Second Year Student Blog: Lindsey Zipperer
PA school is often described as the most challenging two years of your academic life. The pace is relentless, and the volume of material often feels like you’re trying to drink water through a firehose. It's easy to believe that every spare moment should be spent studying and that life has to be put on hold until graduation. While there's certainly truth to the demands of PA school - and there are weeks when studying has to come before everything else - I've learned that this doesn't have to define the entire experience.
Before PA school, I completed a master's degree in Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology. Between full-time graduate coursework and more than 30 hours each week conducting spinal cord injury research, I rarely made time for anything outside of school. I skipped social events, neglected hobbies, and measured my success by my academic performance just like I had in undergrad. That work ethic helped me earn a spot in Duke's PA Program, but it also left me burnt out. I realized I had spent so many years chasing perfection that I sacrificed time with the people and the experiences that truly brought me joy. So, before my first day of PA school, I made a promise to myself: I would choose "good enough" over perfection.
That may sound simple, but for someone who had always been motivated by grades, it was surprisingly difficult. Fortunately, the Duke PA program and the people in it made that transition a little easier. The curriculum is intentionally designed to support student success, with opportunities to remediate low exam scores and faculty who teach individualized study and test-taking strategies. I was also consistently reminded by faculty, staff, and classmates that flawless grades are not what define us as future clinicians. The time I reclaimed by letting go of perfectionism became an investment in my relationships, hobbies, and experiences - the parts of life that ultimately made me a happier and more well-rounded person.
Clinical year, however, brought a new set of challenges. Unpredictable rotation schedules, different preceptor expectations, and an intimidating end-of-rotation exam left far less room for error than I had become accustomed to during didactic year. To preserve the work-life balance I had intentionally built, I had to become even more deliberate with how I invested my time. I studied with every spare minute I had in the clinic or hospital, with the goal of feeling confident with about 90% of the material rather than perfection. I did my best to leave evenings and weekends available for hobbies and time with my partner. While it took a few rotations (and a few exam remediations!) to find my rhythm, I eventually returned to prioritizing the experiences outside of school that mattered to me. Perhaps the biggest contributor to my happiness during the clinical year was choosing electives based on curiosity rather than strategy.
If you ask ten different people how to choose an elective rotation, you’ll probably get ten different answers. They’ll encourage you to choose rotations that will impress employers or give you an edge on the PANCE. While all of that has value, the best advice I received was surprisingly simple: Pick the rotations you’re genuinely excited about!
So, I prioritized my passions for travel and language learning by completing a global health rotation in Riobamba, Ecuador. Over four weeks I embraced a new culture, improved my medical Spanish, and gained firsthand experience caring for patients in a resource-limited setting. Afterward, I even fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting the Galápagos Islands. Did my bank account take a hit? Yes it did. But those experiences taught me more about myself - and the kind of provider I want to become - than any exam ever could.
My second elective was in Sexual and Gender Medicine, a rotation I had looked forward to since starting PA school. Every day of that rotation reinforced the importance of meeting patients with empathy and open curiosity. I gained experience in gender-affirming care, HIV prevention, and voice therapy while learning from providers who exemplified trauma-informed and patient-centered care. Helping these patients feel seen and safe in a healthcare system where many have historically felt marginalized was one of the most rewarding experiences of my clinical training.
Over the past two years I have chosen “good enough” instead of perfection and prioritized my life instead of my grades. When I graduate in less than a month, I know I won't remember my exam scores.
I'll remember counseling a patient through hormone therapy options after they had waited years for that appointment. I'll remember learning about folk medicine from el curandero in the markets of Ecuador and snorkeling alongside sea turtles in the Galápagos. I'll remember staying late to scrub into extra surgeries, even when it meant sacrificing study time later that evening. Did I remediate a few exams or submit an assignment a day or two late? Absolutely. But those moments are a footnote compared with the experiences that shaped me into the clinician - and person- I hope to become.
PA school is undoubtedly challenging, but it is also two years of your life. So, if there's one thing I hope future students take away from my experience, it's this: let yourself enjoy it! Choose the elective that excites you. Take the trip if you have the opportunity. Spend time with the people you love. Chase experiences that make you a more compassionate, well-rounded person - not just a better test taker or more hirable candidate.
Medicine will always ask a lot of you. Don't wait until graduation to start living the life you're working so hard to build.
Lindsey Zipperer is a second-year student with the Duke Physician Assistant Program. Email lindsey.zipperer@duke.edu with questions.
Editor’s note: Duke Physician Assistant Program students blog monthly. Blogs represent the opinion of the author, not the Duke Physician Assistant Program, the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, or Duke University.