Day 256 (I Am Losing Track).

I suppose it is time for a school update, yeah? We are on the home stretch of this quarter! Can you believe it? Three more weeks of classes and then finals week. Holy cow. Let me put it into perspective yet again: interviews were December 12, I got accepted December 28 (I think), I started my online class in March, went to Seattle for summer quarter, and started back in Anchorage in September. I only have six months of classes left after Christmas! Six months! I will then have my summer off (and presumably will go play tour guide for a couple months...or travel...?) and then I have rotations for a year. At times I feel like my graduation date is so far away, but when I think about it, this is all going to be over in the blink of an eye.

I am currently taking five classes:

1. Basic Clinical Skills - Learning how to take a complete history on a patient and how to write what is called a SOAP note (every time you go to the doctor they write one of these regarding your visit - it covers why you are there, physical exam findings, the assessment, and the plan...in much more detail, but you get the idea). We also learn how to do physical exams. We learn one each Monday and are tested the following Friday. We don't find out what time we are being tested until the clock strikes 8:30am. We are also randomly assigned a partner with whom we will be tested. Each test has a time limit, some 25 minutes, others 10 or 15 minutes. We learned the basic screening exam (done when you are a new patient or at a yearly exam) and then branching exams (done when something in particular needs to further be examined). These include the HEENT exam (head, eyes, ears, nose, throat), cardiovascular exam, respiratory exam, gastrointestinal exam, neurologic exam, spine and hip exam, knee exam, and hand exam. We have yet to learn a few more. When we first learned about these exams I was incredibly nervous. I still consider myself shy, though most of you would disagree, and just thinking about having to perform an exam in front of a proctor freaks me out. However, since I married Andy, I am becoming more extroverted, which is good. I get in the exam room each Friday and perform with 100% confidence. In fact, I can't think of one physical exam that I have really been nervous for. In this class we go visit a nursing home where we each have our own patient. Every week we go practice our physical exam on them! It has been a good experience, though I wish that my patient wasn't so healthy! She is living in the nursing home moreso because she cannot take care of her home. She is fit as a fiddle and always jokes with me, "What do you want me to do now, a handstand?" Or I'll say, "Let me know if this is tender or causes pain," and she'll respond by saying, "Oh, you'll know. I will just clock you in the face!" Hahahahaha, she is 88.
   
2. Behavioral Medicine - Just as it sounds. We hear about all sorts of different chemical imbalances/behavioral disorders, but I think a lot of the focus is to learn just how to pull out bits and pieces of a conversation with a patient and realize that there may be something more than just x, y, or z that is affecting them. No joke, as I sit in this class, I realize that we are all a fair mix of manic, bipolar, schizo, OCD, depressed, you name it. It is actually kind of funny. I am the most nervous for my Psych rotation because I am afraid I will miss something really big.
3. Pathophysiology - Basically the study of diseases. It is pretty interesting, but not as difficult as I expected. Knock on wood. That being said, I have done incredibly well on the two tests that I have taken and we only have one more. I feel blessed at my ability to understand what I learn and retain it for later.
4. Public Role Development - Not my favorite class...at all. Lecture topics revolve around becoming a better provider. Good information, boring lectures.
5. Technical Skills - Probably my most challenging class, but it is fun at the same time. We learn about lab tests, preparing and reading slides under a microscope, drawing blood, starting IV's, putting casts on, etc.
   

That was a lot of writing, so feel free to take a break:

My girls, AJ and Dominique. I seriously love them.
I feel very fortunate to have been able to room with them Seattle.

AJ, Jessica, Anna, me.
Practicing physical exams.
(I look like I have no clothes on!)
We dress like this every Friday morning for our physical exam tests.

We went and celebrated after our first pathophysiology test at Simon and Seaforts. As AJ put it, "Come and drink if you rocked your test! Orrrr drink if it rocked you!" Haha. I drank water, of course, but I do like socializing outside of class with these guys. Ask me again in a couple of months.

Dominique, AJ, me, Jessica.

Andy did a nice post about our White Coat Ceremony.
It was lame, but will always be a good memory.
I will be buying my own white coat as soon as I begin practicing, this one is awkwardly short.

L to R: Dominique, Anna (who is hiding!), Nanette, Evelyn (in the back, on her tip toes haha), Riley, Jen, Jessica, Liz (in the front), Lisa (with glasses), Jen (in front of me), and Marie (in front of her).

One of our professors, Dr. Evans, chatted with us on our last day of class in Seattle and said, "Could you have stopped someone on the street before you came to Seattle and explained to them exactly how the complement system works? Or how about metabolic acidosis/alkalosis and respiratory acidosis/alkalosis? We have been together for a mere six weeks, yet you all have been taught so much. You could now have at least a 45 minute conversation with anyone about anything you've learned here. And probably on the spot. Well done, my friends." Anyway, he went on about how much we truly learned in a short amount of time there in Seattle.

I echo him then and I echo him now.

This quarter is only 13 weeks long, so I have been at it for nine weeks. I can't believe the amount of information I have learned this quarter alone.

So far PA school has not been even close to what I expected. I thought I would be up late each night and barely getting enough sleep to get by. I thought I would not have time to eat or work out or go out with friends or shop. I thought my house would turn to shambles (not gonna lie, I don't clean it as often as I used to haha). None of that is true for me. Yet. I have just learned to reorganize my time in a way that works for me.

I have high expectations for myself and hope that I can continue to do as well as I have been.