Today is the first day of week 2 and my class was scheduled to meet with the other students on campus for "Interprofessional" small group meetings. These groups are to help us learn how to effectively communicate with other professionals involved in patient care. More mistakes happen in health care due to error and poor communication than almost anything else.
My group has 2 medical students, 2 pharmacy students, 2 nursing students, and one Physical Therapy student. Next spring I will be with this same group of students to discuss ethical scenarios. Learning to communicate and think through tough issues is a MAJOR part of our future careers. It might be a good idea for all of us to be in groups like this regularly - no matter what field we are in, we could all use a little work on our communication skills :-)
After lunch, my class was back to our normal routine of Neonatology and Physical Diagnosis. In Neonatology we talked about the affects of vaginal delivery on the newborn, which included watching a video a vaginal birth...it is a cool experience to watch but the essentials are gross :-) If little babies weren't so cute, no woman would EVER have children!
Afterward, we studied male anatomy and exam in Physical Diagnosis. This semester will be focused on the male and female anatomy and how to do the physical exams. If you desire to be a PA, learn to be comfortable touching people. It is the only way to truly determine and discover illness. Sometimes, as the patient, we wonder "Is this really necessary????" because we feel so uncomfortable but doctor's don't "enjoy" some of these exams either. They do them because they know it is for the best interest of you, the patient.
Now, I am home to study and prepare for clinic tomorrow....
Monday, August 31, 2009
Week 1 - Fall
How do you organize your life when, all of a sudden, you have 8 new pieces to somehow fit into your life? That is what the first week of the fall was all about - 19 credit hours, 8 classes. Some of these classes only meet once a week. You may think "Only once a week? That should make life easier." Actually no. If you try to stay on top of the material and study right after you cover the material in class, you have a full week before you talk about it again. On the other hand, if you wait and try to study before you go to class, it has been a full week since you talked about any of it...it feels like a lose-lose. There is a benefit though - when you have an exam, you have a full week to study!
This fall we are taking: Women's Health, Neonatology, Physical Diagnosis(continued), Psychosocial (continued), PBL (continued), ISBM (Physiology and Biochem "on steroids"), Clinic, Microbiology.
Clinic is really interesting. My preceptor is a doctor working at a children's Endocrinology clinic. Endocrinology includes problems with Growth Hormone (GH), Thyroid issues, and even Diabetes. There are a variety of challenges that come up with each of these areas and it is very relevant to the ISBM class. I am thankful for this early exposure to Endocrinology. In the long run, I think this will be a good foundation to build upon.
One thing I have realized, in this short time of schooling, is that some medical issues are much more prevalent than you would think. For example, Growth Hormone affects more children than I would have thought. Growing up I thought most kids were "normal". I had no idea that kids were dealing with Hypothyroidism, GH deficiency, and diabetes, but the more I am in clinic, the more I see average kids on medications for these issues. I guess there really isn't a "normal" and I wish I had known that back when I was a kid.
Looking back, I actually knew a kid that had GH deficiency, but I didn't know that's what it was. I had heard that he was getting "shots to help him grow" - now I know that IS GH deficiency. :-) Oh, well. I guess some ignorance is a good thing while you are growing up.
I will continue to write about my clinic experience, but for the protection of my patients, I won't write anything too specific.
This fall we are taking: Women's Health, Neonatology, Physical Diagnosis(continued), Psychosocial (continued), PBL (continued), ISBM (Physiology and Biochem "on steroids"), Clinic, Microbiology.
Clinic is really interesting. My preceptor is a doctor working at a children's Endocrinology clinic. Endocrinology includes problems with Growth Hormone (GH), Thyroid issues, and even Diabetes. There are a variety of challenges that come up with each of these areas and it is very relevant to the ISBM class. I am thankful for this early exposure to Endocrinology. In the long run, I think this will be a good foundation to build upon.
One thing I have realized, in this short time of schooling, is that some medical issues are much more prevalent than you would think. For example, Growth Hormone affects more children than I would have thought. Growing up I thought most kids were "normal". I had no idea that kids were dealing with Hypothyroidism, GH deficiency, and diabetes, but the more I am in clinic, the more I see average kids on medications for these issues. I guess there really isn't a "normal" and I wish I had known that back when I was a kid.
Looking back, I actually knew a kid that had GH deficiency, but I didn't know that's what it was. I had heard that he was getting "shots to help him grow" - now I know that IS GH deficiency. :-) Oh, well. I guess some ignorance is a good thing while you are growing up.
I will continue to write about my clinic experience, but for the protection of my patients, I won't write anything too specific.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Summary of 1st Semester
This summer was mainly a crash course in Anatomy. It was a 6 credit hour class: a combination of lab and class work. Weekly I spent at least 10 hours in the Anatomy lab dissecting a cadaver. Every 3 weeks culminated with a 3 hour exam: 1 hour lab and 2 hours written. We started with the Upper Extremity, then the Thorax and Abdomen, then one week on the Lower Extremity and finally the Head and Neck.
By far Head and Neck were the most complicated. We had to learn all the Cranial Nerves, including all their components and functions. The Dissection of this region was the most difficult and tedious. If you have never dissected anything, it is hard to explain the difficulty in finding nerves, arteries and muscles (in tact) on a cadaver. If you are interested in this aspect, please ask.
A word or two on dissection...
The smell is DISGUSTING and got progressively worse as the summer progressed. The smell is from the preservative Phenol. It causes a variety of side effects over prolonged exposure.
My class dissected at the same time as the Physical Therapy students. I was surprised to learn that they had to dissect all of the same areas of the body that we did. They even spend an extra summer in the lab dissecting joints and muscles.
This summer, I also took 3 other classes - Physical Diagnosis, Problem Based Learning and Psychosocial. Physical Diagnosis was interesting because I learned some of the practical components of how to do a physical exam. If you have been to your doctor for a basic check-up, you have seen the skills I learned this summer: Eyes, ears, nose, throat, lymph nodes, lungs, and heart. We also learned how to do upper and lower extremity function exams.
Problem Based Learning and Psychosocial are classes I will continue taking over the full-length of the program. PBL teaches students how to think through the process of diagnosing patients and Psychosocial trains students to treat the full person, including culture, family, and medical complexities. Every patient is different and deserves to be treated with the best care available. Medical providers need to learn to leave any prejudices at the door and care for the full person. Sometimes this means asking "uncomfortable" questions and educating patients on procedures the provider may not agree with.
Bottom-line? If you can't put your prejudices aside and care people and their individual needs, this is NOT the profession for you...In actuality, this means you probably shouldn't be in ANY career that allows you to deal with people. The difference is that medicine is a life or death situation at times.
Overall it was a tough summer. I studied A LOT, got good grades but mainly LEARNED A TON! Hopefully I will retain a good portion of it :-)
Enough about summer. Any questions? feel free to ask!
By far Head and Neck were the most complicated. We had to learn all the Cranial Nerves, including all their components and functions. The Dissection of this region was the most difficult and tedious. If you have never dissected anything, it is hard to explain the difficulty in finding nerves, arteries and muscles (in tact) on a cadaver. If you are interested in this aspect, please ask.
A word or two on dissection...
The smell is DISGUSTING and got progressively worse as the summer progressed. The smell is from the preservative Phenol. It causes a variety of side effects over prolonged exposure.
My class dissected at the same time as the Physical Therapy students. I was surprised to learn that they had to dissect all of the same areas of the body that we did. They even spend an extra summer in the lab dissecting joints and muscles.
This summer, I also took 3 other classes - Physical Diagnosis, Problem Based Learning and Psychosocial. Physical Diagnosis was interesting because I learned some of the practical components of how to do a physical exam. If you have been to your doctor for a basic check-up, you have seen the skills I learned this summer: Eyes, ears, nose, throat, lymph nodes, lungs, and heart. We also learned how to do upper and lower extremity function exams.
Problem Based Learning and Psychosocial are classes I will continue taking over the full-length of the program. PBL teaches students how to think through the process of diagnosing patients and Psychosocial trains students to treat the full person, including culture, family, and medical complexities. Every patient is different and deserves to be treated with the best care available. Medical providers need to learn to leave any prejudices at the door and care for the full person. Sometimes this means asking "uncomfortable" questions and educating patients on procedures the provider may not agree with.
Bottom-line? If you can't put your prejudices aside and care people and their individual needs, this is NOT the profession for you...In actuality, this means you probably shouldn't be in ANY career that allows you to deal with people. The difference is that medicine is a life or death situation at times.
Overall it was a tough summer. I studied A LOT, got good grades but mainly LEARNED A TON! Hopefully I will retain a good portion of it :-)
Enough about summer. Any questions? feel free to ask!
What is this blog for?
Ever wondered what a Physician Assistant is trained to do? You show up at your doctor's office and find out you will be seen by the "PA" instead of your primary physician and you wonder, "Is this person a 'nurse' or a 'medical assistant'? Are they really qualified to write me a perscription?"
3 months ago I started Physician Assistant school and have just last week started my 2nd semester. People ask me - "How is it?" "Is it as hard as you thought?" "What do you get to do?" Well, this blog is dedicated to all my friends and family that wonder what I am doing AND to all of you who want to know what a Physician Assistant program is all about. If you are thinking about applying to a PA program, feel free to ask questions about the application process, interviewing, and the program.
I will not name my program here. Think of this blog as a general overview of PA training. There are less than 50 people in my program, and we all will have a different experience with the stress and workload. BUT when we all graduate, we will be qualified to work in the same profession, in any number of specialties.
So...Here we go...
3 months ago I started Physician Assistant school and have just last week started my 2nd semester. People ask me - "How is it?" "Is it as hard as you thought?" "What do you get to do?" Well, this blog is dedicated to all my friends and family that wonder what I am doing AND to all of you who want to know what a Physician Assistant program is all about. If you are thinking about applying to a PA program, feel free to ask questions about the application process, interviewing, and the program.
I will not name my program here. Think of this blog as a general overview of PA training. There are less than 50 people in my program, and we all will have a different experience with the stress and workload. BUT when we all graduate, we will be qualified to work in the same profession, in any number of specialties.
So...Here we go...
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