nayerrr_ Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Hi Everyone! I was accepted into the PA program at Our Lady Of the Lake College a few days ago (yay me!) and I'm curious to know how I should spend my next few months before classes begin in January 2015! Is there anything that you guys wish you knew before beginning? What about any books I should read or tips on preparing for this upcoming journey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MedLib42 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 There are a couple of really good threads on this topic: http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/14349-preparing-for-school/ http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/14667-advice-needed/ Personally, I'm not the biggest advocate for studying ahead of time, but keep in mind that may be based on my background and my particular program. I found that everything in my program was so detailed and specific, that I really never ended up using the textbooks for a lot of classes - everything came directly out of lecture. If I'd gone through refresher texts or materials beforehand, I likely wouldn't have been able to identify the areas that my program focused on, and would have wasted a lot of time learning or re-learning material I'd never need. I'm also the type of person who needs a decent amount of down time / vacation time to de-stress, and if I'd spent my summer before PA school studying, I likely would have burned out pretty quickly during the first semester. I still felt like I was drowning during the first half of the semester in anatomy, but that had to do with figuring out how to study (so different from undergrad for me), rather than the material itself. Pre-studying wouldn't have reduced that, as far as I'm concerned. Although, I do like the suggestion of working on improving your memory and study techniques ahead of time (more detail in one of the threads I posted) and perhaps if you're particularly weak in a certain subject (anatomy, for example) doing something like going through Netter's flash cards or reading through one of the "Made Ridiculously Simple" books wouldn't be a horrible idea. The way I approached it was just to start studying a few days to a week before classes began, when all of our course materials were posted. I studied all of the material (lecture notes/presentations, etc) for the upcoming weeks worth of lectures, and was able to continue to "study ahead" throughout the rest of the semester because of that. It helped immensely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nayerrr_ Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Thanks for your reply, I will def. check those other threads out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Go on vacation and don't study. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted October 14, 2014 Moderator Share Posted October 14, 2014 Rev to come tell you to study in 3....2....1..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balsam88 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Honestly just relax and go on a nice trip. Nothing will prepare u enough for PA school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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