Nearing the End of the First Semester

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't been writing in as much as I promised, and I apologize if I've taken awhile (or didn't at all) to respond to your comments, but I've been really busy for the past 4 months. I started PA school back in July, and it has been non-stop since. Not that I didn't expect it to be like this, but it really is a lot of work! What's keeping me going right now is knowing that in the end it will completely be worth it. Right now I'm taking anatomy, physical diagnosis, pathophysiology, medical ethics, behavioral science, and microbiology. Out of the 6 classes I am taking, anatomy, physical diagnosis, and pathophysiology are definitely the most time consuming. Even though it's so much work,I'm loving every minute of it!

Here's a quick summary of what I do in each class:

Anatomy: study the structure and organization of the human body through lecture and a cadaver lab

Physical diagnosis: learn a complete head to toe exam, using lecture, a practice lab, and trips to a local hospital to interview and practice on real patients.

Pathophysiology: study the various disease states that the body can suffer from.

Medical ethics: discuss various "controversial" or tough to deal with situations that I may have to face as a PA in my career.

Behavioral science: learn about how to interact with patients on a human level, as well as about the many psychological disorders.

Microbiology: studying the different bacteria, viruses, and other organisms that can affect the body.

As you can see, I definitely have a full plate right now, and next semester will be even more intense! I'm sure I've said it many times previously, but the most important words of advice I can offer are to get as much experience possible before you begin. My experience as an EMT and as a cardiac rehab intern is probably the main reason I'm doing well right now and not going completely crazy!!!

I'm not sure when I'll be able to post next, as most of my time is taken up by school right now. But if you leave a comment, I'll try to respond in a timely fashion!