Remember, you already KNOW how to study - this is how you got accepted into school in the first place! But, you may find that the time limitations from the intensity of your PA program inhibits you from doing exactly what you did before (ex. Personally, I had to switch from writing notes to typing them - check out this blog for how I made this work for me).

Find resources below to help refine your studying & test taking abilities so you can crush didactic year:

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• Rosh Review: Tips that Helped Me Tackle Didactic Year

• BeMo Academic Consulting: High Yield Study Tips for Med School 2022 (geared towards med students, but the advice is solid and on par with PA program requirements)

• The PA Platform: 80 Study Tips for PA School

• Rosh Review: Exam Writer Strategies that Test Takers Should Know

• UWorldPA: Study Habits That set you up for PA Success

• The PA Life: 4 Tips For First Year PA School Success

Anatomy is definitely one of the hardest (and most intimidating) classes in PA school, and usually it smacks you in the face first semester of didactic. Here are some of my favorite resources to help you succeed :​

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• PRACTICE QUESTIONS/ MUSCLE CHARTS

  • Anatomy Guy - create quizzes with real cadaver examples, find pre-made muscle group charts with each associated function, neurovascularization, etc.

    • Fun Fact: Dr. Goodmurphy (site creator) was my anatomy professor back in the day.           I used his website ALL THE TIME during didactic and still love it. 

  • UMich Anatomy Practice Questions - They break down their questions by systems and have an awesome mix of high yield questions all 1st - 3rd order​

• INTERACTIVE APPS/ WEBSITES ​

  • AccessMedicine: The Big Picture Gross Anatomy, 2e - only limited version available without account, most schools allow access through their online library, so sign up with school login or connect through your institution's library portal 

  • Visual Anatomy Lite App - a free version (with NO in-app purchases) of Visual Anatomy Pro ($2.99) which are both available for download on google play & apple store

  • Radiopaedia - website which has an ever-expanding arsenal of radiographic images, cases, and quizzes you can access for free

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• PATHOPHYSIOLOGY REVIEW​

  • Osmosis  - this is not a free resource, but a HIGHLY useful one for Patho but splitting subscriptions with others can help keep the cost down (but keep in mind only one device can be logged in at one time).

Clinical medicine was when I really honed my skills of writing practice questions as a form of active studying, so I highly recommend Quizlet or Anki to help you create your own study aids.. Be sure to check out your program's provided web resources because many offer free access to many subscription-based sites. 

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• PRACTICE QUESTIONS:​​

  • ExamMaster - Access to this site was provided by my program, check to see if yours has a similar deal for free access!

  • SmartyPANCE: I 100% recommend this site to EVERYONE. Keep in mind, this is subscription based but there is no limit to how many devices can log in at once. (If you do choose to subscribe, don't forget you can get 10% off using code PASPAC!)

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• VIDEO LECTURES / HIGH YIELD TEXTS ​

  • Ninja Nerd YouTube Channel - NinjaNerd has a TON of video lectures to quickly and effectively go over complex material 

  • Picmonic ​- My classmates and I swear by this resource for learning difficult concepts and memorizing pharm for long-term recall. Free to sign up and get daily videos/quiz questions, with subscription options for unlimited content (worth it). (Click here for 20% off a subscription!)

  • OnlineMedEd - One of my favorite go-to sites for free videos to help me remember difficult concepts in clinical medicine AND pharmacology

  • PANCE Prep Pearls is a must-have for didactic year AND clinical year. The book is brilliant at giving you the highest of high yield in digestible segments. FYI Buying directly from the seller on his website is cheaper than his site on amazon. He also has a couple new books out that look awesome. 

    • Looks like the author also put out a PANCE Prep Pearls app on the Apple Store 

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• SOCIAL MEDIA STUDY​

  • First & Foremost (I may be biased) check out PASPAC Podcast Instagram  where we post daily questions with detailed explanations, memory aids, testing tips, mini-quizzes, cultural awareness & healthcare updates, and more. 

  • Instagram accounts for free questions/tips (FYI we are not paid to promote these!)

    • PANCE Prep Pearls

    • Rosh Review

    • Family Med PA with Mike Sacks DMSc PA-C, CPAAPA

    • SmartyPANCE 

  • Relatable meme accounts -  Gotta laugh so you don't cry.​

    • PA Memes of Insta​

    • PA School FINSTA

    • PA School Memes

  • PA Podcasts (find by searching for the below wherever you listen to podcasts)​

    • PASPAC Podcast (woo!)​

    • Physician Assistant Exam Review

    • MedGeeks

    • Cram The PANCE

    • The Audio PANCE and PANRE

    • The Rosh Reveal

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• NOTE TEMPLATES created by yours truly for free download (if formatting messes up with your Word, use the PDF to see how it should look)

  • • Clinical Medicine Notes Template Word Doc​

    • Clinical Medicine Notes Template PDF

Pharmacology -- you either love it or you hate it, but to get through didactic, you've got to do what you can to tackle it! Check out resources I used below to help me do just that:

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• VIDEO STUDY REVIEWS AND WEBSITES​

  • Picmonic ​- My classmates and I swear by this resource for learning difficult concepts and memorizing pharm for long-term recall. Free to sign up and get daily videos/quiz questions, with subscription options for unlimited content (worth it). (Click here for 20% off a subscription!)

  • SketchyPharm - There are several free videos on YouTube and programs may offer free access to their full content. These are more detailed and longer than Picmonic, but also very useful.

  • Pixorize YouTube - I honestly just came across this and wish I knew about this channel during school. Their USMLE content is right on par with PA school must-knows (and they have a LOT of content)

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• NOTE TEMPLATES created by yours truly for free download (if formatting messes up with your Word, use the PDF to see how it should look)

  • Pharm Notes Template word doc

  • Pharm Notes Template PDF

  • Master Pharm Drug Chart Template Excel

  • Master Pharm Drug Chart Template PDF

Memorizing diagnostic steps/values is hard enough, but interpreting them is an entire art within itself. Here are some great resources for doing both. Keep in mind lab values vary from institution to institution (within a close range), so you should always refer to the values your professors provide. 

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• YouTube video by Amber Good- for easy ways to memorize lab values - techniques I still use! 

• YouTube video by Kristi Kotsatos- for easy ways to remember fishbone metabolic panel. 

• OnlineMedEd- for free videos on step wise approaches to diagnostics and diagnoses.

• EKG Interpretation Basics by NinjaNerd  - his entire channel has so much helpful content!

• Oxford Medical Education has free access to EKG, ABG, and procedure lessons with quizzes and case study examples. They also have associated videos and imaging for visual learners.

• GeekyMedics - Ultrasound guide for beginners

• Behind The Knife YouTube Channel has great videos demonstrating a variety of procedures, including chest tube placement, ultrasound guided central lines, and more. For Suturing techniques, check out  their surgical skills bootcamp playlist

Gearing up for clinicals can be nerve wracking, but they are SO FUN and really where you put all your didactic learning to use (and then some). Here are some great resources to help you prepare for successfully navigating Clinical Year 

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• The PA Life: How Do I Choose the Right Elective?

• MedGeeks: Getting Pimped on Rotations (it typically IS NOT as bad as everyone makes it seem!)

• Be A Physician Assistant: Everything You Need to Know to Thrive in your First Rotation*

  • FYI she mentions reaching out to preceptors a week before. Check with your program before doing this as some prohibit students from contacting their preceptors early. ​

• Logging patients (no link, just an FYI)- create a template with only what is needed for your program to log patients without getting dinged (aka demographics, CC, billing codes, etc.) and fill it out as you see patients to make logging them later quicker.

• Download, read, and save your program's clinical year manual/guidelines and syllabi for rotations and electives for easy reference when you need it (which you probably will!)