OJ the PA

Life during COVID-19 feels like it changes by the day. So, I've decided to document my experiences as a PA student, a hospital dietitian, and just with life in general. Here goes! Student Life: Honestly, not much has changed for me, minus the fact that I was supposed to go to campus this coming week for some clinical skills. Because my program involves two years of didactic learning, I'll be able to catch up on these skills at a later time. However, I was really looking forward to seeing my friends. Also, social distancing has meant that I can't study with my friends at a coffee shop before big exams like I had been. We've made it work by having Facebook video calls, which allows us to still collaborate and test each other, but it's just not the same. Hospital Life: Since there's no scheduled/elective surgeries, the dietitian workload is actually a little lighter than usual, which means more people have been able to take PTO or get projects done. As things...

One of the intentions I recently set for 2020 was to stop spending needlessly. There's a really important reason for this -- clinical year is coming. And while I may have the luxury of working a part-time job right now, that's going to go out the window as soon as clinical year rolls around. Ultimately, what I want is to have enough money saved that I can stay in my house without having to get a roommate for that time (I'm getting too old and like my personal space too much for a roommate anymore!). I had a shocking revelation when I was paying my credit cards. Sure, it started because I got a notification that said I've spent less in November than in recent months (cool!), but upon further investigation, I was asking myself, "but how did you even spend this much ??" In November, I had managed to spend an average of $30 per day . And in previous months, that figure has loomed closer to $40. And that didn't include my mortgage, car payment, or utiliti...

Wow, it has been a whirlwind the last few weeks. Between work (and pulling some extra hours here and there), school and life, I feel like I blinked and November was over. Quick updates? I kicked butt on my endocrine module exams, did pretty well on my ENT exam, and now need to survive one more Big 3 exam (dermatology, yikes) and a couple smaller exams before I can finally take a much-needed break. Almost there!! The end of the year is fast approaching, and I'm a big fan of reflecting on how the previous year went. And wow, it has been a whirlwind year! If I think about how I thought 2019 would go in January, it definitely looks a lot different here in December. Yes, I started the year knowing I was going to PA school, but I ended up taking a spot at a different school and starting three months earlier. I left my dietitian job at a hospital I loved (I miss my dietitian, nurse, NP and doctors friends so much!). I moved into a tiny studio apartment on "fraternity row...

I am a medicine junkie. Medical shows (House, Grey's Anatomy), documentaries (Diagnosis), and books … I love it all! Even though summer is coming to an end (and we're about to kiss our free time good-bye!), I wanted to share a list of my favorite books about medicine. Side note: Even though we don't have a lot of free time, I have found that reading a little bit for fun before bed helps me wind down to go to sleep. Way better than staring at my phone like I used to do! Anyway, these books are in no particular order (because ranking them was just too dang hard!). Also, I'm pretty sure that all of these books are $15 or less, so it won't break the bank for us poor college kids to read a few. Every Patient Tells a Story This book was actually recommended to me by PA students when I was interviewing at the school I am currently attending! Apparently it was strongly encouraged to read by one of the professors, and it sounded amazing. Written by Dr. Lisa Sand...

We have three weeks off between the summer and fall semesters, and I'm packing in a lot! I moved home on Tuesday and immediately got down to business with unpacking and rearranging my house. I wanted to move my office to the front of the house so I can have a nice view out my front window while I'm studying. But this room was a pretty bright teal color, and I wanted something more toned down (and, uh, more "adult" haha) so when a friend told me she was getting rid of some "grey-ish" paint, I jumped at the offer. So here's the rundown of what's all in my fabulous new office. Stuff I bought:  Big cozy rug: At Home ($75) Grey desk chair: At Home ($23)  Printed pillow: At Home ($15)  Pink ottoman: Target ($30) Whiteboard: Amazon ($21) Stuff I already had:  4-drawer filing cabinet: Goodwill  Lamp: Target maybe?  Fake tree (cuz I'd kill a real one): At Home  Chair: Wayfair  Elephant: At Home  Desk: Wayfair?  Sm...

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...

Guess what?! I am officially halfway through my first summer semester of PA school! It’s just crazy to me, because it both feels like it has flown by and it feels like I’ve been here for 6 months, not 6 weeks. But this means 6 more weeks (plus one day) of really hard work. I’ve heard that this next gross anatomy exam is the worst of the bunch, and it’s messing with my head a little bit. Cranial nerves are hard, ya’ll! So once I’m done here, I’m headed off to the library for the rest of the day. One of the things I’ve been thinking a lot about is my mental sanity. Studying this much information this quickly has a way of turning you into a caffeine-fueled stress-monster. In the past, I may have taken a night (or, honestly, a full day) off to just relax and binge-watch Netflix, there just isn’t time for that anymore. So I’ve been trying to working in other small self-care tactics into my day that will help me relax and re-focus without losing time. Each day, I have to take a bus home ...