Hey guys,
Sorry it has been awhile since my last post on here. I think my problem is I tend to be a long winded person when it comes to writing. I know this, so I tend to put off writing because I know it is going to take me a long time to get out what I want to. So I have decided to do my best to keep things relatively short (as is possible) and just try to write more often, instead of in big chunks.
In that spirit, I wanted to give a brief update on what is going on. We took our Pulmonary module exam on Halloween. This time we took it in computer format (the way boards are taken) instead of on paper, which is how we will take the rest of our module exams. I did pretty well on that, and passed all of my class except for Pharmacology, which is my nemesis in this program. I didn't fail because I couldn't learn the stuff or couldn't understand it, I just didn't devote the time that it demands to do well in it. There is a sunny side to that however, after they went through the exam and through out some of the questions I did end up passing Pharm, so maybe it wasn't all me? Hopefully! A couple of my classmates did not end up doing well on this module which was unfortunate, but hey they are still in the program, and still truckin along!
We are currently in our Cardiology module, and let me tell you, it has been hellish since day 1. Like I said we took our module on Halloween, which was a Friday. Come Monday morning we started Cardio, and by probably the middle of the day I was already completely overwhelmed and felt totally lost, frustrated and behind! Since then things have not slowed down one bit from that level, and in fact I truly think things are getting thrown at us faster and faster. I feel like we are sled dogs and they are just cracking the whip over our heads, "Mush!!!" :-) Besides the 49 cardio disease states that we have to know well, including those that we are not going to be able to cover in class and must learn on our own, we also have to be able to analyze and interpret EKGs. EKGs... I have barely even seen an actual EKG, let alone been expected to tell someone that they have a myocardial infarction in the left lateral portion of their heart. We have an EKG book that we are required to read about 16 chapters from, which we have about a week or so to finish. In addition to that some of the diseases we have discussed so far, e.g. Dyslipidemia, have secondary causes which many of which we have not even discussed. As an example, a secondary cause of Dyslipidemia is Cushing's Syndrome, which is something that we are not going to actually learn about until next semester some time. [I tend to be able to understand and recall things later when I can understand their more specific mechanisms and what not.] These secondary causes all have different clinical manifestations and many have completely different indicated treatment regimens of which we need to understand and know when to use.
Ontop of all of that, we have all of these, what I like to call "busy-work" things going on, which truly only add to the stress of things.
I know this may sound like I am giving up. In truth, the thought has crossed my mind, "Why in the world am I putting myself through this insane amounts of stress?" However, it is a temporary thought process, then I buck-up and get back to work. I got that stick-to-it-tiveness, which is some times the only thing that pulls me through the day when I start getting really overwhelmed. There is light at the end of the tunnel.... or so I am told by the second years :-)
I leave you guys with this quote that a fellow classmate sent to me in the middle of our pulmonary module when things were really getting tough, and it truly sums up the attitude that I try to keep throughout this whole thing, enjoy!
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." - William Feather
Keep with it! This isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but if it was easy everyone would do it!
So much for a short post eh?
M-R
P.S. - Please leave me some comments, it would be nice to know if this is helpful or interesting to those that do read! Thanks!
4 comments:
Maybe consider posting these as notes on Facebook and blogs on Myspace too. It will help you get your message out.
Glad to hear you're passing and still trucking along.
You'll be done soon, bud.
Then when you're done, I get to start my life of hell in Law School!
Hi.
I was on the PA forum for WMU and saw the link to your blog. I couldn't help but smile while I was reading it. That was exactly how I felt Fall of 2006 when I was a first year student. They are even following the exact same module schedule that we did. I remeber the anxiety and fear during that cardiac module of not having enough time to go over all the diseases and learn EKG's. It was so overwhelming. I am curious is Eric teaching your cardiac module? I really hope so because I ended up getting so much out of the few modules he taught us. One book that might help if you still have time is "Rapid Interpretation of EKG's" by Dale Dubin. I wish I had known about it during that module because it would have saved me time from having to read that large book they recommended. I am sure that you have heard this a million times but you really do have the right idea about just hanging in there. There is no way around didatic year and I probably wouldn't go through it again unless someone gave me a few million dollars to do it and even then its debatable. The pace is not going to slow down because there is tons of informaiton to learn that first year. Cardiology and renal tie for most challenging module in my opinion. If you thought EKG's were fun wait till you get to Blood gases! I remember the stress of having to go anatomy lab after hours, practice physical exam, attend class all day and it seemed like there was hardly any time for anything else. But it really sounds like you got the right attitude about it. Just hang in there because clinical year is SOOOOO much better. Well at least in my opinion. It seemed like the longest two years of my life at the time, but when August of 08 finally came I couldn't believe how fast it had gone. Your title hit the nail on the head you are totally on The Rough and Rewarding Road to becoming a PA and it truly is worth it. Sorry didn't mean to write this much. Keep writting. I wish someone in our class had kept a blog like this. It goes so fast and it would of been fun to have something to look back on.
Hi, I linked to your blog from the PA forum. I'm about to start PA school in January and I'm trying to prepare myself for the intense workload that you speak of in your posts. I'm a bit intimidated by the thought of having to memorize all of this information, but it's helpful to know that other people have to do the same thing and are getting though it! Keep up the hard work and good luck!
I think what you are doing is a wonderful thing not only for you but for those that follow in your footsteps. As your step-dad I find this is a great way to see what you are doing because I know you are extremely busy. I'm very proud of you (Keep up the good work) and keep posting.
Post a Comment