1st Year DPT Student - Failing

[MsCruzan]

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I don't know what to do. Since entering my DPT programs, I have been struggling academically. So far I have flunked my first pathophysiology exam and just feel lost in NeuroAnatomy. My school does not have tutoring services available and my efforts to find one have not panned out. So far, I've been trying to make do with Youtube videos for neuroanatomy but it is taking up so much of my study time that it is inefficient. My school doesn't have resources to help me and I feel isolated and discouraged. What happens if I keep flunking? Do I keep trying or just drop out and try to get into another school.

Desperate in DMV

 

[Fiveoboy11]

I don't know what to do. Since entering my DPT programs, I have been struggling academically. So far I have flunked my first pathophysiology exam and just feel lost in NeuroAnatomy. My school does not have tutoring services available and my efforts to find one have not panned out. So far, I've been trying to make do with Youtube videos for neuroanatomy but it is taking up so much of my study time that it is inefficient. My school doesn't have resources to help me and I feel isolated and discouraged. What happens if I keep flunking? Do I keep trying or just drop out and try to get into another school.

Desperate in DMV

Get off the internet and study what the teacher says to study until you understand and remember all of it. Don't look at any material that's not presented in class or in the syllabus.

 

[kdubz7w7]

I don't know what to do. Since entering my DPT programs, I have been struggling academically. So far I have flunked my first pathophysiology exam and just feel lost in NeuroAnatomy. My school does not have tutoring services available and my efforts to find one have not panned out. So far, I've been trying to make do with Youtube videos for neuroanatomy but it is taking up so much of my study time that it is inefficient. My school doesn't have resources to help me and I feel isolated and discouraged. What happens if I keep flunking? Do I keep trying or just drop out and try to get into another school.

Desperate in DMV

Well.......what are you doing? Are you losing time combing the internet and textbooks and extra materials? Have you gone to your professors for extra help? Do you study (effectively) with other students, or are you just riding the struggle bus alone?
I can't emphasize enough going in to talk to your professor, and getting fellow students to help you / study with. I know different things work for different people, but this is what worked for me & other students I know (I'm wrapping up my second year). The teacher can help you identify where you are going wrong, and classmates can help you to see what to focus on and how to think about things. And DON'T get caught up in stuff the teacher didn't cover. It's easy to go down rabbit holes when you venture away from your class notes.
I wouldn't drop out or give up. You're already in it, may as well ride it out. Another school won't necessarily be better. I've had grades abruptly go up right at the semester, when things started to magically come together. Last semester I started a neuro mgmt course with a C+ and ended the course with an A-, for example. Hang in there!

 

[MsCruzan]

Well.......what are you doing? Are you losing time combing the internet and textbooks and extra materials? Have you gone to your professors for extra help? Do you study (effectively) with other students, or are you just riding the struggle bus alone?
I can't emphasize enough going in to talk to your professor, and getting fellow students to help you / study with. I know different things work for different people, but this is what worked for me & other students I know (I'm wrapping up my second year). The teacher can help you identify where you are going wrong, and classmates can help you to see what to focus on and how to think about things. And DON'T get caught up in stuff the teacher didn't cover. It's easy to go down rabbit holes when you venture away from your class notes.
I wouldn't drop out or give up. You're already in it, may as well ride it out. Another school won't necessarily be better. I've had grades abruptly go up right at the semester, when things started to magically come together. Last semester I started a neuro mgmt course with a C+ and ended the course with an A-, for example. Hang in there!

Hi I did see the professor but it wasn't helpful. I've been reviewing the lectures and trying to supplement the lecture notes by using youtube videos on ascending tracts. My first test was a 76 but I did get some different studying tips from some 3rd years. I'm being told that I am spending too much time on my note-taking so I will try to focus more on quizzing myself. I'm not online surfing the internet as have suggested. Another student suggested this site for resources and I was just looking for tips and resources.

 

[Confusedandlostone]

Take a deep breath, and realize that graduate school material is a different level of material than undergrad. There's so much information and you need to learn it as quickly and efficiently as possible. My advice is to figure out how you learn best. Are you a visual learner? Auditory? Kinesthetic? There's tests out there to see which type of learner you are. If you don't know than do what I did: What I usually do is underline or highlight some important information, write it out or summarize it in my own words, and then say it again to myself (that way I'm using all my senses to learn the information). Do you have any friends in the program? Perhaps do a section and regroup and then teach that section to each other (not my preferred style, since I liked to be alone and get lost in the material). I'm not a DPT, but I'm an MOT who failed out of my first program because I didn't know how to study and was anxious during practicals. Took a lot of self reflection to get my act together and succeed on my second try. Had I known what I know now, and I would've done so much better. Lastly, if you do fail an exam, recognize that it's okay because most successful people in life don't succeed in their first try. I know many therapists who've failed practicals, repeated clinical affiliations, failed boards on their first try, etc. Failure is just an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and to try a different approach. Keep your head up and good luck.

 

[starrsgirl]

Just wanted to offer some words of encouragement! I failed 2/4 of my anatomy exams. I literally never had to study before PT school so my skills were poor. Additionally, I was very limited on study time due to family factors. I had to embrace the art of studying and finding all the shortcuts I could. When you learn to study effectively, you will triple your output and cut your time in half. I ended up getting one of the high scores on my last test. Anyway, I recommend you switch to all active studying. Passive studying is reading text, reading notes, watching YouTube. Active studying is talking out loud, writing answers/explanations, drawing pictures, teaching others, quizzing others. Although I love group studying, for me, it took too long so I had to skip it most of the time. I really enjoyed using Anki to create flashcards. The key with flashcards is don't make them for everything...only the hard stuff! I think most people make too many. Also, when you have your lecture notes out, cover them up with a piece of paper. Take a quick look to find a keyword, cover them back up and talk out loud about everything you know about the subject. Bonus if you also write down key points as you talk out loud.

 

[kdubz7w7]

Hi I did see the professor but it wasn't helpful. I've been reviewing the lectures and trying to supplement the lecture notes by using youtube videos on ascending tracts. My first test was a 76 but I did get some different studying tips from some 3rd years. I'm being told that I am spending too much time on my note-taking so I will try to focus more on quizzing myself. I'm not online surfing the internet as have suggested. Another student suggested this site for resources and I was just looking for tips and resources.

I just see other students waste a LOT of time combing youtube etc and just confusing themselves further, so I wanted to make sure that wasn't what you were doing!
Someone else posted to basically interact with the material differently, which is another great idea. I personally like to rewrite notes, especially for neuro I drew and redrew diagrams, tracts etc, I like to whiteboard things, and THEN I like to get together with someone and do a talk-through - help each other where we are confused, draw things out, talk things out, and so on.
I struggled in a course and went to the prof and it was also very UNhelpful. When I was still dying two weeks later I took a deep breath and went back to her office and tried to ask different questions to get her to help me on the level and in the way that I needed. I think when I went to her the first time it wasn't productive because I was frazzled and stressed and wasn't even sure what I was asking. The second time was MUCH more productive and she really helped me a lot. Just throwing it out there

 

[ya1]

Narrow down the material provided for studies. Highlight important information you may be tested on only and then re-read that highlighted information only. Lectures never cover everything and always come with information you will not be tested on. (Yes, your instructor's experience can be interesting and helpful, but you will not find 99% of that personal experience information on your tests. )
To study, I used material posted online by instructors only. (Does your school post lecture notes online?) Books have way too many pages. Teachers often tell you to know everything which is tooooo much (30-100 pages a week or something like that? really? and you are having multiple classes? It's unrealistic.) I had multiple teachers telling me "if you do not know A and B, you will fail the class/PT school," etc. Well, I could never remember maybe more than 10% of what they told me I "must" know and was able to maintain GPA 3.7. So I think if you can narrow down information down to 3-5 pages per class per week and just study over and over that information that you can be tested on only, you will be able to improve your grades.
Internet is great, but again, there is tooooo much information there and you will not be tested on 99% of it. So stick to the material that your school provides only. Quizzes are good resource of studies for exams. Some questions from quizzes can be on exams as well.

 

[MsCruzan]

Narrow down the material provided for studies. Highlight important information you may be tested on only and then re-read that highlighted information only. Lectures never cover everything and always come with information you will not be tested on. (Yes, your instructor's experience can be interesting and helpful, but you will not find 99% of that personal experience information on your tests. )
To study, I used material posted online by instructors only. (Does your school post lecture notes online?) Books have way too many pages. Teachers often tell you to know everything which is tooooo much (30-100 pages a week or something like that? really? and you are having multiple classes? It's unrealistic.) I had multiple teachers telling me "if you do not know A and B, you will fail the class/PT school," etc. Well, I could never remember maybe more than 10% of what they told me I "must" know and was able to maintain GPA 3.7. So I think if you can narrow down information down to 3-5 pages per class per week and just study over and over that information that you can be tested on only, you will be able to improve your grades.
Internet is great, but again, there is tooooo much information there and you will not be tested on 99% of it. So stick to the material that your school provides only. Quizzes are good resource of studies for exams. Some questions from quizzes can be on exams as well.

How did you figure out what 10% to study. My neuroprofessor is awful. She doesn't want to answer questions during class, doesn't want to meet with students, and only only gives exams for her grades. So in other words, there are no quizzes, assignments or anything else. She lectures, by reading off of her powerpoint, and then gives an exam on 2 months worth of material. I'm really struggling to figure out what to focus on in her class when there is so much information coming at me.

 

[Fiveoboy11]

How did you figure out what 10% to study. My neuroprofessor is awful. She doesn't want to answer questions during class, doesn't want to meet with students, and only only gives exams for her grades. So in other words, there are no quizzes, assignments or anything else. She lectures, by reading off of her powerpoint, and then gives an exam on 2 months worth of material. I'm really struggling to figure out what to focus on in her class when there is so much information coming at me.

Give her a bad review at the end of the semester if you don't like her but pay attention in class and study what you're assigned to study. It's neuro not a game show. Is it supposed to be entertaining?

 

[btjack22]

For basic neuroanatomy, the 2 minute neuroscience videos are pretty helpful in my opinion if you're an auditory learner.

 

[destinedDPT]

Listen....

I was in your same position a month ago. I am in my second semester and taking hard courses like physiology and biochem. My school offers nothing. I failed my first exam, broken down, and asked if I belong here. I told myself to stop complaining and show the faculty members that I do belong in the program. I worked my butt off and got a 93 on the next exam.

Change your studying habits. Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[cyclingkayaker88]

How did you figure out what 10% to study. My neuroprofessor is awful. She doesn't want to answer questions during class, doesn't want to meet with students, and only only gives exams for her grades. So in other words, there are no quizzes, assignments or anything else. She lectures, by reading off of her powerpoint, and then gives an exam on 2 months worth of material. I'm really struggling to figure out what to focus on in her class when there is so much information coming at me.

Hey! Have you met anyone that has been doing okay/well in the neuro class? I have found some PT students just excel more in areas than others, and vice versa. Ortho was always challenging for me, but neuro came to me much more naturally. I suggest talking/studying with a strong neuro student one time a week - to check in with how your studying goes. Are there study groups in your class? It's hard sometimes to study with others, but it can help ensure you're studying is on track. Also - this piece of advice really helped me - think about your patient, and think about what you're learning and how you can use what you're learning to explaining concepts to them (in patient friendly language of course). Last bit- find what interests you. Try to imagine what you're learning - like why does the inflammatory process occur? What starts this process?

Hope this helps! You got this!

 

[ya1]

How did you figure out what 10% to study. My neuroprofessor is awful. She doesn't want to answer questions during class, doesn't want to meet with students, and only only gives exams for her grades. So in other words, there are no quizzes, assignments or anything else. She lectures, by reading off of her powerpoint, and then gives an exam on 2 months worth of material. I'm really struggling to figure out what to focus on in her class when there is so much information coming at me.

Do you have her powerpoints? Study off those if you have access to them. Throw out any repetitive information. If information goes into deep cellular or embryological level, do not waste your time on that. Learn all neuro pathways (when you get to that point if you have not yet), where they cross. Basics like anterior brain is responsible for legs and cognition, lateral for arms, posterior for vision (Cortical homunculus may help). Difference between lower and upper motor neurons (upper are in brain and spinal cord,, lower are peripheral nerves and cauda equina)... Not sure what have you been covering, so if whatever I wrote here does not sound familiar, it just means you have not covered that stuff yet.

 

[kdubz7w7]

How did you figure out what 10% to study. My neuroprofessor is awful. She doesn't want to answer questions during class, doesn't want to meet with students, and only only gives exams for her grades. So in other words, there are no quizzes, assignments or anything else. She lectures, by reading off of her powerpoint, and then gives an exam on 2 months worth of material. I'm really struggling to figure out what to focus on in her class when there is so much information coming at me.

Bad professors unfortunately happen (trust me, I get it) and you don't really have a choice except to figure out how to understand them. If she's that bad, go to the chair of your program.
She should be required to have office hours and to meet with students - that's just a basic job function of any professor in any college. Professors don't like when you go in basically asking for a re-lecture, so have some specific questions - or ask if you can attempt to explain it to them so that they can check your understanding. If you're in that special place of "I am so lost I don't even know what to ask", then say that.
Start with big picture. What is the major purpose of each structure or tract, and if something goes wrong, how (and why) does that affect your patient. I find it's easier with neuro to start big, then work your way down into the details of what's going on - if you're lots in the trees, you'll never see the forest.
And like others said, study with other people, preferably productive ones that have at least an idea of what is going on.

 

[MartialArtDPT]

I don't know what to do. Since entering my DPT programs, I have been struggling academically. So far I have flunked my first pathophysiology exam and just feel lost in NeuroAnatomy. My school does not have tutoring services available and my efforts to find one have not panned out. So far, I've been trying to make do with Youtube videos for neuroanatomy but it is taking up so much of my study time that it is inefficient. My school doesn't have resources to help me and I feel isolated and discouraged. What happens if I keep flunking? Do I keep trying or just drop out and try to get into another school.

Desperate in DMV

Do you mind telling us where you go to school?

 

[TravelGoalsAndArterioles]

With finals coming up, have any of these strategies helped?

 

[NewTestament]

When the school accepted you, they saw something in you. They believed that you were qualified for the program. They have a reputation to protect too. Don't forget that.

Change the way you study. Make flash cards, get a white board, say it out loud, use the information in different ways. One trick I used was I pretended to teach a class the material I was learning.

I almost flunked my 1st and 2nd terms. A few wrong questions and I could have faced serious consequences. I'm glad I never gave up. I'm in my fifth year as a PT. The anxiety and doubt were overwhelming at the time but now I hardly remember it. Keep going.

 

[Snippybiscuit]

When the school accepted you, they saw something in you. They believed that you were qualified for the program. They have a reputation to protect too. Don't forget that.

Change the way you study. Make flash cards, get a white board, say it out loud, use the information in different ways. One trick I used was I pretended to teach a class the material I was learning.

I almost flunked my 1st and 2nd terms. A few wrong questions and I could have faced serious consequences. I'm glad I never gave up. I'm in my fifth year as a PT. The anxiety and doubt were overwhelming at the time but now I hardly remember it. Keep going.

Would they actually fail you out? Or do PT schools kind of “push” you along?

 

[reesetee]

How did you figure out what 10% to study. My neuroprofessor is awful. She doesn't want to answer questions during class, doesn't want to meet with students, and only only gives exams for her grades. So in other words, there are no quizzes, assignments or anything else. She lectures, by reading off of her powerpoint, and then gives an exam on 2 months worth of material. I'm really struggling to figure out what to focus on in her class when there is so much information coming at me.

If she’s a **** professor and only reads off ppt then I assure you her exams will come from the ppt materials only.. cause clearly she’s lazy.. exam questions might even come from generic questions found in your textbook too. Try focusing on the ppt slides and only look up concepts you don’t fully understand online. Also make a friend in your program/class to check in with when you get confused. I think that might be helpful. Good luck.

 

[kdubz7w7]

Would they actually fail you out? Or do PT schools kind of “push” you along?

My program has had people fail out. Their reputation is on the line - yes, they want to graduate students BUT those students must also 1 pass their clinicals and 2 pass their boards. They won't push people through that didn't earn it because there's the risk they will bomb their clinics or fail their boards.