Were You Impatient Early On?

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JackD

JackD

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Recently I have found myself getting increasingly impatient with my courses. It feels like all review. Just the same stuff I have heard 500,000 times about clinical psychology and research. My lowest class grade right now is a 100%. I have straight A+'s right now and these are not from little assignments. This is after midterms and papers. I'm starting to get really bored and impatient. There is no challenge. There is nothing new. Did anyone else have this problem during their first semester of grad school?
 
Hmmmm...nope. Just the opposite actually. Not sure what your program is like, but my basic psychological sciences first year certainly wasnt a cake walk. It was quite intense and I learned alot that i thought i already knew about psychology, affective neuroscience, and multivariate statistics, but didnt😀.
 
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Huh, not sure what to make of all of this. Perhaps it is the fact that I am not a PhD student that helps a lot. I am not sure when you guys start student teaching, conducting research, and acting as research assistants but I am fairly certain that you folks have far less time to study. If all of that starts first semester then it might make sense that I am having an easier time at it. Although that doesn't explain why my grades are so much higher than most of my classmate's.....
 
Im sure thats probably it. In addition to the heavy course work, i was TAing and learning to do SCIDs, HAM, BPRS, MADRS, and PANASS for my lab. I was also starting my SPSS learning curve and geting familiar with the billions of databases our lab has. By thanksgiving of my first year I was seeing patients for structured diagnostic interviews and ratings in our lab for research. Not seeing patients clinically or anything yet at that time, but it still kept me busy.

Your time will come...hehe. Cherish this time!
 
JackD said:
Recently I have found myself getting increasingly impatient with my courses. It feels like all review. Just the same stuff I have heard 500,000 times about clinical psychology and research. My lowest class grade right now is a 100%. I have straight A+'s right now and these are not from little assignments. This is after midterms and papers. I'm starting to get really bored and impatient. There is no challenge. There is nothing new. Did anyone else have this problem during their first semester of grad school?
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Ya, not exactly my experience. Definitely didn't get straight A's and I had a 4.0 UGPA.

Mark
 
erg923 said:
Your time will come...hehe. Cherish this time!
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Yes it will 🙂 And yes, cherish it while you have it. My experience was each year got exponentially harder. Not necessarily in terms of course content, but in the sheer volume of work you need to manage/juggle.
 
Not a grad student (yet), but I'm feeling the same way about undergrad, like it's mostly a review, and I'm not learning a whole lot of new material. Even my much spoken of Advanced Research class seems like a review (of course, this may be due to the fact I've done arguably much more research then your usual undergrad). I know I still have lots to learn, though--I guess I just feel ready for the "next level."

I'm already getting used to balancing researching, teaching, clinical work and classes, so maybe that's good...?
 
Nope, my courses are quite difficult, or at least a lot of work.
 
Some classes were "harder" than others, but it was more the volume of information needed for each class. For better or worse my biggest challenge was time management. I didin't have an assistant anymore managing the details of my day, so it took me a few months to get a handle on my day to day routine.

Classes will take up less and less of your time as you progress through your program. By my 3rd year my classes were definitely more interesting, but often took a back seat to my practicum, my research, etc. If you are breezing through your classes, USE that extra time to get ahead in other areas, because you'll have less and less free time as your progress.
 
USE that extra time to get ahead in other areas, because you'll have less and less free time as your progress.
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I like this idea; simple yet insightful. I have noticed that despite my fairly high grades and ability to get all of my work done, I still have large quantities of free time, most of which I spend drinking and watching Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Perhaps this is an opportunity that should not be squandered.
 
JackD said:
I still have large quantities of free time, most of which I spend drinking .
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yea, you're gonna need to fall out of that habit as well.
 
erg923 said:
yea, you're gonna need to fall out of that habit as well.
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I can quit anytime I want!

Actually, I don't really drink that often. If i have any more than about two beers two times in a week, I start having a lot of trouble sleeping. However, I am addicted to Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. That might be a much bigger problem. So much wasted time....
 
That's what I did--I have a lighter TA load than most of my cohort this semester, so I'm using the opportunity to get some of my research going.
 
I've never found a psychology course challenging, either in undergrad or in grad school. There has been a lot of stuff covered in grad classes that I knew nothing about going in (especially many of the stats courses), but I haven't found any of them very challenging. Maybe my school is just easy on us? I don't know, our syllabi look roughly comparable to what I've seen elsewhere. I've taken courses outside the department as well, so I know it isn't just the psych department.

I had sort of the opposite problem from many. Coursework was such a joke I took on WAY too much other stuff early on since I had a TON more time then I was expecting. Lo and behold, now I barely have time to work on my own research and its tough just to keep everything afloat let alone make progress. Stuff kept getting added on and I was too scattered to get anything done. Hence the reason I have 4-5 manuscripts that have been "in preparation" for far too long now😉

If you have free time, use it wisely. Don't do what I did - make sure to set realistic limits for yourself because ironically, I think I would be far more productive if I was doing less. Make sure to prioritize your own work and things that advance you in the program to the extent it is possible.
 
erg923 said:
yea, you're gonna need to fall out of that habit as well.
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I refuse to give up beer in grad school. In fact, I'm going out to grab a pint with a coworker right now! : )
 
krisrox said:
I refuse to give up beer in grad school. In fact, I'm going out to grab a pint with a coworker right now! : )
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Things don't change much after you graduate 😀
 
I've rarely found my impatience directed toward my program...more toward myself and my inability to integrate everything meaningfully. The main take-away from first year, for me, was the suprise that stats and research methods made a larger contribution to my clinical thinking than my psychopath or interviewing/intervention courses. This is coming from someone with a MA in Higher Education with a focus in Philosophy...

As a 2nd year, I find that when classes are boring the hell out of me there are a few possibilities as to why this is. 1. The class is, indeed, boring as all hell. 2. I am not demanding myself to integrate the information and expand my knowledge base independently. 3. a combination of 1 and 2. A small bit of reflection as to why I am not applying myself (going through the motions, etc) usually snaps me out of it pretty quicky. If not, my wife and my advisor are always good for bringing me back to reality.

I'm on practicum at a large VA hospital (for neuropsych), and the difficulty is not the amount of work as much as it is the ability to adapt to different referrals and the pragmatics that go along with those (i.e. legal issues, working with physicians and other health providers, writing tactful and accurate reports, and just being able to work well with a wide range of personalities). Thankfully, it is a great environment to learn in and be a student there.

Another point I would like to add is that if you honestly believe you are meeting your goals and are on your way to doing what you love and doing it well, dont feel the need to act as though your life is painful. My hope is that I reflect not only competence, but joy in doing what I do. Sure, I think I work hard, and on a bad day it can be a bit much, but at the end of any day I feel absurdly grateful to do what I'm doing.

And to another post, I also refuse to give up beer during grad school...esp now during oktoberfest season.
 
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PsychPhDStudent said:
Uh oh, I thought the title said "Were You INpatient Early On?" at first...
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:laugh: Awesome.

I'm feeling pretty impatient also, not because my classes are boring or easy (far from it) but because I'm already over "being a student." I just want to get to my research and get the hell out of here (again, nothing to do with the program or people, both of which are amazing).

I feel like being out for a few years, I'm not into this student lifestyle. I just want to get through my program and back to being in the "real world" as soon as possible. Does anyone else share this sentiment? I feel like undergrad was all about the "experience" but grad school is just about building your career and getting going.
 
I'm impatient LATER on...rather than earlier on. Here's what I mean:

Early on I was so excited to be back in school pursuing a new career. Everything I learned was interesting (well almost...). Now that I'm on internship I just want to get out there and do my thing -- I'm tired of being a student. I want to be a professional, and get paid and treated like one.

Sigh...back to dissertation writing.🙁
 
JackD said:
Huh, not sure what to make of all of this. Perhaps it is the fact that I am not a PhD student that helps a lot. I am not sure when you guys start student teaching, conducting research, and acting as research assistants but I am fairly certain that you folks have far less time to study. If all of that starts first semester then it might make sense that I am having an easier time at it. Although that doesn't explain why my grades are so much higher than most of my classmate's.....
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I would not speak for PhD or PsyD programs in general. I am in a PsyD program and definitely did not feel this way, I don't think at any point so far. Maybe it depends on the structure or curriculum setup of each person's program, but I would not generalize about programs being easy or giving people significantly more time based solely on the model of the program, as it seems that there is a large amount of variance within each type of program. That being said, it might be that your first-semester courses are easier than you expected because your program might want to ease you into things and is understanding that some students are still dealing with the transition? Or, you are just incredibly well-adjusted 🙂 Just an idea...
 
If it helps, kris, I am drinking far more often in grad school than I ever did in undergrad!
 
wildcat06 said:
:laugh: Awesome.

I'm feeling pretty impatient also, not because my classes are boring or easy (far from it) but because i'm already over "being a student." i just want to get to my research and get the hell out of here (again, nothing to do with the program or people, both of which are amazing).

I feel like being out for a few years, i'm not into this student lifestyle. I just want to get through my program and back to being in the "real world" as soon as possible. Does anyone else share this sentiment? I feel like undergrad was all about the "experience" but grad school is just about building your career and getting going.
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THIS. Yes.
 
psychmama said:
I'm impatient LATER on...rather than earlier on. Here's what I mean:

Early on I was so excited to be back in school pursuing a new career. Everything I learned was interesting (well almost...). Now that I'm on internship I just want to get out there and do my thing -- I'm tired of being a student. I want to be a professional, and get paid and treated like one.

Sigh...back to dissertation writing.🙁
Click to expand...

Unfortunately after you finish internship you have another 1000+ hours of supervised experience to accrue to get licensed (1750 in my state). I find weekly supervision a bit tedious and annoying at this point in my training. I'd prefer to have it if something comes up that I need to discuss (more like peer supervision). Oh well. It is better after internship as you get paid more and officially have "the title." But you're still not completely there yet in terms of independence. It feels like it never ends sometimes 🙂
 
Cosmo75 said:
Unfortunately after you finish internship you have another 1000+ hours of supervised experience to accrue to get licensed (1750 in my state). I find weekly supervision a bit tedious and annoying at this point in my training. I'd prefer to have it if something comes up that I need to discuss (more like peer supervision). Oh well. It is better after internship as you get paid more and officially have "the title." But you're still not completely there yet in terms of independence. It feels like it never ends sometimes 🙂
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Yes, I need the postdoc supervision too. I'm just hoping I find something to fill that bill in the form of a postdoc or job. Here's hoping we both get to the finish line soon!
 
All I know is that I'm having SIGNIFICANT difficulty with determining point values for the WISC and WAIS. 2 points or 1 point?! GOD DAMNIT!
 
Hahaha, you mean for the Vocabulary section and stuff? I feel your pain!
 
AryaStark said:
All I know is that I'm having SIGNIFICANT difficulty with determining point values for the WISC and WAIS. 2 points or 1 point?! GOD DAMNIT!
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Believe it or not, if you administer enough of them, eventually you'll barely even look at the scoring manual unless you get a really odd response.
 
ugh yes those are difficult decisions, and when it gets to the Rey-O....DOES it deserve .5 pt or should i know that is just a definite 0?? Define recognizable...ahhh!
 
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