So what brings you in today?

On PA School:  "Medical training should be like a good mini skirt. Long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting."

Holy crap.  In less than 12 hours I am officially going to be starting Phase II of my PA Education.  Tomorrow marks my first clinical rotation - Internal Medicine.  And let me tell you, I am so nervous it's donkey.  You'd think after being a medical assistant for two years, working in the medical field since I was 20, and mentally preparing for this day for the past 18 months, I'd be ready for D-Day.  But oh no, I'm not.  Thankfully, I'm not alone in this mess.  I've talked to several of my classmates and I'm pretty sure all of us feel the same way.  I feel sorry for those who suffer from stress-induced IBS...I won't name names! ;)  

PA Plouv

I can't even compare my feelings to anything because I've never had to make medical decisions for anyone but myself (traditionally based upon the guidance of an educated physician).  As of tomorrow, someone's life will more or less rest on the knowledge I've gained over the past 18 months.  And now it's time to throw it all together and make educated medical decisions for my patients, under the guidance of my attending of course.  Ah...the art of medicine.  In medicine there's no such thing as always or never.  Each patient paints a different picture and there are no two masterpieces alike.  And now it's time for me to prove myself as a healthcare provider and shove it in the faces of a few certain people who've doubted me along the way.  

Over the next 12 months, I hope to share some of the highs and lows of clinical year.  I know it's different than my typical posts about being a young woman searching for myself, her prince and all the silly choices I make along the way, but medicine is a major part of who I am.  It's only a matter of days before I perform my first rectal or prostate exam on a real patient.  Jealous?  You should be.  My fingers are a lot smaller than your doctor's...especially if  your physician is a male.  So bend over, relax and enjoy the ride...Do you think it's too early to start the countdown until graduation?  I think not!  Three hundred and forty-five days.  Here we go...one rectal at a time...

-Stay Sassy, xo