Success in PT School

[Pedatric PT]

I know that everyone studies different, but I wanted to get some different opinions on how to be successful in PT school:

1. How do you study? (Do you make notecards, rewrite your notes, use whiteboards, keep repeating your notes out loud, etc.)
2. Do you buy all the required textbooks?
3. Do you do all of the required reading for your classes?
4. How do you study in groups?
5. Do you record all lectures and relisten to them after class?
6. Any good study habit books that you read to help you through PT school?
7. What are your Time Management Habits?
8. How do you deal with stress?

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[bnwj89]

(Keep in mind I am in my first semester)

1. For anatomy, when we would begin a new section of the body, I would watch some AnatomyZone videos on youtube. They are well done. I also watch dissection videos. Make the most of your time in the cadaver lab by really looking at each origin and insertion, joint, etc. For each muscle, I make flashcards with origin/insertion, innervation, blood supply, and action. I drill these into my head. If I have spare time, this is the subject that I try to spend extra time on. For other classes, I think it is pretty essential to read the assigned readings. If you don't have time to read all of the chapters, you can cut this time in half by picking out the real important stuff that your professor's slides focuses on. Finally, doing some studying with other people will bring attention to points that you may have missed.

2. Absolutely. This may be different from school to school, but I feel that all my books so far have been essential.

3. I kind of addressed this in #1. Not always, but If I don't, I at least go through the chapters and focus on things that seem extra important.

4. Mostly just quizzing eachother. I have my slides/notes in front of me, and go through them and quiz whoever I am with.

5. I have never done this, I find it easier and less time consuming to make notes of important points

6. I am not sure exactly what you mean by this one. Through undergrad, you probably have learned what works well for you. You should do just that, but obviously amplified. Biggest study habit I would give is stay on top of things... it's too easy for things to get overwhelming. Also, do things early in the day. It is amazing what you can accomplish by noon if you start early.

7. I kind of just addressed this, but here's more: do stuff early in the day as often as you can.. try to stay a couple hours after class to study, instead of going home to take a break. Try to enjoy yourself on the weekends, as it's still important to do things for yourself. It is amazing what going for a hike, bike ride, or even a scenic drive can do to cure that burnt out feeling.

8. Exercise. Another thing for me is watching funny movies/stand up comedy. Laughing cures stress for me pretty quickly. And as I said above, take breaks and do things you enjoy. Go to the park, bike ride, etc.

Hope that helps

 

[PTMattI]

1. Notecards and review power points
2. Yes, and most of the time I regret it..
3. NO. Not even close.
4. Yes, we may quiz each other or go over power points together.
5. NO
6. none
7. study more when big exams are coming up, dont over stress, just stay as best on top of stuff as you can...you will figure out how to prioritize stuff. certain stuff will be easy, certain stuff will be hard...for me anatomy was relatively easy while neuro was incomprehensible, so i spent more time on that.
8. exercise, laughter, and talking to classmates.

 

[HouseDPT]

1. Rework notes by rewriting lecture powerpoints.
2. No, I don't buy books unless it will be a strong reference tool once I've graduated. (For example, I love Dutton. O'Sullivan was surprisingly useful during my inpatient rotation as well.)
3. More often than not, I will do all of the required readings. They're usually interesting and I've found that certain professors will create exam questions from them.
4. Group studying is useful sometimes, but I think that it's usually pretty inefficient. At worst, it degrades into a constant debate where your classmates will bruise each others' egos for hours. You, obviously, have to do it for practical stuff though. During those times, I find that it's better to group study after you've done your base studying. It's also useful to vocalize a plan of attack for studying in groups.
5. I did this a few times for gross anatomy and also for neuroanatomy, but I ultimately never went back to the recordings. It takes too long to get through the recordings, even at 1.5x speed.
6. This sounds like a rip-off. Maybe I should write one...
7. Lists!
8. Exercise, alcohol and good, ol' fashioned spacing out!

 

[NewTestament]

I know that everyone studies different, but I wanted to get some different opinions on how to be successful in PT school:

1. How do you study? (Do you make notecards, rewrite your notes, use whiteboards, keep repeating your notes out loud, etc.)
2. Do you buy all the required textbooks?
3. Do you do all of the required reading for your classes?
4. How do you study in groups?
5. Do you record all lectures and relisten to them after class?
6. Any good study habit books that you read to help you through PT school?
7. What are your Time Management Habits?
8. How do you deal with stress?

1. I go over my notes as many times as possible. Sometimes I'll ask myself a question, and then try to answer it without looking at the notes.
2. Don't buy all the required textbooks. I buy textbooks so I can have my own library and so I can refer to them in the future. They are not necessary however. You might want to consider renting your books.
3. No. Not even close.
4. I usually study with one or two other people, but only after I've studied by myself. I only study with a group a day or two before a test. It should not be the primary way you study. We quiz each other. Don't study with more than two other people.
5. I wake up early and study for 2-3 hours. Like the OP said, you can get a lot done before noon. On Saturdays, I study from 7-noon, and I have the rest of the day to do what I want. I also make a schedule the night before and I stick to that schedule.
6. I make a schedule the night before. I make a list of things I need to get done and I start completing those tasks as soon as I wake up.
7. Exercise. Prayer. Walking. Music. Cleaning. Reading the news.

Kevin

 

[noyceguy]

.

 

[niemand]

Review all material from a given day within 24 hours. You don't have to spend much time with it, but for most people this will greatly increase your recall.

I would generally skim the power points from the day and write a couple quick sentences for each lecture that tie things together.

This might be helpful
http://medicine.utah.edu/learningresources/tools/study/

 

[BogeyGolf]

I know that everyone studies different, but I wanted to get some different opinions on how to be successful in PT school:

1. How do you study? (Do you make notecards, rewrite your notes, use whiteboards, keep repeating your notes out loud, etc.)
2. Do you buy all the required textbooks?
3. Do you do all of the required reading for your classes?
4. How do you study in groups?
5. Do you record all lectures and relisten to them after class?
6. Any good study habit books that you read to help you through PT school?
7. What are your Time Management Habits?
8. How do you deal with stress?

1) I would use the power points and/or handouts, books and notes. Never did notecards or recordings...just wasn't my style.
2) No, I bought the ones that I figured I would need. I purchased all my ortho books because I knew that's what I wanted to practice. I also bought the books of subjects I felt weakest in.
3) Yes, or at least I tried to. I will say its very difficult for me to read about research. :thumb down
4) No, I prefer to study alone. Group projects were necessary, but group studying never works for me.
5) No.
6) Not that I am aware of.
7) I feel that time management is a strong point of mine. Everyone has their own habits, etc...so just find what works for you. My biggest advice would be not to procrastinate. It may work in undergrad, but it won't cut it if you want to do exceptionally well in PT school.
8) I enjoyed my hobbies. I built/modified my hotrod my entire way through PT school. I also would pick up side jobs working for my brother and dad on weekends. I work hard so I can play hard.

Good luck, I'm sure you will do just fine.

 

[CherokeeWahine]

I know that everyone studies different, but I wanted to get some different opinions on how to be successful in PT school:

1. How do you study? (Do you make notecards, rewrite your notes, use whiteboards, keep repeating your notes out loud, etc.)
2. Do you buy all the required textbooks?
3. Do you do all of the required reading for your classes?
4. How do you study in groups?
5. Do you record all lectures and relisten to them after class?
6. Any good study habit books that you read to help you through PT school?
7. What are your Time Management Habits?
8. How do you deal with stress?

1. Re-read and occasionally re-write my notes. Go over PowerPoints, and above all, I do NOT study in groups.

2. Yes, and I end up regretting it.

3. Not even close.

4. I refuse to study in groups. As one person above said, it devolves into an ego-bruising session where everyone ends up leaving frustrated and feeling like nothing got accomplished. Also, I value my solitude. I spend Monday-Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM with my classmates. I don't feel like spending another minute around them at the end of the day.

5. Absolutely not.

6. There's no time to read MORE books.

7. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE.

8. Prayer, cooking, church, watching movies in my spare time.