Blog Description

I'll be periodically updating my blog with information about my journey through college and how I am accomplishing my goal of becoming a physician assistant.

Friday, November 13, 2009

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!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello...idk who you are but i really thank you for all your time and effort that you put in, in becoming a doctor. I am truly amazed at how some people just have the passion to become a Doctor and pursue all the hard work. I am planning to join the medical field in the very near future...as a neonatal nurse! I have a question regarding the medical code of ethics. I hope you can answer it. The questsion is, can a PA-C date/marry a patient? A patienet who is not vulnerable. Or is every case different?

Anonymous said...

Oh i forgot to add...that neither of them are married.

Anonymous said...

I was searching for some shading questions to ask, and it lead me to your blog. I've got to say, thank you so much for blogging it has really brainstrom how much work i need to do to. So far i have no patient contact, and I'm going on my first shadowing experience tomorrow. I'm currently puruseing pa school too, so to read what you've went through and how to you got there really helps. Thank you and keep blogging! Please tell me what you guys are learning in PA school so i can prepare myself better.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ron,

It's REALLY ironic that I came upon your blog because I'm also a student at TCNJ and decided to change my major to Health and Exercise Science becaue of a change in career interest, which is being a PA. I know you don't update much but just incase you happen to see this comment within the next year, I have a question. Did the human anatomy and physiology required in the HES major count as prereqs? Or did you take human anatomy and physiology through the bio department? Thanks in advance =)

Christina said...

Hey! I was wondering, which PA schools did you apply to? And which one r u attending now? How do you like it there?

Anonymous said...

This is a really great blog. There are a lot of pre PA students looking for advice and guidance. This is a valuable resource.

Dave
http://www.gotophysicianassistantschool.com

Eugine Wallabee said...

What undergraduate major would you suggest getting? Would you advise someone to get a degree in nursing to become an RN and work for a year or two after getting the degree before applying to PA school?

Anonymous said...

hi, i am jackie. i just found your blogger on the onternet. acturally, i am facing big change of my life. i withdraw from nursing program this semester.

i went through this nursing competition and finally got accepted by myschool. it is almost 1 in 10 selection. however, i find out i dont realyy like nursing. the first semester is terrible. everything i learn from class is crap. so i decide to give up and change to PA.

your information is very useful for me, especially this class summary part. so that i can know what exactly PA learn.

but i have question here. Anatomy and physiciology is not pre-PA?