Anki: Mobile Medical Application

Anki Mobile Medical Application

Introduction to Anki

  • Anki is a digital learning tool designed to help medical students effectively learn and retain vast amounts of complex medical knowledge.
  • It utilizes active recall and spaced repetition.
  • Active recall involves prompting the user with a question and requiring them to recall the answer.
  • Spaced repetition is a technique where cards are scheduled based on how well you remember them, reinforcing difficult topics more frequently.

How Medical Students Study

  • Attending lectures
  • Taking notes
  • Re-reading notes
  • Diagram drawing
  • Flashcards are considered the best way to study in medical school.
Drug Absorption
  • Acids, when uncharged, can pass through membranes, while bases that are charged cannot.
  • In the intestine, aspirin is uncharged, allowing it to be absorbed.
  • Active transport, such as the Na+/K+Na^+/K^+ pump, is a primary transport mechanism.
  • Secondary active transport includes antiport and symport.
  • Endocytosis is used for substances like B12 and iron; exocytosis is used for neurotransmitters and insulin.
  • Facilitated diffusion is used for glucose and albumin.
Parasites
  • Endoparasites live within the body, while ectoparasites live on the surface.
  • Types of parasites include:
    • Helminths (worms)
    • Protozoa
  • Classes of helminths:
    • Platyhelminthes (flatworms):
      • Trematodes (flukes)
      • Cestodes (tapeworms)
    • Nemathelminthes (roundworms)
  • Examples of protozoa:
    • Sarcodina (amoebae): Entamoeba histolytica, Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba species
    • Mastigophora (flagellates): Giardia lamblia, Trichomonas vaginalis, Trypanosoma brucei, Leishmania donovani
    • Sporozoa: Plasmodium species (malaria), Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium parvum
    • Ciliophora: Balantidium coli
Drug Availability
  • Bioavailability refers to the rate and extent of absorption of a drug from its dosage form.

Installing Anki

  • Steps to acquire and install Anki:
    • Search for Anki on Google.
    • Press the first link to AnkiWeb.
    • Press the download button.
    • Choose the appropriate version for your operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux).
    • Follow the installation prompts.
    • After installation, find Anki in the search bar and open the application.
  • For Mac users:
    • Download the appropriate version for your Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel).
    • Open the downloaded file and drag the Anki icon to the Applications folder.

Anki Interface

  • The main interface includes options to:
    • Create Deck
    • Import File
    • Get Shared Decks
  • To import flashcards:
    • Click on "Import File."
    • Choose the flashcard file and click "Open."
    • Click "Import."

Constructing Flashcards

Organizing Decks and Sub-Decks
  • Create a deck for each topic.
  • Use sub-decks for lectures to maintain organization and ease of review.
  • To create a deck, click on "Create Deck" and choose a name.
  • Organize with sub-decks by dragging and dropping decks.
Flashcard Types
  • Basic flashcards
  • Basic and reversed flashcards: Creates two flashcards at once.
  • Cloze deletion: Choose the "Cloze" option, highlight the text, and click on the three dots.
  • Image occlusion: Use the image occlusion tool to shade structures you need to review.
Installing Image Occlusion
  • Open the link on the reference page, scroll to find the number, and copy it.
  • Click on "Tool" and then "Add-ons."
  • Click "Get Add-ons," paste the number, and click "OK."
  • Restart the app.
Flashcard Order and Spaced Repetition
  • Initial order is based on the creation sequence.
  • Later order is determined by recall strength using spaced repetition.
Downloading Shared Decks
  • Click on the "Get Shared" option.
  • Search for the desired topic and click on any set to download.
  • Scroll down to find the “Download" button and click on “Import."
  • The downloaded decks will be found on the main screen.
Quick Tip:
  • The fastest way to turn an existing deck into a sub-deck is to drag and drop the deck into another deck.

Anki Settings

  • Open Anki and click the gear icon on the right side, then choose "Options".
Daily Limits
  • New cards/day: Set it as high as possible (e.g., 9999) to prevent a cap on new cards.
  • Maximum reviews/day: Set it to 9999 as well.
New Cards
  • Learning steps: Set intervals for reviewing new cards (e.g., 10 minutes, 1 day, 3 days; write as 10m,1d,3d).
  • Graduating interval: Set the interval after completing learning steps (e.g., 7 days; write as 7d).
Lapses
  • Relearning steps: Set the interval for relearning cards you forgot (e.g., 10 minutes; write as 10m).
  • Leech threshold: Set the number of times you can forget a card before it's marked as a leech (e.g., 8).
  • Leech action: Set to "Tag only" to identify cards needing more attention.

Advantages of Anki

  • Provides efficient learning through active recall and spaced repetition.
  • Available on multiple platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android).
  • Supports multimedia (images, audio, video).
  • Customizable to suit individual learning preferences.

Disadvantages and Solutions

  • Time-consuming deck creation
    • Solution: Use shared cards or AnkiHub.
  • Cost of iOS app (AnkiMobile)
    • Solution: Use the free web version (AnkiWeb).
  • Limited context for complex concepts
    • Solution: Combine Anki with other learning methods.
  • Accumulation of due cards
    • Solution: Track progress via the Review Heatmap add-on.

Conclusion

  • Overview of Anki app
  • Downloading Anki on different devices and Anki’s interface
  • Effective techniques for organizing Anki flashcards
  • Adjusting the settings of Anki
  • Advantages and disadvantages of Anki

References

  • Anki settings: Khan, A. (2022, March 3). Best Anki settings: My recommended values (updated for v2.1+). LEANANKI.
  • Image occlusion add-on: AnkiWeb.