I thought you could relate to Corey and the issues that Corey was smart and brave enough to put forward.
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Hi Brian!
My name is Corey, and I’m currently a first-year PA student at xxx xxxxx xx xxxxxxx. I’ve recently just finished the first half of my didactic year of schooling, and while the summer and fall semesters were incredibly difficult and tests were almost the death of me, I was proud of myself for persevering through all of it. With that being said, there was no doubt that I still struggled with test taking and the OVERLOAD of information thrown at me.
This semester, I’m hoping to study smarter and not harder and hopefully become more confident with exams and retaining more information. I recently came across your podcast and absolutely love it! Listening to your podcasts has helped concise everything down while studying and is exactly what I’ve been searching for. While I know The Final Step is more geared towards the PANCE and PANRE, I was just curious if you thought using your book would be beneficial during didactic year. I also came across your Physician Assistant Exam Scholars newsletter and wanted your opinion as well if it would help me.
Overall, I would love your guidance and wisdom on what resources I can take advantage of. I want to be the absolute best PA student I can possibly be and hopefully one day be an even better PA-C.
Thanks so much!
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Wow, what a great email. This is a motivated individual. Someone who wants to get better and knows that flattery works. This is someone I want on my team.
First of all Corey bravo on making an excellent step forward by reaching out to me, of course. (I’m not sure that line is funny when I write it as when I think it in my head)
And how did I reply to Corey? What sage advice did I give? Something like this.
It sounds like you’re in the same boat with thousands of other PA students. Don’t ever feel like you’re alone. Pretty much everyone else feels and is experiencing what you feel and what you’re experiencing.
The Final Step may not be for you…yet. It depends on what classes you’re in. It’s a medical key term review book. Great for the PANCE. Great for comprehensive exams. Great for medicine exams. Good For EORs. Terrible for physiology and micro. I don’t think now is the right time to get that one, but you would know about that better than I. (When you are interested reach out, and perhaps we can set you and your classmates up with a group discount)
I do have two things that would be good for you. The course Maximize Your Time and Efficiency is spot on for what you need. Unfortunately, it is not available at the moment, but keep your eyes peeled, and you’ll see when it does become available from time to time.
Now for the good news.
I absolutely recommend Physician Assistant Exams Scholars. Every issue may not fit you at the exact moment your in, but the overall it’s exactly what you’re looking for. It’s about learning and growing as a student, a learner, a test taker, and a person.
I’d sign up for PEAS today, but here’s the deal. Not every issue will hit you at exactly the right time. Take the February issue, for example. It’s about sitting down in your chair the day of your PANCE. It’s written from the perspective of everything I did in December when I took my exam and what I wish I had known on the way into the building. All of the things that will help boost your score by subtly allowing you to read longer and make better decisions. That isn’t relevant right this second for you. Some of the info useful for every exam, but the focus isn’t on general test taking it’s about Pearson Vue and the big one.
But that doesn’t make that issue any less valuable. You’ll get a lot of good info you can use now, and then you put in on the shelf and before your PANCE (which will be here before you know it) you pull it out and think “Thank GOD I got this when I did.”
The newsletter is the best thing you can do without question.
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And that my friends is the advice I’d give any first-year PA Student