Jump to content

Tell me it gets better....


Recommended Posts

I am currently a PA student doing my last quater of the didactic year before cliniclas begins in April. I am now 34 years old and have been in some form of school most of my adult life. I went to tech school to become an OR tech and then later decided to go the PA route and get  my B.A. in Biology and proceed to PA school. Long story short, at this point in my life, being in class all day is TORTURE for me and also think I am experiencing "scholastic burnout."

 

We are in week 3 of this last quarter and my motivation is at an all time low. I find that I am just counting down the time until the end of class comes around so I can go home and do nothing. My hope is that clinicals are better than didactic and I actually get a chance t learn more. Truthfully, I feel as if I have learned little from class. I can learn more studying outside of class as I am less of an auditory learner and more read/write.

 

Furthermore, feeling this was and having clinicals essentially weeks away, I find myself wondering if I will be up-to-task then. Is this a normal feeling at some point during didactic or should I be concerned? I know actual practice is different and I would like to know how prepared did some of you guys felt fresh out of school.

 

If there are simiar threads concerning this topic, could someone direct me to them. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderator

no lie

 

it gets better

 

it gets A LOT better

 

 

I would say focus on specific patients (have you had any patient contact yet?) and work up and manage their problems.

Ask you program to try to do more patient based teaching, make it relevent for you to learn (oh and it is all so relevant!)

 

Also, program might well appreciate the heads up as you are likely one of many in this position...

 

 

 

 

 

I loved all of school (numerous degrees and in school till I was 32 so lots of similarities, except for the last 3 months of my second masters.... ugh that was tough - same burn out you described....  ended up just forcing it - pushing through it, get 'er done.  It was not enjoyable, it was a job, but I got through it.

 

Being PA and practicing medicine is an amazing career - you are on the edge of greatness, but it comes with a high price (education and burn out)   hang in there, you will get there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to PA school when I was 39 and graduated at 41.  During the didactic part, there were times when I wanted to quit but I didn't because as some one once said others have done this before you.  That was my motivation to continue>  I was NOT going to be the one who didn't finish.  The clinical year is MUCH better and you will probably learn as much if not more than you did the first year.  S..T you are almost there!!  Suck it up and do it!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am currently a PA student doing my last quater of the didactic year before cliniclas begins in April. I am now 34 years old and have been in some form of school most of my adult life. I went to tech school to become an OR tech and then later decided to go the PA route and get  my B.A. in Biology and proceed to PA school. Long story short, at this point in my life, being in class all day is TORTURE for me and also think I am experiencing "scholastic burnout."

 

We are in week 3 of this last quarter and my motivation is at an all time low. I find that I am just counting down the time until the end of class comes around so I can go home and do nothing. My hope is that clinicals are better than didactic and I actually get a chance t learn more. Truthfully, I feel as if I have learned little from class. I can learn more studying outside of class as I am less of an auditory learner and more read/write.

 

Furthermore, feeling this was and having clinicals essentially weeks away, I find myself wondering if I will be up-to-task then. Is this a normal feeling at some point during didactic or should I be concerned? I know actual practice is different and I would like to know how prepared did some of you guys felt fresh out of school.

 

If there are simiar threads concerning this topic, could someone direct me to them. Thanks

Current student on rotation with us and myself were talking about didactic year vs clinical.

He felt in 4 weeks with us that he has learned more than in one term at school.

Retrospectively, didactic year is a slog for many older (and younger) students.

The learner/lecturer format most programs use has 2 upsides, it's cheap and can ensure that information delivery has taken place.

But unless there are some stellar interactive engaging lecturers, the learner will die small little deaths every powerpoint presentation.

It is a contradiction because you spend the rest of your professional life being an independent learner. A program's focus should be to develop that skill along with preparing students with knowledge base and clinical skill development.

Worthwhile for prospective students to query what a program's philosophy is and it's main venue of learning in order to understand what they are in for during the first year.

Unfortunately other modalities of learning are labor and resource intensive, 2 things a program may not have at it's disposal.

And while OP may hate the classroom, many students expect a lecturer/learner environment because that is all they have ever known and it has worked in the past.

But PA school is a whole nother animal.

Clinicals can be a breath of fresh air to the burnt out and disillusioned.

If able, what most students need is a short amount of periodic decompress time to recharge. Seek that out from now till april, a weeknight here, a weekend day there. Increase exercise, try to get outside more. What is also working against the OP is the time of the year. Unless on the Cali coast or deep south, this winter is starting to suck the life out of people.

But overall not a new sentiment being expressed. Fortunately the end is near.

Good luck.

G Brothers PA-C

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think everyone felt the same way at the end of the didactic year. It does get better. However, clinical year brings new and different challenges. It's awesome and tough in a completely different way. It's only a matter of time at this point. Keep studying, keep pushing, and you will get to your goal of becoming a PA-C.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It gets so much worse.

You'll actually be walking around and meeting new people.

There's a 50/50 chance you'll get free lunches depending where your rotations are or how nice your preceptor is.

You'll be applying what you learn, doing some critical thinking, and in a year or so make more money than most people.

Cherish your last 3 weeks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrator

The end of January, a month after coming back from Christmas break, seemed like the nadir of morale for my class, too.  The break was over, and we were all back into the crush of overwhelming information overload, with Spring Break seemingly far too distant in the future to matter.

 

We survived it, you can too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the insight as it was helpful and good to know that there is hope. I will continue to push through. Counting down the weeks until the end of the quarter (March 25th!) I have found that the powerpoint teaching implored is not very helpful to me. If one is to read simply of the slides, I can stay home and do that. I kinda miss the days of chalk boards lol.

 

I am looking forward to the day I apply what I have learned and have that "ahhhh, it makes sense" light bulb going off in my head.

 

Thanks all!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The end of January, a month after coming back from Christmas break, seemed like the nadir of morale for my class, too. The break was over, and we were all back into the crush of overwhelming information overload, with Spring Break seemingly far too distant in the future to matter.

 

We survived it, you can too.

You guys got spring break? ????
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It absolutely gets better! Just get through the didactic any way you can. When clinicals start you will see the point of all those boring lectures and will appreciate them (really!). Clinicals are a very different animal because you'll actually see all those fun things you've been studying and it'll make sense (well, some of the time). 

Breathe, keep moving forward, keep you eye on the prize. (That's all the bumper sticker quotes I have for now.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely agree with the use of powerpoints being primarily a way of just saying the info was presented to a group. I wouldn't mind it as much if I had more leeway with absences. I think we can only miss two days of class. I think. I get more accomplished outside of class than I ever do inside of it. Usually at the end of the day, I don't feel like studying then like I could have earlier in the day.

 

We are entering our fourth week now and soon all this will be over. I am not thrilled about covering pediatrics, geriatrics, and ob/gyn tho lol.

 

Thanks all again for the words of encouragement

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely agree with the use of powerpoints being primarily a way of just saying the info was presented to a group. I wouldn't mind it as much if I had more leeway with absences. I think we can only miss two days of class. I think. I get more accomplished outside of class than I ever do inside of it. Usually at the end of the day, I don't feel like studying then like I could have earlier in the day.

 

We are entering our fourth week now and soon all this will be over. I am not thrilled about covering pediatrics, geriatrics, and ob/gyn tho lol.

 

Thanks all again for the words of encouragement

 

The extremely limited class absence allowance is a bit annoying. I get that PA school is compressed and that excessive absenteeism can really put some students behind. But there are a few courses I teach myself from the material, and get nothing from the "lecture" itself; just as it was with other college courses. I could stand to skip those classes. Several of our med school cohorts rarely attend specific classes at all. Compression or not, they're still learning and passing just fine. Rotations are a different story, I understand the stricter needs there.

 

We also have to fill out a "Missed Class" explanation form for each absence. It's all very paternalistic. We have a didactic classroom dress code (med students do not), critique evaluations on our dress, speech, etc. and *gulp* permission slips...

 

Maybe the schools have data showing that constant, mandatory attendance produces significantly higher PANCE pass rates, I don't know. But I feel like a third-grader with a tiger mom sometimes. Is this a response to increasingly younger PA students? Have PA programs encountered maturity issues not seen 15-20 years ago? Or do they just feel that PAs are inherently behind the eight-ball and need every "advantage" possible?

 

...maybe I should make this a thread...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clinicals are soooooooo much better!! I have only felt unmotivated on the two rotations I really didn't like (behavioral medicine and pediatrics I'm looking at you )- but still liked those better than didactic lol.

 

I am 36 and have kids at home (and an awesome supportive husband)- by the end of didactic I was ready to quit the whole thing, but the looming debt kept me firmly in place! I also went through the death of someone very close to me during didactic, so I was in a terrible place for most of the year honestly. Somehow, moving onto clinicals snapped me out of that funk and I finally started enjoying the idea of medicine again.

 

I agree power points are overused and poorly used in so many of the lectures. I also think the attendance policy is crap. However, given the heavy use of guest lecturers, I understand why it is there. It would be embarrassing to have a physician from the community show up to lecture and only have a few people there. On the flip side, if there wasn't mandatory attendance, some of the whining complainers might have stayed home instead of playing on facebook or instant messaging each other throughout entire lectures.

 

I graduate on one month and I can tell you it gets better. Hang in there!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The extremely limited class absence allowance is a bit annoying. I get that PA school is compressed and that excessive absenteeism can really put some students behind. But there are a few courses I teach myself from the material, and get nothing from the "lecture" itself; just as it was with other college courses. I could stand to skip those classes. Several of our med school cohorts rarely attend specific classes at all. Compression or not, they're still learning and passing just fine. Rotations are a different story, I understand the stricter needs there.

 

We also have to fill out a "Missed Class" explanation form for each absence. It's all very paternalistic. We have a didactic classroom dress code (med students do not), critique evaluations on our dress, speech, etc. and *gulp* permission slips...

 

Maybe the schools have data showing that constant, mandatory attendance produces significantly higher PANCE pass rates, I don't know. But I feel like a third-grader with a tiger mom sometimes. Is this a response to increasingly younger PA students? Have PA programs encountered maturity issues not seen 15-20 years ago? Or do they just feel that PAs are inherently behind the eight-ball and need every "advantage" possible?

 

...maybe I should make this a thread...

 

Which program do you attend so I can avoid this? Dress code? Really? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wore shorts (long shorts)  to my summer classes.  It was very casual.  We wore jeans, T-shirts, etc.  I don't remember a dress code and obviously we didn't have one. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More