PA school difficulty

[Eman1]

Hello, I really need an honest opinion from those who experienced PA school. How stressful and difficult is it for the average PA student? 

[marktheshark89]

Very stressful and difficult, but almost everyone finds a way to be successful. 

[TheFatMan]

It varies greatly. I would recommend preparing for an immense amount of stress and being okay with that.

[paguy45]

 

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Edited December 21, 2020 by paguy45
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[UGoLong]

There is a lot of material to cover and it will probably call on you to use different study techniques for different subjects. Be OK with just passing now and then instead of always crushing it. Be collaborative with your classmates since things you are weak in someone else is strong in. Find and make some friends; you'll help each other get over the rough patches.

On the plus side, all of your classes are probably taught by the same faculty team and they typically coordinate so that exams -- which do come at you like a picket fence -- don't all happen on the same day like they could when you were an undergrad.

Treat school like a job and -- if you're on the right career track -- you'll probably do just fine.

[teamsleep]

On 7/4/2020 at 11:21 AM, thatgirlonabike said:

The curriculum is fine-- hard, lots of info.  The stressful part is dealing with a bunch of entitled 20-somethings who have never had to struggle a day in their academic lives.  PA students are used to be the best at everything- top of their class and there will always be someone at the bottom in your PA class.  My professors said that the stress of PA will make you regress socially--- I think my class is about at 3rd grade.  

 

This. This right here. I know this feeling all too well.

OP, I recommend a graduate program that gears you for professional school. I did a 9 month post-bacc Masters degree that prepares students for the rigors of dental/medical/PA/anything school. In the beginning I thought I was wasting my time and money. Now, while I am surviving PA school...it is the best money I've ever spent. You learn how to study, how to take examinations (we took 56 exams in 9 months), and how to manage your time. During the program we went into details for pharmacology, immunology, anatomy etc. and this is great because it will not be as daunting to you compared to your colleagues who are seeing the information for the first time.

Best time during PA school is the moment you get an acceptance letter up until the first day of classes.
It does not get ANY easier as time passes, you only learn how to manage your time and how to study more effectively. Also, theres no moment (at least in my program) where you can say "Oh, if I get past THIS exam then it'll all be downhill". It is a marathon. You will still have time for yourself, just not as much as you used to. It is possible though, plenty of people have done it. Have to keep reminding yourself why you're in the program and why you're doing this. Nice thing about the post-bacc programs is that it will genuinely show you if you TRULY want to do this or not. Worse case scenario is getting into PA school and realizing it's not for you. 

Faculty will be there to pull you back from the edge of the cliff, but they will not be holding your hand all the time. You have to become an independent life-long learner. 

 

[paPassion7]

Obviously this is just my opinion, but I definitely think people hype up the difficulty of PA school and make you feel like it's nearly impossible, so I'll give you my take. 

In undergrad I STRUGGLED. I was never the best student, and I always did average on any exam I took. I was terrified to start PA school because of how difficult everyone said it was. Before starting, I thought that no matter how much I studied I would never be able to keep up. I'm now in my second semester of PA school, and honestly, I'm enjoying it much much more than any period of my undergrad career (strictly academic wise lol). For the first time in my life I have a 4.0 GPA. I applied to PA school with a 3.3 GPA. You're no longer taking any bullshit gen ed classes that you don't care about, and everything you learn is very relevant to your future career. Let me clarify, you NEED to study A LOT. But I went into school expecting that. So my point is that if you are good at time management and understand that studying is now your full time job, it's COMPLETELY doable. I'm in class from roughly 8-4pm everyday, and I study till around 10 pm every night. (as well as during breaks throughout the day). On weekends I study an average of 7-10 hours a day. It sounds like a lot, but that is what I was expecting, so it doesn't bother me. I still have time to get drinks with my friends, go to dinner, take nights off, go to the movies, travel on the weekends, spend time with family, etc. The biggest misconception (in my opinion) is that none of that is possible no matter how much you study (not true).

I still agree with the above comments. PA school isn't easy, but more so in the sense that you're learning so much info at once. And you NEED to be committed to life-long learning and a lot of self learning as well. There's no hand holding. And I will agree that absolutely one of the most difficult things to deal with is other students....you'll understand once you're in PA school.... Just find your group and stick with them. Focus on yourselves and your academics and stay out of the drama. 

Don't be scared about that work that goes into PA school! If you are committed to it, you can do it, period. If you slack off, make excuses, nap more than you study, and expect your hand to be held, then you'll be in trouble. It's all about your mindset. 

[greenmood]

I agree with the above. It’s stressful and you have to study a lot, but many places and people (including here) overhype it.

I’ve always been glad I didn’t discover this site until after I had been accepted. I really think it would have messed up my thinking going into the application and interview process. There are plenty of applicants who need a reality check about their chances of getting in, but that is often done in a way that’s over the top and makes it seem like PA school is impossible.

[SHU-CH]

19 hours ago, paPassion7 said:

In undergrad I STRUGGLED. I was never the best student, and I always did average on any exam I took. I was terrified to start PA school because of how difficult everyone said it was. Before starting, I thought that no matter how much I studied I would never be able to keep up. I'm now in my second semester of PA school, and honestly, I'm enjoying it much much more than any period of my undergrad career (strictly academic wise lol).

This was very much my experience as well. In undergrad, I took a lot of courses that I had to take. In PA school, I took the courses I wanted to take. Studying for calculus was torture. I probably spent many more hours studying things like pharm and physio, but the material was so interesting it was almost like it was not studying. I might be atypical, but I'll still read some pharm or physio during my "pleasure reading" time.

I spent a couple of months in PA school waiting for the torture to start. It never happened, even though I was putting in many more hours than I did in undergrad. Your experience will be your own - don't let the experiences of other people discourage you. 

 

[JD2012]

It is very tough. You will constantly stress about passing one of a hundred exams during didactic worrying how long you can keep passing them, and you will fail at least something once during PA school. You'll be bummed out but learn from your mistakes and move on.

Never during my undergrad did I weep the day before an exam (PHARM!!!) feeling adamant I knew nothing and thinking it would be the demise of my PA student career, but I passed!

Not to mention dealing with the stress of my father with dementia, getting arrested the night before an endocrinology exam (which I passed), as well as dealing with him being Baker-acted the same semester. But guess what, it worked out. I am 24 days away from graduating and finishing it up with elective rotations and just cruising along! 

Where there's a will there's a way. I cannot imagine myself doing anything other than being a PA.

PS - I struggled with undergrad and graduated with a 3.1 GPA, but PA school is different knowing that everything you're learning is relevant to your career. 

 

[Meg232]

I absolutely do not think PA school was anywhere near as stressful as I had imagined or heard that it would be before I started. Undergrad was WAAYYY worse for me.

PA school isn't necessarily hard information, it's more just a lot of information thrown at you in a short period of time, but it's definitely manageable - especially if you form a strong study group with classmates. That's definitely what got me through!! Also, as far as clinical year vs didactic year there's a huge difference. I absolutely loved clinical year and it's so much more fun and enjoyable than didactic year!

[EMEDPA]

I think a lot of it depends on how well prepared you are. I honestly thought PA school didactics were not bad, because I had 10 years of health care experience as an ER tech and paramedic at that point and had taken A+P twice already. EKG/pharm/H+P/physiology was a lot of material I had a good basis in. I feel sorry for folks who start PA school not knowing how to read an ekg or draw blood or listen to lung sounds,etc. That would be a steep learning curve.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

39 minutes ago, EMEDPA said:

I think a lot of it depends on how well prepared you are. I honestly thought PA school didactics were not bad, because I had 10 years of health care experience as an ER tech and paramedic at that point and had taken A+P twice already. EKG/pharm/H+P/physiology was a lot of material I had a good basis in. I feel sorry for folks who start PA school not knowing how to read an ekg or draw blood or listen to lung sounds,etc. That would be a steep learning curve.

I second this.  It was a lot of more in depth information but for the most part not material that I wasn't at least familiar with.  The challenge with PA school, medical school, NP school, whatever, is can you apply what you've just learned to real world situations.  You need to be able to compartmentalize information and remain able to think/process data in stressful situations.  As I've said before, you need to be able to see the world slow down around you while it remains fast to others.

[CAdamsPAC]

The hardest part was getting accepted to the PA program. You obviously can do the coursework. Focus on learning new skills not on how difficult or unsettling the process of becoming a PA may be. Don't allow the " Debbie or Dick Downers" to suck you into their vortex of misery and angst. Don't take counsel of your fears!

[mmtaylor]

On 7/13/2020 at 2:32 PM, paPassion7 said:

I'm in class from roughly 8-4pm everyday, and I study till around 10 pm every night. (as well as during breaks throughout the day). On weekends I study an average of 7-10 hours a day.

@paPassion7 HI! Thank you for this information! Could you detail what specific study skills you have that you found most effective? For me, I am a slow reader, so reading the book or powerpoints is not helpful to help me remember things like feedback loops. How did you remember the most complicated information? What tools did you use? How about pharmacology? Any tips would be SO appreciated!!

Thanks!

Edited September 3, 2020 by mmtaylor

[mmtaylor]

On 7/29/2020 at 1:31 PM, GetMeOuttaThisMess said:

You need to be able to compartmentalize information and remain able to think/process data in stressful situations.

@GetMeOuttaThisMess

THIS is what I have trouble with! Remembering something and being able to answer a question under fire. Do you have any specific study skills and tips that you relied on during PA school? I've heard things like reviewing powerpoints and flashcards don't work, and that group study sessions were sometimes too unfocused. What kinds of skills did you find most effective? Especially for information like pharmacology? How did you memorize? I'd be immensely grateful if you could share!

[TheFatMan]

10 hours ago, mmtaylor said:

@paPassion7 HI! Thank you for this information! Could you detail what specific study skills you have that you found most effective? For me, I am a slow reader, so reading the book or powerpoints is not helpful to help me remember things like feedback loops. How did you remember the most complicated information? What tools did you use? How about pharmacology? Any tips would be SO appreciated!!

Thanks!

Look into Anki and spaced repetition. Also, drawing and diagramming has been helpful for me regarding feedback loops and those things.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

13 hours ago, mmtaylor said:

@GetMeOuttaThisMess

THIS is what I have trouble with! Remembering something and being able to answer a question under fire. Do you have any specific study skills and tips that you relied on during PA school? I've heard things like reviewing powerpoints and flashcards don't work, and that group study sessions were sometimes too unfocused. What kinds of skills did you find most effective? Especially for information like pharmacology? How did you memorize? I'd be immensely grateful if you could share!

I frankly don't remember school learning techniques that well since it was back during the stone-age.  Study groups as I recall.  Seems to me that it was sink or swim.  They either didn't expect you to know anything or as in my case, the embarrassment of not knowing drove me to get the answer, and more.  Borrowing from The House of God, take pride in saying "I don't know."  You need to take note of the forum name of the poster just above my response and apply his namesake's wisdom to your education and rotations.

Edited September 3, 2020 by GetMeOuttaThisMess

[TheFatMan]

9 hours ago, GetMeOuttaThisMess said:

I frankly don't remember school learning techniques that well since it was back during the stone-age.  Study groups as I recall.  Seems to me that it was sink or swim.  They either didn't expect you to know anything or as in my case, the embarrassment of not knowing drove me to get the answer, and more.  Borrowing from The House of God, take pride in saying "I don't know."  You need to take note of the forum name of the poster just above my response and apply his namesake's wisdom to your education and rotations.

Do as much nothing as possible.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

1 hour ago, TheFatMan said:

Do as much nothing as possible.

 

1 hour ago, TheFatMan said:

Do as much nothing as possible.

Though as a student the idea of buffing and polishing the chart should be force fed.  Always write too much as opposed to too little.

Also remember that  the hourly cost of your education is inversely related to the number of hours spent in the library and on rotation.  You aren’t paying to sit at home so be on the floors or in the lab.

Edited September 4, 2020 by GetMeOuttaThisMess

[TheFatMan]

The laws of the house of getmeoutofthismess

[mmtaylor]

On 7/29/2020 at 12:49 PM, EMEDPA said:

I think a lot of it depends on how well prepared you are. I honestly thought PA school didactics were not bad, because I had 10 years of health care experience as an ER tech and paramedic at that point and had taken A+P twice already. EKG/pharm/H+P/physiology was a lot of material I had a good basis in. I feel sorry for folks who start PA school not knowing how to read an ekg or draw blood or listen to lung sounds,etc. That would be a steep learning curve.

@EMEDPA This is so helpful! Thank you! I have a strong basis in this as well, as an EMT. I have taken physio 3 times now between school and work!

[Madidautel]

On 7/6/2020 at 6:17 PM, teamsleep said:

This. This right here. I know this feeling all too well.

OP, I recommend a graduate program that gears you for professional school. I did a 9 month post-bacc Masters degree that prepares students for the rigors of dental/medical/PA/anything school. In the beginning I thought I was wasting my time and money. Now, while I am surviving PA school...it is the best money I've ever spent. You learn how to study, how to take examinations (we took 56 exams in 9 months), and how to manage your time. During the program we went into details for pharmacology, immunology, anatomy etc. and this is great because it will not be as daunting to you compared to your colleagues who are seeing the information for the first time.

Best time during PA school is the moment you get an acceptance letter up until the first day of classes.
It does not get ANY easier as time passes, you only learn how to manage your time and how to study more effectively. Also, theres no moment (at least in my program) where you can say "Oh, if I get past THIS exam then it'll all be downhill". It is a marathon. You will still have time for yourself, just not as much as you used to. It is possible though, plenty of people have done it. Have to keep reminding yourself why you're in the program and why you're doing this. Nice thing about the post-bacc programs is that it will genuinely show you if you TRULY want to do this or not. Worse case scenario is getting into PA school and realizing it's not for you. 

Faculty will be there to pull you back from the edge of the cliff, but they will not be holding your hand all the time. You have to become an independent life-long learner. 

 

What is the post-bacc program you did?

[teamsleep]

On 9/4/2020 at 9:52 PM, Madidautel said:

What is the post-bacc program you did?

Check your PM.