D on first test in DPT school. Where to go from here?

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QuestioningPT

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We had our first test ever in DPT school. I got a D.
I studied but everyone else got As/Bs.
Should I drop out? I don't want to give up so easily, but is this a sign that I can't do it?
I don't know what to do...

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I think I got a very low C on every single one of my Gross Anatomy tests except the last one. I ended up with an 88 in the course.

I have definitely tanked several quizzes and outright failed at least one test over the past two years.

Despite all this, my GPA is a comfortable 3.5.

You will pass PT school if you just ignore the failures and keep working.
 
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Something tells me IF this is a serious problem that you knew about it in the previous 16+ years of education. Naturally it's worse now. My suggestion is to drop out if it's going to be a waste of money. Eventually you'll fail the NPTE exam and be no better than a glorified PT tech.
 
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It's just one test.

It's a matter of learning styles and adaptation. The first thing you're going to do is adhere by your study schedule. If you don't have one, that was your problem. Second, meet with the professor to clarify where your deficiencies are and go from there. And...no more Netflix.

What class is this?
 
Something tells me IF this is a serious problem that you knew about it in the previous 16+ years of education. Naturally it's worse now. My suggestion is to drop out if it's going to be a waste of money. Eventually you'll fail the NPTE exam and be no better than a glorified PT tech.

I'm not sure what kptnau is talking about?
Did you study?
 
You're overreacting. I had a similar experience my first term and I just kept going. I've failed a test in a course and ended up with a C+ or a B. Identify the reasons why you failed, fix them, and do better next time. A D is not devastating.

Kevin
 
Failing is just another opportunity to get better..dont let it get you down...as long as you learn it in the end.
 
I've heard of plenty people in PT school, MD/DO school, etc that failed their first anatomy test. It takes time to get adjusted, just work hard and you'll be okay.
 
I think I got a very low C on every single one of my Gross Anatomy tests except the last one. I ended up with an 88 in the course.

I have definitely tanked several quizzes and outright failed at least one test over the past two years.

Despite all this, my GPA is a comfortable 3.5.

You will pass PT school if you just ignore the failures and keep working.

That's encouraging but how is it possible?
All of our grades are only tests..

It's just one test.

It's a matter of learning styles and adaptation. The first thing you're going to do is adhere by your study schedule. If you don't have one, that was your problem. Second, meet with the professor to clarify where your deficiencies are and go from there. And...no more Netflix.

What class is this?

It is Gross Anatomy.
I'm not really sure what my "study schedule" should be??

You're overreacting. I had a similar experience my first term and I just kept going. I've failed a test in a course and ended up with a C+ or a B. Identify the reasons why you failed, fix them, and do better next time. A D is not devastating.

Kevin

We can't get anything below a B- as a final grade or we are out.
You ended up with a C+ and could stay in the program?
 
We had a ton of quizzes, some extra credit opportunities, and tests. I did well on the quizzes and balled out on the last test.

Yes, you can get a few C's (in our program at least) and stay.
 
It is Gross Anatomy.
I'm not really sure what my "study schedule" should be??

Eat. Sleep. Poop. Hygiene. Classes. Study. Study. Work out. Study. Repeat.

Did you get the D in the written section, lab or both?
 
In my program, all you need is a 70 to pass a class. C=DPT as we like to say. It's unfortunate that your program won't accept anything less than a B-. I can't imagine going to a school where C= catastrophe.

Kevin
 
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In my program, all you need is a 70 to pass a class. C=DPT as we like to say. It's unfortunate that your program won't accept anything less than a B-. I can't imagine going to a school where C= catastrophe.

Kevin

I'm in the same boat as he is, but we're more lenient. A C+ is all we need. Anything below a C+ is an F. Technically, a B- and below is failing.
 
We cannot have a class grade below 80, although it's not unusual to get less than 80 on midterms or even finals. I've got plenty of those. But thankfully there are ways to pull the final class grade up through practicals, projects, etc. Two class grades below 80 and you're expelled.

OP - Hang in there, most of us have been in your shoes at some point in DPT school.
 
D on the Lab (65%)
C on the Written (76%)

How many hours are you putting into each section? And how many hours of that is effective?

What portion of the test gave you the most issue? Insertions? Innervations? Arteries/veins? Clinical correlates? Are you studying written and lab together? Or did you keep them exclusive?
 
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Youre asking the wrong question in this thread. Instead of asking people if you should drop it, you need to ask yourself what went wrong and fix it from there. What mistakes did you make? Was it cause you didnt study the material? Did you forget the information? Were you just nervous? PT school is all about adjustments. I made mistakes but I always go back to see what kind of mistake i made and learn from it.

In our anatomy course, we need to maintain an 85%. The people who got kicked out wasnt because they were less intelligent but it was cause they didnt study efficiently. Your school chose you because they believe you are intelligent and can handle the course work. Make adjustments and really figure out what you can do practically. How bad do you want to be a PT? Will you fight for it? Hope this helps.
 
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Since starting PT school last August, I've really had to adjust my study habits to be able to keep up with the amount of material, especially in Anatomy. It's been important to be open to trying different methods of studying that I hadn't used before. One thing I do that's helped is to ask my classmates who are doing well, how they study. It's given me lots of ideas, and having a multi-pronged approach to the material has really helped me to learn it. I also follow Azimuthal's study schedule that he suggested above :)

A few people in my class got D's or F's on our first anatomy exam, and they're all still in the program working their butts off to improve their grades. You can do it too.

Incidentally, my program boots you if you get more than one C as a final grade throughout the program, and a C is 75-79%. Anything below 75 is an F.
 
Man, im reading these posts and it makes me appreciate the grading system in my school..
69.5 = C anything below that is failing. 75.5 = C+ (2.5 gpa) 79.5=B 85.5 = B+ (3.5 gpa) 89.5 = A No minus grading.

Need to maintain a cumulative average of 3.0. Drop below a 3 for 2 semesters and you are done.
 
How many hours are you putting into each section? And how many hours of that is effective?

What portion of the test gave you the most issue? Insertions? Innervations? Arteries/veins? Clinical correlates? Are you studying written and lab together? Or did you keep them exclusive?

Um.. I don't even know how to answer these questions.
I study 2-3 hrs/night Sunday-Friday
Sometimes I study on Saturday, sometimes not.
The hrs are 100% effective (or as close as you could get).
I dont watch tv, use the internet, etc. I sit with only my book/notes/pencil and I set a timer - only get up once/hr when the timer goes off.

I can't even tell which part gave me trouble. Seems like I just missed couple points of EVERY question. I think my strongest part was clinical correlation because I got almost all of the points for those..

Written + Lab....... for lab, i've never seen a cadaver before now. so I spend a lot of time trying to remember where/what structures are because on the actual body everything looks the same to me/nothing like pictures...

Basically I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing or how to study. I have no idea why they would pick me for this program and I'm starting to panic.

I did talk to the professor. he said he thought i was smart ? (thought that was weird) and that I would do fine ... ??
 
Sounds like you need to spend more time in the lab. It DOES "all look the same" at first. Grab a study partner and put in some quality time with the cadavers. (I'm assuming you are permitted to study the cadavers outside of class.) Quiz yourselves. Pick up a muscle/artery/nerve and ask, "What's this? Where did it come from? Where is it going? How do you know this is X? What is its function?" Become familiar with ALL of the cadavers in your lab, not just yours. Anatomy is all about using landmarks and relationships to figure out what structure you're handling. Try to not panic just yet. Put that energy/worry into studying as well as you can to redeem yourself on the next exam.
 
Sounds like you need to spend more time in the lab. It DOES "all look the same" at first.

I failed the first practical in the cadaver lab. No, not a D, an F. I never came after class to look at them. I started coming twice a week after class to look at cadavers, and found a couple other students who knew many of the structures. I got a B on the next practical. Pictures and atlases help, but nothing will prepare you more than being intimate with the cadavers that will have to know for the practical.

Kevin
 
I failed the first practical in the cadaver lab. No, not a D, an F. I never came after class to look at them. I started coming twice a week after class to look at cadavers, and found a couple other students who knew many of the structures. I got a B on the next practical. Pictures and atlases help, but nothing will prepare you more than being intimate with the cadavers that will have to know for the practical.

Kevin

Yes, this. I had the lab assistant show me structures, or used the atlas and then drilled: name of muscle, origin, insertion, innervation, blood supply. You do that enough and you will know 80% of the lab practicals.
 
Um.. I don't even know how to answer these questions.
I study 2-3 hrs/night Sunday-Friday
Sometimes I study on Saturday, sometimes not.
The hrs are 100% effective (or as close as you could get).
I dont watch tv, use the internet, etc. I sit with only my book/notes/pencil and I set a timer - only get up once/hr when the timer goes off.

I can't even tell which part gave me trouble. Seems like I just missed couple points of EVERY question. I think my strongest part was clinical correlation because I got almost all of the points for those..

Written + Lab....... for lab, i've never seen a cadaver before now. so I spend a lot of time trying to remember where/what structures are because on the actual body everything looks the same to me/nothing like pictures...

Basically I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing or how to study. I have no idea why they would pick me for this program and I'm starting to panic.

I did talk to the professor. he said he thought i was smart ? (thought that was weird) and that I would do fine ... ??

I did something that you can try. I NEVER went into lab with the sole intention of just memorizing what is there. I made copies of my lecture notes and used them in the lab after hours. I use a 'big picture to small picture' method. The first thing I would do is identify the muscles (what compartment they are in and what fascia separates them), nerves and arteries systematically. For example, this artery starts from here and terminates here, and these are the branches I can identify. After that I would then go through the muscle and then verbally recite their action, origin and insertion, vascular supply and innervation with subsections (i.e. C5-C6). That way I had a better visual of the system AND I reinforced why the nerve or artery or whatever is really what they are. Always be able to explain 'why' x3. Use relationships to help you visual their locations and paths. What nerve does this artery travel with? What muscles do they travel over? Under? Where do they go from posterior compartment to anterior compartment? What are the similarities and differences of the muscles in this group? When I was finished with one body, I did the same at the next. At the third body, I can usually recite the entire portion of what I was studying without my notes. We had 8 bodies and I never had to go through more than 3 at one setting. At least once a week, I would go into the lab with a friend so that we can verbally teach each other what we have learned.

This may keep you in lab a lot longer, but the time studying for lectures are greatly reduced. You may find that skimming through notes is all that you need (you will already know it) after trying the study strategy above. Then you can just focus on clinical correlates and new pathologies. Good luck to you.
 
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I FLUNKED my first anatomy exam. Badly. Ended up with an A in the class and in every class since.

What I found works for me is that I need to, first of all, draw everything out. This is helpful especially in anatomy. Then rinse, repeat, draw it again from memory. I would need to write everything out multiple times and make up questions for myself when necessary. It's time consuming but it's what I need as a learner and maybe that would work for you too. Integrate your cad into your studying. As you identify a muscle, ask yourself what the origin and insertion is. When you pick up a nerve point out the muscle that it innervates which will help immensely. Words on a page are much less powerful

As for study time, I'm sorry to say that sometimes 2-3 hours per night is not enough even when its productive. It really stinks, I know. But if possible, you should devote more time on the weekend. 2-3 hours on Sunday night and then sometimes studying on Saturday for most people does not suffice. You are paying your dues now which will pay off immensely when you go on your first clinical.

And DON'T PANIC. You are not alone. I had the same thoughts after I flunked that first test. I remember a moment where I arrived home from somewhere, my boyfriend had driven and he got out of the car. I couldn't get out of the car, couldn't go face reality. I just sat there for 5 minutes. He was so confused.

If you need more help PM me. Hang in there.
 
The advice the others have given you is great. I would also add that there are very helpful cadaver videos (I believe out of a community college in Wisconsin and maybe university of MIchigan) that are somewhat outdated (they don't even wear gloves when dissecting, which is terrifying), but the information is still valid. On days where I just couldn't bring myself to go to lab again after a long day in class, I would watch the videos online. Since they are actual cadavers and the camera does both close up and far away shots, it was really helpful. If you just google "cadaver lab dissection" you'll find them.
 
The advice the others have given you is great. I would also add that there are very helpful cadaver videos (I believe out of a community college in Wisconsin and maybe university of MIchigan) that are somewhat outdated (they don't even wear gloves when dissecting, which is terrifying), but the information is still valid. On days where I just couldn't bring myself to go to lab again after a long day in class, I would watch the videos online. Since they are actual cadavers and the camera does both close up and far away shots, it was really helpful. If you just google "cadaver lab dissection" you'll find them.

Thanks DancerFutureDPT! I think I found the videos you're referring to:
http://www.lawrencegaltman.com/Naugbio/CADAVER/GALLERY.htm

I have a practical next week and these look really helpful! :D
 
I started coming twice a week after class to look at cadavers... Pictures and atlases help, but nothing will prepare you more than being intimate with the cadavers that will have to know for the practical.


I use a 'big picture to small picture' method. The first thing I would do is identify the muscles (what compartment they are in and what fascia separates them), nerves and arteries systematically. After that I would then go through the muscle and then verbally recite their action, origin and insertion, vascular supply and innervation with subsections (i.e. C5-C6). That way I had a better visual of the system AND I reinforced why the nerve or artery or whatever is really what they are.

draw everything out.

Thanks DancerFutureDPT! I think I found the videos you're referring to:
http://www.lawrencegaltman.com/Naugbio/CADAVER/GALLERY.htm

These are all great suggestions and things that i was not doing for the last exam. I appreciate everyones help. Going back to studying but with my new techniques. Thank you.
 
These are all great suggestions and things that i was not doing for the last exam. I appreciate everyones help. Going back to studying but with my new techniques. Thank you.

I have used the lawrence galtman website. In addition, here is a U of Michigan website that I use. It not only has great videos, but great quizzes to test your knowledge

http://www.med.umich.edu/lrc/coursepages/m1/anatomy2010/html/index.html

EDIT: Oh and I forgot... probably the best tool I found is on Youtube. Go to the channel AnatomyZone. Seriously awesome videos
 
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