Update on California

These past four weeks at PathMD have been flying by and I am not ready to leave this wonderful state in two weeks.  The weather has been warm and sunny and I've had the pleasure of missing out on the east coast snowstorm. My rotation hasn't been that bad either. :)

Over the past couple of weeks, my days have been full of GI biopsies, skin shaves, and prostate biopsies.  However, I have had the opportunity to do a couple of more complex, interesting specimens as well to include a thyroglossal duct cyst, rectal tumor, hydrocele, dermoid cyst (aka teratoma), products of conception (some with fetuses), neuroma, and a toe amputation.  To say the least, I have already learned a lot from working at the bench and I am getting more comfortable every single day when it comes to evaluating the specimen, formulating a dictation, and submitting the proper sections.  I am ready to see what all my other rotations have in store for me to experience.

In addition to the everyday grossing, we (PA Class of 2016) had our first "monthly" test of the year.  It covered a variety of topics and books to include multiple chapters out of Robbins (Pathologic Basis of Disease), Laboratory Safety, Laboratory Management, Handbook of Autopsy Pathology, and Handbook of Forensic Pathology.  In addition to the readings, we also had to know CPT codes, organ weights, grossing techniques, anatomy, microanatomy, and a variety of stains and what they stain for.   To say the least, it was a lot of information and required a lot of reading and preparation for the test.  The test was comprised of 100 multiple choice questions that covered all of the above topics and we had up to two hours to take it. It was a little nerve-wrecking since it was the first test, but I feel like it went much better than I expected and now I have a baseline idea of what to expect for the future tests. 

Now for the fun stuff, because no one just comes to California for six weeks and doesn't do a little bit of exploring.  I have been all over the place the past couple of weekends exploring the state and making new friends.  One weekend, I traveled down to San Diego to explore the city and beaches and let's just say, this beach bum fell in love. :) Last weekend, I went to Las Vegas and celebrated the weekend with some new friends for one of their birthdays.  So as you can tell, I'm taking full advantage of my time here in Los Angeles.  This weekend, I plan on exploring more of the city and it is free museum day tomorrow, so I will be hitting up as many of the museums around here as I can! 

To everyone on the east coast, stay warm and I hope the snow starts melting quickly!

New Year, New Adventures

Hello from beautiful city of Los Angeles!! I have been here almost a week and I am absolutely loving every bit of it from the city itself to my rotation site.  I am currently working at PathMD, which is located in Beverly Hills. They are a private lab and receive specimens from multiple local practices and we process them from the gross specimen to the slide, and then they are sent off to various hospitals to be evaluated by pathologists.  It has been a pretty laid back rotation so far with a lot of simpler specimens (a lot of GI biopsies), but I've also had the opportunity to do some cervical cones, ovaries, toe amputations, skins, breast capsules, and even penile implants as a gross only and kidney stones to be dictated and then sent off for stone analysis.  I have only spent five days in the lab, but I am getting more comfortable at the bench every day.  All of the things I learned the first year are really getting put to use on a regular basis.

Aside from work, I have also been exploring around the area a little bit.  To expand my exploring options, I have rented a car for the weekend and went out to hike the trails around the Hollywood sign and it was absolutely gorgeous.  I had the perfect view of the entire city.

It was a little over a 6 mile walk round trip for this hike, but it was totally worth it once I got to the top!  For continued weekend fun, I am heading to Disneyland tomorrow and I'm super excited to go there for the day.  I'm taking full advantage of these six weeks in a new part of the country by not only learning all that I can at the grossing bench, but also adventuring and exploring the area too!