What is the most difficult course in grad school?

[MRM]

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I apologize if a similar thread already exists.
I am a newbie and am slowly picking my way through the forum.

So, my question: What has been the biggest headache in terms of new academic material or otherwise, in grad school? If you could go back and try to better prepare yourself, what would you be studying/doing right now? Basically, I will have some free time for the next couple of years as I get my pre-reqs, and I would love to get a bit of a running start for grad school so the learning curve isn't insurmountable. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[goyo1010]

I apologize if a similar thread already exists.
I am a newbie and am slowly picking my way through the forum.

So, my question: What has been the biggest headache in terms of new academic material or otherwise, in grad school? If you could go back and try to better prepare yourself, what would you be studying/doing right now? Basically, I will have some free time for the next couple of years as I get my pre-reqs, and I would love to get a bit of a running start for grad school so the learning curve isn't insurmountable. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

I'm in my first semester of PT school and only 4 weeks in... The two hardest courses in terms of amount of material to learn would be Gross Human Anatomy and Clinical Management in Internal Medicine. The amount of information is just staggering with these two combined.

 

[MRM]

I'm in my first semester of PT school and only 4 weeks in... The two hardest courses in terms of amount of material to learn would be Gross Human Anatomy and Clinical Management in Internal Medicine. The amount of information is just staggering with these two combined.

Thanks for your response.

What text are you using for "Clinical Management in Internal Medicine"? Is this a class that most DPT students will have to take?

So, is there anything that I can do--apart from pre-reading any textbooks--to better prepare myself?

Thanks, again.

 

[jellybean2020]

Thanks for your response.

What text are you using for "Clinical Management in Internal Medicine"? Is this a class that most DPT students will have to take?

So, is there anything that I can do--apart from pre-reading any textbooks--to better prepare myself?

Thanks, again.

I think you're being just a TAD overeager here. You said you still have a few years of pre-reqs to take? I would recommend that you devote your time to getting a 4.0 on those remaining classes. If you have "free time" then study more. Or get involved in research. Or do clinical activities/shadowing. Or study for the GRE so you can kill it. All of these things will improve you as an applicant. "But I read graduate textbooks" is not going to get you into graduate school. A high GPA and solid extracurriculars will.

Besides anything you read now you will not retain 2 years later without regular reinforcement, which you won't get while you're still in undergrad classes. Basically...don't worry about classes you'll take in graduate school, because you're getting ahead of yourself here.

 

[markelmarcel]

(6 credits of) Anatomy and (3 credits of) Physiology at the same time sucks and I'm only about to start my 4th week. Haha. But, I had a very bad physiology undergrad prof and it looks like my PT prof teaches the same way, so I'm hoping not to struggle, but am expecting to.

 

[dptstudent2014]

I'm sure the most difficult course depends on the particular school. I think at my school the most difficult course is gross anatomy. To be honest, I really don't think it is going to benefit you to start studying for PT courses a few years before you even start school. Each professor is going to require different things in PT school and it is best to just wait until you find out what the coursework is. Also, you really should just focus on getting good grades in the courses you are in, and getting the most shadowing hours and research hours that you can. That will really help you get into PT school. If you still have free time after doing all of that, have fun. Do the activities you enjoy and spend time with friends and family. After you start PT school, your available time to do all of those things drastically decreases.

 

[goyo1010]

Thanks for your response.

What text are you using for "Clinical Management in Internal Medicine"? Is this a class that most DPT students will have to take?

So, is there anything that I can do--apart from pre-reading any textbooks--to better prepare myself?

Thanks, again.

Haha, as the other poster has said, you may be a bit too eager. In every class we cover material that takes 150-200 powerpoint slides to cover... Seriously... Trying to read these books is unnecessary and will just overwhelm you... But if you really want to know, this class has the following books which we have to read:

Pharmacology for the Physical Therapist
ISBN: 0071460438

Acute Care Handbook for the Physical Therapist
ISBN: 116048995

Pathology: Implications for the Physical Therapist (this is a MONSTER of a book, but EXTREMELY essential for the NPTE according to TWU graduates)
ISBN: 1416031189

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

We used none of those books...which is why I agree that you should wait until you get to school to worry about it - every program is different, and even if you know exactly where you're gonna go, chances are they'll change some requirements, new information will come out, etc.

Like the others have said, focus on what you're doing now. Preparing for PT school courses is useless if you don't get in because you spend your free time reading neuroscience books instead of studying for physics I. Focus on getting your prereqs and other courses in your major done with the best GPA possible, as well as observation, etc.

 

[markelmarcel]

...focus on what you're doing now. Preparing for PT school courses is useless if you don't get in because you spend your free time reading neuroscience books instead of studying for physics I. Focus on getting your prereqs and other courses in your major done with the best GPA possible, as well as observation, etc.

I also agree with what everyone else said... If you get accepted and you have the summer before you start, then maybe I'd brush up on anatomy, but other than that, you need to focus on the task at hand instead of getting way ahead of yourself. 🙂

 

[Litlwarrior08]

It is interesting that everytime this question is asked A/P is the answer. 🙂 it was also my most difficult in undergrad........thinking about retaking it for better grade and refresher at the com college .....summer prior to PT school.......still getting my aps out there---fingers crossed.

 

[TheOx777]

This may/may not sound ridiculous but the coursework hasn't been too bad thus far. I can tell you that the answers you receive will be totally contingent on each person and each program. The class with the most material is by far Gross Human Anatomy. Other classes like pathology, pharmacology, and physiology seem to challenge some; especially if your science background is relegated to the pre-requisite requirements. Second and third year students routinely comment that our course sequence in Neuroscience 1 and 2 is typically where many students struggle.

As the posters above have stated, I wouldn't get too caught up at this moment on which class is harder/est. Focus on doing well in your current coursework, and when DPT school comes knocking just be ready to answer the bell. Best wishes!

 

[goyo1010]

This may/may not sound ridiculous but the coursework hasn't been too bad thus far. I can tell you that the answers you receive will be totally contingent on each person and each program. The class with the most material is by far Gross Human Anatomy. Other classes like pathology, pharmacology, and physiology seem to challenge some; especially if your science background is relegated to the pre-requisite requirements. Second and third year students routinely comment that our course sequence in Neuroscience 1 and 2 is typically where many students struggle.

As the posters above have stated, I wouldn't get too caught up at this moment on which class is harder/est. Focus on doing well in your current coursework, and when DPT school comes knocking just be ready to answer the bell. Best wishes!

Apparently, this is true for us, too. The DPT2s mentioned that first semester is really nothing compared to what comes after. Clinical Neuroscience is where the DPT2s said a few people flunked.

As other have said, don't worry about DPT coursework right now. Focus on the now and be sure you do well in undergrad.

 

[MRM]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. Yeah, I think I was being a little ambitious when I posted that. I've started to prepare for my pre-reqs and am finding that brushing up on basic math and chemistry is taking a fair amount of my time (after coming home from teaching all day). So, for now, I'll just focus on what lies 4 months ahead, rather than 2+ years ahead. This is such a good community and resource.
Thanks, again.

 

[johncronejr]

Thanks for your response.

What text are you using for "Clinical Management in Internal Medicine"? Is this a class that most DPT students will have to take?

So, is there anything that I can do--apart from pre-reading any textbooks--to better prepare myself?

Thanks, again.

If you want to get a head start....start learning muscle origin/insertion, action, innervation and blood supply. Know it like the back of your hand by the time you start PT school and it will help you in gross anatomy.

I had the whole summer off before starting and swore I would study those things all summer but DPT2's told me, "Enjoy your summer, you'll be getting more studying than you want when school starts"....Well, I didn't do it, and now wish I had. Learning to identify on cadavers and learning clinical applications wouldn't be overwhelming at all if I weren't also learning the stuff I posted in the first paragraph.

It never hurts to learn ahead on things that will not change. Good luck!