I'm still here!!

This is just awful. I haven't posted anything since New Year's Eve!!
I haven't given a good account of PA school or rotations. I've been busy. I really don't know how many people are actually reading my entries, but I'll write anyway.
So I started my first rotation in Pediatrics. I was suppose to go the clinic I use to work at, but it didn't work out. My old clinic is 9 hours away from me. I went there after my drill weekend, which is 5 hours away, and 2 days later had to take the 9 hour drive back to start my rotation at another clinic - a nice big triangle going from my house to drill, to my old clinic and then back home. It was nice to see all my old coworkers and family but I was really looking forward to working. I ended up completing my rotation at the clinic I did my Applied Learning site a year earlier. It was nice to see familiar faces but the language barrier got me again. By the end of the rotation, however, I was able to understand a lot of Spanish and I can speak a few phrases and use a few medical terms in Spanish. It was a good rotation. My preceptor acted as a translator toward the end of the rotation. I was able to exam, diagnose and treat the pint size and some super-sized children by the end. I felt very confident when I suggested a therapy and my preceptor agreed. It makes me think I actually did learn something in my didactic year.
The end of rotation exams were crazy hard. We have 5 week rotations, but 4 1/2 weeks are actual clinic time and then the last 2 days of the 5th week we take an written end of rotation exam on whatever specialty we were assigned and a skills exam. The written test is hard. I thought I studied but I guess not enough. I did well, but the test made me feel like I didn't know anything.
One thing I can say that is hard about rotations and the exams is that sometimes it is hard to distinguish between what the book says and what actual happens in real life. One thing they don't teach in PA school is how health insurance can affect the way you practice medicine. There are times when we had to not treat a patient, the way the book says, because the insurance didn't pay for a type of medication that the child needed. So you go with the next best thing, which is not always the best. But what can you do? For a lot of the patients I saw, the parents were on Medicaid and couldn't afford any medicines that Medicaid did not cover.
I will continue again tomorrow and Friday with the following two rotations. That way I can make up for lost time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I am officially done with my first year of PA school!!! Actually I was done about 2 weeks ago. I made it through one year. I look back and can't believe how fast time has gone. I start rotations in 9 days. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I'm not sure what to expect. It feels like when I started last year.
I haven't really given a good report of PA school. My goal is to give a better account of rotations.

rough week ahead - done

So last week was a little bit rough, but nothing too difficult. When I was researching PA school and asking others PA about school, they said it was hard. This week, I felt like I was in PA school. It's not that I didn't feel like I was in school before, but this was an intense week. We had 5 exams in 3 days and PRAISE YHVH, I passed  them all. I can't say that about all of my classmates. Unfortunately, for one of the exams, over half of the class failed. My suggestion for those going to PA school, get a PANCE review book. Get a few if you can. I find that the ones that have each specialty with its own chapter with the questions and answers is most helpful. I have been using those to study for many of my tests, especially Clinical Medicine. I suggest reviewing the questions for tests and reviewing the questions after tests on the sections you have already done. It helps solidify the knowledge that you are learning and it helps retain all the information you have learned. I think it really has helped me on my tests.

rough week ahead

Next week is going to be a rough one. They said that the 2nd semester is the most difficult...I'm not sure about that. We have 5 exams next week and they are all within the first 3 days. Oh GOD, please help me bring it all together.
GOD is so good. HE is blessing us to beyond what we can imagine.
One thing I didn't want to worry about was money. It's been a little rough but nothing too bad. I have not have to worry about money to the point it has affected my studies or my life. The only issue I have had is the inability to give to others. GOD is supplying all our needs. I am beginning to understand Psalms 23. The LORD is my shepherd and I shall not want.
I'm believing this will be a GREAT week!!!

Here we go

I just finished my first week of the third semester of my first year of PA school.
Let me tell you it was rough. I feel like I have been back in school for 3weeks already. We had 2 tests this week and a lot of reading. I have a lot more reading to do and then I have to study all the material I have received in the past week. This semester is definitely more time consuming, so far anyway.
We had a lecture on "Energy Healing" today. I really don't know what to think of it. I did not feel comfortable doing it. I don't know if that is considered witchcraft. I was not able to get involved though because I was not comfortable in my spirit. I did however, take the opportunity to lay hands on and pray for my classmate with the exercises we perform as part of the lecture. I know that GOD gives some the gift of healing, but I don't know if that is how HE intended. My speculation in this form of medicine stems from the ideal behind the source. The lecturer was saying that the energy comes for the sun and that you can pull from it. I'm not quite sure about that one but I pull my energy from GOD and pleaded the blood over my partner's life. I pray that my partner experienced a glimpse of GOD's glory and will want to know how to get more.
In 15 weeks, I will be finished with my first semester of PA school; then on to rotations. I am nervous and have no idea what to expect. I will cross that bridge when I get to it in 4 months.

One more semester

So classes start again on Monday. I'm excited. I am interested in learning whatever it is we have to learn this semester. This is my last semester before going on rotations. I'm sure it will be fun but I still feel like I need to learn a lot more before going out to rotations in January. I really can't believe how time has passed.
We have our white coat ceremony in December. We have been wearing our white coats because it's part of our uniform, but we have not had an official ceremony. It is a privilege and honor to wear the white coat. So it's really a big deal. Almost as big as graduation.

2 down

Hello again everyone!!

Praise GOD!!!

 I have made it through another semester. This is the 2^nd of 3 semesters for the didactic year. I am almost finished with my first year of PA school! I can’t believe how time has passed. This time last year, I had been accepted and was just waiting to start and preparing to move. I was also finishing a class for the program.  Now I’m almost finished with my didactic year. I don’t feel like I know anything but I’ve heard that’s the way I’m supposed to feel at this point. I have been to a few pharmaceutical type dinners and I find that I am able to follow along and comprehend what they are talking about. 

This semester was very busy. We had a lot of information to learn. We lost one of our classmates; however, it was due to medical reasons. GOD has allowed him to reapply and hopefully I’ll get to see him next year. The school has started interviewing for next year’s class. I haven’t been interviewing, but I am there to answer questions about the school and the program.  For those that are interviewing at any school, some advice. It’s important to know about the profession and even better if you know about the school. Some of the interviewees that I have seen have been asking simple questions about the profession. That doesn’t make sense to me. If you are going into something, wouldn’t you want to know all about it? 

Our program director tells us that next semester is not difficult as this past semester just more time consuming. It seems a lot more fun, though. The classes I’m taking next semester:

Physical Diagnosis III

Clinical and Surgical Procedures

Fundamentals of Diagnostics Methods

The Principles of Life Support and EKG

Clinical Medicine III

Pharm III

Clinical Psychiatry

Medical Genetics

We also have ACLS and PALS this semester. We have a couple of classes that are in the evening, but we have a lot more days that start later. This past semester, we were in class from 8am-5pm. This coming semester does not seem as bad. We do have a couple of days where we are in class from 8am to 9pm but there are not many. Our program director has been really great about working with the schedule. That’s the advantage of having a small class. She is able to manipulate the schedule and accommodate the students.

So for now, I’m just relaxing, enjoying my time, and cooking for my hubby every day. I really enjoy cooking. I only have a week off.