Tips for Incoming 2nd year PA Students: Preparing for Clerkship
We will be sharing tips and advice for PA students to help you make the most of their clinical rotation experience.
From setting a routine, reading before the rotation begins, to how to build your resume and maintain a work-life balance, we will cover everything you need to know to impress during clinical rotations and prepare for clerkship evaluations.
If you’d like to learn more about how clerkship works, please read our Overview of Clerkship.
Clinical clerkships are an integral part of PA education, providing students with hands-on experience in various medical fields. PA students get to apply what they learned in the classroom to real-life patient scenarios. The clerkship experience can be challenging, but it is also incredibly rewarding.
It provides students with a glimpse into the daily routine of a PA and helps them to refine their skills and knowledge.
Here we’ll cover:
Setting your Calendar for Clerkship
How to Study during Clerkship
Addressing Imposter Syndrome during Clerkship
Treating Clerkship like a Working Interview
How to build up your resume during Clerkship
Tip #1: Set up your Calendar & Input your Shifts
Having a routine is crucial during clinical rotations as it helps you to stay organized and manage your time effectively.
By setting a routine, you can prioritize tasks, reduce stress, and ensure that you are making the most of your time during rotations.
Here are a few tips for setting a routine that works for you:
Schedule your time: Make a schedule of your daily activities, including when you will attend rounds, the time you will be at the hospital/clinic, when you will study, and when you will take breaks. This can help you keep track of when shifts are, and how much time you have to relax.
Prioritize self-care: Make sure to include time for self-care in your routine. This could be anything from exercise, meditation, or simply taking a few minutes to relax and recharge. Include rest days or coffee dates on the weekend. Taking care of yourself is essential to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
If you’re doing a rotation like Emergency Medicine, the calendar view allows you to see the spacing of your different shifts. You can also identify when not enough time has been allotted between two shifts in a row (e.g. you have a shift that ends at midnight, but the schedule says you will be starting in the ED again at 7:30 AM.. this may have been a schedule error!).
Tip #2: Studying during Clerkship
We recommend reviewing material right before your rotation begins, as well as doing some studying throughout your rotation.
How to Prepare before your Rotation Begins
By reading up on the topics you will be covering during your rotation, you can gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter and be better prepared to contribute to rounds and patient care discussions.
Research the rotation: Start by reading about the specific specialty you will be completing your rotation in. What types of patient populations does this department serve? What are common conditions that present in this specialty? When is it appropriate to refer to this specialty? What are common procedures or surgeries that are done here?
Read up on relevant Anatomy and Physiology: Review the coursework you have completed that is relevant to the rotation. This will help you to refresh your memory and keep up with conversations and discussions about conditions that present.
Read up on Clerkship Guides: There are clerkship specific guides/PDFs available on this blog and online from other PA schools/medical schools. It’s a great way to get a brief overview of what to expect!
Study before rotation begins does not need to be exhaustive. It is an opportunity to orient yourself to the specialty, and get familiar with the terminology when you arrive.
How to Studying During Rotations
Studying during clinical rotations can be a challenge, as you are often working long hours. It’s good to carve out some time each day dedicated to some light study. This will help reinforce what you’ve learned, and better prepare you for content on the PA Certification Exam.
What should I review during clerkship?
Review history taking and physical examination skills: You’ll be doing patient assessments quite regularly. Make a point to review and practice patient assessments, focused physical examinations (with all special tests, pertinent positives and negatives for specific conditions).
Read around cases: Review concepts around patient cases that you’ve seen that day while on rotation. This may include revisiting old notes from 1st year, delving into an UptoDate article, clinical practice guidelines, reviewing journal articles or listening to a podcast.
Study with Case Files: Search up case files/case studies by specialty (e.g. “Family Medicine case studies”, “Orthopaedic Surgery Case Studies”) and practice your clinical reasoning skills. We have links to some “Case Files” clerkship study guides in Recommended Books for PA students.
Tip #3: Imposter Syndrome During Rotations
Imposter syndrome is a common experience for many PA students during clerkship. It can be easy to feel like you don’t belong or that you are not as knowledgeable as your peers.
Just now that this is a VERY common experience, and many competent and experienced PAs and PA students experience imposter syndrome.
Here are a few tips for addressing imposter syndrome during rotations:
Seek support from peers: Talking to your classmates about your feelings can be a great way to alleviate feelings of imposter syndrome. Your peers are likely experiencing similar feelings and can provide support and encouragement.
Ask for feedback: Your preceptor can be a great resource for addressing imposter syndrome. They can provide guidance and feedback on your performance, helping you to see your strengths and build confidence.
Set achievable goals: Setting achievable goals can help you to focus on your strengths and feel more confident in your abilities. Start with small goals and build upon your successes.
Tip #4: Treat Clinical Rotations like a working interview
Being a clinical clerk is a lot like having a full time job. You work 5 days a week, approximately 8-10 hours per day. You see patients, complete clinical tasks, and learn on the job.
Preceptors evaluate you on different CanMEDS-PA competencies, including your medical knowledge, clinical skills, communication, professionalism, your ability to advocate for patients and more.
Be professional - It’s important to show up, be present, be on time, dress professionally (as if you were on a real job). Don’t spend all of your time on your phone between patients.
Introduce yourself to staff and patients you work with - don’t wait for someone else to introduce you. The most memorable PA students are often those who take time to greet and build rapport with all staff on the service (admins, ward clerks, nurses, technicians, allied health, etc.), and not just the MDs/PAs.
Ask for feedback: Some preceptors will provide feedback on a regular basis, other times you may have to ask for feedback on your performance. Be sure to ask for feedback each week (e.g. what went well, what you can improve, and what you can work towards). Preceptors will appreciate the initiative you take towards improving your learning and caring for patients.
Keep track of what you learned, procedures you performed, etc. That way, when you ask for a reference during the job hunt, you can provide a few details to remind the preceptor of your time during the clinical rotation!
Current Preceptors are potential Job References or future Employers!
Your PA or MD preceptor is a potential future reference or employer.
Don’t wait until you finish PA school before asking for a reference.
Timing: Wait until the end of your clerkship to ask for a reference. This will give your preceptor enough time to see your work and evaluate your performance.
Express Gratitude: Thank your preceptor for the opportunity to work with them and for the guidance and support they provided. Express how much you appreciated their mentorship and how it impacted your growth as a PA student.
What type of reference? You could ask for a letter of recommendation, however most PA employers during the job hunt prefer to speak directly with PA employers via phone. Usually it requires a phone number and email. Alternatively you could ask what type of reference they feel most qualified to provide (e.g. letter, email, phone call).
Ask for the Reference: “After August I will have graduated from PA school and will be applying for positions. I had a great experience and would appreciate if you’d be willing to be a reference for me during that time. Would it be alright to reach out to you in future about a reference?”
Preparation: As mentioned above, keep track of your accomplishments, key tasks, and what you learned during the clinical rotation. Include the dates/duration of the clinical placement.
That way when you write an email request to to the preceptor after you finish PA school, they’ll remember what you did and be able to provide a stronger personalized reference.
Tip #5 : Build your PA Resume WHILE you are in clerkship
Rather than waiting until you are done PA school, studying for the PA cert exam and looking for jobs, we recommend building your resume as you go through all of your rotations in clerkship.
In a new PA Grad resume, the “Clinical Rotations/Clinical Experience” section should make up the largest part of your resume.
Create a “master resume/CV” document where you write out the descriptions of each clinical rotation in detail:
Name of the rotation: Include the name of the clinical rotation, such as "Pediatrics Clerkship" or "Surgery Rotation."
Institution and dates: List the name of the hospital or clinic where you completed the rotation, as well as the start and end dates.
Describe the Practice: Was it inpatient our outpatient? group practice or solo MD clinic? What was the patient population? Common conditions seen and treated?
Description of responsibilities: Briefly describe your responsibilities during the clerkship, such as conducting patient assessments, presenting cases, or assisting in procedures. Focus on the skills and experience you gained and how they will be valuable in your career as a future PA
Include highlights of your soft skills & familiarity with the specialty: This may include details of how you interacted with clinicians and families to facilitate patient care, speaking with other HCPs to facilitate referrals? Did you participate in family meetings? bullet rounds?
Accomplishments: Highlight any notable achievements during the clerkship, such as receiving a positive evaluation from your preceptor or contributing to a patient care plan. presentations you performed (e.g. teaching rounds, case presentations)
By including these elements in your resume, you can showcase your clinical rotation experience and highlight your skills and achievements in a way that will stand out to potential employers.
Start working on your resume before clerkships begin.
Update your resume with any relevant experiences and achievements as they occur during your rotations.
This will ensure that your resume is up-to-date and ready to go when it comes time to start your job search.
This is MUCH easier to do as you go (e.g. each week, or after the end of each rotation) rather than waiting until you are done PA school and trying to recall what you did many months ago.
Final Notes
Starting clerkship can be an exciting but also intimidating experience. But with a little preparation and the right mindset you can make the most of this opportunity to develop your clinical skills, build your network, and become a strong clinician!
