Your brain really can’t hold more than 7 or 8 concepts at a time so rote memorization will not get you through all things in med school. However for the things that you really want to commit to memory, try the following technique:

1. Get your brain ready, tell yourself that you want to remember the information (pay attention and focus in )
2. Write it down on a flashcard (or paper)
3. Read it out loud
4. Now try to repeat out loud the information without looking at the flashcard
5. Take 15 minutes each day to look at the flashcards and repeat. Repetition and review are key to long-term memory

• Creating silly songs/jingles (they are the more likely you’ll remember them)
•  Mnemonics
• Acronyms: taking the first letters/phrase of a word and creating a word/sentence i.e. ROY G. BIV, for the colours of the visible spectrum Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
• Acrostic is an invented sentence or poem with a first letter cue. It usually spells something out .The first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember. A common acrostic is for the Cranial Nerves : On Old Olympus' Towering Top A Famous Vocal German Viewed Some Hops
• Chunking : this is used for telephone numbers, instead of memorizing 10 digits, it’s broken down into sets of 3 and 4 i.e. 204 555 5555
• Method of loci: this is where you take a location (such as your home) and envision putting certain things you must remember in specific areas of your home. An example would be to memorize muscles, what muscles would you use to open the front door, bend over to untie your shoes, etc.
• Association: associate the list or concept that you are trying to remember with something familiar.
• Visualization:visualize concepts in a picture it can or visualize the words on the page.
• Anchoring: associate a new concept with one you already know (concept mapping is a good way of formatting this)
• Teach it:Teaching it is one of the best ways to memorize something as you are able to use all of the learning styles in the process. Talk to your pet, yourself in the car, or your study group
• Chaining:  Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember cues the next idea you need to recall
• Practice makes perfect: Exercise your brain! play games that involve memorization, do mental math, try to think out answers for basic things each day , try to memorize your grocery lists. Use it or lose it!
  

http://www.studygs.net/memory/

 www.memorizationtips.com/

http://www.studygs.net/metacognitiona.htm