For Medical Scribes ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have Anki set up with AI-generated flashcard decks for your specialty — a learning system that shows you exactly the terms you're about to forget, at the exact moment to review them. Scribes who use this system consistently report full specialty vocabulary mastery within 4-6 weeks instead of 3-4 months.
What you'll need
Go to ankiweb.net. Click "Download Anki" and select your operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux). Install and launch the application.
What you should see: Anki opens with a simple interface showing "Get Started" and no decks yet. The top bar has: Decks, Add, Browse, Stats, Sync. Troubleshooting: If Anki won't install, try downloading a slightly older version from the ankiweb archive — the latest version sometimes has compatibility issues.
Go to ankiweb.net in your browser, click "Sign Up" and create an account. This lets you sync cards between your computer and phone.
Open ChatGPT (free at chat.openai.com) or Claude (free at claude.ai) in another tab. Use this prompt:
Create 40 medical scribe flashcards for [specialty, e.g., emergency medicine]. Format as a numbered list of Q: [question] A: [answer] pairs. Cover: common diagnoses with correct spelling, standard documentation phrases, key medications with generic/brand names, anatomical terms, and clinical abbreviations physicians use.
What you should see: A numbered list of 40 Q&A pairs formatted consistently.
Option A (manual, easiest for beginners): In Anki, click "Add." Type the question in the "Front" field, the answer in the "Back" field. Click "Add" for each card. Good for 10-15 cards; tedious for 40.
Option B (bulk import, faster):
Question text[Tab key]Answer text on its own line (remove the "Q:" and "A:" labels)What you should see: Anki reports "40 notes found in file, 40 imported." Your deck now shows 40 cards ready to study. Troubleshooting: If import fails, check that each line has exactly one tab between front and back — no extra spaces or returns.
Click "Create Deck" and make separate decks for: [Specialty] Core Terms, [Specialty] Medications, [Specialty] Procedures, and Physician Preferences. This lets you study targeted decks before specific shifts.
What you should see: Multiple decks appear in your Anki home screen, each showing 0 due, 0 new (until you add cards).
Click your deck name → "Study Now." Anki shows the front of a card (the question). Try to recall the answer, then press spacebar or click "Show Answer." Rate your recall:
What you should see: After rating, the next card appears. Anki shows you a progress bar at the top: new cards left today / cards to review / cards you've learned.
On your desktop: click the sync arrow (circular arrows) in the top right of Anki. On your phone: download AnkiDroid (Android, free on Google Play) or AnkiMobile (iPhone, $24.99 on App Store) and sign in with your AnkiWeb account. Tap Sync.
What you should see: Your decks appear on your phone with the same cards as your desktop.
Use these in ChatGPT or Claude to generate flashcard sets:
Core specialty terminology:
Create 40 [specialty] medical scribe flashcards covering: diagnoses, procedures, medications, anatomical terms, and documentation phrases. Format: Q:[question] A:[answer].
Medication-focused deck:
Create 30 flashcards for [specialty] medications. Each card: Q: What drug treats [condition]? A: [generic name] ([brand name]), documented as "[typical A&P phrasing]". Format: Q:[question] A:[answer].
Physician-specific terms:
My physician uses these abbreviations and phrases: [list]. Create flashcards so I learn each one. Format: Q: What does "[abbreviation]" mean in [specialty] documentation? A: [explanation].