OJ the PA

I'll start by stating the obvious -- the study habits of one person won't work for everyone . I think that by this point in our PA school journeys, we have all realized this! But this feels like an important caveat to mention right upfront when talking about studying for the PANCE. I have spoken to recent grads and read various posts online about studying for the PANCE and if I've learned one thing so far, it's that everyone studies differently ... sometimes a lot differently! My plan in particular may seem a little too brief for some. But it's important to note that I've had other important studying opportunities throughout clinical year: PAEA EOR Exams This is the first year my school has used the PAEA EOR exams (they had previously written their own exams), and many of us were caught off-guard by how challenging these exams were. This isn't a bad thing -- I was forced to amp up my studying and I think I'm better off for having to take these exams. One

I just finished what I'm lovingly calling "Hell Week."  Monday: PAEA Emergency Medicine Exam and Pediatrics Exam (2 hours a piece) Tuesday: End of Rotation OSCE exam Wednesday: study day Thursday: End of Curriculum OSCEs - this included a technical skills test on suturing, two small exams regarding diagnostics, an OSCE and a patient education OSCE Friday: End of Curriculum PAEA Exam (five. hours. long.)  By the end of the week, I was wiped out. I think I had a glass of wine (or two) while I watched Ozark Friday night. It's a bit of a blur, haha.  I know that I passed my End of Rotation stuff, because I needed to pass before I could take my End of Curriculum exams. But sadly, I won't know the results of those exams until this week Friday. Keep your fingers crossed for me! And while it feels like I'm done, now that those exams are over, it's not over yet. I am starting my last two rotations -- I'll be doing three weeks in orthopedic urgent care and then

During PA school clinical year, you learn a lot of things. And one of those things is the many different ways in which you can be exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually ... and many other ways that I can't currently articulate because, you know, I'm tired. 😅 I was a little bit worried about making a decision about a job before I had even tried emergency medicine. I had been told before I even started PA school by a mentor that I would probably end up in emergency. And I could see why -- I like wounds, excitement, drama, stress, action. Sounds right up my alley!  I want to start by saying I think I probably learned the most on this rotation. I had great preceptors (yes, even the guy who almost made me cry was a good teacher), felt like I was building on a solid foundation from my previous rotations, and had the chance to see a wide variety of diagnoses. From STIs to broken bones, head lacs to gunshot wounds (including one with a retained bullet in the rectum)

Time flies when you're doing your clinical rotations and everything that isn't absolutely mandatory goes to the wayside. I've been MIA for a few months from this blog, but alas, that's life as a PA student. Let's get caught up, shall we? When I had been thinking about my future job, I wanted to end up in some “sexy” specialty like ICU or surgery (assuming I wasn’t the type to pass out in the OR, which luckily, I wasn’t!). Family medicine had always been at the bottom of my interest list. I went into this rotation thinking, “let’s just get this over with.” Boy, was I wrong about what I thought family medicine was! I get to build relationships. I can do procedures like toenail removal and cyst removal. I even helped with a few vasectomies! I get to see adorable little babies. I get to know what actually happens in the long run with my patients (rather than discharge and disappear). And best of all, I am challenged daily. The breadth of things I need to know to care fo

When I decided to go back to school to be a physician assistant, internal medicine is what I had in my mind. As a clinical dietitian, I had the chance to collaborate with APPs and loved the idea of being able to provide that kind of care to patients. One of the APPs who I had the chance to work with often while I was a dietitian became my preceptor for this rotation! It was very cool to be standing in the exact spot I had imagined back then.  Back then, though, I did not appreciate just how challenging this job would be! I worked with a small private practice group that has privileges at various area hospitals, and my preceptor and I were based at one large metro-area hospital. The service was crazy busy the entire time I was there, and that was both good and bad. I got to see a ton of different diagnoses, a wide variety of patients, and was challenged to be relatively independent. But dang, it was hard to keep up most of the time. Honestly, I worked more and was more exhausted during

Another one bites the dust! It's crazy to me that another rotation (and therefore all of my surgery experience) has come to an end.  If I want to be one thing, it's totally honest. This rotation was challenging . I had a ton of fun during orthopedics -- I felt like a lot of providers and residents wanted to show off how great their subspecialties were. And they succeeded! But I didn't get pimped very much and I wasn't seeing patients independently.  That all changed in a big way when I went to general surgery. Did I learn a lot because of this? Absolutely. Did I feel like an absolute pile of garbage most days because I felt like I couldn't do or answer a damn thing right? Yes. Did I talk to my classmates and get some reassurance that many rotations feel like this? Also yes. Thanks for making me feel less alone, guys. The days were long and the list of things to study was even longer. But here we are, one rotation down. We've survived, so far at least! One big t