Back to the Grind

Summer break was very short lived as it only lasted a week and now, here I am, back in classes.  However, I did get to spend a majority of my week in Las Vegas and had a great time with the family.  We explored and stayed on the Strip and Downtown Las Vegas, so we got the best of both worlds.  My Dad, his friend Randy, and I even biked 35 miles round trip through the Red Rock Canyon.  It was a rough ride, but the views made it worth every minute.

Red Rock Canyon

I'm now back in Morgantown and finished my first day of summer classes.  We only have two classes this semester, which are Systemic Pathology and Clinical Pathology Seminar.  We have Systemic Pathology every morning from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and Clinical Pathology Seminar is every Tuesday from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.  Overall, the class schedule isn't too bad to say the least.  In addition to our classes, we also have three gross room rotations, two EM rotations, and two autopsy rotations that are scheduled throughout the summer term.  I think that it will be a pretty relaxing semester in comparison to the one we just completed.  I guess I shall say farewell to summer break and hello to the world of summer classes.  

One Down, Five To Go

I made it through finals week and I am quite proud of myself to say the least.  I didn't completely lose my mind or experience a caffeine overload and I felt confident in my performances.  So successful? I think so.

I wanted to make this a little more of lighthearted post and give a little bit of insight on the lessons I learned from my first semester.  The following is a list of lessons or "hacks" I learned throughout the semester that will make the experience a lot less stressful and overwhelming:

1.  Do NOT procrastinate...okay, so we all procrastinate, but once you get to this level of study, it isn't exactly the best of ideas.  After the first month, I realized I wasn't in undergrad anymore.  There is so much more material being thrown at you for each exam and you need more than one night to study and really learn the material.

2.  Practice, practice, practice.  The more you do something, the better you will get.  This includes dictations, frozen sections, and grossing specimens.  If you are lacking a skill in one area, find help and improve on it.  This is your future career, so learn all you can and be the best you can be.

3.  Take one day off a week from school work and go on a day trip, explore, and meet new people.  Just do it, you will thank me.

4.  I know just above I said take a day off, but honestly, find something to do everyday that will be your "escape" from school and life.  It can be anything from watching an episode of your favorite TV show to going for a hike to just sitting back and listening to music.  Whatever it may be, do it.  It can be for as little as 15 minutes to 4 hours, or even longer if you like.  Just keep yourself healthy, body and soul.  You will never make it through the two years if you are constantly stressed and unhappy worrying about school, grades, and anything else that may be happening in life.  Finding daily activities to unwind and take your mind off things is probably the most important piece of advice I can give to anyone.  

So all in all, work hard, learn, and be the best PA you can be, but don't lose sight of yourself and your happiness.  Even though you are working for a dream, make sure to have a little fun along the way. :)

Finals Week is Upon Us

Believe it or not, finals week has finally arrived and crunch time begins.  It's so hard to imagine almost four months has passed by since we started classes in January and the end of a long, challenging, and crazy first semester has come oh so quickly.  However, I have three obstacles to overcome before a much needed week long break before the summer session begins.  There are names for my obstacles and they sound a little like this.....stress, sleep deprivation, and caffeine overdose.  Lovely and exciting names, I know, but in reality they are called histology, mechanisms of disease, and anatomical techniques.  On the bright side, we no longer have classes to attend, so it's the home stretch of just studying and focusing on everything we have learned from day one.  It's the latter part of the that sentence that scares me, EVERYTHING we have learned from day one.  Confidence is key for this week.

The schedule and make-up of the exams this week goes like this:

Monday at 10:00 am:  Histology (all multiple choice)
Wednesday at 10:00 am: Mechanisms of Disease (multiple choice, matching, and true/false)
Friday at 10:00 am:  Anatomical Techniques (multiple choice, true/false, short answer)

Even though the exams are cumulative, we are now at the point that we have been tested on most of the particular details of each chapter or section, so now it is more of big picture type of concepts and associations.  With tests covering so much material, it's really the only way all the most important material can be touched upon.  In my mind, that makes it a little less scary.

I suppose I shall get back to studying so I can get through this week and then prepare for a nice week off...that will be spent in Las Vegas,  YAYYYY!!! :) Happy studying to all!