OJ the PA

When I learned that I got into PA school and would need to move to campus for the summer, I knew I needed my short-term living situation to accomplish a few things: I needed parking, I needed to be able to bring my dog Milo with me, it needed to be affordable, and I really didn't want to live with any roommates.  When a studio apartment sublet meeting all my needs showed up in an online listing, I knew I needed to jump on it. Since she had other interested people coming that weekend, I hopped in the car after work and drove the hour and a half to the apartment so I could see it and snag it for myself!  Since I was living in a 3-bedroom house, I was a little nervous about moving into a studio! I joked that it was going to be minimalist living for the summer. So now that I've been here for almost 12 weeks, what's my assessment?  I've actually really liked it! The small space is cozy. I love the high ceilings and hardwood floors, I can clean it in no time...

I OFFICIALLY PASSED ANATOMY! After spending countless hours in the lab and the library, I have thrown out my greasy scrubs and have conquered one of the most challenging things I've ever done. It was a strange and unique experience, and I am forever grateful to the man who donated his body to my learning experience. What a gift to be able to learn in that way. With anatomy over, I have just three weeks left in the semester. As my summer comes to a close, I'm thinking ahead to what the fall is going to bring. And I'm not going to lie, even though people say anatomy is the hardest, I'm worried about what's to come. Here's the thing. I'm part of a unique distance education program with my PA school. What that means is I'm spending 12 weeks on campus with all the students, tackling gross anatomy, H&P and other courses. But when summer comes to a close, I'm headed back home to complete my didactic portion almost entirely online. While the tradi...

One of the things I heard again and again during orientation, interview panels with current students, and on other PA blogs was this: the way you study may need to change. It's not that I didn't believe them. Rather, I thought my study habits must have been at least pretty good to have gotten me this far... right? I'm two weeks away from the end of Gross Anatomy, and some aspects of my study habits have definitely evolved since PA school started. Here's what I've learned so far! Trust that you know what works for you (at least to start) I remember vividly sitting in a recent undergrad A&P class. On my desk, I had my spiral notebook and a pen. Literally every other student around me was typing rapidly on their laptops. Wow, did I feel old! I've felt like things "stick in my brain" better when they're written by hand. Research shows that I might actually be on to something with that thought; this NPR article says you're forced to...