Hi everyone!
It seems like only yesterday I was applying to CASPA and waiting for an interview; I can hardly believe I'm writing this post right now!
This past Monday I took my last final and officially finished my first term of PA school! I always wondered what it was like to be a PA student so hopefully this post will give you some insight!
For our first term of didactic year, we take physiology lecture, anatomy lecture, anatomy lab, and a medical terminology self-taught course (which was part of our physiology grade). I think we were definitely eased into PA school, which is something I really liked about my program. For those of us who had just finished undergrad, we were able to have more of a summer and for those who had been out of school for a while, had a chance to ease back into study mode. We were also able to really focus on anatomy, something I found to be very important since I know many of my future classes will build on the information I learned in this course.
Dissection is a great experience. One of the reasons I chose PCOM was for the dissection and after finishing this course, I can say that I think it is extremely helpful to be able to understand the relationships of things within the body. Second year students have told us that anatomy lab has been helpful to reflect back on when taking courses like clinical medicine so I am definitely glad to have had the opportunity to dissect! It is amazing to be able to see how many intricate structures our body has and how different bodies have different variations. Of course, there were also times where we were elbow deep in body cavities/juice and it wasn't always pleasant. Overall, I am extremely grateful for this experience and for the people that donate their bodies to science to allow us to learn and become better providers.
Your classmates will be your new best friends. After talking to a lot of my classmates, we all seemed to think that coming into school, we wouldn't be as close as we are. I think a lot of us had misconceptions that our classmates would be helpful and great, but that they wouldn't necessarily be our best friends. My Summer 1 term was only 8 weeks, and I can honestly say that some of the people I've met in my class I know I will be friends with for a lifetime. Honestly, I think they're my favorite part of school. We're from all different walks of life and I feel like I have so much to learn from them. We all collaborate and shares sources and videos of things we find helpful when studying and answer each other's questions. I know that as didactic year progresses, we've going to lean on each other even more and that makes me feel so much more confident knowing that I have such intelligent, supportive, and kind classmates who have my back.
Don't be your worst enemy. Even though our first semester had fewer classes than most programs (and I know PA school will only pick up from here), there were times where I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of material and the detail we had to learn it in. There were times where I felt like I was the bottom of the pack. Every time I had self doubt, I thought about how this time last year I would have given my left arm to get an interview, let alone an acceptance. It is a privilege to be able to further our education and be in a position where one day we will be able to help people and for that, I consider myself lucky.
It's okay to need help. I've also learned that it's so important to let people help you once in a while. Little things such as doing laundry and grocery shopping can see time consuming when you have a big exam approaching. Let your family and friends help you out. When I had a break to go home for a weekend, I would bring my laundry home for my mom to help me, or I would let my grandma bake me tins of mac & cheese. It might make you feel less independent, but it's important to realize that you're not in this alone and it's okay to ask for help when you need it!
You can still have fun. Yes, PA school is 2-3 years of intense training, but if you only focus on PA school, you'll go insane. Do little things to take breaks like going for a hike, trying a new restaurant, or watching an episode of a Netflix series. If you cut out doing the things that make you happy, you'll do worse in school than if you had just taken a break for an hour and refocused later. It's important to self-care for yourself. PA school can be an enjoyable experience, a challenging one, but it can be more than just school.
The most important thing I've learned (and I'm still working on) is to not compare yourselves to others. It is easier said than done. Even though your classmates will be your rocks, it's so easy to get caught up in talking about only school and grades and it's just not worth it to compare yourself to others- whether you did well or hoped for better. If you did worse than the average, don't doubt yourself because you did get picked from hundreds/thousands of applicants to be here. If you did better than the average, don't get cocky. It seems like the more I learn, the more I realize there is so much more to know.
As I start this new semester today, I'm so excited to see how much more I'll learn and to being one semester closer to becoming a provider! If you have any specific questions about my experience, email me at fanaticpa@gmail.com !
It seems like only yesterday I was applying to CASPA and waiting for an interview; I can hardly believe I'm writing this post right now!
This past Monday I took my last final and officially finished my first term of PA school! I always wondered what it was like to be a PA student so hopefully this post will give you some insight!
For our first term of didactic year, we take physiology lecture, anatomy lecture, anatomy lab, and a medical terminology self-taught course (which was part of our physiology grade). I think we were definitely eased into PA school, which is something I really liked about my program. For those of us who had just finished undergrad, we were able to have more of a summer and for those who had been out of school for a while, had a chance to ease back into study mode. We were also able to really focus on anatomy, something I found to be very important since I know many of my future classes will build on the information I learned in this course.
Dissection is a great experience. One of the reasons I chose PCOM was for the dissection and after finishing this course, I can say that I think it is extremely helpful to be able to understand the relationships of things within the body. Second year students have told us that anatomy lab has been helpful to reflect back on when taking courses like clinical medicine so I am definitely glad to have had the opportunity to dissect! It is amazing to be able to see how many intricate structures our body has and how different bodies have different variations. Of course, there were also times where we were elbow deep in body cavities/juice and it wasn't always pleasant. Overall, I am extremely grateful for this experience and for the people that donate their bodies to science to allow us to learn and become better providers.
Your classmates will be your new best friends. After talking to a lot of my classmates, we all seemed to think that coming into school, we wouldn't be as close as we are. I think a lot of us had misconceptions that our classmates would be helpful and great, but that they wouldn't necessarily be our best friends. My Summer 1 term was only 8 weeks, and I can honestly say that some of the people I've met in my class I know I will be friends with for a lifetime. Honestly, I think they're my favorite part of school. We're from all different walks of life and I feel like I have so much to learn from them. We all collaborate and shares sources and videos of things we find helpful when studying and answer each other's questions. I know that as didactic year progresses, we've going to lean on each other even more and that makes me feel so much more confident knowing that I have such intelligent, supportive, and kind classmates who have my back.
Don't be your worst enemy. Even though our first semester had fewer classes than most programs (and I know PA school will only pick up from here), there were times where I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of material and the detail we had to learn it in. There were times where I felt like I was the bottom of the pack. Every time I had self doubt, I thought about how this time last year I would have given my left arm to get an interview, let alone an acceptance. It is a privilege to be able to further our education and be in a position where one day we will be able to help people and for that, I consider myself lucky.
It's okay to need help. I've also learned that it's so important to let people help you once in a while. Little things such as doing laundry and grocery shopping can see time consuming when you have a big exam approaching. Let your family and friends help you out. When I had a break to go home for a weekend, I would bring my laundry home for my mom to help me, or I would let my grandma bake me tins of mac & cheese. It might make you feel less independent, but it's important to realize that you're not in this alone and it's okay to ask for help when you need it!
You can still have fun. Yes, PA school is 2-3 years of intense training, but if you only focus on PA school, you'll go insane. Do little things to take breaks like going for a hike, trying a new restaurant, or watching an episode of a Netflix series. If you cut out doing the things that make you happy, you'll do worse in school than if you had just taken a break for an hour and refocused later. It's important to self-care for yourself. PA school can be an enjoyable experience, a challenging one, but it can be more than just school.
The most important thing I've learned (and I'm still working on) is to not compare yourselves to others. It is easier said than done. Even though your classmates will be your rocks, it's so easy to get caught up in talking about only school and grades and it's just not worth it to compare yourself to others- whether you did well or hoped for better. If you did worse than the average, don't doubt yourself because you did get picked from hundreds/thousands of applicants to be here. If you did better than the average, don't get cocky. It seems like the more I learn, the more I realize there is so much more to know.
As I start this new semester today, I'm so excited to see how much more I'll learn and to being one semester closer to becoming a provider! If you have any specific questions about my experience, email me at fanaticpa@gmail.com !
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