A typical Friday in 7 hours of anatomy class....

So anatomy class is infamous for being long, super fast paced, and way over one's head...here are some intelligent things the QU PA Class of 2011 said either outloud or as status updates on facebook today (reminder, we will all evolve to be bright clinicians one day....):
"it's 3:35...where are your gonads?"
"who's that...epididymis"
"our professor draws really scary looking penises"
"there's a mouse in my colon"
"thank god i learned where the mouse would travel if dropped in my abdomen"
"so...all embryonic organs have some curly whirlies in them?" - that was mine thank you
"so is everyones pockets invaginated yet? make sure to do your self exams!!!"
"i've heard the phrase 'anal canal' too many times today. i also don't like the word sac"
"did she just say that a mouse could squat on my liver?"
"gubernaculum and mobile wad could be good rock band names"

this list goes on, but you get the idea....

One month down, 26 to go

So, here I am one month into my PA education. All I can say is, the next 26 months better go by fast. While I am enjoying learning to do a lot of the hands on work (venipunctures, glucose monitoring, hemotocrit, and of course those smelly cadavers), it's hard to appreciate school because we need to learn so much so fast. There's no time to soak it up and get into it. Hear it in lecture, memorize it, test it, move on. I am constantly on the go and I've been working hard to build up my stamina. How do I have time to write this blog you ask? Well so far on this today I: woke up at 6:30 AM to pick up some classmates and drive to Yale to review for my cadaver lab practical this week, spent 2 hours there, drove back, ate a quick lunch, drove to the libraray and studied for pathology there from 12-4, went grocery shopping, came back home, called my mom and practiced doing a mock interview and oral presentation so I am ready for the real thing on Tuesay (she was a superb patient), studied more patho, cooked dinner for myself and my roomates, read for my interviewing class, studied more patho, and here i am now, in a state of exhaustion, stress, and fear for the approaching week ahead and badly needing to vent....hence the blog update.

This all sounds very negative, and while I can't say I've fallen in love with school, I am somehow coping. I have found my little niche of friends within the program and we enjoy Friday night dinners out or wine nights at various apartments. Friday nights are the one night off from studying. We often talk about things such as "how many days until August break" or "I can't wait for clinical rotations". My feelings about school pretty much sum up how everyone else feels. I am missing a lot of the aspects of undergrad such as being able to be friends with people outside your major, having time to do extracurricular activities (i miss chorus), and in general having time to just shut off every once in a while.

"One day at a time, one day at a time" is often what i hear from classmates, family, friends. It's true so I wrote it here to remind myself.

Until the next time when I'm burnt out....ta ta. Oh and by the way, don't ever smoke...it's turns respiratory pseudostratified squamous epithelium into simple squamous epithelium through the process of metaplasia therefore causing infectious agents and foreign particules to invade leading to increased risk of bronchogenic carcinomas. Next time you see someone smoking, tell them that exact sentence...good lord that sentence alone would freak me out enough to quit cold turkey.

In over my head?

Well...I had heard the word circulating for some time that PA school would be hard, but I guess I never wrapped my head around just how hard they meant. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown after the first week of classes/orientation after realizing just how difficult this program would be. I am in class 8+ hours a day on some days, balancing 6 classes, 4 labs, an online course, mandatory community service, and studying as soon as I come home. I allow myself maybe a half hour of free time a day. My classes are as follows: Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Clinical Pathology, Diagnostic Methods, Principles of Medical Interviewing, and Electrocardiography. Diagnostic Methods and Cadaver Lab for anatomy will probably be my favorite of these. In DM, we learned how to read urinalysis tests (our first homework assignment was to pee into a cup and study the contents of our own pee...although they had to be refrigerated for the day so you can just imagine a bunch of innocent, brand new grad students walking down the hall, cups of pee in hand following a sign to a lab room saying "PA PPs this way --->"). Next week we are already jumping into venipunctures. My poor partner will probably walk away very bruised as I have never had experience with needle sticks. The other redeeming lab is Cadaver Lab. I had my first one yesterday and for 6 hours straight at Yale, 6 other classmates and I dissected a man's back and performed a laminectomy (removal of his spinal column to study his spinal cord/nerves). I have a lot of respect for these people who donate their bodies to science like this. It was in this lab where I felt I was actively learning something and not having information thrown at me as I often feel like this is happening in other classes. Although, I have to say, I won't be able to eat scrambled eggs again for quite some time. I don't know if you know what fat looks like, but it's gross. Won't go into details I promise.

So, basically this is going to be the hardest 2 1/2 years of my life. I may make it, I may not, but I'm giving it an honest shot. While anxiety and a feeling of homesickness make it harder for me, a good friend of mine reminded me that this is very much outside my comfort zone and a challenge. If I can make it through this, I can make it through anything.