Pearls
-- Didactic
Didactic
year
•
Regardless of how you feel about your fellow students now when you graduate
you will remember them all very fondly.
•
Try out different study atmospheres to find your ideal study spot! Libraries,
coffee shops, diners are all great places to study…especially if they
have late hours and serve lots of coffee.
•
Ask your professors for help. If you are having trouble with a class
or two, need some advice or direction, or just need someone to talk
to, your professors will be there to hear you and help with whatever
you need. They want you to succeed and will offer you assistance, but
only if you ask for it first.
•
Learn as much as you can but spend time to absorb it.
•
Get to know your instructors and preceptors, they are great contacts
for your rolodex later, they can help to get you places.
•
Find a supporting study buddy
•
Don't cram....study
•
Schedule regular times to keep up with the massive amount of reading
(writing the schedule down makes it easier to stick to the program).
•
Develop study groups early (other students may be strong where you are
weak, and you'll need the support group that will develop).
•
Get involved -- with you class, your state association, and SAAAPA.
The experience of PA school is not just in the classroom.
•
Getting through classes in PA school- It seems like it will never end,
but it does.
•
The clinical year refines what you learn in the classroom, so be attentive
to every lecture you have; and of course there is coffee, coffee, and
more coffee!
•
Just keep reading and studying even though it feels like your brain
can't hold one more piece of information.
•
Whether you are in a 2-year program or 3-yr
program, the didactic year is challenging. Thus, being
with a good study group is essential. Study on your own first,
then get together on a regular basis to go over the material.
Make sure you have some caffeine on board though, because you will need
it!
•
Read, Read, Read because you want to be knowledgeable on rotations and
in the real work environment.
•
Don't always believe what you hear, read
about it to be certain
•
Learn all you can in anatomy because it
is the building block for the rest of PA school.
•
Study in groups with your classmates. Compile practice tests by
having each person in the study group write 5 to 10 questions.
•
During the didactic phase of your education, stay involved with the
clinical aspect of medicine. This can be achieved through volunteering
at homeless shelter medical clinics, shadowing PAs, etc.
•
Regarding learning lab values: when you are presented with values in
the clinic, the printout includes the normal ranges, so you don't have
to know all the exact values. So, don't stress out about studying that
area. Just know what the abnormal values mean.
•
Try not to be competitive with your classmates. It is much more important
to cooperate and help each other succeed. Grades are not the best indicator
of the type of PA you will be. True compassion is a much better indicator.
•
Study, study, study, till you just can't
study anymore.
