Attendance in PA school

[Contrarian]

I never missed a single class... but then again, my program was only 16 months (5 straight quarters) long at the time.

 

I both Lecture 2-3 times a school yr and Precept 15-20 students a yr in Psychiatry/Addiction/Behavioral Medicine.

 

I usually have a sign in/attendance sheet for my Lectures... if your name isn't found on the attendance sheet, you won't be at my clinical site... easy.

 

Not really MY problem if that program you just paid $80k+ to... can't find you a REQUIRED Behavioral Medicine rotation and is therefore jeapordizing your graduation date.

[bljames2]

I think it is also important to remember that as PA students we are being molded into professionals (or at least should be). IF we cannot take the responsibility to show up for class, how can our mentors expect us to be responsible in other ways? And regardless- In reality, we, as PAs, are not going to be able to pause the scenario, rewind, pause, fast forward, and rewind. So, might as well get used to it in PA school. Or at least that's my take on the subject matter. Of course, it would be nice to sit at home, drink coffee, in your PJs but it just seems impractical.

And lazy.

[user1234556]

I think it is also important to remember that as PA students we are being molded into professionals (or at least should be). IF we cannot take the responsibility to show up for class, how can our mentors expect us to be responsible in other ways? And regardless- In reality, we, as PAs, are not going to be able to pause the scenario, rewind, pause, fast forward, and rewind. So, might as well get used to it in PA school. Or at least that's my take on the subject matter. Of course, it would be nice to sit at home, drink coffee, in your PJs but it just seems impractical.

And lazy.

 

It's also impractical to have hours upon hours of studying and work to do every day when you are being kept in class from 8-5, when - and I think many people from many schools would agree - if time inefficiency affected faculty members in the way that it affects students (which it doesn't) and they therefore decided to make it a priority to be more efficient, the day could easily be compressed down with many hours of fluff and busy work cut out or done at home. Showing up for lectures in which powerpoints are read verbatim is an enormous waste of time, especially for commuters. So, while the real world operates the way you described, the real world also wouldn't be staffing PAs that aren't being used effectively and paying them when not absolutely necessary. Sorry but this is just a huge pet peeve of mine and I'm responding to the thread in general, not necessarily your comment. Busy assignments, touchy feely nonsense type of lectures, and lectures that are actually important but are presented via straight recitation of powerpoints are 3 of my biggest gripes as it relates to mandatory attendance.

[Just Steve]

I think it is also important to remember that as PA students we are being molded into professionals (or at least should be). IF we cannot take the responsibility to show up for class, how can our mentors expect us to be responsible in other ways? And regardless- In reality, we, as PAs, are not going to be able to pause the scenario, rewind, pause, fast forward, and rewind. So, might as well get used to it in PA school. Or at least that's my take on the subject matter. Of course, it would be nice to sit at home, drink coffee, in your PJs but it just seems impractical.

And lazy.

 

I think this post touches the best on why this topic has been bugging me....non attendance for the VERY short time that you are in class is simply unprofessional and lazy. People complain that bad lectures are boring, waste of time, and painful to sit through...really? Have you "shouldn't have to go" people ever worked a real job? PLEASE tell me what profession or system that works at > 90% efficiency? I may change career paths if I could find something to make money at and doesn't waste a moment of my precious time.

 

Sure, no one wants to listen to Mr. Monotone drone for hours but in the true nature of life, it is easy. Yes, I said easy. All you gotta do is sit there and look pretty for a few hours.

 

You know what is hard? Telling patients that their prognosis is poor and that they should get their affairs in order. It's hard to sleep at night when the cries of an 8 year old girl echos in your head as you code their mother. It's hard to stay awake for a admin meeting after being on call in the ICU all night listening to hospital directors debate crap that doesn't matter but your lack of attendance will reflect on your evals and future employment with that organization. It is hard having some crusty saw bones pimp you about rare, esoteric crap that went irrelevant 15 years ago but if you choke you end up not scrubbed in to the next case.

 

If you can't attend class for just 1 measly year then how on earth can you expect to handle things far more difficult? If you already have dealt with more difficult things in life then you should know how easy it is to just have to sit in class and deal with Mr. Monotone.

 

You want respect as a professional AND not do what is expected of you? Do you realize how flipping crazy that sounds to me?

 

If you want to be like a med student then perhaps you should have went to med school. Wanting to be treated like a med student when they are a 7 year student compared to PA school's 24-36 months is a stance that shows immaturity and dissillutionment.

[vaston]

If you can't attend class for just 1 measly year then how on earth can you expect to handle things far more difficult? If you already have dealt with more difficult things in life then you should know how easy it is to just have to sit in class and deal with Mr. Monotone.

 

You want respect as a professional AND not do what is expected of you? Do you realize how flipping crazy that sounds to me?

 

Bingo