How PA school works

So, it's been a month now.  We have seen an autopsy, had class pictures taken, had a couple of medicine science tests, a couple of physical exam tests, and a lab test so far.

We have some very fun parts of school... Problem Oriented History and Physical, and Problem Based Learning.  These 2 are group learning activities, where we solve cases in small groups and learn all kinds of things in the process.  We also have lectures, physical exam workshops and other types of classes.

Most of our structured learning occurs outside of class, which is different from most programs.  Our classes help to make what we study relevant, but if you don't study, it does nothing for you.  Just paying attention in class will not work.  There are many things on our objectives that are never brought up in class.  We spend many hours outside of class learning from many different books the topics that are on our objectives.

Am I enjoying school?  I honestly don't know.  I'm enjoying knowing more, but the learning process is a bit painful.  Mostly, I just want to get done with the program and start seeing patients, but I realize I need to know a lot more in order to do a good job.