NikkiScrubs’ Studying Strategy

This week I’d thought I’d share how I prepare for exams.  This strategy has not only been useful for PA school, but also got me through undergrad as well.  However, everyone learns differently, so what works for me may not work for others. I thought that by sharing my strategy, you might have a better grasp on how much work goes into succeeding at PA school (at least the didactic portion)!

Location

I like to study on my bedroom floor. I have a desk, but it barely gets used because I don’t find that it is comfortable to sit in that position for long periods of time.  My roommate is also in the PA program, so noise isn’t an issue.  Also, I have found that I can't study at the library because I have a tendency to people watch.

The Material

For each test I like to gather all my notes from the lectures and the readings and put them in a Microsoft Word document.  Last semester my “study guide” averaged about 25-30 pages for each test.  I like to print these out (sorry trees) because I find that when I study with my computer open I end up on YouTube or various social media websites.  After I’ve printed my study guides, I highlight important topics that I know I need to spend more time on.

Actually Studying

To study the material on the study guides I like to use a dry erase board (Side note – I wish Expo would sponsor me because I’ve gone through so many dry erase markers). I find that by actively studying, and not just staring at a piece of paper, I retain a lot more of the information.  I use the dry erase board to rewrite notes over and over again.  Then I like to test myself by seeing if I can write out key concepts without looking at my notes.  This ensures that I actually do know what’s on the study guide.  

Great for definitions- especially when spelling counts

Great for drawing diagrams

Test Day

Right before the test I like to read through my study guide a couple of times.  I usually won’t use the dry erase board much on test day, unless it is to go over things that I tend to forget.

PS- Unlike most of undergrad, studying the night before an exam will not be sufficient!

Summer Class: Week 1

Week 1 of summer class is done!

Our first week looked like this:

Monday: Memorial Day – no class (yay one last day of summer)

Tuesday: Class at 2pm to review Chapter 1

Wednesday: Class at 2pm to review Chapter 2

Thursday: Class at 2pm to review Chapter 3

Friday: Test at 9am

Class time is not your typical scenario with a professor lecturing from a podium with an accompanying PowerPoint. Instead the instructor goes down the row and asks each student a question pertaining to the reading.  This goes on until he doesn't have any more questions (usually around an hour). This aspect of the class was nerve-wracking at first, but I think I’m getting used to it. I’m sure my face still turns bright red every time it’s my turn to answer a question though.

Essentially the summer class is a self-taught class. At home it is your responsibility to do whatever you have to do in order to come prepared to class with the chapter’s material. We have a variety of resources to help teach us:

§  Recorded lectures and PowerPoints from when the medical students took the class

§  Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease (my new best friend)

§  Baby Robbins (condensed version of the textbook-great for reading by the pool)

§  The questions asked during class time

Overall, I thought the first week of summer class was rough. I spent so much time trying to figure out my strategy.  Should I listen to each ~50 minute lecture, should I only read big Robbins, should I do some variation of the two? The main reason I felt so overwhelmed this week was because I felt like I had used all my time reading and gathering the material, but I didn’t feel like I had enough time to study it all. The sheer volume of information on each test doesn’t allow me to study the way that I studied last semester (I'll write a post about that next).  This just left me feeling out of my element and very frustrated.

On a positive note, now that the first week is over, I feel a lot better about the class. I think I’ve figured out a plan that will work and will be an effective use of my time.  For the remaining weeks we will have class off on Thursday, which will be great to use as a full day to study. The class will still be challenging, but I definitely think it is manageable.