Clinical Year - Hardest rotation?

[aspiringPA1996]

Hi All - I am currently completing a supplemental application that asks what I perceive to struggle most with during PA school. For the didactic year, I think I'll choose pharmacology just because of the huge amount of material that must be memorized. However, I am not so sure about for the clinical year. I was thinking about choosing emergency medicine, because of its 12 hour shifts, 3 days on 3 days off for example, on top of studying for the exams. I have never shadowed or worked in the emergency room, so I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just assuming this. Would you agree? If not, what was your hardest rotation? Any advice would be appreciated thanks!

[MT2PA]

I think you are taking the supplemental question too literally and answering too specifically.

[Ket131]

It is not so much the material...as it is prioritizing your time.  Finding the right amount of time to spend on the material and have a social life...possibly accepting that maybe getting 93% or more on every test is not worth as much as going to dinner with your family or maintaining close relationships.

Thats what I am dealing with. 

[hmtpnw]

I agree with @MT2PA.

I was asked this same question in supplementals and in interviews. They aren’t asking which topics or rotations you will struggle with most. This is kind of a “what are your weaknesses” or “what kind of person are you” type of question depending on how you choose to answer it. 

For example, have you been out of school for a long time? If you have, then maybe didactic year will be more challenging for you. Or maybe your patient care experience is weak... If this is the case, clinical year might be more of a struggle for you. Are your family oriented? Does this school require you to move away from family? If so, that might be the most challenging part of PA school.

Personally, I am a perfectionist and tend to be a little too type A. It can be exhausting. One look at my application and I’m sure an adcom could see this from a mile away, no hiding it really. I was honest about this when asked in interviews, because I do feel like it’s what I will struggle with the most. 

Think about this question on a larger scale. Don’t give a shallow answer. Think about who you are as a person a little bit more. Don’t use someone else’s answers and don’t come up with something that isn’t genuine, because they will see right through it. 

[EMEDPA]

Trauma surgical critical care. So much to know.....On your EM rotation as a student no one expects you to become an expert in 4-6 weeks. If you can suture, I+D, read a chest xray and ekg at a basic level, understand basic lab values, work up chest pain, sob, and abd pain effectively you will not have a problem passing this rotation.

[greenmood]

You are misunderstanding the question.

The goal of a question like that is to assess your insight into your own strengths and weaknesses, to see if you can identify “big picture” challenges and devise ways of overcoming them. I really think you will be missing the point if you talk about academics the way you’re describing, and honestly I think it will put your application at risk.

So, think about your daily life as a PA student. Are you going to be juggling family commitments? Are your study or time management skills rusty? Are you shy or do you have difficulty articulating your strongly held beliefs? Those kind of struggles. Everyone has a hard time memorizing pharmacology. It’s part of life.

[Dabba]

On 10/31/2018 at 6:28 PM, MT2PA said:

I think you are taking the supplemental question too literally and answering too specifically.

This. If taken literally it's not a fair question. No matter how prepared you think you are for PA school you will find it difficult most of the time. Its pretty much baptism by fire, except you never can get out of the pan but you learn how to hop around a bit.