P1 Year

Summer semester is flying by! We have ~2 more weeks of class and then finals, and then are officially P2s! 

P2 year is out in the real world on clinical rotations. There are 8 five week blocks, covering family medicine X 2, internal medicine, emergency medicine, general surgery, OBGYN, psychiatric medicine, and an elective. 

There is so much to know, and I'm still just biting away at the edges of everything I'll have to digest by next year's end, but I can't believe how far we have come in 12 months.

We have a "clinical skills" class this semester where we have been learning a range of things from your basic ring removal to how to run a code. My program really goes above and beyond here, and has gotten veeeeery creative in order to give us practice. Abscesses made of tapioca pudding, styrofoam eyeballs dipped in wax and stuck with foreign bodies, not to mention what we practice on each other, from diabetic foot exams to blood draws to injections.

One of the most fun has been learning stitches. Our "simulation lab" made fake skin pieces for us to practice on. Here are some simple interrupted and vertical mattress sutures submitted for judgement:

In addition to the regular work, a classmate and I are doing a research project at our free clinic for homeless men. I have no idea if it is something I am allowed to talk about much, as we are hoping to publish our findings at some point, but it has been really fun to get to be at the clinic more and get to know the men there. They have really embraced us and our work there, and are funny and very insightful into their own lives. It's been great.

This summer semester has been a real grind to get through. There are SO many tests, and so much material to learn. These last couple weeks it is definitely getting to me. For example, why am I awake now at 4 am????!!

The longer the summer goes on the more I can't think of any words I want in coversation--I'll know where I'm going and when I get to the end of the sentence it just isn't there. I'm mixing up letters when I take notes. I've started the coffee maker with nothing underneath to catch the coffee. This post is over 50% composed of just commas and the word "really." 

One classmate of mine went to a rotation with two different shoes on. Another calculated that out of the 220 class days of our P1 year we will have done 157 exams/quizzes and 39 reports.

I can't wait for that to be over and am both excited and terrified for next year. We find out the exact order and location of our different rotations in a few weeks, but I know my first 3 will be general surgery, OBGYN, and psychiatric medicine. Eek!

All this being said, I never lose sight of the razor-thin alternate reality where I didn't get in to PA school at all. Every time I see people interviewing for the program in their little black suits my insides scrunch up. People like to tell them how hard it is but I want to grab them by the shoulders and shout, "IT IS SO AWESOME, I HOPE YOU GET THE CHANCE" before running away to cram for the next test.