OJ the PA

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...

When I knew I wanted to go back to PA school, I started to focus on networking with PAs in the area, especially since I had hoped to stay local. I met with a couple of recent graduates who told me about their journey over some Starbucks, spoke with PAs and MDs at the hospital I worked at, and even went as far as using LinkedIn to find people who might be able to hook me up with other connections.  One of my old tech/marketing friends was connected to a faculty member from a school I knew I wanted to apply to. So I asked her to virtually introduce us, which she so kindly did, and this faculty member agreed to meet for coffee to give me advice.  We met at a small coffee shop in his neighborhood, I bought us some coffees and we sat down to chat. Honestly, it was terribly awkward. I got the sense that he wasn't that interested in being there to meet with me, so I tried to keep things brief as to not waste his time, but I still wanted to show my sincere interest in the profession a...

I just spent two lovely days on campus for my second and final campus visit of the semester. Here's what we accomplished each visit: Visit 1 Lumbar punctures Sterile technique Clinical cases Practice H&Ps Focused H&P 1 with a standardized patient Visit 2 GU exams with a specialized teaching associate Joint injections Chest tube placement Clinical year Q&A Focused H&P 2 with a standardized patient Suturing The GU exam was quite the experience. Our university brings in specialized teaching associates who are experts in either the male GU exam or female gynecologic exams. We discussed taking a proper sexual health history, teaching patients about condoms and proper usage, the correct language to use for these intimate discussions, and more. They also taught us proper technique for performing these exams... on their own bodies.  Don't get me wrong. I was very nervous about this and it was a bit awkward. But what better opportunity to learn about this than when the ...

Many students find that they need to adjust their study habits when it comes time to tackle the information overload of PA school. I was certainly in that camp. My study skills up until that point were effective, but I knew both the time commitment and complexity of material was going to be a challenge.  If you're starting PA school and freaking out about your study habits, don't panic! Take a deep breath and consider what has worked well for you in the past. For me, I'm old school and I like writing things out by hand. Plus, I've found that digital flashcards are a great way to practice topics that require a lot of repetition.  My study habits may not work for you. But, I still wanted to share so you have some ideas as you build your own studying framework.  1. Use OneNote to take notes on PowerPoints during class.  My laptop is an HP Envy x360 , so it flips into a tablet. I import any provided materials, like PowerPoints, into OneNote and use my tablet pen to jot d...

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 ...