Guide to Each Page

Learning How to Learn
→ Use when starting the program or feeling overwhelmed. Learn how memory works and how to shift from passive to active studying.

Anki for Clinical Recall
→ Use to memorize protocols, drug doses, symptoms, and red flags. Strengthen recall through spaced repetition.

Smart Notes with Obsidian
→ Use daily or weekly to build your long-term understanding. Capture, connect, and evolve your knowledge.

Using ChatGPT as a Study Tool
→ Use to self-test, simplify complex ideas, simulate scenarios, or reflect on clinical content.

Pomodoro Technique for Paramedic Learning
→ Use when studying feels scattered or draining. Break work into focused blocks with rest. Builds sustainable learning habits.

Lab Integration Guide
→ Use weekly to connect all your tools into one cohesive workflow. Supports scenario prep, content review, and reflection.

Scenario Days – Make Learning Stick
→ Use after every scenario to turn experience into memory. Create notes, cards, and insight from hands-on calls.

Mastering Directive Decision-Making
→ Use when reviewing ALS PCS. Learn to apply directives through clear structure and real-time judgment.

Reflecting Without Journaling
→ Use anytime to integrate reflection into your day. Fast, no-friction strategies to grow your insight.

Building a Clinical Mindset
→ Use mid-semester or during placement. Shift from checklist thinking to clinical reasoning under pressure.

Fast Pattern Recognition Builders
→ Use during OSCE prep, labs, or downtime. Quick drills to improve clinical intuition and decision speed.

Common Errors and How to Learn From Them
→ Use after scenarios or feedback sessions. Normalize mistakes, track patterns, and grow deliberately.

Asking the Five Whys
→ Use when something doesn’t add up—a missed cue, a foggy decision, or a learning gap. Dig deeper and clarify your thinking.

---

Your Next Step

You now have a full system to support how you learn, think, and improve:

• A second brain for knowledge management (Obsidian + MOCs)
• A flashcard system for durable recall (Anki + spaced repetition)
• A study partner to quiz, simulate, and reflect with (ChatGPT)
• A clinical decision-making framework (directives + scenario debriefs)
• Fast tools for pattern recognition and mistake analysis
• Reflection habits that turn experience into progress
• A sustainable study rhythm using the Pomodoro technique

Start with one page. Try one habit. Return when you’re ready

---

---

I. Learning Foundations

Build a strong system for thinking, studying, and remembering in high-pressure fields.

• Introduction: What This Guide Is and How to Use It
  Overview of how to use VitalNotes as a toolset, not just a blog. Lays the groundwork for applying what you learn.
• Learning How To Learn: Build Your Second Brain
  Introduces the philosophy of externalizing your thinking and memory into a “second brain” using tools like Obsidian, Anki, and ChatGPT.
• Anki for Clinical Recall
  How to use Anki’s spaced repetition model to remember critical information like drugs, directives, and differentials.
• Smart Notes with Obsidian
  Learn to use Obsidian for linked thinking, case comparisons, and long-term concept retention with smart note strategies.
• Using ChatGPT as a Study Tool
  Prompts and strategies for using ChatGPT to simulate cases, quiz yourself, or clarify confusing concepts on demand.
• The Pomodoro Technique for Paramedic Learning
  Learn how to stay focused and avoid burnout using short, structured study blocks.

II. Practical Application

Move from theory to field-ready practice. These tools help bridge simulation, lab, and real calls.

• Scenario Days – Make Learning Stick
  How to get more from scenario practice using repetition, debriefs, and learning loops. Turn repetition into retention.
• Mastering Directive Decision-Making
  A breakdown of how to use directives in real-time, with pattern recognition, logic triggers, and threshold thinking.
• Reflecting Without Journaling
  Not everyone journals—this guide offers quick, low-resistance alternatives to build metacognition through regular reflection.
• Lab Integration Guide
  Use lab sessions to build decision-making habits, not just check off skills. Includes scenario prep, debriefing, and error capture.

III. Clinical Reasoning

Develop clarity under pressure. These pages train your diagnostic eye, pattern sense, and mental workflow.

• Building a Clinical Mindset
  Helps shift from passive protocol use to active clinical judgment. Includes strategies to slow your thinking and challenge assumptions.
• Fast Pattern Recognition Builders
  Drills and exercises to sharpen clinical intuition by contrasting similar presentations and exploring symptom variation.
• Common Errors and How to Learn From Them
  Lists the most frequent mistakes in labs and scenarios—then shows how to learn from each and correct your thinking path.
• The Five Whys: A Simple Method for Better Clinical Thinking
  Teaches the “Five Whys” method for exploring errors, confusing presentations, or misunderstood treatments in depth.

IV. Resources

Your support tools: guides, summaries, templates, and setup walkthroughs.

• Summary
  Recap of the big ideas behind VitalNotes: learn reflectively, study actively, and build a system that supports decision-making under pressure.
• Helpful Resources
  Downloadables and quick-reference tools: directive cue sheets, Anki decks, debrief templates, and scenario aids.
• Anki Setup & Use Guide
  Step-by-step instructions for downloading, customizing, and optimizing Anki for long-term retention.
• Obsidian Setup & Use Guide
  How to build a clinical note vault in Obsidian: folder structures, templates, and linking strategies.
• Sources and References
  A list of research and literature that supports the methods taught in the blog, with commentary on their application to clinical learning.