Still Chugging Along

        Well, we are into Physiology, Interviewing, Health Systems, Clinical Reasoning, and about to be off for the Thanksgiving break.  Exam 1 of 2 for Physiology is the day after break on the 27th, so I have to figure out a way to make sure to properly study during the break, the unforunate thing is that I will be in God's Country on a kayak/camping/bowhunting adventure.  This will be my get away from school, and it should last about 3 days.  My thoughts on the program are still about the same and there has been a few neat things that have occurred.
        We just purchased our medical equipment, so we will be prepared for Spring Semester when we practice Physical Exams and the such.  We will have a briefing on that tomorrow actually from the Associate Dean of the program.
        We had our last taped interview practice, and I just finished my write-up actually.  The course is educational, and helps build the foundation of patient interviews. Way cool. Very patient centered to say the least. It's a bit tough to perform when your being taped though, but eveytime I noticed that my comfortability increases.
        I went to a Community Care Clinic recently to start shadowing the current officer, as I will be taking over once he hits clinicals at the end of the Fall semester.  Clinic for the community is so awesome, and it feels incredible to have the sense of impacting the population in a positive fashion.  There are a lot of individuals that need healthcare, and I couldn't be happier that I'm at the fore front of such care.
         Speaking with the 2nd years, again, I've been told to make sure that I take some time to thoroughly read EKG material prior the Spring semester, over break.  The 2nd semester is going to be a doozy, as I've been told by many 2nd years, and It's important that I man my battle stations prior the fun!  
         I have been studying quite a bit, and I will say that I've never studied this much in my life.  I can't believe that I have spent 5-7 hours in the medical library grinding it out on several weekends.  In fact, I'm in the library as I write, making flash cards so I can study my condensed notes over break.
         I was so excited about the break that I finished my presentation that is due the day after break in Clinical Reasoning already.   There are several presentations that are due by the end of the semester as well.  Overall, the rest of the semester is very doable, and was nothing compared to when Anatomy was in session.  
       

November 6th...Last Day of Anatomy!

          It is a real relief to be finished with Anatomy, but honestly I don't think that was the real hump of PA school.  I've been thinking a lot about the Spring semester as being one of the determining factors to know whether I have a hold on PA school, or PA school has a hold on me!  We are in a period of brief cool down actually, and the 2nd year students say we should enjoy our time right now, because Spring semester is going to be sizzling!  We start out with 6 courses in our Spring semester, so I can only imagine the rigor that we will endure.  I will confront the beast with as much preparation as I can attain.  I was told by my 2nd year PA buddy that I should consider being knowledgeable on EKG's during the winter break because it comes fast in the Spring.  Often, this holds students up because of the difficulty apparently. 
          Aside from that, we started Physiology, and are working in several groups accomplishing about 3 projects.  I am enjoying the class with the medical students, which is Clinical Reasoning, and have learned a moderate amount on how to approach a case in a clinical aspect.  I have more fuel then I had in the beginning actually, and I think it's because we are beginning to hit more core courses that I have great interest in.  We have a 3 day weekend, so I'm going to attempt to make the most out of it by studying and working on some project material tomorrow.

" One day at a time "

Today Was Our Last Anatomy Lecture!

         Today was our last Antomoy lecture on the Limbic system and the Hippocampus.  It feels almost like a relief, but in actuality the battle is still not won.  This Tuesday, November 6th, is our last ( 4th ) exam.  Everyone is preparing themselves to rumble in the jungle.  I know that I would like to do well just to make sure that I don't drop a letter grade since I'm boarderline.   Tonight, even though Friday, I think I"m going to just do all my cleaning/laundry so I have the entire weekend to accomplish school work.

       This week was fun, and we had another interview practice session with the Theatre students, whose primary role is to give us a hard time throughout the interviews.  Speaking for the group though, I know we have shown tremendous improvement since we've had enough repetition in what type of questions that we ask our patients.  I'm learning that there is no such thing as the perfect interview, and there is always something small to improve upon, similar to life in general. 

      So, after November 6th, we start Physiology as well as continue to work on several types of group projects....