Surviving Didactic Year-Study Resources

In the words of Miley Cyrus, didactic year comes in and hits you like a wrecking ball. Anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, on my! The information overload is real, and you sit there wondering, “How am I going to learn all this?”. Don’t worry, you are not alone in these thoughts! I thought them too, and I am sure 99% of all other PA students did as well. Thankfully, our PA community is amazing and has provided us with awesome resources to aid us in our studying. Listed below are my top 5 favorite study resources that helped me survive didactic year:

PICMONIC

-        Picmonic is one of my favorite resources. It was great for diseases, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. It provides you with stories and pictures to give you creative ways to memorize key details about each topic. After you watch the video, it will provide you with a quiz to test you on those key details to remember. Also, below the video provided it lists each point they make and provides further information about it. I am not kidding when I say I used Picmonic daily. It caters to all areas of learning, especially visual and auditory, and it provides a fun and easy way to learn each disease state. To this day, I still can remember Picmonics for specific diseases.

-        The example below is Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura. It walks you through the mnemonic FAT-RN which is fever, anemia, thrombocytopenia, renal disease, and neurologic symptoms. In the back right corner you can see Adam (from adam and eve) and Friday the 13^th because TTP is associated with a deficiency in ADAMTF13. On the right you see a VolksWagon Van with Will Smith because it is associated with a high vWF. These are just a few examples of the creative ways Picmonic helps you learn each disease because let’s be realistic, sometimes all the little details can get overwhelming and hard to connect with specific diseases and it is hard to remember each specific aspect, but Picmonic helps eliminate that frustration.  

You can log onto Picmonic yourself for a freemium access to see if it works for you! I ended up buying a subscription because I used it and loved it so much.

Where to find it: https://www.picmonic.com/viphookup/lifewithmepabre

Cost: $99/year. You receive 20% OFF by using the link above!

  

SmartyPance

-        SmartyPance was great towards the end of the year for me. It goes through key points of each disease on the PANCE blueprint. In each topic, it will provide you with some question to test your knowledge on that topic. There are also practice tests and specific organ system tests (cardiology, GI, dermatology, etc.). I utilized SmartyPance when I wanted to see the key points that were the most important or when I wanted to double check my knowledge with some practice questions.

Where to find it: https://smartypance.com/welcome/

Cost: $65/year

PANCE Prep Pearls

-        We all know the wonderful PANCE Prep Pearls, aka the bible of PA school. It is amazing. It is structured around the PANCE blueprint so it gives you everything you need. I utilized this a lot as a secondary study source to my lecture notes. It cleared up confusing topics for me or when I did not quite understand the structure of treatment for a disease. It is laid out in a way that is easy to understand and gives you key points that you know will be high yield for the exam. This is definitely an amazing tool to have around at all times.

Where to find it: https://www.amazon.com/Pance-Prep-Pearls-Dwayne-Williams/dp/1542330297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1542330297&pd_rd_r=E2FF478DHRHS2G2B7546&pd_rd_w=uUBuh&pd_rd_wg=siCoL&psc=1&refRID=E2FF478DHRHS2G2B7546&linkCode=sl1&tag=charitywater09-20&linkId=c4d4278dfc483f227517456f04fb7ba0

Cost: $60.80

 

Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast

-        This is my absolute favorite review podcast. I used to listen to it to and from school or on long drives to help me solidify information in my head. Brian Wallace does not go significantly in depth with each disease, however he gives you the key points of each part of the disease (buzz words, key clinical findings, diagnostic tools and gold standard, and first line treatment).

Where to find it: Podcast App

Cost: FREE

Netters Anatomy Flashcards

-        Netters flashcards were GREAT for anatomy. They provided a quick easy way to review anatomy at night or on the go. Anatomy for me was all about repetition and notecards are an easy way to do this. They are colored and labeled with answered and explanations on the back. These are definitely a must for anatomy review.

        

Where to find it: https://www.amazon.com/Netters-Anatomy-Flash-Netter-Science/dp/0323530508/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=netters+anatomy+flash+card&qid=1559926446&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Cost: $36.91