Everyone gets twitchy during PA school. It’s normal. You’re out of control and pouring through unimaginable amounts of information. It’s a crazy time.
Just this morning I got an email from a student who seems to be struggling a little. I’m going to keep the name to myself, but see if this sound like you.
Hello!
I am a member of your monthly newsletter. I am a first year PA-S. Getting a bit stressed have lots of material and exams end of September and October. Any advice for studying and understanding the material efficiently.
I know how important sleep and balance are but getting wrapped up with my classmate’s stresses and their thoughts on limited sleep and imbalance. Any advice on calming my mind, feeling confident, and continuing my studies for these upcoming exams?
Thanks a bunch!
Here’s my response.
Deep breaths. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. You’re right in the thick of it. The good news is that it is really hard. It isn’t all in your head, but you can certainly make it worse.
First of all, DON’T do what works for your classmates. DON’T do what I tell you either.
Test out different ways of handling things. See how different approaches work for you. Sacrificing sleep works great in the short term, especially if you’re young. Your body can handle it for a little while, but NOT for three years. Maybe a week or two. The trade off is that your brain won’t work as well, AND you won’t notice it not working as well. You’ll think you’re doing great.
(think about out how you feel after two beers. Your reactions are significantly delayed, but worse than that is that you don’t know it’s happening. You can’t tell. Its the same thing with brain function and lack of sleep.)
Anyway, let’s stop harping on the sleep thing because we have bigger fish to fry.
A calm mind and a feeling of control come from knowing what you’re doing and having routines. Right now you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s kind of how PA school works. (wait until your get to rotations, which are fun, but you really don’t know what you’re doing.)
If I were back in the grind of PA school knowing what I know, now I would be working extra hard on my habits and my routines. These are your rocks for getting your through the tough times.
Have you heard of Jocko Willink? He’s an ex-Navy SEAL badass who commanded missions in the worst of Iraq. He’s written a couple of books you might want to get your hands on.
A favorite quote of mine form him is “Discipline = Freedom”
Think it through, it’s a great one.
Another one of his I mentioned last week is “Prioritize and execute”
When all hell breaks loose choose the most important thing and do that first. Then choose the next most important thing and do that next. Simple right? In theory, it’s easy, but not when the bullets are flying.
You’ve taken one really good step. You signed up for Physician Assistant Exam Scholars. You already have the No More Test Anxiety Package. That isn’t designed for day to day use, more for test taking, but being the super smart individual that you are, I am sure you can use about 80% help you RIGHT NOW, TODAY.
You wrote, “Any advice on calming my mind, feeling confident, and continuing my studies for these upcoming exams?” Well, here’s what’s in No More Test Taking Anxiety
* Chapter one is called A Clear Mind
* On pg 5 you’ll find a very specific, very easy practice you can use that was taught and practiced by the world-renowned Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Naht Hahn.
*Chapter 2
*Covers another specific thing you can do that major league hitters have done for years to keep them calm and focused at the plate in front of thousands of people.
*Chapter 3
* My secret weapon for building ridiculous confidence for an exam. This trick might even make it so that you can get some sleep the night before your biggest exam instead of spending the night watching the clock tick off the minutes.
* Chapter 4
* This chapter lays out a plan of attack against “the resistance.” The specifics in here are for the PANCE/PANRE, but the ideas and philosophy hold true throughout PA school. A smart cat like you will be able to see how that can work for you TODAY.
*Chapter 5
* Also geared more towards PANCE/PANRE prep, but if you start practicing with it now, OH BOY will you feel GREAT, but the time you get to the PANCE.
The best part of all of this is that as a member of Physician Assistant Exam Scholars you already have the No More Test Taking Anxiety package. It comes as a bonus when you sign up for the Physician Assistant Exam Newsletter.
Your very first issue of the PAES newsletter will go to the printer on October 1st (and the October newsletter is all on study techniques so PERFECT for what you’re looking for), but you don’t have to wait until then to get started.
Dive in today and stop trying to swim against the current. Let’s learn how to swim with it instead.