Using Picmonic to Study in PA School: A Real Plan
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By: Savanna Perry, PA-C · Last updated June 12, 2026
PA school moves fast, and traditional notetaking often can't keep up with the volume of material. Picmonic is a visual study aid that turns facts into animated mnemonics so they stick the way a favorite cartoon does. Use it after reviewing your lecture material: watch the animation, review the facts, take the quiz, and revisit anything you struggled with.
Why do traditional study methods struggle in PA school?
There's always some excitement and jitters around back-to-school season, but it hits differently heading into a graduate-level program like PA school. The pace is much quicker and the expectations are higher, so the study methods that carried you through undergrad may not be enough to digest the volume of information.
I learned this the hard way in my first week, when we started with anatomy. Hours of notetaking and rewriting just weren't feasible, because there weren't enough hours in the day. Instead of seeking other resources, asking for help, or changing how I studied, I blindly kept going and ended up with a C on my first exam. That was a serious wake-up call that shook my confidence, and I knew something had to change fast if I wanted to get through PA school successfully. I needed something quicker that targeted exactly what I was learning, with the information I'd need to care for patients one day.
What is Picmonic and how does it work?
Picmonic is a visual study aid. You know how you can recall one episode of a favorite childhood cartoon, but remembering what your professor said yesterday feels impossible? Picmonic turns what your PA school professor said into an animated graphic with mnemonic devices, making the information more interesting and far more memorable on test day.
I found it really hard to remember everything from plain text on a PowerPoint. Once I was on rotations seeing patients in person, the material came together so much faster and I could recall it more easily. Picmonic is a happy medium, giving you bite-sized videos that put the information together in a way that actually makes sense. It's one of those resources I kept hearing about from PA students and wished I'd had during school. Now I can use it during my PANRE recertification instead.
How should you use Picmonic during PA school?
Here's how I'd work Picmonic into a study routine. Use it after you've reviewed the lecture material and feel at least somewhat familiar with the basics. Watch the associated animation to connect the facts and concepts in a way you can apply to a test question, then review the facts and take the quiz. If a topic gives you trouble, go back to your lecture material, then revisit the Picmonic.
It's also great for last-minute reviews right before a test, because you can build a playlist of the subjects you want to refresh and the videos are short and efficient. You can even watch on your phone during a commute or a few minutes of downtime, which makes it easy to stay productive.
What does a sample Picmonic study plan look like?
Here's a sample plan for a two-week module in PA school:
Start by looking over the blueprint for the section and finding the matching topics in Picmonic.
Create a playlist with the Picmonics you want to review.
Set aside a dedicated time each day to watch. A commute or a short break is perfect for fitting in a few videos.
As test day approaches, increase your dedicated time so you can review and take the accompanying quizzes.
Mark any videos you want to rewatch as quick refreshers right before the exam.
Picmonic also offers a free trial where you can play and quiz on the 15 most popular topics for 5 days, then browse after that. ⚠ VERIFY It's a low-pressure way to see whether it fits your schedule and study style before committing.
Listen: interview with Picmonic CEO Ron Robertson
Episode 50 of The Pre-PA Club was a conversation with Picmonic CEO Ron Robertson about how visual mnemonics work and who they help most.
If you've ever tried to memorize every antibiotic and its side effects the night before an exam, this episode is for you.
I talked with Ron Robertson, the creator of Picmonic. It's a visual learning platform built for healthcare students - mnemonics paired with weird, memorable images that stick in your head when a list of facts won't. Ron came up with it while he was in medical school and drowning in material, which is exactly why it works the way it does.
We get into why visual memory beats rote memorization for the volume of information you're expected to hold onto in PA school, and how students use it for prereqs and pharmacology.
What we talk about
How Picmonic started and the problem Ron was trying to solve
Why mnemonics and images stick better than lists
Using it for prerequisites before PA school
Pharmacology, microbiology, and the classes that eat people alive
Building study habits that hold up under PA school volume
What Ron would tell a student who feels behind
Resources
Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes
In our experience coaching students into PA school, the hardest lesson is that the methods that earned you A's in undergrad often crack under the volume of graduate work. My own first PA school exam was a C because I refused to change my approach, and the turnaround came from finding faster, more visual tools. We always encourage students to adjust their study strategy early instead of grinding the same way and hoping for a different result.
A simple rule for tools like Picmonic: use them after your lecture review, not instead of it, so the visuals reinforce material you've already started to learn.
PA school moves fast, so undergrad study habits often can't keep up.
Picmonic turns dense facts into animated mnemonics that stick.
Use it after reviewing lecture material, not as a replacement for it.
Workflow: watch the animation, review facts, take the quiz, then revisit weak spots.
Short videos make it ideal for commutes, breaks, and last-minute review.
Adjust your study strategy early if your usual methods stop working.
Frequently Asked Questions
Picmonic is a visual study aid that turns facts and concepts into animated graphics with mnemonic devices, making dense material more memorable for test day.
Use it after reviewing your lecture material. Watch the animation to connect the facts, review them, take the quiz, and revisit any topics you struggled with.
No. It works best as a reinforcement layer once you have some familiarity with the basics, not as a substitute for reviewing lectures and books.
Yes. The videos are short, so you can build a playlist of topics and do quick refreshers right before a test, even on your phone during downtime.
It offers a free trial where you can play and quiz on the 15 most popular topics for 5 days, then browse afterward, which is a good way to test the fit. ⚠ VERIFY
The pace is faster and the volume is higher, so time-intensive habits like rewriting everything often aren't feasible. Many students need quicker, more targeted methods.
The Bottom Line
PA school rewards students who notice when their study methods aren't working and switch things up fast. Visual tools like Picmonic can take dense lecture material and make it memorable, especially when you layer them on top of your own review. If you've used it, I'd love to hear how it fit into your routine.
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