I am a week and a half into my 7th rotation at Thomas Memorial Hospital in Charleston, WV. I am continuing my journey in surgical pathology, however, this rotation is slightly different than the other surgical rotations so far. I have the privilege of being able to work with one of my classmates, so we are able to divide and conquer the work we have placed in front of us. There are three pathologists here, and have all shown to be very nice, helpful, and encouraging as we are in the home stretch of our graduate career.
The set up here is a little different than what I'm used to because they have dictaphone and transcriptionists rather than Dragon or VoiceOver software. It has been an adjustment, but I have grown to like the change in how I go about doing my work. I feel like it has been a lot faster in regards to doing small specimens such as biopsies, gallbladders, and appendices, however, I sometimes forget where I'm at when it comes to dictating the more complex specimens. I have just gotten in a habit of writing down everything on a paper towel and taking all my sections, and then dictating it all at once so that I don't lose my place or forget anything. Another difference in this rotation is that we come in and start at 7:00 a.m....it was a little rough the first week, but I've enjoyed getting off around 2:00 p.m. every day because it leaves me the whole afternoon to do whatever I like!
As for specimens, we tackle a lot of placentas, POCs, and biopsies on a daily basis. That is a bulk of what we do here, however, we also get a lot of hysterectomies, thyroid specimens, breast specimens, and colons. All in all, my partner and I get at least one complex specimen a day each, if not more. We are also responsible for frozen sections if we choose to do so, but it isn't a requirement. However, it is nice to keep up those skills! After the last rotation where I was the only "PA," it's been nice to have a little bit of a break and take on the workload with a partner.
On a very bright note, after job applications and interviews, I'm excited to say that I have officially accepted a PA position at Stanford University and will be starting at the beginning of the year. I'm beyond excited to already have a job this early in the year, so the rest of the school year won't be as stressful with all the extra work that it entails. Now it is just the adventure of finding an apartment in an area I like that is within my price range! So let the fun begin!! :)
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