First Rotation

I started my first rotation on August 15th in Internal Medicine. So, far I love it! It is really nice not being in the classroom each day, but more than anything, it feels great making a difference in people’s lives. Each day I meet new and amazing patients. Each person has their own personality and way of interacting with their Doctor and myself. If there is something that I learned from PCOM other than a huge knowledge base, it is a way of interacting with patients that seems almost second nature. All those standardized patients we were giving over 3 terms taught me well. One may think it is easy; you are just having a conversion with someone about their health, but, this is not true. You are giving patients the opportunity to trust you enough to be honest with you about their personal health and habits. This is personal information. It takes asking the right questions and using the right tone to get the appropriate answers to find out their diagnosis and treat them. Another great aspect of this rotation is my preceptor, he is amazing. I aspire to be loved as much as he is loved by his patients. He has had patients for over 15 years because they believe and trust in him. I have also seen him tackle multiple obstacles with patients. Diagnosis seems only part of the difficulty in medicine, because once you find this diagnosis you have to explain it to the patient, go through the treatment and see if they are willing to change their habits and accept the treatment. Many cases patients don’t believe in taking medication. Especially for hypertension, high blood pressure, it is called the “silent killer” for a reason, most patients feel fine. We try to explain every day that hypertension is a very serious diagnosis that needs medical treatment and life style changes. On the other side, there are patients who are relying on you to help them and will do anything you say to not be in pain. Sometimes you have to play the part of a friend and just listen or be a shoulder when they cry. The other day I met a woman who was in so much pain she could not stand or even sit without fidgeting to get into a comfortable position. Unfortunately, there was not much we could do for her pain that would be a cure all. However, she was appreciative of our time and through her tears she told me “your smile means a world of difference and it’s an act that many of us do that costs nothing, thank you.”

Offically a 2nd Year PA Student

Yesterday we had our last exam of the term, officially making me a Senior PA student!!! After our exam we were able to celebrate by getting a survivor brunch provided by the school. Here we got a free gift and were given a nice speech from the faculty. After, we took multiple pictures to remember this day of accomplishment. We all could not stop hugging one another and wishing each other good luck on our upcoming rotations.

It is so strange to think that the next time I need to go back to school is in 7 weeks to take my internal medicine rotation final exam. It will be strange not seeing my classmates and teachers every day. I really feel like we have all become a family. We have seen each other through tears and praised each others accomplishments. I feel like now I will be stepping into an unknown world filled with new people and new faces. Honestly, I am anxious, but I know that these last 14 months prepared me well. I am excited to treat patients and to be part of a medical team. My first rotation is in Jenkintown, Pa in Internal Medicine. I know this rotation will be callenging but a different sort of challent from what I have been used to. Before my interal medicine rotation begins, my classmates and I have been rewarded with a few days break to relax and enjoy some of the things we have put off for the last few months. I am going to Disney in Orlando, Fl! See you all on the 15th!

Oral Boards and my Birthday

Since the beginning of PA school, there has been this test that people dread. That test is oral boards. It is something that we start studying for months to weeks in advanced. This test takes place in the last term of PA school and it is your final for clinical medicine III. There are multiple diseases that you have to studying and your grader choses two to test you one and you have to verbally go though, definition, etiology, epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, diagnosis/ labs, treatment, and complications. All in 15 minutes per disease. We also get a chief complaint like "cough", and have to spit out 20 diseases or so that cause cough. You have to make sure that when you rattle off 20 things that cause a cough that you throw in oral board topics so that you can get your final diagnosis. COPD is an oral board topic, these topics can change every year, and that causes a cough for example.

Yesterday we had oral boards and it was extremely stressful. The day was filled some crying due to all the emotion built up for this event. However scary it was, our teachers tried to relieve as much stress as possible, some even handed out candy. In the end we PASSED! It is so exciting that the test we most feared is now behind us and we only have 2 finals left before we go on rotations! Last night we all went out and celebrated this accomplishment. Also, yesterday was also my birthday, so we celebrated that as well. It was so nice to go out and relax with my classmates. We all hugged one another and took pictures, it was a great night. I am proud of everyone and how far we have come! What a great birthday present this was.

Stress and Surgery Day

It has been a while since I last wrote on here. School has been a little crazy lately. We are coming to the end of the didactic phase, August 5th is our last day. There is still a lot before then, and stress is high amongst myself and my classmates.

This past friday was fun though, we had surgery day! Each of us were in groups and assigned to a "surgery" later that day. We had to look up everything about that surgery in order to report back to our preceptor for intense questioning about the surgery, complication, indication, etc. While preparing for that we did rounds with our attending. We saw 4 patients, they were our teachers, who all pretended to have complications post surgery. I think our teachers enjoyed this part, they went all out: having pretend IV lines placed, foley catheters with yellow highlighter colored urine, fake incisions, the works. It was pretty funny. After we saw those patients we wrote up notes on them. Anytime during this day there were two people on call who got called to dispense orders for those 4 patients. That part was the hardest because we had to think on the spot over the phone how to treat our patient. Once, we were called in and had to examine the patient. Finally, we ended the day writing up a post-operative note for our patient having surgery. My groups surgery was a carotid endarterectomy.

The day was really fun and not as stressful as I was expecting. It was a nice way to ease into our real surgery rotation during clincals. I think the students had as much fun as our teachers. Oh, and we had to come in at 6am to start rounds on surgery day making the experience even more realistic.

Well, we have a hard 2 weeks ahead of us, hopefully we will all come out unscathed and ready to take on rotations on August 15h.

Casting and Splinting Lab

            After being in Las Vegas for 5 days, we got back into the swing of school rather quickly.  We woke up bright and early to attend a casting and splinting lab.  Anytime we get to get out of the classroom and do things hands on is refreshing.  We were taught how to do 3 different upper extremity splints, one lower splint, and one cast.  I have to say that I was most nervous about the casting, not because putting it on was difficult but the whole taking it off with a saw had me nervous.  Needless to say, my partner and I left that to the end, as did the majority of my class. 

            I think I did a pretty good job with splinting.  It was nice to have our teachers check over our work and give us tips and encouraging us on how well we were doing.  Doing a splint on the leg was the hardest part for me because the ankle was hard to wrap.  My finished product with that turned out not so great.  However, it did present the opportunity for a good laugh.

            Then it came time to cast and TAKE OFF THE CAST L.  Having witnessed my partner complete this task with no problems I felt more up to the challenge.  I must have really looked nervous though because immediately my teacher Sean pulled out a cast that had already been removed from on of my classmates arms.  He picked up the saw and quickly showed me how the saw went through the cast without going through the stockinet underneath.  For those that are unaware, a stockinet is put over the arm/leg first before putting on the casting material. Sean also showed me by putting the saw on the stockinet and demonstrating how it did not go through it.  Throughout this whole process he reassured me that I would not cut my partner and that I would do great.  That really put me at ease and I will probably never forget that he did that for me.  Sure enough, I cut off the cast without a problem.  Jen 1; Saw 0.  From what I hear all my classmates performed this flawlessly.  Another accomplishment for the books!

LAS VEGAS CONVENTION

            Every year there is an AAPA convention for all PAs and PA students.  This year it was in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Fortunately, each year PCOM tries to allow time for their students to attend, and over half our class was able to attend.  We were required to see at least 2 presentations and present on one to a faculty member and some classmates.  I ended up going to 5 and I couldn’t help but take as many notes possible on each presentation that I saw.  Its incredible how much I have already learned and how much more there is to learn.  It was interesting to see what presentations people decided to attend.  Some wanted to see topics that were already taught to us to see if they would learn anything extra.  I took the opposite approach and wanted to learn new subjects.  The two presentations I loved the most were: maternity and trauma and a how to break the Google habit.  We are learning our OB-GYN unit this coming term so this was a nice preview to that class.  Breaking the Google habit was interesting because it gave us ideas on how to get our patients to NOT search on Google but instead use more useful sites like www.medlineplus.org.

            On Wednesday night there was a PCOM cocktail dinner at the Hilton, right next to the LV convention center.  Here we were able to meet alumni and talk to them about being out in the field.  It was also nice to relax with friends, alumni, and faculty.  During this event the director of our program made a speech in which he quoted some of his own calculated statistics about PCOM PA Students.  He calculated that every year PCOM PA graduates see over 1,000,000 patients a year.  He also calculated the top specialties chosen by PCOM PA alumni.  It is amazing to think that PCOM PAs help so many people in the US each year and in so many different fields.  

            While going to Las Vegas was filled with its own perks, I really treated this as a stepping-stone to the future.  Everything is beginning to come full circle.  Soon we will be out treating patients, graduating, and going to future conferences.  I cant help to feel so lucky that I was chosen to become a part of such a great class and school that allowed me the opportunity to truly practice something that I have grown to love.

Officially 1 year in PA school

             It is so amazing how time flies in life.  A year ago I was starting orientation at PCOM; this nervous student that had no idea where to go or what to expect.  Here I am today, in my final didactic term at PCOM, less nervous but fully aware of the possibilities that await.

            Nothing makes this process more real than welcoming the incoming class of PA students; the Class of 2013.  My classmates and I are officially no longer the newbies on campus!  It is strange to think that there are people that look up to us now and ask us for advice.  I remember when I was at orientation I admired the class above and could not wait until I was then someday.  Now that I am I can’t help but feel proud of my classmates and myself.  Also, I feel a strange sense of obligation to help the incoming class on their journey as much as possible.  So, I decided to help with some of the aspects of orientation.  A handful of my classmates and I each got a group of 6 students from the new class and did activities with them that they then presented to their other classmates and family members.  I really had a great group of individuals with diverse backgrounds and personalities.  I couldn’t help but sense their nervousness yet sense of belonging during this whole process.  I really enjoyed being a part of orientation and making the new students more comfortable.

            Later in the week we had a BIG/LITTLE DINNER.  Here individuals from our class were assigned a little from the new class.  This event was great during the year when we were littles.  It was a great opportunity to get personal feedback on the program and what to expect.  This year was no exception, and my classmates were flooded with questions during dinner and we confidently handled them all.  I really like my little; she and I bonded right away.  Many of my classmates had similar experiences with their littles. I am confident that they will make great PAs and I can’t wait to hear/see their progress throughout the year.

            I will never forget those individuals in the class of 2011 who helped me throughout this while process and followed up on my progress.  In just over a month, July 27^th, they will be graduating, thus passing the torch on to us to be the leaders.  I hope that they are as proud of us as we are of them.