    Thanks!

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