I am now officially two-thirds of the way done with my first year of PA school (hence the S1.66 in the title; only 19 weeks (4 weeks of break, and spring semester)) now stand between me and 2nd-year status. Again, I find myself in this bizarre paradoxical situation (as I did in college) where, going into PA school, I felt like I would have 3 WHOLE years to enjoy myself, learn as much as possible, and meet amazing people. At the same time, 3 LONG years to wait and wonder what day-to-day clinical practice will be like. However, right now I am marveling at how incredibly quickly my program seems to be going. In a little over 2 years, I will officially be a PA, and practicing medicine for a living.
That is still a while away, and at this point, I am still recovering from fall semester. I have 1 glorious month off for break, and I could not be happier. It has been quite a while since I have written (midterms in October), and I feel like this is really the first time I have to breathe. Life has been go, go, go since the beginning of November, with an endless stream of exams, papers, and a fair amount of coffee added to that mix. Considering the fact that I had 10 (yes, 10) classes this semester, I found myself having many moments to myself. If being in grad. school teaches you anything, it's how to manage your time so effectively, that you have time left over for yourself.
Fall semester definitely brought a multitude of new experiences, as well. In October, as part of my physical diagnosis class, I had to practice performing pelvic/genitourinary exams on standardized patients. While I was initially nervous about this, I am so grateful to the people who so willingly gave us their time to let myself and my classmates practice our exams on them, rather than having to fumble through the exam the first time during an actual patient encounter.
I think the biggest adjustment for me this semester was becoming accustomed to the semester system, itself. Going to the University of Denver, I was used to the quarter system, with all of my classes lasting only 10 weeks, and getting out for a 6 week winter break shortly before Thanksgiving. This year, however, I was barely finished with midterms after 10 weeks, and final exams were still more than 6 weeks away. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time finals rolled around last week, and I had very little left to give to my classes, friends, and family. Much to my surprise, after taking some very difficult finals that I felt less than prepared for, I received news of my final grades, and all I can say is that I was extremely happy, and felt a huge sense of relief after working for 15 weeks. Next semester, there will be 2 less credit hours than fall, I will be rotating in clinic on Tuesdays, I will have had time to recuperate from essentially 6 months of straight classes.
For now, all I can do is marvel at how much I have learned in just 6 months (I find myself laughing periodically when I watch ER now, when the doctors put their stethoscopes in their ears backward, and loving the fact that I understand why they are giving certain drugs during a trauma), and relish in this blissful time to myself.
I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season, and a wonderful, healthy, and blessed new year!
Monday, December 20, 2010
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Monday, December 20, 2010
PA-S1.66
I am now officially two-thirds of the way done with my first year of PA school (hence the S1.66 in the title; only 19 weeks (4 weeks of break, and spring semester)) now stand between me and 2nd-year status. Again, I find myself in this bizarre paradoxical situation (as I did in college) where, going into PA school, I felt like I would have 3 WHOLE years to enjoy myself, learn as much as possible, and meet amazing people. At the same time, 3 LONG years to wait and wonder what day-to-day clinical practice will be like. However, right now I am marveling at how incredibly quickly my program seems to be going. In a little over 2 years, I will officially be a PA, and practicing medicine for a living.
That is still a while away, and at this point, I am still recovering from fall semester. I have 1 glorious month off for break, and I could not be happier. It has been quite a while since I have written (midterms in October), and I feel like this is really the first time I have to breathe. Life has been go, go, go since the beginning of November, with an endless stream of exams, papers, and a fair amount of coffee added to that mix. Considering the fact that I had 10 (yes, 10) classes this semester, I found myself having many moments to myself. If being in grad. school teaches you anything, it's how to manage your time so effectively, that you have time left over for yourself.
Fall semester definitely brought a multitude of new experiences, as well. In October, as part of my physical diagnosis class, I had to practice performing pelvic/genitourinary exams on standardized patients. While I was initially nervous about this, I am so grateful to the people who so willingly gave us their time to let myself and my classmates practice our exams on them, rather than having to fumble through the exam the first time during an actual patient encounter.
I think the biggest adjustment for me this semester was becoming accustomed to the semester system, itself. Going to the University of Denver, I was used to the quarter system, with all of my classes lasting only 10 weeks, and getting out for a 6 week winter break shortly before Thanksgiving. This year, however, I was barely finished with midterms after 10 weeks, and final exams were still more than 6 weeks away. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time finals rolled around last week, and I had very little left to give to my classes, friends, and family. Much to my surprise, after taking some very difficult finals that I felt less than prepared for, I received news of my final grades, and all I can say is that I was extremely happy, and felt a huge sense of relief after working for 15 weeks. Next semester, there will be 2 less credit hours than fall, I will be rotating in clinic on Tuesdays, I will have had time to recuperate from essentially 6 months of straight classes.
For now, all I can do is marvel at how much I have learned in just 6 months (I find myself laughing periodically when I watch ER now, when the doctors put their stethoscopes in their ears backward, and loving the fact that I understand why they are giving certain drugs during a trauma), and relish in this blissful time to myself.
I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season, and a wonderful, healthy, and blessed new year!
That is still a while away, and at this point, I am still recovering from fall semester. I have 1 glorious month off for break, and I could not be happier. It has been quite a while since I have written (midterms in October), and I feel like this is really the first time I have to breathe. Life has been go, go, go since the beginning of November, with an endless stream of exams, papers, and a fair amount of coffee added to that mix. Considering the fact that I had 10 (yes, 10) classes this semester, I found myself having many moments to myself. If being in grad. school teaches you anything, it's how to manage your time so effectively, that you have time left over for yourself.
Fall semester definitely brought a multitude of new experiences, as well. In October, as part of my physical diagnosis class, I had to practice performing pelvic/genitourinary exams on standardized patients. While I was initially nervous about this, I am so grateful to the people who so willingly gave us their time to let myself and my classmates practice our exams on them, rather than having to fumble through the exam the first time during an actual patient encounter.
I think the biggest adjustment for me this semester was becoming accustomed to the semester system, itself. Going to the University of Denver, I was used to the quarter system, with all of my classes lasting only 10 weeks, and getting out for a 6 week winter break shortly before Thanksgiving. This year, however, I was barely finished with midterms after 10 weeks, and final exams were still more than 6 weeks away. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time finals rolled around last week, and I had very little left to give to my classes, friends, and family. Much to my surprise, after taking some very difficult finals that I felt less than prepared for, I received news of my final grades, and all I can say is that I was extremely happy, and felt a huge sense of relief after working for 15 weeks. Next semester, there will be 2 less credit hours than fall, I will be rotating in clinic on Tuesdays, I will have had time to recuperate from essentially 6 months of straight classes.
For now, all I can do is marvel at how much I have learned in just 6 months (I find myself laughing periodically when I watch ER now, when the doctors put their stethoscopes in their ears backward, and loving the fact that I understand why they are giving certain drugs during a trauma), and relish in this blissful time to myself.
I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season, and a wonderful, healthy, and blessed new year!
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