​Study tips during didactic

Hey guys, so I just wanted to share a few study tips and things that I do when it comes to studying for exams during didactic year. 

First off everyone studies differently; I read the PowerPoints that are given to us but some of my classmates go back and re-listen to lectures ( I could never, that would take me all day long lol).

I pretty much study the same for all of my classes. For clinical medicine, I go back over the PowerPoints that were presented in class a few times. I at least try to go through them 3 times before the exam. After going through the pps and once I feel like I have a good grasp on the material I then go and do questions on smarty pance and Rosh review ( questions are where it’s at! Doing questions allows you to test yourself to see if you really know the material so I strongly suggest doing questions before exams !)

Also sometimes one of my classmates and I do last minute quizzes for each other so we will FaceTime and do a quick run through of the material and see if we have any questions.

I set myself a study schedule for the week and try to stick to it but sometimes that doesn’t go as planned. I also try to study every day ( well we have exams like every week so we have no choice but to study every day or almost everyday lol). I also try to stay on top of things and go over it early so that way I’m not cramming and trying to learn everything at the last minute ( hey that works for some of my classmates but not for me because the night before the exam I’m trying to sleep not be up in the wee hours of the night.)

Sometimes I will use the "pance prep pearls book" ( I definitely use this book more so during finals because there is no way I’m about to go back through thousands of slides to study for a cumulative!)

Guys use your resources! I mostly study by myself because I talk everything out. Be having a full blown conversation teaching Casper lol! But sometimes I’ll meet up with my classmates after I’ve studied and we will do questions together. If you need help in an area don’t be afraid to ask. My class is diverse and everyone has different backgrounds. We have one student that did cardio stuff prior to PA school! So guess what, during cardio that’s a good resource to have. I was a scribe and my program makes us write soap notes all the time! That’s all I did as a scribe so I can literally write one in my sleep; some people have no experience in that area so, I can help with that. Again everyone studies differently. For my new students that are just starting; you will find what works best for you! Try different things and stick with what works for you! 

Helpful books and resources:

• Step up to pediatrics for peds 
• Pance prep pearls
• Smarty pance
• Rosh review ( my program pays for this !)
• Osmosis