Make a schedule
Part of keeping up with PA school is having a schedule that can hold you accountable. It may be hard to fit your “life” into your school schedule while in PA school but doing this is a must. You are still a regular person so do not let PA school completely absorb you. Find the balance of school and a little bit of personal life to keep pushing you through the biggest challenges. Write out the times you are actually in lecture every day of the week, and block the study time that fits the type of person that you are.
For example, for me, I do not do well waking up super early in the morning, I prefer being a little night owl and stay up to like 12 AM studying. I normally study from 7 pm-12 AM and I pretty much held myself accountable to these times during my first semester. I know some of my classmates would go to bed around 10 PM but will wake up at 3 or 4 am to study. The first semester is like a trial, find out what works for you and don’t compare yourself to others, because everybody has different habits. What works for you might not work for another person. Also incorporate a couple of days during the week for gym time. During my first semester this was pretty impossible, but I was able to work out during the weekends to balance out my long study hours.
Find something that makes you happy
This has truly been key to my success during my first semester of PA school. I was very involved during my undergrad and I feel that it helped me balanced my academics and my social life very well. I did not allow PA school to take over my first semester like some of my classmates did. All they did was study and sometimes did not make the grades they wanted. When all you do is worry about school, your stress levels increases, you are not happy, you no longer absorb the material, and you don’t perform as great as you should. I feel that being happy is key to being successful, so find what that fulfills you and gives you motivation every day.
For me I found that balance within the gym, working on this blog, visiting local parks, going to work out outside and getting some fresh air, going to the mall for a short break, updating my Instagram, or going out to eat with a friend. Maybe you can find your favorite show to watch here and there, that’s something some of my classmates did during their down time. It’s these little moments that kept me going while I was studying and made me look forward to something every time I was at the library. You still want to feel like a normal person and not just live at the library your entire semester so find your happiness.
Reward yourself
You might find it hard to reward yourself in the midst of 10 continuous exams in PA school, but there is always something you can do to treat yourself to getting one step closer to finishing those 10 exams. I had 5 exams the week before 5 finals and my treat to myself every day after finishing one exam was taking a short quick nap to recover and getting my favorite snack before heading back to the library.
When it was less hectic and we had no more exams to take, my classmates and I would go out for margaritas or wine. I remember one weekend I went to a Halloween party, dressed up, and had an amazing night out that I so desperately needed.
Change it up
This is something I cannot really preach much about because I am the type of person that needs to study in a completely quiet place, the library. It is hard for me to find new study places and venture out to coffee shops, our living learning community (small homeroom for my PA class), other areas of our medical school, a park, or outside. However I can imagine this being a great way to switch up your routine and feeling like you are doing something different.
One thing I do is use my quizlet on my phone while I am doing the stair master at the gym and review different flashcard from various courses. This way I am not only doing cardio, but also reviewing for future quizzes and exams. You will find yourself taking all of your study material everywhere you go because one hour or 1 minute wasted in PA school is not something we can afford. Time is crucial so even listening to lectures while driving is something many people do. You constantly need to reinforce your brain of all the million things you have to learn and memorize.
Eat Healthy
I cannot stress how important eating a healthy diet is during PA school. Your body including your brain will thank you later for it. During my first semester, I made sure I meal prepped, planned my lunches for the week, and ate a healthy dinner. You can spend hours and hours studying and reviewing material but if your brain is not fed with enough glucose, vitamins, protein, and minerals, it will be worthless. Make sure you take the time to give your body the proper nutrition so that your body can use all that energy when studying.
If you are hungry, on a bad mood, eating out all the time, it creates a cycle of not being able to retrieve as much information, wasting extra time and money having to buy food out all the time. Instead use 20-30 minutes on a Sunday night and meal prep, you will be so happy the entire week. I also recommend taking vitamin C on a normal basis. You cannot afford to be sick during your semester, so make sure your immune system is taken care off.
Step Away
Breaks give me life and the motivation to get through all my study material. Incorporating breaks into your schedule is important. Even though I can sit at the library for 6 hours straight and I am not going to lie this past semester I did, I feel like the breaks I took in between kept me motivated and stress free. Plan doing small things, like I said going to the gym, grocery shopping for the week, meal prepping, visiting a local park, getting sushi with a friend, visiting the pumpkin patch, going to your school’s circus or homecoming parade. You will soon realize that it’s the little moments and little things that keep you sane.
ALWAYS Try to make your soul, your body, and your mind happy. They all work together and if one is lacking, your entire body will feel it.