What is a good flashcard?

Each flashcard must clearly state what the question requires from us. This is best achieved by including only one piece of information or one answer on the card.

A poor example of a question would be "Describe an ECG." The answers could be "It is a device that measures..." or "It measures heart activity..." or "It consists of a P wave, QRS complex..."

The problem arises when, after a few days, weeks, or months, we review the flashcards and realize that we don't even know what answer the question expects. When we review such a flashcard and see the answer, we realize that we should have said something completely different. Therefore, we have to repeat the flashcard, which can be frustrating. This is particularly noticeable when we already knew the answer but the question misleads us.

We must make such questions more focused. For example, one flashcard could ask "Which waves are present in a normal ECG reading?" another "Which is the first wave?" and another "What does the QRS complex tell us?"

Instead of one broad question, we can create ten (or more) more focused flashcards. We also revise such flashcards much faster. While studying, we found that we could better review 100 (literally) quality flashcards in the time it took to review ten poor ones. This prevents unnecessary answering of "wrong questions," making learning much more effective.

We must break down broad questions into sub-questions. Questions must be framed in such a way that it is clear what answer they expect. However, we can also rely on our own instincts. If a flashcard causes us trouble and a lot of friction, we should change it.