Study tips?

[ekgeegee]

I'm starting my second semester of didactic year on Monday. The first semester was tough, and it will become increasingly tougher as we start systems. I'm curious if there are any study tips from this group. I need efficiency and ways to sort this massive amount of material into my thick head.

 

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[cop to pa]

Take a learning style test. My program gave one our second week in. I'm personally a very strong reading type. So, I use apps like quizlet to write my own flash cards from readings. I then do those.

 

Study focusing on the methods that are easier for you to learn, retain and apply. Of course, I'm only getting into month 3 of didactic, so take it with a grain of salt.

[Max PA17]

I'm starting my second semester of didactic year on Monday. The first semester was tough, and it will become increasingly tougher as we start systems. I'm curious if there are any study tips from this group. I need efficiency and ways to sort this massive amount of material into my thick head.

 

Sent from my LGUS990 using Tapatalk

The material does get a little bit more difficult but you also start figuring out what works for you, and eventually you'll adjust. Everyone has their own style. Whether it's studying at the library where it's quiet, making a study schedule and sticking to it, maybe staying up late to get through more material, or flash cards like previously mentioned.

 

I have a 1 year old now. When I started didactic she was 4 weeks old. So for me, I felt like I got a lot more done when my wife and daughter went to bed.

 

It gets better, it won't come without hardship and maybe some anxiety, but it does get better.

 

 

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[UGoLong]

I found that I had to use different techniques in different classes. In some, I made compressed notes in a common format, adding pictures where necessary (I did it in Word, borrowing liberally from the Internet). Before a test, I'd sometimes build a compressed version containing the stuff I didn't think I had already learned. That's what I studied from before an exam. And the collection of all of these is what I used to study for finals.

 

In pharmacology, I found that drawing family trees of drugs, with specifics at the leaves, helped a lot.

 

I could not study in groups; I felt that too much time was spent talking about stuff I knew, rather than stuff I had yet to learn. I didn't care for practice tests because it is as easy to remember the wrong answer and it is the right one.

 

All this was for me; you are you and I agree with taking a test to see what kind of learner you are.

 

You will figure this out; look at the 100K plus people who have already taken our path.  Good luck!

[ekgeegee]

Thank you... Great ideas!

 

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[bike mike]

If you are allowed to record lectures and have a commute you can listen to them on the drive. I would also listen to them when I exercised. I also used A LOT of flashcards.

[Max PA17]

If you are allowed to record lectures and have a commute you can listen to them on the drive. I would also listen to them when I exercised. I also used A LOT of flashcards.

I agree. Our class had the lectures posted online. I relistened to a lot of them.

 

 

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[Skraemer]

This is from something I wrote for the 1st year students after my first year in PA school. It is obviously tailored to my specific school, so keep it mind these techniques obviously wont work for all curriculums.

 

3 most important things for academic success in PA school: Control your anxiety, Self-discipline/Time management, Study Smart.

Control your anxiety-

·       I have seen many students who REALLY knew their stuff tank on exams/PD skills tests because they let their anxiety get the better of them. Keep in mind that this may be something you have to actively practice over and over! It WILL get easier and come more naturally over time, but it takes effort. How do you do this?

I like this technique- http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/can-three-words-turn-anxiety-into-success/474909/ . Take your anxiety and turn it into excitement, even if it feels crazy or silly. Even if it doesn’t work at first, just keep sincerely trying. As this article states, it is easier to take anxiety (negative) and turn into it excitement (positive) than to try to turn anxiety into calmness. If anxiety is really a problem for you I would definitely explore different ways to get it under control before you start school.

 

·       Do not allow yourself to engage in negative self-talk. Once again, easier said than done. It’s so easy to sit and obsess about how every little thing could go wrong but you’re not doing yourself ANY good, and in fact, you’re actually negatively impacting your performance. Many studies have shown how negative self-talk can hurt performance:  (http://revistas.um.es/analesps/article/view/analesps.32.1.188441 -just one of many). If you can’t do the whole positive self-talk thing, just be neutral. Stop negative thoughts as soon as you recognize them. Remember, this takes practice!

 

·       If you do have a moment of panic and blank while taking a test, stop, breath, move on, and then come back to the question. Don’t waste so much time on a question you’re freaking out about that you don’t leave yourself time for what you DO know.

 

Self-discipline/time management-  

·       This one is pretty self-explanatory.  You’re going to have to study A LOT. It’s going to be difficult. Obviously some people can get away with studying less, while others need to study way more, but bottom line is that you’re going to be studying your booty off. Try not to get tunnel vision with just looking at the next test, you need to know what’s coming and try your best to study ahead as much as possible.

 

I distinctly remember being so tired at the end of the Fall semester and just did NOT want to study for the last Physical Diagnosis test (the skills test were particularly exhausting for me to practice). I ended up having to bully myself into studying with some harsh self-talk along the lines of: “Don’t be a little bitch. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to study, you have to, so just do it.”

 

Study smart- With a few exceptions, most of the subject matter is not difficult. The hard part is the volume of information you’re expected to know for each test.

·       Get out of the mindset of studying for one test at a time. This may work in the summer, and for some specific classes, but overall you’re setting yourself up for misery. Even if it’s just 30 minutes looking at something (and really trying to LEARN something, not just skimming), getting the words and ideas floating around your head will be beneficial.

I would say this is especially important for Pharmacology. In the summer there is only one test and he will give you a study guide so you can get away with waiting towards the end of the semester to study. In Fall and Winter this is not the case. It is extremely difficult to get drug names you can’t even pronounce to stick in your head, so start early and keep up with it. Do NOT underestimate Pharm!

 

·       If you’re not forcing yourself to recall information you’re doing it wrong. This is probably one of the most important points I can make.  There have been MANY studies that have shown forcing yourself to do “Active-recall” is the most efficient way to study (http://www.joethetutor.org/best-study-methods-active-recall/).  Reading something over and over and highlighting etc. makes you familiar with terms so it can feel like you know it, but you might not actually be able to recall that information when the test comes.

 

 I accomplished this multiple ways. First, I used Studyblue.com to make flashcards. A lot of people used Quizlet, but I like Studyblue because it forces you to choose whether you got something right or wrong and you can see your progress as you improve. (If you make flashcards, try to limit the amount of information you’re asking for on each card whenever possible. It’s better to put more information on the front of the card than try to make yourself remember a TON of information on the back. I used a fill in the blank style a lot that worked well for me.)

 Second is study groups where you just quiz each other. I liked to first spend time with the material alone, quizzing myself WHILE going through the stuff. Then the day before the test I got with my group and we just quizzed each other over and over.

 

·       There is so much information in the lectures you get, it can’t be very easy to get lost in the details. If the subject matter on any test seems like too much or that it’s too confusing, understand the broad concepts first before trying to get all the fine details. This is especially applicable to Cardiology and Nephrology. Take the time to learn HOW the physiologic processes work before trying to memorize the finer details (Pathophysiology Made Ridiculously Simple was extremely beneficial for both of these classes).  Do not ever spend so much time trying to understand ONE topic or ONE section of the material that you don’t give adequate time to everything else. Think to yourself, “how many questions could really be about this ONE thing?”. The amount of information for a given test can be insane, you have to learn to be strategic with your studying.

 

·       Pick out what’s important- sometimes understanding the WHY can help you remember things. Sometimes going too deep into trying to understand a topic can take too much time and you’re better off just memorizing for now. It’s really a case by case basis so you’ll have to use your own discretion. Remember once again to try to get the important facts in your head first before trying to choke down every tiny detail.

 

 

·       Always be thinking about what is actually testable/is this something they would ask. If it’s controversial, probably not going to be asked. Is this something that seems really difficult to ask in a multiple choice format? Look at it, but don’t spend too much time on it. Once again time is not your friend in PA school so you need to study efficiently. This includes trying to focus on what’s really important, and then looking at the other stuff if there’s time.

 

 

·       Don’t keep studying things you already know. It feels good, but you don’t have time for it. Force yourself to pay attention to the stuff you don’t know. I liked to try go through the material and try to pick out things I had previously ignored right before the test.

 

·       Put things together to make what’s different about them more distinct.  For example, for infectious dz it’s a bunch of diseases and you have to know all the treatments for each. So I just made a list of disease/treatment and having them all next to each other helped make them more distinct from each other. Same thing for nephro- there’s a bunch of different  kidney “casts” that go with different conditions- Just put them all together on one piece of paper side by side, and so on. This also makes it easier to quiz each other.

 

 

·       TRUST NO ONE. And by this I mean, look at the slides yourself and don’t just rely on other peoples’ study guides etc. . I’m not saying anyone is purposely trying to screw you over, but people make mistakes. Unless you know that the person just made an outline and literally copy and pasted everything from the slides. I would still use it, but I wouldn’t FULLY rely on it. Also study guides teachers give you are really hit or miss. I wouldn’t trust any of their study guides entirely.

 

 

Other things to note:

·       Teamwork- HELP EACH OTHER. I made flashcards that I shared with whomever wanted them, and other people were kind enough to share their study guides and outlines. There is so much to learn and do it seems almost impossible to do it alone. Also its always good to see things other people may have focused on that you ignored, etc.

·       Sleep- I would say most, if not all, of us are sleep deprived while in PA school.  I averaged 6 hours most nights, and my worst night so far has been getting 3.5 hours the night before a test. Try to make getting sleep a priority as much as possible. It is so important for both learning and actually making memories! There were many tests where I know I performed better than a previous test because I slept more even though I may have studied less.

Here is just one study that talks about how important sleep is for learning: http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory

·       Eat well- This goes back to discipline and time management. I forced myself to do all my shopping and most of my cooking every Sunday. I also tried to only buy healthy snacks so during the week it was pretty much my only choice to eat healthy. Getting sick in PA school is AWFUL, try to avoid it as much as possible by taking care of yourself!

·       TAKE BREAKS!- It is important to relax and recharge so you can focus better in the long run. I pretty much took every single Friday off from any sort of studying. If I was too tired in the afternoon I would take a 30-60min nap so my studying would be higher yield. I also took frequent breaks during long study sessions to avoid going crazy, but like I said, still over all studied A LOT.

 

And finally, don’t let this all scare you. Keep in mind that this is a process. You’re going to get better at studying. PA school is going to get both more difficult and easier at the same time as you progress. You’re going to feel like you constantly don’t know anything, but it’s important to trust in the process and just keep moving forward. BE FLEXIBLE. Don’t be so hard on yourself, don’t compare yourself to others, and don’t lose sight of WHY you’re here. PA school thus far has been a crazy ride and we haven’t even got to the clinical portion yet! Remember that despite how it may seem it is definitely all doable. Good luck and stay strong!! 

[ohsnapPA]

Try to use mnemonics! It works wonders, when difficult names are hard to retain/recall. Likewise, studying with someone and testing each other is incredibly helpful! Team up with your classmates to tackle notes. Recording and relistening lectures are more helpful than you think...it tends to slow you down when you are studying, and more often that not, you miss little things that your professor stresses upon during class that might be on the test. Always try to go for active learning methods. Quizlets saved me so much during didactic year, and it's free too :)

[Lauren R]

Keep focused!  Follow most common disease lists, like the NCCPA content blueprint.  You should know epidemiology, risk factors, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the most common diseases.  You don't need to know everything, just the most important things.  When trying to make a diagnosis consider what specific things about the disease differentiate it from other diseases similar.  I found it helpful to read case studies about diseases so I mapped a disease to a specific patient to keep in mind who the patient is, how the disease was diagnosed and how it was managed.  Hope this helps.  Good luck to you!

[ekgeegee]

This is from something I wrote for the 1st year students after my first year in PA school. It is obviously tailored to my specific school, so keep it mind these techniques obviously wont work for all curriculums.

 

3 most important things for academic success in PA school: Control your anxiety, Self-discipline/Time management, Study Smart.

Control your anxiety-

· I have seen many students who REALLY knew their stuff tank on exams/PD skills tests because they let their anxiety get the better of them. Keep in mind that this may be something you have to actively practice over and over! It WILL get easier and come more naturally over time, but it takes effort. How do you do this?

I like this technique- http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/can-three-words-turn-anxiety-into-success/474909/ . Take your anxiety and turn it into excitement, even if it feels crazy or silly. Even if it doesn’t work at first, just keep sincerely trying. As this article states, it is easier to take anxiety (negative) and turn into it excitement (positive) than to try to turn anxiety into calmness. If anxiety is really a problem for you I would definitely explore different ways to get it under control before you start school.

 

· Do not allow yourself to engage in negative self-talk. Once again, easier said than done. It’s so easy to sit and obsess about how every little thing could go wrong but you’re not doing yourself ANY good, and in fact, you’re actually negatively impacting your performance. Many studies have shown how negative self-talk can hurt performance: (http://revistas.um.es/analesps/article/view/analesps.32.1.188441 -just one of many). If you can’t do the whole positive self-talk thing, just be neutral. Stop negative thoughts as soon as you recognize them. Remember, this takes practice!

 

· If you do have a moment of panic and blank while taking a test, stop, breath, move on, and then come back to the question. Don’t waste so much time on a question you’re freaking out about that you don’t leave yourself time for what you DO know.

 

Self-discipline/time management-

· This one is pretty self-explanatory. You’re going to have to study A LOT. It’s going to be difficult. Obviously some people can get away with studying less, while others need to study way more, but bottom line is that you’re going to be studying your booty off. Try not to get tunnel vision with just looking at the next test, you need to know what’s coming and try your best to study ahead as much as possible.

 

I distinctly remember being so tired at the end of the Fall semester and just did NOT want to study for the last Physical Diagnosis test (the skills test were particularly exhausting for me to practice). I ended up having to bully myself into studying with some harsh self-talk along the lines of: “Don’t be a little bitch. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to study, you have to, so just do it.”

 

Study smart- With a few exceptions, most of the subject matter is not difficult. The hard part is the volume of information you’re expected to know for each test.

· Get out of the mindset of studying for one test at a time. This may work in the summer, and for some specific classes, but overall you’re setting yourself up for misery. Even if it’s just 30 minutes looking at something (and really trying to LEARN something, not just skimming), getting the words and ideas floating around your head will be beneficial.

I would say this is especially important for Pharmacology. In the summer there is only one test and he will give you a study guide so you can get away with waiting towards the end of the semester to study. In Fall and Winter this is not the case. It is extremely difficult to get drug names you can’t even pronounce to stick in your head, so start early and keep up with it. Do NOT underestimate Pharm!

 

· If you’re not forcing yourself to recall information you’re doing it wrong. This is probably one of the most important points I can make. There have been MANY studies that have shown forcing yourself to do “Active-recall” is the most efficient way to study (http://www.joethetutor.org/best-study-methods-active-recall/). Reading something over and over and highlighting etc. makes you familiar with terms so it can feel like you know it, but you might not actually be able to recall that information when the test comes.

 

I accomplished this multiple ways. First, I used Studyblue.com to make flashcards. A lot of people used Quizlet, but I like Studyblue because it forces you to choose whether you got something right or wrong and you can see your progress as you improve. (If you make flashcards, try to limit the amount of information you’re asking for on each card whenever possible. It’s better to put more information on the front of the card than try to make yourself remember a TON of information on the back. I used a fill in the blank style a lot that worked well for me.)

Second is study groups where you just quiz each other. I liked to first spend time with the material alone, quizzing myself WHILE going through the stuff. Then the day before the test I got with my group and we just quizzed each other over and over.

 

· There is so much information in the lectures you get, it can’t be very easy to get lost in the details. If the subject matter on any test seems like too much or that it’s too confusing, understand the broad concepts first before trying to get all the fine details. This is especially applicable to Cardiology and Nephrology. Take the time to learn HOW the physiologic processes work before trying to memorize the finer details (Pathophysiology Made Ridiculously Simple was extremely beneficial for both of these classes). Do not ever spend so much time trying to understand ONE topic or ONE section of the material that you don’t give adequate time to everything else. Think to yourself, “how many questions could really be about this ONE thing?”. The amount of information for a given test can be insane, you have to learn to be strategic with your studying.

 

· Pick out what’s important- sometimes understanding the WHY can help you remember things. Sometimes going too deep into trying to understand a topic can take too much time and you’re better off just memorizing for now. It’s really a case by case basis so you’ll have to use your own discretion. Remember once again to try to get the important facts in your head first before trying to choke down every tiny detail.

 

 

· Always be thinking about what is actually testable/is this something they would ask. If it’s controversial, probably not going to be asked. Is this something that seems really difficult to ask in a multiple choice format? Look at it, but don’t spend too much time on it. Once again time is not your friend in PA school so you need to study efficiently. This includes trying to focus on what’s really important, and then looking at the other stuff if there’s time.

 

 

· Don’t keep studying things you already know. It feels good, but you don’t have time for it. Force yourself to pay attention to the stuff you don’t know. I liked to try go through the material and try to pick out things I had previously ignored right before the test.

 

· Put things together to make what’s different about them more distinct. For example, for infectious dz it’s a bunch of diseases and you have to know all the treatments for each. So I just made a list of disease/treatment and having them all next to each other helped make them more distinct from each other. Same thing for nephro- there’s a bunch of different kidney “casts” that go with different conditions- Just put them all together on one piece of paper side by side, and so on. This also makes it easier to quiz each other.

 

 

· TRUST NO ONE. And by this I mean, look at the slides yourself and don’t just rely on other peoples’ study guides etc. . I’m not saying anyone is purposely trying to screw you over, but people make mistakes. Unless you know that the person just made an outline and literally copy and pasted everything from the slides. I would still use it, but I wouldn’t FULLY rely on it. Also study guides teachers give you are really hit or miss. I wouldn’t trust any of their study guides entirely.

 

 

Other things to note:

· Teamwork- HELP EACH OTHER. I made flashcards that I shared with whomever wanted them, and other people were kind enough to share their study guides and outlines. There is so much to learn and do it seems almost impossible to do it alone. Also its always good to see things other people may have focused on that you ignored, etc.

· Sleep- I would say most, if not all, of us are sleep deprived while in PA school. I averaged 6 hours most nights, and my worst night so far has been getting 3.5 hours the night before a test. Try to make getting sleep a priority as much as possible. It is so important for both learning and actually making memories! There were many tests where I know I performed better than a previous test because I slept more even though I may have studied less.

Here is just one study that talks about how important sleep is for learning: http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory

· Eat well- This goes back to discipline and time management. I forced myself to do all my shopping and most of my cooking every Sunday. I also tried to only buy healthy snacks so during the week it was pretty much my only choice to eat healthy. Getting sick in PA school is AWFUL, try to avoid it as much as possible by taking care of yourself!

· TAKE BREAKS!- It is important to relax and recharge so you can focus better in the long run. I pretty much took every single Friday off from any sort of studying. If I was too tired in the afternoon I would take a 30-60min nap so my studying would be higher yield. I also took frequent breaks during long study sessions to avoid going crazy, but like I said, still over all studied A LOT.

 

And finally, don’t let this all scare you. Keep in mind that this is a process. You’re going to get better at studying. PA school is going to get both more difficult and easier at the same time as you progress. You’re going to feel like you constantly don’t know anything, but it’s important to trust in the process and just keep moving forward. BE FLEXIBLE. Don’t be so hard on yourself, don’t compare yourself to others, and don’t lose sight of WHY you’re here. PA school thus far has been a crazy ride and we haven’t even got to the clinical portion yet! Remember that despite how it may seem it is definitely all doable. Good luck and stay strong!!

Thank you... I appreciate your words so much...

 

Sent from my LGUS990 using Tapatalk

[Fritzy313]

Skraemer,

 

Thank you for your post providing the tips for 1st year PA students.  Incredibly helpful and encouraging. I haven't even been accepted to any PA school, but I'm looking through blogs to try to get an idea of what to expect when I do get accepted.  I will definitely put your advice to use when that time comes. Thanks so much!

[gc7843]

I'm starting my second semester of didactic year on Monday. The first semester was tough, and it will become increasingly tougher as we start systems. I'm curious if there are any study tips from this group. I need efficiency and ways to sort this massive amount of material into my thick head.

 

Sent from my LGUS990 using Tapatalk

 

Some of my friends in med school swear by a method called spaced repetition, and programs such as Anki and Cerego that help them to learn and retain massive amounts of knowledge. There is also a book that goes in depth into spaced repetition and other effective and efficient study methods for learning medical knowledge that might be helpful to you. 

[gc7843]

This is from something I wrote for the 1st year students after my first year in PA school. It is obviously tailored to my specific school, so keep it mind these techniques obviously wont work for all curriculums.

 

3 most important things for academic success in PA school: Control your anxiety, Self-discipline/Time management, Study Smart.

Control your anxiety-

·       I have seen many students who REALLY knew their stuff tank on exams/PD skills tests because they let their anxiety get the better of them. Keep in mind that this may be something you have to actively practice over and over! It WILL get easier and come more naturally over time, but it takes effort. How do you do this?

I like this technique- http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/can-three-words-turn-anxiety-into-success/474909/ . Take your anxiety and turn it into excitement, even if it feels crazy or silly. Even if it doesn’t work at first, just keep sincerely trying. As this article states, it is easier to take anxiety (negative) and turn into it excitement (positive) than to try to turn anxiety into calmness. If anxiety is really a problem for you I would definitely explore different ways to get it under control before you start school.

 

·       Do not allow yourself to engage in negative self-talk. Once again, easier said than done. It’s so easy to sit and obsess about how every little thing could go wrong but you’re not doing yourself ANY good, and in fact, you’re actually negatively impacting your performance. Many studies have shown how negative self-talk can hurt performance:  (http://revistas.um.es/analesps/article/view/analesps.32.1.188441 -just one of many). If you can’t do the whole positive self-talk thing, just be neutral. Stop negative thoughts as soon as you recognize them. Remember, this takes practice!

 

·       If you do have a moment of panic and blank while taking a test, stop, breath, move on, and then come back to the question. Don’t waste so much time on a question you’re freaking out about that you don’t leave yourself time for what you DO know.

 

Self-discipline/time management-  

·       This one is pretty self-explanatory.  You’re going to have to study A LOT. It’s going to be difficult. Obviously some people can get away with studying less, while others need to study way more, but bottom line is that you’re going to be studying your booty off. Try not to get tunnel vision with just looking at the next test, you need to know what’s coming and try your best to study ahead as much as possible.

 

I distinctly remember being so tired at the end of the Fall semester and just did NOT want to study for the last Physical Diagnosis test (the skills test were particularly exhausting for me to practice). I ended up having to bully myself into studying with some harsh self-talk along the lines of: “Don’t be a little bitch. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to study, you have to, so just do it.”

 

Study smart- With a few exceptions, most of the subject matter is not difficult. The hard part is the volume of information you’re expected to know for each test.

·       Get out of the mindset of studying for one test at a time. This may work in the summer, and for some specific classes, but overall you’re setting yourself up for misery. Even if it’s just 30 minutes looking at something (and really trying to LEARN something, not just skimming), getting the words and ideas floating around your head will be beneficial.

I would say this is especially important for Pharmacology. In the summer there is only one test and he will give you a study guide so you can get away with waiting towards the end of the semester to study. In Fall and Winter this is not the case. It is extremely difficult to get drug names you can’t even pronounce to stick in your head, so start early and keep up with it. Do NOT underestimate Pharm!

 

·       If you’re not forcing yourself to recall information you’re doing it wrong. This is probably one of the most important points I can make.  There have been MANY studies that have shown forcing yourself to do “Active-recall” is the most efficient way to study (http://www.joethetutor.org/best-study-methods-active-recall/).  Reading something over and over and highlighting etc. makes you familiar with terms so it can feel like you know it, but you might not actually be able to recall that information when the test comes.

 

 I accomplished this multiple ways. First, I used Studyblue.com to make flashcards. A lot of people used Quizlet, but I like Studyblue because it forces you to choose whether you got something right or wrong and you can see your progress as you improve. (If you make flashcards, try to limit the amount of information you’re asking for on each card whenever possible. It’s better to put more information on the front of the card than try to make yourself remember a TON of information on the back. I used a fill in the blank style a lot that worked well for me.)

 Second is study groups where you just quiz each other. I liked to first spend time with the material alone, quizzing myself WHILE going through the stuff. Then the day before the test I got with my group and we just quizzed each other over and over.

 

·       There is so much information in the lectures you get, it can’t be very easy to get lost in the details. If the subject matter on any test seems like too much or that it’s too confusing, understand the broad concepts first before trying to get all the fine details. This is especially applicable to Cardiology and Nephrology. Take the time to learn HOW the physiologic processes work before trying to memorize the finer details (Pathophysiology Made Ridiculously Simple was extremely beneficial for both of these classes).  Do not ever spend so much time trying to understand ONE topic or ONE section of the material that you don’t give adequate time to everything else. Think to yourself, “how many questions could really be about this ONE thing?”. The amount of information for a given test can be insane, you have to learn to be strategic with your studying.

 

·       Pick out what’s important- sometimes understanding the WHY can help you remember things. Sometimes going too deep into trying to understand a topic can take too much time and you’re better off just memorizing for now. It’s really a case by case basis so you’ll have to use your own discretion. Remember once again to try to get the important facts in your head first before trying to choke down every tiny detail.

 

 

·       Always be thinking about what is actually testable/is this something they would ask. If it’s controversial, probably not going to be asked. Is this something that seems really difficult to ask in a multiple choice format? Look at it, but don’t spend too much time on it. Once again time is not your friend in PA school so you need to study efficiently. This includes trying to focus on what’s really important, and then looking at the other stuff if there’s time.

 

 

·       Don’t keep studying things you already know. It feels good, but you don’t have time for it. Force yourself to pay attention to the stuff you don’t know. I liked to try go through the material and try to pick out things I had previously ignored right before the test.

 

·       Put things together to make what’s different about them more distinct.  For example, for infectious dz it’s a bunch of diseases and you have to know all the treatments for each. So I just made a list of disease/treatment and having them all next to each other helped make them more distinct from each other. Same thing for nephro- there’s a bunch of different  kidney “casts” that go with different conditions- Just put them all together on one piece of paper side by side, and so on. This also makes it easier to quiz each other.

 

 

·       TRUST NO ONE. And by this I mean, look at the slides yourself and don’t just rely on other peoples’ study guides etc. . I’m not saying anyone is purposely trying to screw you over, but people make mistakes. Unless you know that the person just made an outline and literally copy and pasted everything from the slides. I would still use it, but I wouldn’t FULLY rely on it. Also study guides teachers give you are really hit or miss. I wouldn’t trust any of their study guides entirely.

 

 

Other things to note:

·       Teamwork- HELP EACH OTHER. I made flashcards that I shared with whomever wanted them, and other people were kind enough to share their study guides and outlines. There is so much to learn and do it seems almost impossible to do it alone. Also its always good to see things other people may have focused on that you ignored, etc.

·       Sleep- I would say most, if not all, of us are sleep deprived while in PA school.  I averaged 6 hours most nights, and my worst night so far has been getting 3.5 hours the night before a test. Try to make getting sleep a priority as much as possible. It is so important for both learning and actually making memories! There were many tests where I know I performed better than a previous test because I slept more even though I may have studied less.

Here is just one study that talks about how important sleep is for learning: http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory

·       Eat well- This goes back to discipline and time management. I forced myself to do all my shopping and most of my cooking every Sunday. I also tried to only buy healthy snacks so during the week it was pretty much my only choice to eat healthy. Getting sick in PA school is AWFUL, try to avoid it as much as possible by taking care of yourself!

·       TAKE BREAKS!- It is important to relax and recharge so you can focus better in the long run. I pretty much took every single Friday off from any sort of studying. If I was too tired in the afternoon I would take a 30-60min nap so my studying would be higher yield. I also took frequent breaks during long study sessions to avoid going crazy, but like I said, still over all studied A LOT.

 

And finally, don’t let this all scare you. Keep in mind that this is a process. You’re going to get better at studying. PA school is going to get both more difficult and easier at the same time as you progress. You’re going to feel like you constantly don’t know anything, but it’s important to trust in the process and just keep moving forward. BE FLEXIBLE. Don’t be so hard on yourself, don’t compare yourself to others, and don’t lose sight of WHY you’re here. PA school thus far has been a crazy ride and we haven’t even got to the clinical portion yet! Remember that despite how it may seem it is definitely all doable. Good luck and stay strong!! 

This is good. Especially the part about trying to actively recall information. That is critical. 

Testing Effect (Wikipedia)

 

Taking breaks is important too because you can only focus so much before becoming distracted. It's best to divert for a few minutes then come back. 

[AlexanderFaul]

I find the best way to learn something is to tell material to someone, even your dog.

[NEB1985]

I've recently begun making Anki flash cards and it's taken my studying to another level. With the massive amount of information being presented to us, it is fairly time consuming to go through and make all of the cards, but I make sure to study the material as I'm making them, and once they are finished, it makes my learning so much more efficient and also provides a much easier way to go back and review key material, rather than shuffling through old notes, physical notecards, powerpoint lectures, etc. It's also nice that I have the cards synced between my phone, iPad & laptop, so I can look over stuff anytime I have a free minute and pick right back up where I had left off.

[JayJames]

I think the best way to learn is to tell info that you learned aloud. It is a great way to remember things. Works for me.

[chichamorada]

If you have a commute or like to jog you can listen to the lecture recordings on 1.5x speed (or even 2x if the instructor's a slow talker).  I promise you'll still be able to follow along.

 

Time is of the essence!

[cathcath]

If you have a commute or like to jog you can listen to the lecture recordings on 1.5x speed (or even 2x if the instructor's a slow talker).  I promise you'll still be able to follow along.

 

Time is of the essence!

Do the same thing, works well for me. I also like to listen to audio-books. 

[patterson]

If you have a commute or like to jog you can listen to the lecture recordings on 1.5x speed (or even 2x if the instructor's a slow talker).  I promise you'll still be able to follow along.

 

Time is of the essence!

I'll definitely try it out because I need to move a little more.

[hopefulPA2B]

Hey guys/gals,

 

I have my second PA school interview next month and am looking for insights. At my first interview earlier this week, the question was asked, "How do I expect to make the transition from undergrad work, to graduate work (aka, PA school)," as they are both very different worlds. The question kind of took me off guard, since I never considered this, but maybe this is a question in disguise. Maybe its a question about how I deal with stress, manage time, etc. I am reaching out to recent graduates and current students to answer this one.  Thank you in advanced!