DIDACTIC YEAR…HERE WE GO!!!
Nothing can prepare you for the schedule you will endure during the didactic year. Even with me telling you what to expect, you won’t believe it until you are in it. This will be different from college because you can not pick the courses you want to take per semester. You have a set schedule, and everyone takes the same classes…NO EXCEPTIONS!
Your schedule will be packed Monday to Friday with classes, but your weekends will be busy catching up on studying and reviewing because next week will be new topics. You will have some great and some bad teachers, but one thing you must know about PA School….IT IS SELF-TAUGHT!!!
The professor will go over the topics in detail, but it will go very fast because there is no time to elaborate on every little thing in ~2 hours. Yes, you can ask questions for clarification! But you will have to go home and re-read, re-read, and re-read repeatedly.
Remember…You get out of PA School what you put into it!
Hardships of PA School
The harsh reality of PA School is that some will graduate, some will be placed on prescription year, and some will fail. That is the reality of PA School! There is no rhyme or reason why things don’t work out how you plan them, but sometimes it can be due to timing, politics, or you need time to regroup.
What is a prescription year? If you fail a course in any given semester, you will be held back 1 year and restart the program where you left off. This is a prescription year. This time allows you to get your stuff together for the following year so you can pass the course failed and continue the program. After this, there are no second chances! You will have failed the program!
Does it suck to know that you worked hard to get into school only to have to start over with the incoming class for next year? YEAH! Because your life is on hold for 1 year. You must utilize the year to the best of your ability, such as saving money and reviewing information for the class you failed so you can ACE it when you go back.
I had a few friends that went through the prescription year, and they were PISSED OFF, but they passed and became great providers and landed great jobs. If this option is available in your program, do not rely on this option.
Your focus is to get in, pass and get out!
Now, failing out of the program is the most worse feeling of all. You will feel bad for your friends who did, and if it is you who did not make it through the program, you will feel anger and disappointment. Primarily because of the sacrifices it took to get into PA School.
Failing out of the program is not the end of your story!
I have friends who did not make it through the program but went on to do other things and become successful in their field, whether in or out of medicine.
Emotions of PA School
The didactic year will be the emotional roller coaster of your life. You can ask anyone who graduated from PA School if they had any of these emotions:
- 😁 Excited about learning new topics and being in PA School.
- 😭 Crying because they failed an exam (in any semester).
- 😌 Regret volunteering to go to this rigorous program.
- 😵 Exhaustion from lack of sleep.
- 😟Sad because this is not what they expected.
- 😃 Happy they are at the end of the didactic year (No more classes...so you think😬🤔).
- You will make it through!
- Do the best you can!
The didactic year will be the emotional roller coaster of your life. You can ask anyone who graduated from PA School if they had any of these emotions:
- You will make it through!
- Do the best you can!
-Michael Jordan
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”
Look out for my next post about the courses for your 1st semester in the didactic year.
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