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The Big Transition: Didactic to Clinical Year

I'm back! No better time than the transition between didactic and clinical year to resurrect the blog, am I right? Let's do a quick look back on didactic year and talk about what's ahead. 


Review of Didactic Year

As a reminder, I was a distance education student, so unlike most PA students who complete didactic over one year, I did it over two years and completed most of it from my home community. Because I was "part-time" I was able to work and even started a new job during my didactic period (probably wouldn't recommend that...). I worked 24 hours per week during my first year (because the job was new and quite challenging, and I was doing the "Big 3") and then increased to 32 hours during my second year (because, hi, money is nice and I felt more comfortable stretching myself a little thinner, haha). 

I've written in the past about how I studied in PA school, so I won't repeat that here. Instead, I will say this: doing PA school part time and being able to continue working was a great experience. I do have some concerns about the "Big 3" content being a year ago already (do I remember it?!), but being able to keep my foot in the door at the hospital I work at, keeping my patient care skills alive, and honestly, having the opportunity to step away from life as a PA student was really great. Plus, during a pandemic, it gave me the chance to be around other humans. I seriously can't imagine being a full-time PA student stuck at home doing online school during a pandemic. For those who went through that, I give you all major credit for surviving!!

And you know what the end of didactic means -- white coat ceremony! We were able to do a socially distanced version in person this year with family and friends watching a live video stream. It was great to be able to mark this major turning point in our education together. 


Thoughts Heading into Clinical Year

I am terrified. I'm just going to be honest about that. Like I said before, because my didactic education was stretched out, I'm worried I've forgotten a lot of information. But there are two things I remind myself about to keep me off the hypothetical ledge: All the students who have gone before me have survived. We did the PACKRAT last week, I did fine, so I must know more than I think I do. 

I'm trying to give myself a little grace. I may not feel 100% going into my clinicals, but I can't go back and change anything. Instead, I can commit to being a good learner and having a really good study schedule for my upcoming EORs (end of rotation exams). 

We had clinical orientation week this week, and I am wildly overwhelmed. Quizzes, assignments, online learning, radiology modules, evaluations, CEXs (???), daily patient logging ... my to-do list just got REALLY long. And then add reviewing for what you're seeing on rotations as well as studying for the upcoming EORs and it is a lot. 

Again, everyone who has gone before me has survived. I will, too. I foresee more crying in the shower like I did at the beginning of didactic, but I will survive! Haha. 

And if you're curious here's the list of my rotations so far:

  • Orthopedic surgery (4 weeks)
  • General surgery (4 weeks)
  • Internal medicine (8 weeks) 
  • Family medicine (8 weeks, rural)
  • Emergency medicine (8 weeks)
  • Electives (TBD!)
I'm a little bit sad because my internal medicine was originally planned to be split (4 weeks internal medicine and 4 weeks of surgical ICU). Unfortunately, the SICU wasn't able to be confirmed in time, and so I'll be doing all 8 weeks in internal medicine, with some of that being outpatient. Not exactly my ideal situation, but I'm sure it'll still be rich with good learning opportunities. 

Life Updates

I wouldn't be me if I wasn't making my life as wild and hectic as possible! I made a last minute decision to sell my home and move into an apartment during my clinical year. While there was a plethora of reasons which I won't bore you with here, I knew this wasn't my forever home and with the market being so hot right now, it was a great time to make some good money (important for someone with grad school debt who is now unemployed!), and I liked the idea of having less responsibility while going through my clinical rotations. In other words, the short term CHAOS I am currently dealing with will be worth it in the long run. 

The timing isn't exactly ideal; I'm moving two days before I start my orthopedic surgery rotation! But, I'm choosing to look at this like a glass-half-full situation and at least it is happening BEFORE I start my rotations. It's all about perspective right?? And, it also means I've been so busy worrying about moving that I haven't been able to worry too much about rotations. Ha!

Blog Moving Forward

Posting will likely continue to be inconsistent, but I'm hoping to share my life as a clinical year PA student! Not only will this be a great place for me to debrief, but I hope you learn something, or at least can be entertained. 

Thanks for reading,
Olivia

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