futuretxpa Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Does anyone have any recommendations for study methods in PA school? I currently use a MacBook but I have considered getting an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to use for free writing on notes. Trying to make sure it will be worth the money though. Do any current students have recommendations? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocc54 Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 I use the iPad Pro and Pencil with the notability app and love it. I upload all the PPT lectures to it, record the lectures while taking notes and am able to easily relisten to any part of the lecture that I want by clicking on any note I made throughout the PPT. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Try to read ahead. You'll be amazed how much more you get out of lecture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA-SGuy Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 I used the ole fashioned pencil and notebook. I would view PPT during lecture and take notes on my notebook then refer to notes and PPT later on as I studied. I liked to make it so you can view 4 slides at a time on PwrPT to easily look back at things. One slide at a time was too slow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maisa Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 It took me a long time to finally get the iPad, many of my classmates had it and once I did It changed my life. I also use the notability plus ppt apps with the Apple Pencil. If you’re concerned about price there are other PC products that work just as well and have a great writing tool. I like it because I have all my lectures accessible wherever I go, plus I can record in notability. Quizzlet is also a helpful source. Good luck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 My biggest takeaway on this from my experience: We all come to PA school with effective study techniques. Start with those. On the other hand, you will find that your best technique is not your best technique in all courses. Which ones is something you will discover. Be willing to try new techniques when you feel the need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieK Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 On 1/18/2018 at 7:50 AM, PA-SGuy said: I used the ole fashioned pencil and notebook. I would view PPT during lecture and take notes on my notebook then refer to notes and PPT later on as I studied. I liked to make it so you can view 4 slides at a time on PwrPT to easily look back at things. One slide at a time was too slow. I like to actually print them, 4 up, after condensing all the slides. Yup it's a lot of work, but I end up with like, 8 pages instead of 100. Then I write clarifying notes on the page. S. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jchen14 Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 I’m not in PA school yet but I can’t imagine going back to the iPad method. It was awful my freshmen year when I tried taking notes in notability. I was too prone to making mistakes which forced me to lag behind during class. Nothing like the good ol’ notebook and pencil or pen! I like seeing things in my own writing too. Plus I love drawing diagrams and figures.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA-SGuy Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 19 hours ago, StevieK said: I like to actually print them, 4 up, after condensing all the slides. Yup it's a lot of work, but I end up with like, 8 pages instead of 100. Then I write clarifying notes on the page. S. I used to do that as well, however, black and white didn't capture images as well during physiology lectures so i just kept to pwr points, I would have like 12 different power point slides open in tabs haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainOnNeptune Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 I like to watch videos. Hippo education has great videos and our class was able to get a group discount on it. Osmosis videos are good too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieK Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 1/20/2018 at 2:03 PM, PA-SGuy said: black and white didn't capture images as well during physiology lectures so i just kept to pwr points, I would have like 12 different power point slides open in tabs haha AHA... an excuse to get a color laser printer! (I won't confess how many tabs I have open in Chrome right now.. but I need them all!) S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaBird Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I have a few different study methods for during and after class that vary slightly depending on the lecturer and the quality of their presentations. I heavily utilize Google documents and Pance Prep Pearls for note taking in class, quizlet and Rosh Review for memorizing, and various video resources to review and reinforce concepts that were confusing/not explained well. I think an iPad would be great for bringing all of my study material with me on-the-go, but my Macbook Pro has fit my studying needs. I only ever use a paper notebook for anatomy lab! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrothers98 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Tablets and laptops are tools as are pencil and paper. What you are asking about is file storage, not study methods. http://www.learningscientists.org/downloadable-materials/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TRBJfI7nAs&list=PLovQVsmTEja8_fEltpOY7tpJrmNT-pPAu Spend less time storing information, more time retrieving and applying, much different than what you likely did prior to PA school. Good luck. George 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatMan Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 An excellent podcast on reaching excellence/mastery in medicine: https://emcrit.org/racc/path-to-insanity/ (not work or family safe) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdDogPA Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Learn to "triage" what to study. At first I made the mistake of trying to study about the same amount for each class and quickly fell behind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
er2018 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I currently have a MacBook Pro that's about 4 years old and I'm starting PA school in the fall. I'd like to get an iPad for notes, but I'm also worried about my MacBook getting close to the end of its life and would hate to have to buy a new laptop in addition to an iPad. Any advice? Would I be able to get by with an iPad and older laptop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karakent Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I currently have a MacBook Pro that's about 4 years old and I'm starting PA school in the fall. I'd like to get an iPad for notes, but I'm also worried about my MacBook getting close to the end of its life and would hate to have to buy a new laptop in addition to an iPad. Any advice? Would I be able to get by with an iPad and older laptop?I used a MacBook that was 9 years and got an iPad mini. Used notability to sync between them. Opened up my ppt and took notes in the bottom of the slide (notes section) and then printed as pdf with notes and uploaded them to notability to study. Any diagrams were drawn on loose leaf paper and I just marked on the slide if there was a diagram drawn. Took a pic with my phone and would pop it into notability and then synced back with iPad mini. I got the iPad mini because it fits in your white coat pocket and I would use it during rotations. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Highly suggest buying a whiteboard for home use. They’re not too pricey on amazon. Super nice to draw things out at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshySlashy Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 On 2/27/2018 at 6:18 PM, HanSolo said: Highly suggest buying a whiteboard for home use. They’re not too pricey on amazon. Super nice to draw things out at home. Whiteboards are definitely indispensable. You can build yourself a gigantic whiteboard (4'x8') for relatively cheap ($20) by picking up an acrylic coated MDF board at Home Depot, waxing it with some car wax, and taking care of it. I had one of these setups years ago and will be moving into a new place and I plan on covering a wall again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 1, 2018 Moderator Share Posted March 1, 2018 3 hours ago, AshySlashy said: Whiteboards are definitely indispensable. You can build yourself a gigantic whiteboard (4'x8') for relatively cheap ($20) by picking up an acrylic coated MDF board at Home Depot, waxing it with some car wax, and taking care of it. I had one of these setups years ago and will be moving into a new place and I plan on covering a wall again. I did something like this and also had a million flashcards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastudentw Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 5 hours ago, EMEDPA said: I did something like this and also had a million flashcards. I'm also someone who used a million flashcards ? they are mobile so I can look over them wherever I go. For me, the act of writing the information and transforming into what makes sense for me, is how learn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10ansi Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 A mirror also works amazingly well as a whiteboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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