Halloween's Going to Be Interesting This Year...

     After months of much frustration and searching, I can finally announce that I have found a place to live! I'm going to be living just north of Boston in the ever so historic city of Salem, Massachusetts! It's a cute little apartment just outside of downtown and I'm very excited. It's especially exciting because I'll be living with some good friends, plus I'll be decently close to the college I attended for my undergrad so I'll be able to see many of my friends there. I'll even be able to return to the church I attended during my undergrad years, which is delightful. 

Cast member of "Cry Innocent" which depicts
the trial of Bridget Bishop

     I'll have to commute into Boston for classes, but that's not really a problem. I did that for a year before, so I know what I'm getting myself into. Boston has a pretty decent public transportation system, so I'll be able to zip around on that and use the time to study. While I would have liked to have been closer to Boston, Salem is a pretty good mix of being within reach of both the city and my undergrad friends. The area is so nice too. I'll be within a mile of the Atlantic Ocean, which is a definite bonus, and Salem is certainly a town full of beauty, character, and history. I sometimes think it's like an older version of Portland, OR but with less hipsters and more witches. I think it'll be quite fun. I'll just have to remember to stay inside on Halloween though because, as I quickly learned during my early days in MA, Salem gets kind of crazy once October comes. There's a million tourists, and the already quirky residents (What Not to Wear did an episode where their subject was a Salem witch and this performance happens everyday June-October, multiple times each day) just get even crazier. It's not all fun and games though since people actually do keep their pets locked indoors on Halloween lest they be used in some sort of ritual, but it'll be interesting at the least. 

     All in all I'm terribly excited to finally have housing settled and I'm looking forward to moving in August! 

PSA: Drowning

This doesn't happen when someone is actually drowning.

     Today I'm taking a brief break from PA school news to share a quick PSA. The weather's finally getting warmer, and the sun is actually making an appearance again, so clearly summer is on its way. This means that a lot of people will be spending a lot more time in or around water. In light of this fact, I found this article very relevant and important. As the title says, "drowning doesn't look like drowning," which means that many of our preconceived notions about drowning (drawn primarily from movies and tv) are false. This is part of why many children drown, even while under adult supervision. I'd suggest that everyone read the article for themselves, but here are the key points of the Instinctive Drowning Response, which is what to look for when someone is drowning: 

• Drowning people cannot call for help. The body prioritizes breathing over speech, so drowning is actually very quiet.
• The mouth of someone who is drowning may both sink and reemerge from under the water, but not long enough for them to inhale or exhale, and thus they cannot shout for help either.
• Drowning people will not wave for help because the natural instinct is to use the arms to press down on the water to push the body up.
• Drowning people cannot perform voluntary arm movements, so they will not be able to grab on to a rope, lifesaver, or even a rescuer.
• Drowning people will be vertical in the water, without any supporting kicks, so they will only be able to keep themselves from being submerged for less than a minute.

     Before someone actually begins drowning, they may enter into Aquatic Distress. This is a bit closer to the public's idea of drowning because a person who is only in distress, and is not actually drowning, will be able to shout for help, wave their arms, and grab onto lifesaving objects thrown to them. The article provides a list of some helpful signs to look for and then ends with a suggestion anyone can do: if you have any suspicions that someone may be drowning (e.g. if they remain in the same spot, appearing to just tread water and stare into space), simply ask them if they're alright. If they answer, they're probably fine, but if they don't reply at all, you might have less than a minute to act. 

I hope you all have a happy, and safe, summer!

Snippets from the ED

Clearly we're always very serious in the ED

     When I returned home after my junior year of college, I sought out ways I could spend my summer volunteering and gaining some medical experience. I soon found out that even most volunteer positions require some sort of medical training or experience, which certainly limited my options. Fortunately, I was able to begin volunteering at a local community hospital. Since I started I've worked at the front desk, the birth center, and the emergency department, but the latter has certainly been my favorite. Today I present to you a few of the things I've learned and/or seen in the ED. They're kind of random and might not flow very well, but I hope you enjoy them anyway.
      One night a patient had been asking repeatedly if he could get a referral to a mental hospital. When the doctor came in to ask if they could draw some blood to do a toxicology screening, this conversation happened: 
Patient: "Doctor! If they draw some blood can I go to a mental hospital?"

Doctor: "No I don't think that'll guarantee you a spot."

Patient: "Well what will?"
Another time a patient was just trying to get some drugs, and kept mixing up his story. When the doctor confronted him on this and told him that what he'd just said directly conflicted with what he'd said earlier, the patient's response was, "stop living in the past, doctor!"

     As you might guess from the previous paragraph, there are often patients who are a bit off who come into the community ED. Some legitimately suffer from mental health problems, and we try to help those the best we can. However, it can be hard to tell who those patients are because we have many patients who fake problems. Some are merely drug seekers who roam from one ED to the next looking for a prescription, some are homeless people who just want a warm place to sleep, and some pretend to be suicidal either to gain attention or medications. For the record, that last idea is a very bad one, which the fakers soon discover. If any medical professional hears a person voicing suicidal thoughts, even if they may have seen this person do this many times before and are pretty sure they're not serious, they are still required to keep them under watch for a certain length of time. This is not pleasant for anyone involved. Firstly the patient's room must be stripped (everything but the bed and monitor is removed), and then the patient is put under constant surveillance, so a nurse or guard must sit in a chair outside the room with the door open and the patient in view. This lasts for hours and is awkward for everyone involved. I don't know how many times a patient has joked about being suicidal but later recants their statement after just a few minutes. It's too late then though, because we have to be prepared for the possibility that this time the suicidal ideations are real.
     Some nights in the ED one problem is fixed, only for another problem to be discovered. That happened one night when a 70-year-old woman came in because she fell and hurt her wrist. It seemed like it was just a basic case and the woman would simply need a splint. However, upon hearing that the woman had hit her head as well when she fell, the doctor ordered a CT scan to see if there was any cranial bleeding or fractures. He didn't find either of those, but he did find a very large a brain tumor. That was a tough message to deliver, and you could see it all over the doctor's face. Of course, there was another night when we thought we'd be delivering some tough news (that a man had diabetes), but then the nurses realized that his blood sugar was just really messed up because he'd been drinking and hadn't told them right away. 

There's almost always Juanita's in the break room.
I pity the people outside Oregon who have never
experienced these chips.

     With all the crazy things that can happen in the ED (though frankly the ED is rarely as hopping and dramatic as you see on TV), you sometimes need reminders to slow down and take a breath. I usually stay by the ED techs and secretaries whenever I don't have anything else to do, and whenever their computer goes to screensaver, it simply says "Breathe...." Humor is also pretty important in the ED. However, people unused to the humor of medical personnel, particularly those who work in EMS or EDs, could be rather thrown by the jokes since they are often rather dark. Occasionally doctors and nurses will play a game of "high-low" and try to guess anything from the number of meds a person is on, to the number of times someone has been to the ED recently, to the length of the object a person has shoved up their rectum (true story -a guy can in with a large shaving cream can stuck all the way up there. The x-rays were impressive and there was a long discussion about the best way to remove it. When asked how the can came to be there, the patient simply replied, "I sat on it.").

One of the most common ways to handle stress
in the ED: eating sweets. Seriously, people
should get stock in this company because the
nurses and doctors eat so much.

     The most stressful day I've ever experienced in the ED was in the week between Christmas and New Year's. Apparently this week is well-known for being the worst time of the year for EDs and I soon saw why. The night I came in, I had been there less than three minutes when I was asked to strip a room for an incoming patient with suicidal thoughts. Just a short while later, all the beds were filled (something I'd never seen before) and an arriving team of paramedics had to wait with their patient in the hall. By the end of the night we were in "full deferral" which means that we'd told the dispatcher not to send us anymore ambulances because we could not handle more patients. Apparently that had happened the night before as well and when other hospitals in the area became similarly overloaded some patients were sent all the way to Vancouver, WA. Luckily that night we were able to discharge and admit some patients and accept one last ambulance, the most serious patient of the night. 
     Although I've practiced CPR many times, I had not yet been able to actually see it in practice. That night we received a call from paramedics in the field telling us they had a 37-year-old woman in cardiac arrest and were bringing her back to our hospital. The thing is though, she'd already been down for 40 minutes before she arrived, and some of the nurses were annoyed that her death hadn't just been called in the field. No one thought she would be resuscitated, but they were willing to try since she was so young and her death had been caused by an overdose, not preexisting heart problems. The paramedics had also been performing CPR the entire time, so that was a point in her favor. Although I could not help because I was only there in a volunteer capacity, I was allowed to watch the entire process. The doctor and nurses performed CPR for about 10 minutes (with a break every 2 minutes to check for a pulse, which only one nurse reported and no one else confirm) before the doctor asked if everyone was ok with him calling the patient's death after the next check. Yet again no pulse was detected, however, much to everyone's surprise and disbelief, the heart monitor showed a tiny bit of electrical activity. The doctor called for a shock and suddenly the heart that had been still for almost an hour began to beat again. Unfortunately I had to leave to run samples to the lab shortly after, so I never got to see the woman wake up, but I did find out that she was later admitted to the hospital, so she stabilized at the very least.  
     I have more tales from the ED, but I'm realizing that this post is already rather long, so I'll end here and continue on with more stories (most of them a bit more humorous than these here) in a later post. Now it's off to work on scholarships and housing once more. 

The Real World, Housing and Excel

     A short while ago I got the somewhat terrifying picture above in an email. It was yet another reminder that I'm in the "real world" now, and that soon I have to start spending the big bucks to pay back the loans I accumulated as a young undergrad student. It's not a pleasant thought, but it is made more manageable by the facts that I at least have a couple jobs now so I actually have money to spend on these loans, and once I start PA school in a few months, these loans will be deferred until I finish the program. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to avoid acquiring even bigger loans to pay for that. So, it's off to find and apply for scholarships, as well as develop a better budget. My previous budget plan could have been summed up (rather tongue in cheek) as "don't spend any money," and while that has served me well thus far, I realize it's not very realistic and it certainly won't work once repayment arrives, not to mention in the rest of life. Despite my apprehensions about loans and repayment, this has given me a chance to embrace my German side and have some fun with Excel. I have a feeling that my budget system will be tweaked over the upcoming months and years, but I kind of like it right now, and it's even color-coded. :)

     Before loan repayment starts in a couple months, I have some other important issues to resolve. The biggest one is probably housing since that will determine how I get to school everyday, whether I'll need a car, if I can work a little on the weekends, etc. This issue has certainly been bothering me, but I have to admit that I'm not 100% sure of the best way to tackle it, and whenever I try to come up with a solution I tend to get distracted by more minor matters like how I'll decorate or how I'll manage to bring my crockpot, waffle maker and fluffy robe back east. It's a good thing I can laugh at myself and luckily I have friends and family who have gone through the same issues and who are willing to help me figure things out. I could always use more help though, and if anyone reading this has advice on the best way to find housing near Boston, I'm all ears. And if anyone particularly knows of a kindly, old lady who drinks tea and wants to rent a floor of her house to a young grad student (one suggestion from a friend), just drop everything you're doing and tell me right now because that would be a dream come true.  

The Answers to All Your Questions

     I'll admit right away that this post will not answer every question you've ever had. In fact, it might just answer a bunch of questions you've never had, but hopefully it should at least clear up some of the confusion about what PAs are and what I'll be doing very soon. I've actually had quite a bit of experience answering such questions already. Almost every school I applied to asked me, either in an essay or in an interview, to explain what a Physician Assistant is, and most asked me to explain the profession as if I was talking to a friend or family member who had never even heard of a PA before. That was decently easy for me since that I have had to do just that over and over since I decided to pursue a career as a PA. There's still a lot of confusion though, amongst friends and the world in general, so I thought I'd take a moment to explain a bit about what Physician Assistants are and what they do. I'm also going to explain a bit of what's in store for me as I begin PA school this fall. First though, a little history.

History of the PA Profession

Dr. Charles L. Hudson

     Many people don't realize that Physician Assistants have been around for almost half a century already. The idea for the PA profession is credited to a physician, Dr. Charles L. Hudson, who in 1961 proposed “an advanced medical assistant with special training, intermediate between that of the technician and that of the doctor, who could not only handle many technical procedures, but could also take some degree of medical responsibility.” Dr. Hudson recognized, as did many at the time, that there would soon be a shortage of general practitioners in the US and he thought that the sort of medical assistant he described could help solve this problem. Another physician, Dr. Eugene A. Stead Jr., realized that the US already had men with intermediate medical training thanks to Korean War and the necessity of training soldiers to act as medics on the battlefield. He thus assembled a few former Navy medical corpsmen to create his first class for a new "physician assistant" program.  This first PA program began at Duke University in 1965, the same year that the first Nurse Practitioner program began at the University of Colorado, and the first PAs graduated in 1967. In 1971 the American Medical Association officially recognized the profession and created guidelines for practice and program accreditation. 

Dr. Eugene A. Stead Jr.

     The program has grown and expanded since its early days. Today there are at least 150 PA programs in the US and approximately 100,000 practicing PAs. PAs have prescriptive authority in all 50 states, which means that they can prescribe medications to their patients. The scope of practice for PAs, as I will describe in a moment, has also expanded. This has led some people to suggest a change of name for the profession. Many people mistakenly refer to PAs as "Physician's Assistants" which gives the impression that the PAs belong to, or merely assist, physicians who control their actions. As this is simply not the case some people have suggested that the title be changed to "Physician Associate." This is actually the title that Yale University already uses for their PA program. Whether or not this will change someday in the future is yet to be seen, but for now the standard title is Physician Assistant. Also, while the program began in the US, it is spreading to other countries, particularly ones that are experiencing a similar shortage of primary care providers.

So What Exactly Does a PA Do?

     One of my regular customers at the coffee shop recently told me that I'd picked an excellent career choice. I heartily agreed until he finished his thought by cheerily saying, "after all, physicians will always need assistants. So will you be taking blood pressures and things like that?" This just demonstrates the confusion prevalent amongst Americans about what a PA does. Hopefully I can clear some of this confusion up. The shortest, and probably least helpful description is that a PA is like a doctor, but not. Let me expand that. 
      PAs are healthcare providers who work in a team with doctors to provide care for their patients. They must have a doctor on their license to practice, and thus they are under the doctor's supervision. However, this does not mean that the doctor is standing over the PA's shoulder and observing everything they do or telling them how to treat the patients; i.e. "supervision" does not necessarily require the doctor's presence. In fact, the doctor may not even be in same office as the PA, let alone the same city. This means that PAs exercise a great deal of autonomy within the doctor/PA team. PAs have their own patients whom they interview, diagnose, counsel and treat. PAs can order and interpret diagnostic tests, as well as prescribe medications. A PA is truly centered on patient care, so they tend to spend a bit more time with their patients than a doctor would, and they also place emphasis on patient education and preventative care. PAs can be found not only in primary care positions, but also specialty care, like surgery. PAs can also be found in any healthcare setting, whether it be a multi-specialty practice group, hospital, large institution or rural clinic.
     PAs are required, like most medical professionals, to maintain a certain number of Continuing Medical Education (CME) hours (100 hours per 2 years for PAs). This is can be fulfilled by reading medical journals or attending lectures, but there are many options. Furthermore, PAs and NPs must both take a recertification exam every 5-6 years to maintain their certification. Some people think this is unfair because many physicians are not required to maintain their board certification, but there are many PAs who like it because they think it forces them to keep on top of medical news and continually hone their skills. Besides, so long as you are still practicing and using your skills, the recertification exam should not be ridiculously difficult.

     If it helps, here's a rather cheesy little video of the frustration most PAs, or even future PAs, go through trying to explain what a Physician Assistant does: Physician Assistant -A Conversation We've All Had.

Back in my Senior Tech days

Why PA and Not MD?

     Another question I was asked at every interview is why I decided to pursue a career as a PA and not a doctor. The answer is probably different for each PA, and I personally have multiple reasons. The shortest answer is that I think it's a better fit for my personality. The longer story is that being a PA appeals to me because of the team aspect and greater amounts of patient interaction. During my undergrad, I worked as a Media Technician, which meant that my coworkers and I took care of any and all technical aspects of events at school. This could be as simple as setting up a mic for a lecture, to controlling the lights, music, projection and recording at the annual talent show (If you're interested what this looked like you can check out some Golden Videos: Closing Dance 2011 or Sophomore Stage Act 2012). During my senior year, I was promoted to Senior Tech which meant that, for the completely student-run events, like Gordon Globes and Golden Goose, it was just my fellow Senior Techs and I calling the shots. I was actually the only Senior Tech at Globes, which my parents were able to see. While I enjoying running those shows, and I believe I did a pretty good job, I liked the fact that my bosses were only a phone call away if I ran into serious issues. Most of the time my coworkers and I could figure out the problem on our own, but it was nice to have a lifeline. Similarly, as a PA there will be a doctor on my license who will always be able to help me think through issues and come up with solutions whenever I cannot figure them out on my own. This system encourages a real spirit of teamwork and cooperation, and many PAs often find that doctors ask them questions as well. In the end, the patients benefit the most because they have healthcare providers humble enough to ask for help when they need it, and they get the experience of multiple people working on their case. 
     PAs also tend to spend more time with patients, and less time on paperwork, than doctors do. Since the time with the patients is one of the aspects I value the most, becoming a PA certainly seems like a better option. Another bonus is that, frankly, as a PA, I will be able to do many of the same things that a doctor can, but I will require only 2 1/2 years of schooling, saving me both time and money. In fact, a recent study my undergrad advisor just heard said that female PAs tend to have higher lifetime earnings than their physician counterparts. The reasons aren't completely clear, but the current hypothesis is that female doctors start working later and spend more time paying off school loans so that, even though their salary may be bigger than a PA's, they make less in the long-term. I'm not sure why this is not true for men as well (probably something with women taking time off to have kids), but it's an interesting tidbit. 

So What's Up for Me Next?

A bit of my future home at night

     This August I will be moving to Boston to begin the PA program at MCPHS University. This is a Master's program so I will be graduating with a Masters in Physician Assistant studies. The entire program at MCPHS is 30 months. This is a bit longer than most other PA programs, which are generally 24 months, but MCPHS includes one 4-month break after the first year (which many students use to work and earn money since working while attending PA school is highly discouraged, if not forbidden, by most programs). Aside from this break and some holidays, I will be in school year-round for 2 1/2 years. PA programs are largely set up to be a sort of rapid version of med school, so the first half is always didactic (the classroom, book, and lab learning) and the last half (about 11 months, beginning summer 2015 for me) are the clinical rotations (known at MCPHS as "clerkships"). Each student in a PA program must complete certain rotations (including pediatrics, internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, women's health, etc.), but most programs include room for at least one elective rotation. At MCPHS I will be able to do one elective rotation, and there's a possibility that I could do it out of the country in either Brazil or Germany, which is quite exciting. After completing the program I will need to take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). Once I pass I will be a Physician Assistant-Certified or PA-C. Then I just need to get a state license to begin practicing.  

     So there's the PA profession, and the next few years of my life, in short. I hope you're all enjoying this journey as much as I am and I look forward to experiencing and writing about the next steps.  

Much of the information I used for this post comes from these sites:

• http://www.aapa.org/uploadedFiles/content/Common/Files/1-Milestones0610Final.pdf 
• http://www.aapa.org/the_pa_profession/history.aspx 
• http://www.aanp.org/all-about-nps/historical-timeline 
• http://medicine.yale.edu/pa/profession/index.aspx
• http://www.paeaonline.org/index.php?ht=d/sp/i/197/pid/197
• http://www.aapa.org/the_pa_profession/what_is_a_pa.aspx
• http://www.pac.ca.gov/forms_pubs/what_is.shtml 
• http://www.aanpcert.org/ptistore/control/recert/index 
• http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/press-releases/certification-matters-most-americans-want-their-doctors-participate-lifelon
• http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/education/degree_programs/PAProgram/prospectivestudent/Pages/WhatisaPhysicianAssistant.aspx

Interview Travels -Moving Pictures Style

     I may have lied in my last post when I said that the next post would be about what a PA is. Instead I have a video surprise! I brought my camera along with me when I went to Idaho, California and Massachusetts for interviews, and I decided to film along the way. The result is a short video that may have very little with my actual PA journey, but was still fun to put together. I hope you find it enjoyable and normal blog posts will return soon.

     For those who are interested, these are the songs featured in the video as well as the websites for each of the artists. Check them out and support these artists.

• "Ocean (2012)" by John Butler
• "Flight" by Ian McIntosh
• Piano Cover of Imogen Heap's Song "Wait It Out" by Katherine Cordova

      If you enjoyed this video, or if you want to see more of the city I'll soon be calling home, you should check this out: The Boston Song (So Good). Some students at Berklee College of Music decided that Boston needed an anthem of its own, so they wrote, performed and produced such an anthem (after researching not just what's important to Bostonians, but the city's musical history as well), and then created a music video to go with it. I think it's pretty awesome. And catchy. 

Blessings and Joy Heaped Beyond Measure

     It has been very difficult these last few weeks to keep silent about my interviews and hearing back from PA programs. It's a great relief to finally talk about how they went and what's happening in the future. The short story is that I'm starting PA school this year!! Here's the longer story: 

Just beyond Deadman Pass

     My first interview was at Idaho State University, which has two different campuses for its PA program. My interview was supposed to take place in Pocatello, the main campus in southeastern Idaho. The day before the interview my mother and I drove to Boise, arriving safely despite the snow we encountered while crossing the Blue Mountains (which was the heaviest as we passed through the alarmingly named "Deadman Pass"). That night we heard repeated warnings about road closures and accidents due to the snow. My interview wasn't until 2 pm, but we planned to leave early the next morning so we'd have plenty of buffer time for bad weather. We never left. 

Driving back through the Elkhorn Mountains

     During breakfast I received a call saying the Pocatello campus was closed due to the weather and road conditions (the first time in years that this had happened). However, they were willing to open the campus for the interviews since most of the applicants were from out of town. When ISU learned where I was they suggested a safer alternative to driving hours through hazardous roads: I could simply go to their Meridian campus just outside of Boise and conduct my interviews via video conferencing. I'll admit that it felt a little weird to do an interview with someone via video but it worked quite well, and it really was the best choice. Everyone at ISU was very friendly and made me feel quite comfortable. 

It was a bit cold in Baker City.

     Once the interview was over my mom and I were able to begin our journey back home. That night we stopped in historic Baker City to get well rested before finishing the last 5 hours of the 8 hour drive and to celebrate my first interview. We soon had added reason to celebrate. ISU uses a system for their PA program that allows them to give almost immediate feedback on an applicant's acceptance status. Applicants are given a score based on a few pieces, the interview being the last one, and applicants with a certain score or higher are automatically offered a seat in the program. Everyone else is considered "in review" until interviews are completed, though they can ask the school at any time where they are in the rankings. Shortly after arriving at our hotel for the night, I received an email saying that my status had been updated. I went to the site to check it, fully expecting to see that I was "in review" and was absolutely floored to see this: 

There was great celebrating in Baker City that night. And tears. And excitement. And laughs of disbelief. The celebration did not end that night. I came home the next day to find this: 

My dad was very proud of his decorations. 

     A few days later I left home again, this time on an airplane to southern California for an interview at Western University of Health Sciences. While I flew down alone, I was again blessed to go to this interview with family. My dad's sister's family lives just north of LA I was lucky enough to spend almost two whole days with my aunt and uncle. I don't get to see them nearly enough so it was a real treat. My aunt was amazing and even drove me to my interview, which was quite an act of love considering check-in was at 7:30 am and Pomona is about 2 hours from my aunt and uncle's house. It was a very early morning, but we made it, and even had time to stop for breakfast along the way. 

Another testament to my aunt's love for me.

     I'll admit that I hadn't been sure how I'd felt about Western before I arrived. Talking with an alumna, as well as my own research of the program, had made me feel that perhaps Western was not a good match for me. Being there definitely improved my opinion. I still felt that perhaps I was better suited for ISU, due in part that I still have the native Oregonian's dislike of California and find the constant heat and sunshine unnatural, but the people at Western were quite nice and helpful. They even included tips on financial aid that were applicable for any PA program. The interviews were also over quickly, which meant that my aunt and I got to have a little fun at Disneyland before meeting up with my uncle for my last night there. No matter how I may feel about year-round warmth and lack of seasons, I have to say that it was nice to wear sandals and actually feel heat from the sun again. I needed that extra warmth because just three days after returning home from California I boarded another flight, this time to Massachusetts, my home for my undergrad years. 

Boston Public Gardens at night

     My trip to Massachusetts was a bit of a mini-vacation, something I certainly needed after the recent craziness of work, EMT classes, and interviews. I was able to spend a week just catching up and hanging out with friends, including my professors and bosses from college, as well as just generally relaxing, preparing for my final interview, and getting caught up on work. Finally, the day arrived. The night before my interview at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University (a ridiculously long name, I know) I'd headed into Boston to stay with a friend there so I wouldn't have far to go in the morning. My friend lived conveniently close to a T stop so all I had to do was hop on and ride to the Longwood Medical Area. 

     I'd had a feeling before I even made it to the interview that MCPHS was my top choice school. For anyone who read the post about my "belated birthday present," MCPHS is the school to which I was referring. Still, there was always the possibility that I would get there and something would radically change my mind. One question I was very curious about was how MCPHS did their anatomy labs. One of the alumna from Western University had informed me that the PA students there had a lab to go along with their anatomy class, but they didn't actually do the dissections; the medical students did and they just watched. I then asked an alumna from ISU about their anatomy classes and found out they don't even have labs, basing this policy on the fact that a PA cannot simply open up their patients to look inside them and figure out what's wrong. I sort of understand that, but at the same time, surgery is a required clinical rotation, and I just think it is very important to have an excellent understanding of the internal anatomy of a human person if you are going to correctly diagnose and treat them. Before I could even ask someone about the labs at MCPHS, a faculty member answered my question: they didn't have enough room on their facilities for an anatomy lab, so instead they purchase cadavers for the PA students and then have them walk across the street to use the anatomy lab at Harvard School of Medicine... which is just awesome. It's pretty much one of the best setups I could imagine.  

The Longwood Medical Area with MCPHS highlighted

      As I mentioned earlier, MCPHS is in the Longwood Medical Area, pictured above. For those of you who don't know, this area is one of the most highly concentrated areas of medical learning, research and practice in the country. I already mentioned that the Harvard Medical School is across the street, but just a block or so in other directions there are Simmons College and Emmanuel College, to name a few of the other colleges in the area. Northeastern University is a bit further down and MIT is just across the Charles River. When it comes to hospitals and medical research centers, the Longwood Medical Area is also home to some of the best. Brigham and Women's Hospital is just two blocks away, Dana-Farber is next to that, and the Joslin Diabetes Center is next to that. If you want to know all the universities, hospitals and research centers in the area, just look at the Wikipedia page. What I'm saying, in short, is that MCPHS has one of the best locations of any of the PA programs in the country, and it's really rather exciting. This is just another reason why I wanted to attend MCPHS, and why I really wanted to make a good impression at my interviews. 

     This post has already become rather long, so I'm going to try to wrap it up quickly. Here's the dealio: the interview day (applicants were given an overview of the program, a lecture, a timed written essay, lunch, time with members of the student association, and a tour before the actual interviews) went really well. I felt super comfortable and I left the campus thinking that I truly wanted to be accepted to this program. I flew home though thinking that I would have to wait a whole month before I heard anything. It was an amazing surprise when I arrived home early from work two Saturdays ago and saw the lovely letter to the right waiting for me. I could barely make it into the house because I was basically bawling my eyes out with tears of joy. It still seems hard to believe. I feel so incredibly blessed. Not only am I going to be starting PA school this fall, something I'd been sure would probably not be for another year, but I get to go to my first choice school. I look forward to where God will lead these next three years. It's quite an adventure I'm starting and I want to thank all the friends and family who have supported me the whole way. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Coming Soon: There seems to be a lot of confusion about what a PA is and what they do, so I'll be clearing that up in my next post. :)