Struggling at uni: Physician associate course

I'm really behind and struggling on the course. I am trying my best to keep up and revising alot, but I'm just so behind and it's reflecting on my marks in my class test. I asked the lecturer if i could meet with her to discuss how to improve, didn't reply to my email.

Also for the case presentation I did, the lecture i presented to told my tutor compared to others it was below the standard and not good.

I had a meeting with my tutor yesterday, who was the old head of the course, she said that there is concern in the faculty about me. She even said if I am struggling and not really engaging, I need to see whether the PA course is right for me. I love the content and am enjoying the course, just too much of it, we also don't have any reading week. The thing is at the start of the course they said to everyone not to doubt ourselves and if were good enough to pass the interview, were good enough for the course, don't get imposter syndrome., and now they are discouraging me.

Also my PBL lecturer said that my knowledge isn't deep enough and my LOB's that i do isn't good, but I'm trying my best. I have been contributing alot more, volunteering more for the lobs and volunteered to take the history. I thought I was really doing well in PBL so that was really disappointing to hear. loads of people just do 2-3 of them and don't go into detail themselves.

Also when I asked a lecturer a question, that i had never met before she was trying to familiarise herself with the class and when I told her my name she just said , "oh so your..." so the lectures have been talking about me, which makes me really hate going to lectures

Any advice on PA students on how to catch up ?

Current PA student here.

Maybe, your revision technique isn't right for you? You could try changing it up until you find one that clicks. Also, practice Qs.. a lot of them. A lot of my class mates use flashcards. I prefer to read from textbooks and write notes, because I learn from reading things. I look at where I'm not scoring on practice Qs and then go over those topics more, as they're weaker points.

Might be worth dropping another email to your lecturer or drop by their office, emails get missed, it happens. I'm sure they're not deliberately ignoring you . Your lecturers do want to see you do well, they wouldn't of accepted your application if they didn't see potential or if they wanted you to fail. PA courses are competitive, if they didn't feel that you were the right student for them, they would of moved onto the next applicant.

Some lecturers can be more critical than others, but unfortunately, there's very little room for error in the working world of medicine, they have to be harsh sometimes. It depends if they're just a little on the critical side, or if they're genuinely singling you out. If you feel that it's the latter, then you're able to make complaints. If they're just critical, then unfortunately, it's a case of suck it up, listen to their concerns/feedback and do better next time.

Faculty staff will discuss students, that's not unusual. If they have concerns about your engagement with the course and content, then they need to be aware of that discuss these concerns as a faculty. They're not gossiping, they need to identify students who may need additional support for whatever reason. If a student is struggling or not engaging, it raises a few concerns on the well-being of that student. The staff are aware of how stressful the course is, that's why they're constantly looking out for signs that students aren't coping, which includes monitoring grades, attendance, engagement, etc. They're not trying to catch you out, they simply don't want you to become unwell due to the stress and intensity of the course.

If the lecturer said "oh, so you're..", then that's unprofessional and they were in the wrong. Students have a right to confidentiality, even if they were being discussed by faculty staff. Random lecturers shouldn't really be included in this discussion though, it's usually between key staff of the faculty (year lead, course lead, tutors, etc). Again, you have a right to complain, if you believe you're being treated unfairly, there are formal processes for this.

Just keep your head up, keep practicing on areas that are your weakest points, listen to feedback and act on it, speak to staff if you're struggling and seek appropriate support for your stress. It's a stressful course, no doubt about it, but it's not impossible.

Thank you so much for your advice, just a quick question- how do you revise?

thank you so much

No problem,

If it helps, I've only just started doing this.. but, mindmaps are great. Write the symptom or condition in the middle, and do branches of symptoms, causes, treatments, risk factors, etc. This is a great method to help visualise things on 1 page, and you can easily colour code it to help you remember it too. You can then pin the sheets up somewhere to have a look at. I find it's much more interesting than just re-writing boring notes.

But don't be afraid to ask for help on this course, I can bet that everyone in your class is also stressed out, some just hide it better than others.