Day in the life of a PA Student

The time between being accepted into a PA program and actually starting is full of uncertainty. Although you are beyond excited to begin, you are walking into uncharted territory. I am here to help ease some of the fear and shed some light on the unknown.

My typical school day begins with waking up at 5 am, mostly because I am a morning person rather than necessity. I make my coffee, take the puppy out for a morning potty break and sit down to study for the upcoming exam. I cherish my morning study time because it is my most productive time due to having minimal distractions. I am not getting texts, there are no social media notifications, groupme isn’t blowing up and I am able to hone in and focus. I typically study during this period for about 2 hours by reviewing my notes or doing practice questions, then I hop in the shower, eat breakfast, pack my lunch and hit the road. 

My commute can vary depending on seasonal traffic. In the winter it is only about 30 minutes, but March-October it typically takes me an hour. Depending on the type of week I am having, I will either listen to medical podcasts to solidify information for an upcoming exam, or enjoy listening to my music a little too loud! 

Once I arrive at school, I park my car and take my 2 minute walk to the classroom. We spend the entire day, 9 am – 5 pm, in the same classroom which is incredibly convenient. Due to my program being split between two campuses we are always connected to a video conference between the two PA classrooms. This was a bit of an adjustment because half the lectures are taught from the other campus and half at my campus. Depending on how you feel about distance learning, check MYPABOX to see the campus set up for the programs you are interested in!

Once 9 am rolls around we start class and go until around 9:50 am, then we get a 10 minute break before continuing that lecture or starting a new one. During this 10 minute break, we are able to go to the bathroom, fill our water bottles, or a personal favorite, go for a short walk to get the blood flowing! My campus is wonderful because our classroom is seconds from an outside door so it is very easy to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine.

We continue in that 50 minutes on, 10 minutes off pattern until we reach lunch which is usually around 1pm. We are lucky enough to get an entire hour off for lunch. During this time we either leave campus to grab a bite, or quickly eat our packed lunches and go for a longer walk. These longer walks usually lead up to a dock nearby where we are able to take in the beautiful scenery and unwind from the long morning. Even better, some of my classmates that live on campus are able to head to their dorm and have some quiet studying or eat their lunch there. If that is something you’re interested in, MYPABOX has a filter to find programs that offer on campus housing.

Once lunch is over we start class back up in the same 50:10 pattern until 5pm. After class some of my classmates and I will stay to review material if we have an exam in the upcoming days, if not I head straight home. Once I’m home I relax with my fiance for a bit of time, do a short work out, shower and eat dinner. I’ve found it to be invaluable to take these short breaks to maintain a happy quality of life throughout the program. 

I try to start studying again from 7 pm – 9 pm. If I have to cram a little extra I will stay up until 10pm. However, I don’t stay up later than that because sleep is crucial to forming long term memory and solidifying learning. I am lucky that I can fall asleep right after staring at my computer so after I am done studying, I go straight to sleep! Then I wake up at 5 am and do it all over again!