Whether you’re just starting your first year or heading into your final year of PT school, we have to bring our minds into the right headspace to study. During the break, we make the most of it by spending time with family + friends, travel the world (or in this case locally with face masks on), and catch up on medical appointments. In this post, I’m going to share 5 things you can do before your first day of the semester, so you can set yourself up for success!! I personally use these tips myself, and I thought I would share them with you.
Establish a Routine
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle in PT school is really important. It can reduce stress + anxiety, help regulate your circadian rhythms, and overall provide more structure to your day. Durng my school breaks, I really break away from everything – including some of my healthy habits. Prioritizing your physical and mental wellness with heart-pumping exercise, 6-8 hours of sleep, and a nutritious diet does not only benefit you, but it sets you up to be a healthy role model for future patients.
Review Your Notes
If you are just about to start PT school, you have probably debated if you should study prior to your 1st semester. If you want a head start and have nothing better to do, go for it. I personally did not study during the summer prior to PT school, and I did just fine. Stick to studying for Anatomy and Physiology topics. Know your muscle origins, insertions, and actions. If you’re about to venture into clinical education, review the tests + measures or lab values you would expect to use in the clinic setting.
You don’t have to review your notes everyday for 3 hours. Go easy on yourself, you’re still on a break. Start by taking 30 minutes out of your day to read your notes or flashcards from previous courses. If there was information from last term’s courses you had trouble with, try to solidify your knowledge on those concepts. For me, I’m about to be in a course over all things pediatrics, and I can’t recall the lifespan development milestones.
Also, check out my PT Resources page for more study tips and other learning tools that could make your next semester a success!!
Plan out your semester
Print out the syllabi and write down your exam dates on a calendar and/or planner. Note additional assignments and projects for the course. Is there anything that involves group work? I’ve seen some people go as far as to making a master list of all the assignments + exams for each class. Personally, I just take it week by week as dates can change.
Save some coin on books and supplies
Need to replace your pens and pencils? How about stocking up on copy paper for printing out handouts and creating study guides? Do you have to buy specific apparel for your clinical experience? Look to see if your state participates in tax-free weekend, where you can buy clothes and school supplies and not have to worry about tax. Take advantage of the sales. Get student deals on almost everything: Apple products, Apple Music, Amazon Prime membership, Spotify + Hulu, Headspace.
Want to save some money on textbooks? I personally use slugbooks.com! It’s a website that compares prices of buying + renting textbooks from popular and reliable stores like Amazon.com, Chegg, and Barnes + Noble. All you need is the ISBN number. In some cases, slugbooks.com can save your search results.
Do some digital decluttering
Do you still need the research article summary paper from last term? How many PowerPoint lectures have accumulated in your downloaded files list? Clear the mail inbox and permanently delete junk and spam messages. Transfer all your old files to an external hard drive or cloud storage, then remove them from your computer’s internal memory. Back up your cellphone photos to your computer/storage system or an online photo service (Google photos, Amazon, Shutterfly), and make some space on your mobile device for new memories.
Looking for a good external hard drive? I recommend myPassport and Seagate Backup Plus. They’re a decent price for 2 TB of storage, and they’re light + portable for students on the go.
I know some of these tasks are common sense, but I added quite a few of my personal suggestions. Part of my blog is to be a resource to PT students alike so your journey #forthedpt can be the best. The more time you invest into preparation, the less worry you will have when the term begins. Now go out there, and start off your semester on the right foot.
As always, you can follow me and my journey #forthedpt on Instagram (@jordaineenriquez).
Until next time,
Jordaine Enriquez, SPT