diamond in the rough!

I just found this blog! i had totally forgotten. Time to post updates.....

jeri

End of my first rotation.... Psychiatry

My first rotation ended today. I was sad to say goodbye to the staff and patients that I have gotten to know during the past 4 weeks. I was at a local alcohol and drug outpatient rehab center, and spent most of my time at the women's center, and one or two days a week at the men's recovery center. Technically, this probably wasn't the "best" psychiatric rotation in terms of seeing a broad spectrum of psychiatric illnesses, but I think there's an advantage to spending time in a specialized setting - you get to know at least one piece of the puzzle really well. Alcohol and drug addiction will be a pervasive issue regardless of where I end up working, so I'm glad I had this experience. One thing I learned from watching psych interviews - a really good interview doesn't seem so much like an interview, but a conversation. And another skill is writing a good HPI after what seems like a rambling conversation. I had the opportunity to attempt both a few times and it was a good learning experience. :-)

Spring semester.... bring on the pain

Ah, the "downhill slide" one may say to completion of the didactic year of PA school.... I mean, it's the year 2010 now, so we're basically done, right? WRONG. My first pharmacology exam this semester supremely humbled my adventurous spirit and has turned my focus back to the books. Now I'm playing catch-up with the grades, and I'm having to work harder than ever to focus on making it through this semester day by day. Don't get me wrong, I've had a little fun. Our class split into 8 groups, and we performed skits this past Friday for our cardiology section. We were able to poke a little fun at all our professors and have a few belly laughs. I was happy to see Dr. Maner got a jab in every skit. Yeah, that's what you get for that awful Pharm test!! *evil laugh* I will post a skit video soon if I can get a hold of the file.

Classes so far.... ACLS, cardiology, GI physiology, pharmacology, surgery

Classes to come.... uh, a lot more? surgery, a lot more pharm and lot more clinical medicine.

Shadowing over Christmas Break...

Yay! I'm halfway through the didactic year. I had the opportunity to shadow a Cardiology PA for 2 days (maybe more... haven't decided if I'm going back tomorrow) over my Christmas break, and really enjoyed it. Hospital consults, stress tests, and CHF clinic... I learned tons in 2 days...?? My brain is going to explode by the time I graduate.

Rotations... Jobs... I'm getting way ahead of myself!

Is it too soon to worry about getting a job? Or about setting up my own rotation in Colorado? Too bad, I am a natural worrier, so I'm already working on it.

Denver.... 2011.... Awesome job paying >$80K/year.....sending positive brain waves.....

I made the mistake of reading someone's desperate post on Denver craigslist basically begging for a job at any low salary. I really hope the job market isn't that bad!

Here's the post:

Hello -

I am a certified Physician Assistant. I have my Colorado Medical License, and am ACLS and BLS certified. Since I am a new graduate, I need experience!

If you are a doctor’s office or clinic who needs help, but cannot afford today’s market prices for a Physician Assistant. I think we can help each other! In exchange for the experience, I am willing to work evenings, weekends, on-call, etc at a much reduced rate.

I am available immediately, so please call or email for resume, references and interviews.

CRAP!!!!

So if you are an experienced PA, send me your free advice on what I could be doing now to land that great job in 1.5 yrs.

MCG Fall semester update

UPDATES

• It's not as bad (so far) as I expected. Two days a week we usually are not in the classroom all day.
• I joined a spin class, cut my hair, and found Lucy doggie daycare!!
• I've gained more weight though. oops. Still working on that.

Classes are more hands-on and practical, but pharmacology, physiology, and currently Lab medicine are so time consuming that I feel like I'm neglecting my physical assessment class :-( I hope to squeeze in some more practice time.

For any future PA-S out there, time management is key. But you still need to take occasional breaks, but make sure they don't take up your entire afternoon. Read, read, read. The more you can expose yourself to material, the better.

Back to the books!

White Coat Ceremony

White Coat Ceremony

September 12, 2009

Medical College of Georgia

Physician Assistant c/o 2011

What an awesome day! Me and my closest 49 new pals were officially handed our white coats and pinned, marking our new journey as PA-S!!

(I'm on the back row, far right)