studying my Friday night away...

Yes... I should be studying, but instead I am making an excuse by updating the blog. Before I started PA school, I would read other blogs of PA students doing this exact thing and thought to myself "I would never do that, studying will always come first"... boy was I off! It really takes a lot of dedication and stamina to keep up with all the hard work of PA school... Of course it will be rewarding in the end, however now, i'm just trying to muscle my way through it. 

One of our professors this morning mentioned a disease or some physiology we learned during the summer semester... and I was really scared to discover that I didn't remember it at all! 

There is so much information!! 

I keep hearing... trust the system, just get through it, you'll be surprised at how much you remember when you're out on rotations. And while I can recall a lot of info... its going to take a lot more exposure to get it stuck in my brain... everything is just flying by so quickly. I am loving the school process, yet every once in a while I have moments of frustration wondering if i'm really going to remember all of this stuff.

Ah the joys of PA school... surviving learning one disease at a time.

By the way, for this module "Hematology/Oncology" I feel like I have about 1000 new terms and acronyms to learn just to understand what is being discussed... but one day at a time...

back to the books... 

Derm, eye, ENT and Pulmonary modules...done!

             If you are anything like me and have ever thought to yourself "I can't wait to get into PA school, I wonder what it'll be like"... well here is a good comparison: grab a few rocks (the bigger and bulkier the better) lay them on the ground in an uneven pattern, and then lay on them for a while... then hours later get up and enjoy how GREAT it feels to not be in that extremely uncomfortable position anymore!

While I do feel lots of knots in my back from the stress... it is such a great feeling to pass modules and know that all of my studying paid off! One of the great things of PA school... you get a giant obstacle in front of you and then you climb it and feel way better about yourself! (until you look at the rest of the mountain you have to climb... ha ha but thats another story) right now i'm enjoying looking down at how far i've come and soaking in the days off, and small breaks I get to enjoy. 

The BIG derm, eye, ENT test I had been studying for is over...  and I was lucky enough to pass! I also finished the Pulmonary module which of course, was really hard also! Here are a few pictures of derm...

Actinic Keratosis 

Bullous Pemphigoid

 The Pulmonary medicine module was a lot more work than I originally thought. It took a lot of time to remember the different conditions that are obstructive and restrictive and how they would typically be treated. The most difficult part was that almost every condition had the same signs and symptoms! "Pt presents with  cough and dyspnea (difficulty breathing)" 

I learned how important it was to get a good thorough medical history in order to get a good idea of what could be causing the symptoms. Otherwise you end up with 50 different diseases on your differential diagnosis with none rising to the top! 

A few highlights of pulmonary...

Clubbing from chronic hypoxia

Tension Pneumothorax
(notice the clear/transparent right lung, it is air pushing the lung towards the middle)

Pleural effusion
(All the white in the lower left lung is fluid... it is a LOT of fluid, possible 2 liters worth)

For the pulmonary module we were able to do our physical exam skills test on Standardized patients! Which was scary and exciting at the same time. 

We practice on each other, and for our exam in Derm, eye, ENT we were tested on each other... but in pulmonary it was fun to have a patient that we had never seen previously, it made it seem like a real patient (besides having a professor sitting in there grading you). 

For those of you waiting to get into PA school, it is worth the wait, it is worth the time you sacrifice, it is worth all the obstacles you will encounter. The work is hard, the learning can be frustrating, but these experiences are amazing, and it is shaping me to be the best provider possible. Pacific University is an amazing PA school, and for those who are applying... for what its worth, it comes highly recommended by me. 

Next week is onto my next module and adventure... Hematology/Oncology.