As I finish almost two weeks back at school, I have realized that unfortunately, my much-needed Christmas break following an intensely stressful finals week is indeed over. Nonetheless, it is definitely a relief to have one semester behind me. But now it’s back to the grind, jumping right into EKG, patient assessment, pharmacology, clinical psychiatry, and the second semesters of pathophysiology and clinical medicine!
I feel like I still have so much to learn, which is probably because it’s true – I do! As one of my professors said, “If you knew everything already, you would be ready to graduate!”
This is a perfect segue into a question I will pose to other PA students and current PAs:
Do you feel like you have retained information you learned from your didactic year?
Did your didactic year prepare you adequately for clinical rotations and for a job after graduation?
In retrospect, is there something you would have done differently during your didactic year?
Thank you for your advice and contributions!
Hi Rachel. I will be the first to say, I felt just as you did going through that week of finals and now bum-rushed into the second quarter. I hope that I am able to retain at least a decent portion of what goes in. However, after talking with many second year PAS, I am told the generally the same thing: You will be fine! Study Hard and you can do it! Now I dont know about you, but that is a difficult concept when you are getting bombarded left, right, up, and down with material and expected to retain it.
So this is not really an answer to your question above, but maybe we can share in the empathy. I too am a PAS and I am in my 1st year. Hope everything goes wonderfully for you. God Bless!!
Hi,
I’m also a 1st year student at the Touro University in NV. Though the going is a bit tough at times, I think that the education I’m getting here is worth it. My husband, also a PA student (on his rotations now) says that he is benefiting greatly from what he learned in his didactic year here.
I think there are two ways of looking at this – (1) How much do you want to give to learning the ropes of being a PA and (2) the way you are being taught during your didactic year. As for myself, I want to devote as much time as is necessary to learn so that I do not make mistakes when I’m “out of here doing my own thing”.
Hope this answers your questions.
Wesley, we’re definitely in the same boat! Good to know all of us first years are suffering together! It will definitely be worth it in the end though!
Mousumi, I definitely agree. I think we’re all trying to absorb as much information as possible during our didactic years so that when we’re out on rotations and (even farther in the future!) practicing PAs, we’ll have that basis of knowledge to assist in our treating of patients everyday. The more we know, the better we will be able to give patients the best care possible!