Higgins Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Hi Everyone: I am now one month into my PA program and have some concerns. Basically, I am putting in about six hours of studying each night and know the material inside and out. But, my exams aren't measuring up to the amount of time I put into my studies, nor does it equate to what I have learned. On my first two patho exams I have received a 73% and a 72%. My program requires that I maintain a cumulative GPA of 80% before I can continue to each block, which definitely adds some stress. I scored a 92% on my first GA exam, which directs me to what I believe my issue is... I think my problem lies in test taking. For example, I can understand concepts inside and out, but when I have to apply that concept to a foreign situation (specifically not one discussed in lecture) I tend to not do so well. If anyone has any suggestions on how to bridge conceptual knowledge to new situations I would really appreciate the advice. Or, just general guidelines on how to approach a test question and case study. Also, when I review materials with a study group I always seem to have a deeper understanding of the material than my peers. But, they are scoring better. So, any advice would be appreciate. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenGintheED Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Does your program have an academic resources office, somewhere that offers test-taking and study skills help? There is a link somewhere here to an excellent website with study skills... I'll look around for it and post it here for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Does your program have an academic resources office, somewhere that offers test-taking and study skills help? There is a link somewhere here to an excellent website with study skills... I'll look around for it and post it here for you. http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15272 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidnid Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 hey Higgins..... i had a very similar experience in the beginning too...... I was not a great test-taker!!!!................ but i did overcome it!!.......... it took a lot of effort, time, focus and many many tears......... so coming to the point..... the first thing i did was i changed my study pattern....( i was studying all by myself... so i started studying with one of my classmate)......all we did was meet after class and review the lectures and quizing over it everyday!..... ultimately what happened is it did cut the study time down from 6-8 hrs to only 3-4 hrs....... The other thing what i did was... i started creating CHARTS and reduced the contents to signs/sx; pathophysio, labs/tests; TX.....etc...... and the third and most imp thing is DONT SECOND GUESS UR ANSWER!!!!!!.......... always go with ur gut and dont change ur answer!!!........ ALL THE BEST!..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidnid Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 if u want i can mail u those charts!!.......... u will get an idea..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 and the third and most imp thing is DONT SECOND GUESS UR ANSWER!!!!!!.......... always go with ur gut and dont change ur answer!!!........ AMEN !!!!! LesH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain1028 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Welcome to PA school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie85 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 and the third and most imp thing is DONT SECOND GUESS UR ANSWER!!!!!!.......... always go with ur gut and dont change ur answer!!!........ ALL THE BEST!..... Correct! Every time I change my answer I get it wrong and I'm not even in PA school yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulPA Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Yep get a study partner. That is what I did. At the begining of each round of test. We would take the objectives and spend time breaking them down to a flash card size of information or chart etc... then about a week before each test we would only study from our combined study aids and would spend hours quizing each other, thus learning and reinforcing with both writing and auditory. Beside it is one thing to see Crohn's dz on a card chart etc and flip it or look at it and say yep they have these sx, and that is how you dx , tx etc. But another thing to tell my partner about the dz top to bottom. Next the night before the exam we would take practice questions from varies review books, We made sure we didn't buy the same ones, we would do the PA Review (by Auth) and then the APPA review book, then the Lange (yellow book) review questions (which is the best) then we would end the night with the online questions from Harrison's (first the student then the provider set). We would do them and reveiw all the ones we got wrong (since they all provided explanations) Our goal was 70% and 50%(harrison's) since we are not yet providers and these review books are meant for graduating PAs and current practioners. But our test scores were usually in the 90th percentile in class. By practicing the with the review questions you will get used to taking the tests. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenGintheED Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 LesH, that was the website I was thinking of... thanks for posting it! Hopeful brings up a good point - test banks. I forgot about them... but I started using them the second half of didactic, and it did help - both with tests in general, but also with comprehension. They tend to identify key points and subtle differences that I didn't see the first go 'round with my notes. Plus, the explanations are usually pretty good. Here are some of my favorite tips from toolman... you can find more in his awesome sticky, Advice to Beginning PA Students. - Keep a list of “Most commons”. Most Commons are like “The most common cause of ____ is ____. These will ALWAYS pop up on tests. - As you go through school, start to keep a simplified list of common diseases. Don’t go into all the variations. Keep it as SIMPLE as possible. Something you could fit on a 3X5 card. The idea here is it's gotta be short enough that you can review the stack in a couple hours or less, and review them OFTEN. Headings could be….. Disease: again…in SIMPLE terms so that you can really picture in you head what’s going on How I’d recognize it in clinic: What tests I’d run to prove my Dx: Treatement: Just list the main 1 or 2 tx that are the most common. Don’t list dosages or routes. -If at all possible, get olds tests from you mentors. They’re extremely good practice. I can’t emphasize enough how important Test Banks can be. I’ve listed some of the books I’ve used. I’m not advocating Amazon, I’ve just used them to show you the name, ISBN, and cover. You can get ‘em anywhere. Get them used if you can. Get as many as you can or care to. I was taught about test banks from a physician who was triple boarded in IM, Pulm, and Critical Care…so the man had taken a lot of tests. His advice is as follows: Say you’re studying Internal Medicine in class and you’ve got a test coming up on Cardiology. You then just go to each test banks section on Cardiology. There may only be 50 questions in each bank on Cardiology so it will only take you a few hours to go thru 4 or 5 test banks. Each test question usually has ONE POINT that the author’s trying to make. You could write or type on a separate piece of paper, the MAIN POINT of each question. When it comes time to review for that test, or even in 2 years for the PANCE, you have a shorter list of main points to go over, (instead of trying to review all of Harrison’s). PA schools tend to use test banks a lot to write tests questions. There are only so many ways you can phrase a question. APAP A must have Appleton & Lange A must have Review Questions A must have Primary Care for PA's A must have Newer version of Primary Care for PA's Check it out if you have extra cash. It has different questions than older version A&R's Quick Review A simpler form, but sometimes I HAD to start with this one. Those were the PA books. Now we're getting into USMLE Step II books. I love these! If you're in med school, you take USMLE Step I to go from 2nd year didactic to 3rd year rotations. Step 1 is mainly the basic sciences. You take Step II after your 4th year. Step 2 is clinically oriented. Don't be intimidated by these. You WILL DEFINATELY be able to understand (and get the right answer) on many, many questions. I've known a few med students who JUST studied test banks, and that was it! In general, Family Practice Step II's or Internal Medicine Step II's work well. For didactics, you want a test bank that divides qestions up in the same categories that you're taking tests on (IM-cardio, nephro, etc) Family Practice A very nice test bank Swanson's A classic Medical Student Pearls series These are great. and fairly simple reading. They also come in different flavors...Internal Medicine, Pediatrics.. USMLE Step 2 Secrets Again, easy reading Appleton & Lange review IM A little tougher, but doable. PreTest Series These are GREAT. They also come in many flavors. The Secrets Series Equally wonderful! Easy to read. A must have Blueprints Series Q&A Equally great! very quick reading. Available in Medicine, Ob, Peds, Psych, Surgery "Listen to me now...and believe me later"....Most commons will haunt you from this day on!!! It'll be on EVERY test you EVER take in medicine. I should be able to wake you up at 3am and and ask you, "what's the most common congenital heart defect in ped's?".... In addition to the "most common", make sure you know everything that is "pathognomonic." That's good test fodder, too. Lastly, seek comprehension of the material. Chances are, you will forget most of what you are studying in a few short weeks, when you are overloaded with studying something else. LET IT GO! This is normal. If you understand the underlying concepts of the material, you can (1) think through test questions better when the answer isn't obvious and (2) recall and apply the materal later, when reviewing for clinicals and then the PANCE. Hang in there. You don't have to be a great test-taker to be a great PA... you just have to know and apply the material. Best wishes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meaux Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 How do you save a thread? I'll need this one very soon I am sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenGintheED Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 How do you save a thread? I'll need this one very soon I am sure. Are you able to bookmark it on your computer? Do you know about the stickies? They are easy to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prospective PA Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 you can also copy and paste the parts you want to a document on your desktop for future use, this way you can name it the way you want and can have the thread name in the content if you want to check for any updates. I have done this with several threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meaux Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Ah yes, bookmark. I should excel at PA school, given my high level of intelligence. PrspectivePA also a good idea, thx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klb48 Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I agree with using review books. I'm one month into PA school like you but have so far been very successful with my exams....which I attribute to the review books I'm using. I study the material then the night before the exam I go through the review books. Having the explanations really helps but for me personally it also helps just to have the Q&A format in general. It helps me understand the material better. I'm not saying that this is a guarentee because everyone learns differently and it make take you longer to find out what works for you, but give it a try! Good luck to you and don't give up! We still have plenty of exams to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autumn_george Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Laughing Angel I attend ASHS and I am a newbie :) Week 4 and right in the middle of midterms. What test banks did you prefer if you can remember. I have read and re-read toolman's post but there is some information overload there. I think I remember you attended ASHS so I thought you may can narrow it down. Currently I am in Clinical anatomy and Physiology. I think I take Patho next quarter. Should I get two different books for the different subjects? Thanks if you have time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenGintheED Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Laughing Angel I attend ASHS and I am a newbie :) Week 4 and right in the middle of midterms. What test banks did you prefer if you can remember. I have read and re-read toolman's post but there is some information overload there. I think I remember you attended ASHS so I thought you may can narrow it down. Currently I am in Clinical anatomy and Physiology. I think I take Patho next quarter. Should I get two different books for the different subjects? Thanks if you have time I did go to ASHS... 2006 grad. My personal favorites were the AAPA book (listed as APAP above, aka "the purple book")... more of a summary style. Appleton & Lange ("the yellow book") and A&L Quick Review ("the red book") were good for multiple-choice questions. I had one other multiple choice - can't remember which one. Also USMLE Step II Secrets... questions with paragraph-form answers. I think Secrets was my favorite, but I used them all, from didactic through PANCE. For the basic sciences, I didn't use books. You just have to memorize anatomy. Path you need to know most common, pathognomonic, match disease to microbe, and concepts. If Fisch is still lecturing, then Path will be hard - one of the hardest courses - but it will be excellent quality. I'll be happy to answer any other questions when I am back in town, mid-July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I know that conventional wisdom is to grab hold of all those Board prep books and treat them like gold as a way to study for PA school, but as my students will tell you, I recommend not doing that starting out. As other may have said, you have to learn the concepts behind the medicine. I can't stress that enough. Maybe I'm just old, but my experience has been that without knowing the "why" simply being able to regrugitate something memorized and a cram and dump approach comes back to bite one in the posterior. That being said, those prep books and Online test banks have a place. I agree the more you can get under your belt, the better performance on standadized test will be especially if you have established a solid knowledge base if the first place. Just a few thoughts from an old guy, who probably doesn't know any better.:rolleyes: LesH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autumn_george Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Lesh, I always thought you were a girl HA! No offense that's just the image I gave you, not really sure why. I couldn't agree more with your post, sometimes I am so scared that I am not really retaining anything and when it comes to clinicals I won't have that "base" of anatomy and Phys. I could go on and on about how I disapprove of our Anatomy instructor but it wouldn't make a difference. He's only here for the 8 weeks anyway. Last minute fill in I assume. I REALLY like our phys instructor. At this point in the game (I am also in Intro to PT assessment) I feel like there are a million concepts out there in the open. We are touching on all of them and they are not ever going to come together to make me perform. I know they will because obviously people have graduated, but I am just overwhelmed (as is every PA student) and it feels as if it will never all make sense. For example, our instructor tells us his own experiences (which is great) and to "be sure to know about Temporal Arteritis and Look For PEs"..."Those are things you will get sued over and there are about 10 of them" Yeah that scared the love outta me. I start thinking oh my goodness what if I forget those symptoms and send them home with a headache pill, or whatever? Basically I am scrambling to make sure that I retain things. LA I do beleive that Dr. Fisch (sp) is the instructor. He's the ME right? I haven't met him but I believe that's the case. Thanks for the advice! I am pretty worried about Patho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I know that conventional wisdom is to grab hold of all those Board prep books and treat them like gold as a way to study for PA school, but as my students will tell you, I recommend not doing that starting out. As other may have said, you have to learn the concepts behind the medicine. I can't stress that enough. Maybe I'm just old, but my experience has been that without knowing the "why" simply being able to regrugitate something memorized and a cram and dump approach comes back to bite one in the posterior. LesH Very true. I have found that even with my pre-reqs I do so much better if I know why as opposed to knowing what, but then again I have always been that way......even with work. If I know the why, it helps me recognize the how, who, what, and when better:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autumn_george Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Oh me too, I cannot just take things at face value. But it makes me a lot slower than the other students because I spend time googling the "whole picture". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulPA Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Oh me too, I cannot just take things at face value. But it makes me a lot slower than the other students because I spend time googling the "whole picture". Just becareful trying to get the "whole" picture on everything. WHY because you can't in the short time you have in PA school. When you only have less than a month to cover Cardiovascular, Neuro etc.... it is easy to get too sucked in. After all you could easily spend a week studying nothing but CHF, or MI and still have plenty to learn..... sure the information is out there but the important thing to remember is you are going to be a PA.... NOT a cardiologist or neurologist.:D (they have all of med school and fellowships to learn about cardio, neuro etc....) So use your time wisely to learn the BASICs of multiple diseases it is our job as PAs to recognize abnormal not to everything about everything. It is easy to fall into that trap (one student did and almost failed out of the program, sure she knew 5 objectives very well but the other 30 well not so much):confused:..... and well if your test are anything like mine were the questions tend to cover more than 5 objectives. We actually took her Harrison's away from her and her grades improved!:D Trust me when you get to your rotations you will be studying all this stuff again and you should have the BASIC down and will dig deeper into the d/o, dz etc.... Again not too deep or you will never know enough about all the things to pass the tests. I think it is just each time you re-cover the condition you drill down a little deeper, but you know the concepts above. It is building upon the foundation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WhoCares Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 We actually took her Harrison's away from her and her grades improved!:D lol Did you steal it away while she was sleeping and hide it in the loo?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulPA Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 lol Did you steal it away while she was sleeping and hide it in the loo?? LOL Well she hid on top of her Fridge. She would call about some obscure "zebra" with a question and we be like why are you reading about that and she say well I was reading about X and it mentioned Y so I started reading about Y and it mentioned Z so......etc totally sucked in the endless vaccum:o So that is it "drop the Harrison's and step away from the book slowly with your hands in the air!" So yes we actually did take her book away from her, it was returned to her at the end of the semester when she had learned better "Harrison's Moderation Control" :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autumn_george Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Oh lord I just got Harrisons in the mail !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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