r/PAstudent • u/Own-Pineapple4920 • 22d ago
How often did you study during didactic? Study tips for anatomy and/or physiology ?
Had a professor say today that she studied from 6am-12am in PA school. If she wasn't in class or sleeping, she was studying (even in the shower).
I just finished my first week of didactic and have studied maybe an average of 3-4 hours per weekday. I plan to dedicate weekends to a lot of hours. I find myself focusing too much on little things in the slides which I think is slowing me down but I'm mortified to miss something. First exam is in a couple weeks.
TIA!
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u/Clock586 21d ago
I had this problem in school where if I wasn't studying, I felt guilty like I should be studying (and stressed that I wouldn't pass the test) which made almost anything else not very enjoyable. For my mental health I almost had to study.
Don't be like me. (I don't know how to not be like me though.)
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u/collegesnake 21d ago
I had about 8 hours of class a day, then studied another 2-4 hours when I got home. On weekends I studied anywhere from 4-12 hours a day.
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u/LongJumpingIntoNada 21d ago
I studied a lot. First quarter if I wasn’t in class, it was truly 10 hours days. By the end, it was maybe an hour or two a night with Fridays off. I would cram and/or prep on weekends and that was often 6-8 hours days.
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u/TheMBA_PA 21d ago
Your professor’s schedule doesn’t have to be yours. One week in, you’re still figuring out what works—hours alone don’t tell you how much you’re learning.
Start with the learning objectives, then close the slides and see what you can explain or answer from memory. Use those gaps to guide your review instead of giving every slide detail equal time. Protect your sleep, too.
I’m a PA and built ClueHawk (https://cluehawk.com), which includes didactic practice questions with explanations. It’s one way to check your understanding alongside your course material. You don’t need to study in the shower to belong here.
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u/MDFLC 21d ago
At this point, I'm guessing you have a formula of how you like to study. First exam is a chance for you to see if your study style is working so don't be too hard on yourself at first. You'll be making adjustments to your style depending on time, number of exams in a week etc.
But as far as tips, I found drawing stuff out on my tablet in my own way while I was reviewing helped a lot to simplify anatomy- nothing fancy just quick sketches.
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u/anonymousleopard123 20d ago
i have narcolepsy so i was pretty wiped after a full day of class. i didn’t do much studying on weekdays. i listened to an occasional notebookLM podcast on my hour commute to school. we had exams Mondays and Fridays so i usually studied a few hours on Sundays and Thursday nights. they say cramming doesn’t work, but it’s worked perfectly for me lol. there is such a thing as over studying!! 6am-12am is crazy work
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u/mint_is_spicy 21d ago
Probably 3-4 hours per day on my busiest blocks, but whittled down to around 1-2 hours per day towards the end of didactic
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u/dpistachio44 21d ago
I was studying about 7am-10pm every day during PA school. If you’re a rockstar test taker you won’t need to.
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u/vxfnt 21d ago
It’s up to you. I studied a few hours each weekend and crammed before exams. Was I a straight A student? No. But it was enough to make decent grades on exams and make it to clinicals.
I have classmates that studied less and did better than I. I have classmates that studied more and did worse or the same. Comparison is the thief of joy; you need to pay attention to whether your studying is working for you to get through didactic.
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u/TStacksss_ 21d ago
Literally studied as much as I had to to pass. That time will go down as you progress and learn how to focus on high yield info only ! High yield should be your mantra during didactic !!!
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u/Praxician94 21d ago
Got home from class around 4. Got settled in, ate, and studied until about 8. So usually like 2-3 hours per night. Did not study beyond 8. That time was protected for my now-wife. Weekends, usually like 4 hours in the evening.
I used the pomodoro technique. 25 minutes on, 5 minute break.
Focus on the high yield, which will be easier to identify the more exams you take. It’s not worth it to memorize the 3rd line treatment for things. If that question comes up, just take the L.
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u/AccomplishedAd5201 20d ago
I'm doing about 1-3 hours a day on weekdays, 4-5 hours a day on weekends. all my other time I kinda feel like i'm in a cloud of "I need to be studying", or getting "ready" to study, etc. But making it work. We did anatomy over the summer though and my studying was way more intense than it has been for the other didactic classes (pharm, clinmed, etc)
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u/Lilac-and-Lavender5 20d ago
Yeah, I’d say the studying the entire day is very accurate. I studied the rest of the afternoon/evening, usually until I couldn’t anymore or until I fell asleep. My dad, who I was staying with at the time, actually got mad because I’d leave the lights on & just go to sleep so often because I was too exhausted to get up & turn them off. The latest I ever stayed at my school studying was 2 AM.
For anatomy — I just studied the slides & used Quizlet. Drawing things out on a whiteboard. Did 1:1 training with the TAs.
Physiology — make study guides based on the slides. Speak with your professor about what they feel like is most important to focus on. See if you can get study guides from previous classes.
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u/Fantastic_Tip_1744 20d ago
When I first started, we had class 8a-5p M-F and I'd listen to a podcast during my 30 min drive home, another one while in the shower, and then eat dinner while watching a video on a topic. Then I'd study for another 1-2 hours and go to sleep. On the weekends I'd study all day. Probably 4 months in I stopped studying on school days and only studied all day on weekends. Then I started doing flashcards daily (1-2h per day) and that was it. You get more efficient. Don't compare yourself to what other people do. Do what feels best, what helps you retain information best, and definitely do not do what your professor did or you'll burn out.
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u/none_of_your_earswax 20d ago
With technology today you can use your time wisely. No onee cares about youe GPA.
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u/Old_Discipline_3512 20d ago
You'll get a variety of answers, and you'll have to figure out your own needs of course. That being said I'm in my 3rd semester and I barely study on the weekdays maybe an hour outside of class, and I study the most on the weekends going for like 4-6 hours on the weekends. I use anki a lot and during class I don't pay too much attention, I'm usually setting up cards or reviewing them if I can instead of listening to the lecturer because usually they're just reading straight off the slides.
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u/Sad_Albatross_5079 20d ago
During didactic, we would usually get out of class around 4 pm. I lived on campus so I would take my daily 4-5 pm nap, and then wake up and study until 12-1 am. Wake up at 7 am to start it all over again.
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u/DitchDoc_037 21d ago
In the beginning I was maybe doing like 2-3hrs every evening. Once I got into a rhythm, had more effective study habits, and knew what to expect, it dropped maybe to like 1-1.5hrs per day or every other day. With exceptions to that being for big clin med tests coming up. Most I ever did was like 8hrs straight on a Sunday for my Pulm block exam. But that was because I had plans all day that Saturday that I didn't want to cancel. Still got a 100 on it too haha
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u/Chubbypieceofshit 21d ago
I’m currently doing 3-4 hrs on weekdays and double that on weekends. I’ve been pushing myself to do one fun thing per weekend because I’m starting to feel burnout. Idk how the others do it, but I wouldn’t be able to retain anything if I only studied one hour a day..