What I Would Do Differently – Didactic Edition

If I were to go back to the beginning of didactic year, there are a few things I would change to help me be the most successful. By successful I am not only talking about academics, but also mental health! 

I would convince and remind myself that my numerical grades do not matter as long as I am passing. In the beginning of didactic year I would beat myself up because of certain grades because I thought I should be doing better. But let me tell you what, it truly makes no difference what the numerical grade is as long as you are passing! Yes, it is important to learn the material so you can be a competent provider, but there is a tremendous amount of time separating didactic year from becoming a PA. If you are anything like me, learning during clinicals will be critical yet easier because you are finally able to see these disease states in action! Moral of the story – don’t beat yourself up over a passing grade! 

Similarly, I would stop stressing out about knowing every little detail for exams. These exams cover so so so much information, that it is nearly impossible to know everything. And that is okay and totally normal. In the real world of medicine, we have the luxury of looking material up when we are not certain. Don’t know how to dose a medication? Look it up. Don’t know if this rash looks more like X or Y? Look it up. Don’t know if two medications interact? Look it up. You get the picture, you just need to know enough to pass the exams. My personal trick was to know any key facts about a disease that sets them apart from anything else, know how to diagnose and know how to treat. I found if I knew these few distinguishing factors, it would be enough to differentiate between a few answer choices and ultimately pass the exams! 

I would also do a lot more active recall instead of reading powerpoints over and over. I have discovered that this is the best way for me to solidify material after already having a base knowledge. Whether that was by doing practice questions, anki cards, or good old fashion note cards. Active recall is without a doubt the best for identifying weak spots and to truly test what you do and do not know. It is all too easy to be reading powerpoints and to skip slides because you think you already know the material, but that bias is essentially eliminated when doing active recall. MYPABOX has recently come out with a question bank service with detailed explanations of the answer choices called MYPABOX STUDY BUDDY that you should absolutely check out if you’re the same as me and need some active recall to hold yourself accountable. 

It is natural to get caught up in the stress of PA school and forget to take a step back to evaluate whether or not what you’re doing is truly serving you. You have to recognize if your study methods and stress patterns are appropriate or if you can change something to help you improve both academically and mentally!