Incoming PA-S w/ Studying Question

[medic1210]

I’ll keep this brief but I’ve literally ever been a notetaker or used flash cards frequently or watched videos. Rather, I like to read and do practice problems (though I’ve dabbled in Anki with some success). I also use a whiteboard to write things out. I’m fortunate I remember much of what I read (but not hear or see). 
 

Has anyone succeeded with such a method in PA school? I know there are a number of didactic Qbanks like Rosh and I would like to focus on PPP/Step-Up/Lecture slides + QBank. 

Always open to input. 

 

[dukkulisur]

I never liked using flash cards or watching videos either, but found that they were the only methods that worked for me when it came to pharm.  I tried reading our pharm textbook initially, but quickly realized it wasn't gonna help me memorize all the random little drug facts we needed to know.  So I switched to Quizlet flash cards and Osmosis videos and had success with that.  So I would say for that course specifically, be open to new study methods. 

My school provides access to McGraw-Hill's PAExamPrep questions, and I found that doing those helped a lot with other courses like adult med; I would imagine the Rosh question banks would be helpful as well, although I didn't get a subscription to that until clinical year.  Other than those strategies, I mainly took notes on assigned textbook reading and studied lecture slides, worked out well for me.  Good luck!

[ANESMCR]

Everyone has a plan and a study method they’ve developed prior to PA school. Although you will definitely use methods that worked in the past, you will carve new methods as you go and see what works. You’ve never had to study as hard or cover so much material in such a short amount of time. You won’t know what it’s like until you get hazed with it. 

[TeddyRucpin]

Anki, white board, making your own study guides...whatever works for you. Some people like quizlet; I don't.

[medic1210]

2 hours ago, ANESMCR said:

Everyone has a plan and a study method they’ve developed prior to PA school. Although you will definitely use methods that worked in the past, you will carve new methods as you go and see what works. You’ve never had to study as hard or cover so much material in such a short amount of time. You won’t know what it’s like until you get hazed with it. 

I think that’s the most common thing I’ve read. Be open and adaptable. I’m not sure what to expect related to volume. 
 

I would love to say my extensive paramedic experience will help but I doubt it. It’s a whole new world moving from medic to PA. 

[TeddyRucpin]

Just now, medic1210 said:

I think that’s the most common thing I’ve read. Be open and adaptable. I’m not sure what to expect related to volume. 
 

I would love to say my extensive paramedic experience will help but I doubt it. It’s a whole new world moving from medic to PA. 

The medic part does help with certain things (Pharm, physical diagnosis/exam, etc). You’ll be the one showing people how to do all the skills, mega code, etc when it’s time for that. 
 

The biggest benefit is already having multiple years of experience working long hours and dealing with stress. Many of your classmates did not do anything remotely close to what you’ve been involved with in terms of time, training, or patient care responsibilities. PA school is far easier than anything I dealt with working pre/during the pandemic. Studying, dissecting, going to class, and taking exams? That’s not bad at all. 

[medic1210]

21 minutes ago, TeddyRucpin said:

The medic part does help with certain things (Pharm, physical diagnosis/exam, etc). You’ll be the one showing people how to do all the skills, mega code, etc when it’s time for that. 
 

The biggest benefit is already having multiple years of experience working long hours and dealing with stress. Many of your classmates did not do anything remotely close to what you’ve been involved with in terms of time, training, or patient care responsibilities. PA school is far easier than anything I dealt with working pre/during the pandemic. Studying, dissecting, going to class, and taking exams? That’s not bad at all. 

16 years and nearly 40k hours later, from a physical exhaustion level, PA school will be a nice “break”. 

[Aunt Val]

My white board was a lifesaver when it came to studying.  I used many different colors, drew pictures, copied diagrams and charts, wrote things over and over again.  Maybe it would be helpful for you too, but you'll just have to try it out and see once you're in the thick of school.

[ohiovolffemtp]

On 10/20/2021 at 9:54 PM, medic1210 said:

I would love to say my extensive paramedic experience will help but I doubt it. It’s a whole new world moving from medic to PA. 

Paramedic education and experience is very different than PA school.  I graduated from a university based paramedic program years before entering PA school.  Medic school had covered about 85% of the cardiology module, especially EKG interpretation, though not the meds for managing chronic conditions, some of the respiratory module, some of the EM module, and little else.  PA school is rapid presentation of massive amounts of material, often with less depth that those topics covered in medic school.  Also, in medic school we had lots of repetition and practice - almost none in PA school.  Though doing OSCE's by memorizing checklists was a lot like prepping for National Registry skill stations.

In particular, exams that prepare you for PANCE are very different than the exams you had in medic school.. The questions on PA school exams are much more complicated vs the direct recall questions often found on medic school exams.