What comes to mind when you think of Physician Assistant (PA) school? For many pre-PA students, images of donning a white coat with a stethoscope neatly placed over their shoulders fill their imagination. This narrative quickly changes for students accepted into a PA program with illustrations of a never-ending stream of exams. I don’t want to downplay the rigor of PA school because the hours of studying are all too true, but this does not mean you need to sacrifice other aspects of your life, such as your health.
Coming into PA school, I allowed the fear of imposter syndrome dictate the hours I allocated to studying. In other words, I spent an unhealthy amount of time studying and subsequently neglected my health. This led to unnecessary stress, loss of sleep, and poor relationships with those closest to me. All of this for a few extra points on exams is far from worth it. There will always be another exam, practical, or standardized patient encounter. Long term, the extra time you have at the end of the night will be better spent focusing on your health versus studying that additional hour.
I am by no means an expert on any of the categories listed below, but I thought I would share some health pearls that worked for me.
Nutrition
Using your Sunday nights for meal prep will be life-changing. Prior to this, I would often eat out after a stressful day, but having healthy meals readily available removes that barrier to healthy options. An added bonus of meal prepping was that I could plan an appropriate portion size per meal. I personally follow the Mediterranean diet, so my meals consist of a lot of mixed beans, fruits, and nuts. I especially made sure there were always various fruits that were washed and ready to eat because I’m a huge stress eater.
Fitness
During didactic year, I would regularly go to the gym but had to find other means to maintain my fitness due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily, Durham offers many hiking trails that make for a fun weekend activity – Eno River, American Tobacco Trail, and Al Buehler Trail, to name a few. Besides hiking, I’ve learned to enjoy running, which took me a couple of weeks to tolerate. Nowadays, I run around my apartment complex with the aim of getting at least 150 minutes of cardio a week. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all workout plan; instead, the important thing is to just be active.
Sleep
Mornings used to be rough for me because I spent years before PA school working nightshifts. I’ve completely changed my sleeping habits after learning about sleep hygiene. Some things I’ve incorporated into my sleep routine include maintaining a regular sleep schedule, blocking blue light use at night, limiting caffeine intake in the afternoon, and using an eye mask. Everyone should aim to get 7+ hours a night, which can easily be achieved by practicing good sleep hygiene.
Prioritizing the things that make up our health has significantly helped my stress level during PA school. Given the opportunity to redo things, I would have started practicing these healthy habits earlier. The best thing you can do is start creating healthy habits now. The habits you create will carry over during the roughest times in PA school and allow you to maintain some level of balance. Whether you are a prospective or current PA student, I challenge you to make these changes, and I promise you will notice a difference.
Alexander Tran is a second-year student with the Duke Physician Assistant Program. Email Alexander.Tran555@duke.edu with questions.
Editor’s note: Duke Physician Assistant Program students blog twice a month. Blogs represent the opinion of the author, not the Duke Physician Assistant Program, the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, or Duke University.