OJ the PA

Over the summer, I wrote about my daily routine . Remember, at that time I was living in a tiny studio apartment and doing school full-time on campus. As expected, the transition to life as a part-time student, part-time dietitian has been challenging. I'll say this upfront. I knew PA school, even in a part-time program, was going to be difficult. But this has, well, exceeded those expectations. When people tell you that you'll be studying basically all the time, they weren't kidding. But I'll let my daily routine help you see that! Work Day Schedule I work three days a week (generally W-F), and I have quickly realized that I can't slack off on these days. If I do, I definitely get behind! 5:15 - Alarm goes off. My small dog Milo somehow takes up the whole bed but I try to sneak out of bed without disturbing him too much. He's lazy so he'll sleep most of the morning. 5:30-6:30 - Watch a lecture while sipping on my coffee and eating a simple...

PA school is generally a 2-3 year program. Cool, right? In a short amount of time you can be a practicing provider! But have you realized and accounted for all the pre-requisites you need to take? I think this question is especially relevant for people like me -- working adults who didn't decide they wanted to pursue this dream until after their college education was complete. In my last post, I talked about how I started as a copywriter and then went back to become a registered dietitian . Luckily, my dietetics education included a lot of science courses, which meant I already had a good number of pre-requisite courses checked off my list. But I still had plenty of classes I needed to get done. A&P lab... brains, anyone? Here's how I figured out what I needed to do (and, importantly, how I needed to make some big adjustments in my life to get it all done).  1. Make a list of your top schools and get their list of pre-reqs.  What's super annoying as a pre-P...

I would call myself a non-traditional PA student. Here's why: My bachelors degree is not in the sciences. My undergrad is actually in Journalism & Mass Communication.  I went back to school for my certificate in dietetics. It's only after that that I discovered the PA profession.  I'm going back for this third degree in PA studies as a 31-year-old. Yes, being in classes with students who are 22 does make me feel old! I'm a distance education student. I watch lectures online, take proctored exams at a local public library, and go to campus twice each semester for labs and hands-on activities.  See? Not exactly your everyday PA student experience. So maybe you can't relate to me. But maybe, just maybe, you're a working adult wondering what might be next for you. You've dreamed of a job in healthcare or one with more responsibility, but you're not quite sure how this whole PA school thing could work out. That's why I decided to write a s...

This past Tuesday evening, I took (and passed!) my Neuro Module exam. WHEW. What a huge weight off my shoulders that was. This also marked approximately one month since the fall semester started, and I took a little time to reflect. I mean, I was forced to reflect on what wasn't going well. Because I had a total meltdown the Saturday before my exam and desperately needed to do a little check-in with myself to get back on track. As many of you know, I'm a distance education student. That means I am doing school "part time" (ha) while working part-time as well. I totally underestimated how challenging this was going to be. I started a job at a new hospital (still working as a dietitian) and the learning curve has been monstrous. Different charting, different processes and protocols, and a different level of learning. This hospital is a teaching hospital and that permeates even into the dietetics department. I wasn't prepared to get pimped as an RD, but here...

I'm knee deep in my Neuro Module this weekend (Big 3 exam coming up Tuesday night!), but I wanted to post something a little fun. Here's a "This or That" for your Instagram story. Enjoy! Follow me on Instagram @OJthePA . Have a great weekend!

I took my first "Big 3" exam yesterday for our psych module and it went great! (We call it the "Big 3" because it's a combined exam for Clinical Medicine, Diagnostic Methods and Pharmacology). It feels so good to have one down, have a better idea of what to expect, and to see that my study tactics were effective. However, I had one problem when I was studying: I had too many resources and not enough time to use them all.  I think when we're fresh and wide-eyed students, we're scared of what's ahead and grab onto any and all guidance that is thrown our way. Understandably so! But at least for me, I now have all these resources and am feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Here's the rundown of the resources I ended up using to prepare for my psych exam and the resources I have yet to evaluate (honestly, just because of lack of time. What I used: PANCE Prep Pearls I mean, this is like THE resource for PA students. Universally recommended to...

I think its great when what you're learning inspires you to make healthy adjustments in your own life. Right now, we're in the middle of our Psychology Module, and one of the guest speakers this week talked about Sleep Disorders, including sleep apnea, movement disorders, circadian rhythm disorders, insomnia and narcolepsy. In addition to having a primary sleep condition, things like medication, psychiatric conditions, medical conditions, and poor sleep behaviors can be causes of sleep problems for people. Personally, I have intermittent sleep issues related to stress and anxiety (hello, PA school!). What I mean is, sometimes I just can't seem to get my brain to shut off so I can fall asleep. If you want to get better sleep, here are some tips:  Expose yourself to bright lights at certain times of the day, depending on when you're having troubles. Can't fall asleep at night? Bright lights in the morning. Falling asleep too early? Turn on some bright lights a...