Note Taking in DPT School?

[EHCAT4]

Hello all!

I was wondering if I could get some advice about recommendations for note-taking systems in DPT School? I know this is a topic that has been addressed a couple of times on here, but I was hoping for some new perspectives!

Just some background- I am a senior athletic training student planning to pursue my DPT studies in the fall. I have been accepted to Emory & Henry College's DPT program, have an interview at UNC in 2 weeks, and am waiting to hear back from other schools. I have made it through my undergraduate studies in athletic training without a solid note-taking system. I am ashamed to say that, but am looking to create a new system. I have been very successful in my studies and clinicals despite not having a good system, but really want to make one that works for me in grad school.

I have physical notes, OneNote notes, google docs, word, powerpoints, its a mess. I am not sure if I should create a computer-based system of notes such as writing on powerpoints and using OneNote/etc. or use a paper notes system. I realize printing all of the material would probably be insane and I know first hand how information dense classes such as anatomy and kinesiology can be hard to keep of with by handwriting.

I am just curious to hear what current or former students have done and any advice is appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

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[Wiscoguy]

Hi!

I just completed my 2nd semester of PT school. I have found using OneNote to be pretty solid. I typically download all the PowerPoints and PDFs needed for each class into OneNote and take notes directly onto that. For some classes I ended up re-writing notes into word documents to make it more organized and concise. However, for other classes I just used what I had written down in OneNote and studied from that! Each class is a little different and will just take time to get used to. For example, I found that just drawing pictures instead of taking notes worked best for anatomy! Best of luck to you.

 

[NewTestament]

Write the notes directly on the PowerPoint provided by the instructor. That way everything you need to know is on one document. Don't take too many notes. If you need to know it and you will likely forget it, then write it down. Otherwise it's a waste of time.

 

[kellerac]

I agree with NewTestament. Your school will most likely provide unlimited prints for graduate students. Print out each Powerpoint (3 slides per paper) and write notes directly on them. This gives you both the professor's intended material and the notes that you deem important and jot down in class. If no PowerPoint is provided (which unfortunately happens), I prefer writing notes by hand in a notebook. This lets me organize my thoughts (underlining, bolding, circling) immediately, and is for me quicker than typing notes.

Tip: Review those same notes 2-3 days later, even if there's no exam. This gives your mind some time to digest the information, and the review will help cement them. Source: Neuroscience prof

Best of luck!