Study Tips

My top 5 tips for studying in PA school

Hi pals! It's been a while since I've written on here. My winter term started the end of November, which was also when we  started Clin Med and boy has it been a whirlwind. Now since I've gotten 7 months of PA school under my belt, I thought I would share some of my biggest study tips. This term, we're taking Clin Med, Pharm, Path, EBM, and Medical Law/Ethics. These tips apply mostly to Clin Med, but if you guys want study tips on pharm or path, comment below!

Disclaimer: These are just some study methods that work for me. Everyone studies differently so other methods not listed on this blog post might work better for you!

1. Optimize your time in class
Personally, I like to study off of printed notes because my eyes hurt if I stare at my computer for too long. Ideally, before each lecture I outline the powerpoint and put it into a word doc so that as the professor is giving the lecture, I'm adding in notes into my word doc. That way, once they've finished the lecture, my study guide for that powerpoint is already finished (unless I missed something and need to go back and re listen to the lecture). What I've learned in PA school is that you have to be really productive during the day and make sure you're optimizing all your time because there aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you want.

2. Try and review the same day
This is something I'm currently working on and want to get better at. Usually in school you're learning information for a new block before you've been tested on the current block. So, it can be hard to bring yourself to study newer material when you're studying for a test later in the week that has nothing to do with that lecture. However, I do think that if you can review the information you learned that day for one hour at night that it'll help cement the information in your head while it's still fresh. It's a lot easier to review a little each day than try and cram learning all new information into 3 days before an exam.

3. Talk things out
This was something my professors really stressed going into Clin Med and I now understand why. Talking things out with classmates is a great way to share mnemonics and hear other ways people processed the information differently. It's also a nice opportunity to quiz each other and for me personally, once I get a question wrong, I remember it more and am less likely to make the same mistake again. If you're studying off powerpoints and printed notes through visualization, talking stuff out is another just another perspective to learn the information you're using through a different sense which is always good for reinforcement!

4. Exam master
Exam master is life saver. Seriously, if you've never tried it, I highly recommend looking into if your school has free access to it. I love to take practice exams the day or two before my real exam to see where my strengths and weaknesses are with that block. As with the third tip, I'm also less likely to get something wrong a second time. Exam master is great because you can create a test on a specific body system and if you put it in learning mode, once you submit the answer for that question, it tells you if you're right or wrong and gives an explanation why. I think it's also going to be very helpful in studying for the packrat and the PANCE!

5. Take breaks
Your brain will thank you later, trust me. When you take breaks, your brain recharges and you'll be more focused and therefore more productive. I've found that on the days I take a 10 minute break every hour, I get more done and remember the information better than if I had studied through the hours.

These are just some of the tips I try and implement when I'm studying, but everyone learns differently! For other ideas on what tools to use when studying, check out Jazmine's blogpost here!

As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to DM me on Insta @pafanatic or shoot me an email at fanaticpa@gmail.com !