edwardcarter Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I was reading what you just mentioned about reading the book before the lecture. I have been doing this for classes the last 15 years. I used to just show up for my undergrad classes and then study the material. Since I began preparing for the class before before showing up for lecture has made a significant change for me. As a medic instructor I also tell my students to do the same and have seen a big differance with those who do and those that don't I have found that the reading assignments are more than I can possibly do well. What I have found is that if I read quickly through the material *before* the lecture, I am able to get a lot more out of the lectures. Then I don't really need to spend my time reading the material in depth; I just focus on the lecture notes and powerpoints from class. I hear a lot of medical students saying they skip their lectures and just study the material on their own -- I can't imagine doing that in PA school. The lectures are my main input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rball641 Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Are there any technical skills (taking BP, etc.) you would brush up on before starting PA school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Are there any technical skills (taking BP, etc.) you would brush up on before starting PA school? Taking histories. HPI, PmHx, family hx, social hx Repeat ad nausea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIPPER Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Are there any technical skills (taking BP, etc.) you would brush up on before starting PA school? Listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Did you guys find that reading textbooks or going to class was most helpful and made you learn what is needed? Is it even possible to read the PA textbooks with the same amount of detail, attention, and time as undergrad pre-req texts? I had a great system worked out as an undergrad which required me to read those chapters until I was nauseous, and then memorize my notes. Not sure if this system will work in PA school though...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I think it depends on your learning style. I am a kinesthetic learner... the idea of reading and memorizing notes makes me shiver and wilt. I get so much more out of lecture, asking questions, taking a few notes, and relating the material to my past medical experiences. This allows me to understand the concepts behind the information thus aiding me in being able to extrapolate answers from the provided information AND apply the learned information in a clinical manner. Of course I read and such but all in all, I found my time doing direct patient care prior to PA school was my greatest asset in getting through PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Best Advice I can give is to listen to lectures. Its so easy to zone out after the first 3 hours of class and day dream, surf the internet, shop online, g-chat, get on facebook, study for another test, etc.... but try your hardest to listen to each lecture for the entire 8-9 hours. I know its easier said than done but i really wish I would have. Most programs have guest lecturers who are experts in the field they are teaching and they will tell you valuable real world info that may not be on the powerpoint slides/notes. You will be glad you listened when you start rotations. Alot of times I was out there on rotations getting pimped thinking "Dang i wish i would have listened to that lecture on XXXXXXX". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest g10757 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Thanks for the advices. I've just completed my 1st month of PA school. In 2 weeks, the fun will start anew. I heard of the idea of studying with a PANCE review book throughout the first year (my school's curriculum emphasizes on self-motivated learning). Do you guys think it's a good idea? And if so, which book do you recommend? Any advice you can think of is greatly appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Thanks for the advices. I've just completed my 1st month of PA school. In 2 weeks, the fun will start anew. I heard of the idea of studying with a PANCE review book throughout the first year (my school's curriculum emphasizes on self-motivated learning). Do you guys think it's a good idea? And if so, which book do you recommend? Any advice you can think of is greatly appreciated. Thanks! I wouldnt, but if you really want to get: http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Certification-Recertification-Examinations-Assistants/dp/1605477265 thats the framework that i used to study for the PANCE. If i could do it all over again I would have started studying that book when the clinical year started. But I wouldnt worry about it during didactic year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I am afraid if you tried to study the PANCE review text, you would get swept up in the notion of memorizing answers instead of understanding concepts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest g10757 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Thank you Jen and Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valeevad Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Thank you so much for this amazing thread! I am applying this year and I am so happy that there are people like you who have been through the process and are reaching out to help others! Greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micky053 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I am getting ready to start PA school this fall and have found this thread extremely helpful. I think it is a great idea to do a list of the "most commons." If there is a student out there that does this would you be will to share how you went about this? Did you make an excel spreadsheet, word document, ect? How did you lay it out and organize it? Thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPassing Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Micky, I just have a word document saved on my desktop that I can easily access each day to drop a few in there. Biggest thing is to stay consistent with it and reorganize it every couple weeks. My advice: Print up your lecture notes and close your comp. It is easy to stay focused your first few weeks, but that motivation and focus quickly dwindles and web surfing for absolutely nothing takes precedence. It literally happens to EVERYONE that has a comp open, especially me, during class. Then take your notes and type them up/add to your ppt on your comp after- great review strategy. Oh and try not to sit next to people with crazy test anxiety. I know we all get it, but when the person next to you is freaking out before EVERY test, it can become distracting. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planteater Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 I am 5 months into my program and I have to agree about being around the people with test anxiety. I find that it can be contagious! You can know something really well and then bomb a test because you are so anxious that you aren't thinking clearly. I am finding that earbuds are my friends on test days (which is like 3 days a week most weeks ?). I also second the "listen during lecture" advice. It is exhausting to be in lecture all day, but I spend so much less time studying outside of class than my classmates who chat, surf and Facebook throughout lecture. Not to mention that it is downright rude and you are kidding yourself if you think the instructor/guest lecturer cannot tell that you are not paying attention to them at all. I could probably come up with lots more, but I am off to join my good buddy Current's for our Saturday night GI date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micky053 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Thanks for all the advice I really appreciate. Just to clarify, are you saying print notes and write them during class then type them up later and add that info to powerpoint. I definitely surfed the web in class in undergrad out of boredom but definitely want to avoid that in PA school and do agree that it is rude and unprofessional. I do tend to write slow and can usually take a lot more notes if I type though so I do like to bring my comp to class for that. I do think trying to listen more in lecture than typing may be helpful though. I will definitely try this strategy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Thanks for all the advice I really appreciate. Just to clarify, are you saying print notes and write them during class then type them up later and add that info to powerpoint. I definitely surfed the web in class in undergrad out of boredom but definitely want to avoid that in PA school and do agree that it is rude and unprofessional. I do tend to write slow and can usually take a lot more notes if I type though so I do like to bring my comp to class for that. I do think trying to listen more in lecture than typing may be helpful though. I will definitely try this strategy! I think the way you take notes depends on what you prefer and what you are used to. In undergrad I wrote down notes and then combined them with notes from book at home, and typed them up. In PA school you do not have time to combine anything. You just have your class notes on power points, maybe some book notes, and that's it. You might also find that you just can't write fast enough and might as well just type. Regrading you surfing the web problem, you probably will not be tempted to do that if you care about what you are learning. Another thing you can do is record lectures and just listen in class, then either re-listen at home or listen at home and type up the notes, but that takes a lot of time that you will not have. Best advice is to type as much as you can in class and leave it at that. Any concepts you don't understand can easily be looked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coggel Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Very helpful thread. Just what I was looking for. I just got accepted into a program that doesn't start for over six months and was wondering how much I should try to prepare beforehand. Most the PAs and current students I've spoken with have said to just, "enjoy your life," because you won't have one when school starts. Maybe review some physiology. One book that actually helped get me back into decent study habits during my prereqs was How to Become a Straight-A Student. It's kind of an over-wrought title but has some simple and immensely practical advice about managing school. Keep a simple schedule so you don't fall behind. Focus on the main ideas. Build your own (legible) study guides. Aim to get 90% or better; don't try to be perfect everytime. Those study guides will be great test banks in the future. The best thing about it is it was written by a student not a teacher. I also second the don't skimp on the stethescope. There's just no substitute. Here's a great article on choosing med school supplies too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patachok Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Wright... i have that book, and read through some of it. Now, let me just share something from my experience. I am finising up second quarter, three exams in the next 4 working days. Nothing can prepare you for rigorous PA school schedule. No books, no preparation. Trying to get 90% and above on every exam is a noble desire, but if you want to keep your sanity, like i did, eventually you just learn to live with an idea that passing is an excellent result. After all, after you are all set and done, with a PA-C behind your name, nobody cares about your grades. Just IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 After all, after you are all set and done, with a PA-C behind your name, nobody cares about your grades. Just IMHO. Unless you plan to do a residency/fellowship or go back to school at any point in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patachok Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Agreed... but our school requires passing with 80% and above in all the classes. So, not much room for grades, it either an A or a B. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaaldana Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Hi all, I will be starting school in August 2014 and was just wondering what everyone's thoughts are regarding PANCE studying from day one. I read a couple of mixed responses regarding this. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patachok Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Hi all, I will be starting school in August 2014 and was just wondering what everyone's thoughts are regarding PANCE studying from day one. I read a couple of mixed responses regarding this. Any thoughts? I do not recomend it...however, in our school we take packrat after first year, and second (whole program is 33 months). But we do not do any special studying for PANCE. Your schedule is so crazy, and stress level is so high, no reason to add more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balsam88 Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Hi all, I will be starting school in August 2014 and was just wondering what everyone's thoughts are regarding PANCE studying from day one. I read a couple of mixed responses regarding this. Any thoughts? Trust me, you will NOT have time! PA school schedule is already way too crazy, you won't be able to fit in "extra" studying. Plus I think the exams you'll be taking during PA school are already preparing you for PANCE, I did practice questions from PAeasy and other exam banks for exam for my clinical medicine class. I'd say focus on getting through the didactic year first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Pa school is 100% designed around being capable of passing the pance. From start to finish. If your school is not all screwed up, every second of lecture, study, test you take IS studying for the pance. It is not really this seperate thing you do. Practice pance questions are good studying for end of rotation exams (2nd year), so even that gets worked into the normal mix. Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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