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In the video I was able to learn great techniques for mental retention. The techniques that were presented were visualization and association, note taking, idea mapping and learning vocabulary. These are all great essentials to apply when in the medical interpreting profession. It is helpful to focus on images over words. In an example provided in the video, he stated four sentences in five seconds. After that I answered questions on what I remembered which unfortunately I accumulated a low score. The next example he gave us was he showed four pictures in which I had to memorize then answer questions. I accumulated a much higher score with the pictures than I did with the sentences. This was due to having a higher retention with images instead of words. Images are concrete and abstract which excites our brain. Our eyes are our best tool for mental retention. On the other hand, words are boring and are more difficult to retain information.
The next good technique for mental retention is note taking. While taking notes you can use a system of symbols to minify what’s important. For example, using an arrow pointing up means increasing and an arrow facing down means decreasing. When note taking you must include important notes such as numbers, medicine, dosages, names, dates and time.
Furthermore, idea mapping is a great tool to use for mental retention because you are able to organize your thoughts and see a picture of the whole conversation with a patient. Idea mapping focuses on important words such as symptoms, past history, diagnosis and more. In addition, good techniques for mental retention are the way one memorizes and learns vocabulary. A good technique is when vocabulary is repeated 21 times because it increases the likelihood of long term retention. Additionally, using physical stimuli such as clapping with a word or tapping your foot helps plant a word into your brain. Lastly, having a good diet and exercise plays a big role in mental retention. Walking and running can help increase blood stream flow to our brain thus creating better mental retention. Having a low intake of refined white sugar will also help our brain because sugar takes calcium out of our brain and kills bacteria of glutamic acid. Glutamic acid helps our brain detoxify. Therefore, focusing on a good diet and intake of foods is crucial to having good mental retention.
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