In PA school, everything is (supposedly) all about maintaining balance. Being able to integrate and synthesize the massive amounts of knowledge being thrown at me, while having an outside life and remembering to care for myself at the same time is sometimes easier said than done. However, I find that I actually have quite a large amount of time for myself and my personal interests, even though school is very difficult at times.
The first round of exams arrived and passed more than 2 weeks ago, and I am still here. The first Anatomy exam was killer, but I was surprised to find out that I had done incredibly well, so I was very happy, but at the same time, there wasn't a whole lot of time to celebrate, as it was immediately on to new material.
After the hell of the upper extremity during the first unit, diving into the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis was really exciting...the "blood and guts" of anatomy is what really makes me go...it's just so fascinating. It's where pathology is most evident, and my classmates have found some incredibly fascinating things in their cadavers. There were several pacemakers found, evidence of central lines, surgical procedures (including several people who had multiple coronary bypass operations) and several cases of "organomegaly," or enlarged organs. One cadaver had a heart that was nearly 5 times larger than normal, evidence of severe heart-failure.
However, the thorax and abdomen presents its own set of problems, such as the fact that there is SO MUCH going on once you peel back the anterior abdominal wall. There are so many different organ systems represented, and arteries traversing over veins, nerves, lymphatic drainage ducts, and other things.
Round 2 of exams started today with Physical Diagnosis, which I did really well on, but there are still 2 Anatomy exams (thorax/abdomen, and then, after spending only 1 week on the lower extremity, another exam exactly 1 week after the upcoming one on the 19th), a patient-chart note, and a simulated patient interview on the last day of July. The next two weeks are absolutely pure-hell, and I yearn for it to be August 1st already, and for this mess of exams to be behind me. After this, it's 3 weeks in the head and neck, which I'm super excited for, especially when we dissect out the spine/spinal cord, brain, and peripheral nerves. Since neurosurgery is one of the specialties that is high on my list, I am extremely interested in all things neuro. As I said, 3 weeks in the head and neck, and the Anatomy exam associated with that, and 1 Physical Diagnosis comprehensive physical examination, where we are put in a room with standardized patients and graded on our physical exam techniques.
My brief summer break seems so close, and yet, so far away. Think good thoughts for me over the next two weeks. I love and miss you all!
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Thursday, July 15, 2010
Balance is the key word
In PA school, everything is (supposedly) all about maintaining balance. Being able to integrate and synthesize the massive amounts of knowledge being thrown at me, while having an outside life and remembering to care for myself at the same time is sometimes easier said than done. However, I find that I actually have quite a large amount of time for myself and my personal interests, even though school is very difficult at times.
The first round of exams arrived and passed more than 2 weeks ago, and I am still here. The first Anatomy exam was killer, but I was surprised to find out that I had done incredibly well, so I was very happy, but at the same time, there wasn't a whole lot of time to celebrate, as it was immediately on to new material.
After the hell of the upper extremity during the first unit, diving into the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis was really exciting...the "blood and guts" of anatomy is what really makes me go...it's just so fascinating. It's where pathology is most evident, and my classmates have found some incredibly fascinating things in their cadavers. There were several pacemakers found, evidence of central lines, surgical procedures (including several people who had multiple coronary bypass operations) and several cases of "organomegaly," or enlarged organs. One cadaver had a heart that was nearly 5 times larger than normal, evidence of severe heart-failure.
However, the thorax and abdomen presents its own set of problems, such as the fact that there is SO MUCH going on once you peel back the anterior abdominal wall. There are so many different organ systems represented, and arteries traversing over veins, nerves, lymphatic drainage ducts, and other things.
Round 2 of exams started today with Physical Diagnosis, which I did really well on, but there are still 2 Anatomy exams (thorax/abdomen, and then, after spending only 1 week on the lower extremity, another exam exactly 1 week after the upcoming one on the 19th), a patient-chart note, and a simulated patient interview on the last day of July. The next two weeks are absolutely pure-hell, and I yearn for it to be August 1st already, and for this mess of exams to be behind me. After this, it's 3 weeks in the head and neck, which I'm super excited for, especially when we dissect out the spine/spinal cord, brain, and peripheral nerves. Since neurosurgery is one of the specialties that is high on my list, I am extremely interested in all things neuro. As I said, 3 weeks in the head and neck, and the Anatomy exam associated with that, and 1 Physical Diagnosis comprehensive physical examination, where we are put in a room with standardized patients and graded on our physical exam techniques.
My brief summer break seems so close, and yet, so far away. Think good thoughts for me over the next two weeks. I love and miss you all!
The first round of exams arrived and passed more than 2 weeks ago, and I am still here. The first Anatomy exam was killer, but I was surprised to find out that I had done incredibly well, so I was very happy, but at the same time, there wasn't a whole lot of time to celebrate, as it was immediately on to new material.
After the hell of the upper extremity during the first unit, diving into the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis was really exciting...the "blood and guts" of anatomy is what really makes me go...it's just so fascinating. It's where pathology is most evident, and my classmates have found some incredibly fascinating things in their cadavers. There were several pacemakers found, evidence of central lines, surgical procedures (including several people who had multiple coronary bypass operations) and several cases of "organomegaly," or enlarged organs. One cadaver had a heart that was nearly 5 times larger than normal, evidence of severe heart-failure.
However, the thorax and abdomen presents its own set of problems, such as the fact that there is SO MUCH going on once you peel back the anterior abdominal wall. There are so many different organ systems represented, and arteries traversing over veins, nerves, lymphatic drainage ducts, and other things.
Round 2 of exams started today with Physical Diagnosis, which I did really well on, but there are still 2 Anatomy exams (thorax/abdomen, and then, after spending only 1 week on the lower extremity, another exam exactly 1 week after the upcoming one on the 19th), a patient-chart note, and a simulated patient interview on the last day of July. The next two weeks are absolutely pure-hell, and I yearn for it to be August 1st already, and for this mess of exams to be behind me. After this, it's 3 weeks in the head and neck, which I'm super excited for, especially when we dissect out the spine/spinal cord, brain, and peripheral nerves. Since neurosurgery is one of the specialties that is high on my list, I am extremely interested in all things neuro. As I said, 3 weeks in the head and neck, and the Anatomy exam associated with that, and 1 Physical Diagnosis comprehensive physical examination, where we are put in a room with standardized patients and graded on our physical exam techniques.
My brief summer break seems so close, and yet, so far away. Think good thoughts for me over the next two weeks. I love and miss you all!
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