OJ the PA

I saw this article on Facebook and it really hit home for me: "Your 'Surge Capacity' is Depleted -- It's Why You Feel Awful." I strongly encourage you to read the whole article yourself, but a few things stuck out to me that I feel compelled to share.  First, what's surge capacity? It's your adaptive abilities for dealing with acute stress. The problem with a pandemic is that it isn't really acute in the same way that a massive tornado or other disaster might be. We're in this for the long haul, and if you're like me, those adaptive abilities have worn thin.  For me, this has looked like feelings of helplessness and exhaustion. I've spent a lot more time on my couch watching bad reality TV than I'd like to admit. But with school starting in up in less than a week, that really isn't going to fly. So how does a student (in an intensive graduate program) keep moving forward? "Both-And" Thinking One of my favorite lessons fro

Getting ready for PA school interviews? Congratulations! And while interview season may look a little different this year (Zoom calls, anyone?), the importance of being properly prepared is still the same! I used to work in advertising and public relations, and sometimes I would prepare experts to talk to the media. What was the most important thing for the experts to do? Know your key messages. There's going to be topics you know will likely be addressed in an interview, so be prepared to speak to those specific things.  Same goes for PA school interviews. Yes, I've heard of programs asking some off-the-wall questions that you probably wouldn't see coming, but generally speaking there's a variety of likely topics that will come up. My advice? Think through how you want to answer those questions ahead of time. For me, this looked like an 11-page Google doc with sample questions I prepared answers for. It forced me to think through scenarios I'd want to share and my

I've been an online student for the past two semesters, and it can be a real struggle to stay focused and not get distracted by ... *waves arms widely* ... well, everything. Seriously. I mean, my house is cleaner and my meals more elaborate when I'm actively avoiding doing my work, but that procrastination can have serious consequences. So here are my five tips for staying on task:   1. Keep a strict schedule. My rule was "alarm goes off at 5am, butt in desk by 5:15am." Thank goodness for that programmable coffee maker! I did my grocery shopping on certain days, limited my TV time each week, and left a finite amount of time open for hanging out with friends. This sort of regimented lifestyle made sure that I used my time well and didn't waste time that I should have been studying. Additionally, I broke up my studying into smaller time periods most days (like, a little before work and then some after work) which helped me to stay focused. I think this is because I

I'm a distance education student, which means I'm quite familiar with this whole online learning thing. I'm not going to sugar coat it -- it can be isolating, which is further impacted by the pandemic. But I will say this -- with the right mindset, a lot of patience and dedication, and support from classmates, friends and family, you can totally do this. Have a dedicated study space or two. This will help you stay focused. Never study in bed -- keep that area strictly for sleep. Get enough sleep ! PA school is dang hard and you need a non-groggy brain. Keep a schedule. Mine involved getting up at 5am every day . Gross, I know. Set timers if that helps you stay focused. Study for 50 minutes, chill for 10 minutes. Put your phone in the other room. Instagram can wait. Have a study crew . Me and two other students in my area would get together to study all day at a coffee shop before each exam, and we transitioned this to Facebook video messenger after the pandemic. This was