End of the First Month

Well, the first month of PA school is almost over! 26 more months to go! :)
We have had a slow start to the didactic year which is a good format I believe. I can't even imagine how most of my classmates had to deal with moving and getting organized and oriented to a new town along with getting settled in to the program. I have had several exams in this past week, a couple of quizzes and a physical diagnosis exam practical. All in all, it has been fantastic!
One thing to make certain that you do once you begin to feel the proverbial "drinking from the fire hose" effect of your program is to be sure to study some every day. The amount of information given to you via powerpoints is enormous and studying/cramming on the day before an exam is not going to cut it! Absorbing the info a bit everyday will definitely help to carve in into your brain and the ability to recall some of the minute details becomes much easier. Study habits from undergrad should be re-evaluated and adjusted for the onslaught. ANother wonderful thing we having going for us is the varied group of students. There are people from every walk of life and with many different experiences and strengths. This class has done so much to help each other. There are the study groups that have formed and certainly help to generate the critical thinking skills but those who are strong in particular areas are freely willing to expound on difficult subjects to assist their fellow classmates. Students make up their own study guides and distribute them through email to ALL classmates without leaving anyone out. Although each person may receive several different guides for a class, the repetitive reviews again help to remember everything. Love your classmates!
In actuality, the first week of the program was all orientation so it has really been just three weeks of real info. Much of the first classes were review from many of the pre-req courses with a lot more info and details. We currently have classes in Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacodynamics along with Physical Examination and Diagnosis class and lab and a 1 credit course in Intro to PA Profession (final exam on Monday). Upcoming classes this semester include Ethics, Cultural Issues, History Taking, Fund. of Imaging,and Genetics. So it is a full semester but the real meat and potatoes of the program will come in the fall/winter semester. Kinda scary!!!
Let's see how it goes!!
Looking forward to filling all my brain wrinkles with knowledge as my niece once said!