I can’t believe it’s been since July that I’ve made a blog post. That’s two whole months of not posting. There have been multiple reasons, including laziness on one hand and being too busy on the other. Looking over my work calendar I’ve worked a number of Monday night overnight shifts, which means I’ve simply been asleep during the time I’d normally be posting on Tuesdays.

At the start of the year I picked up a lot of extra shifts, in part to ensure I had more patient contact hours when applying to PA schools. That obviously paid off. Since then I’ve picked up shifts for the extra money and experience and honestly because some nights we’ve been short-staffed and I’ve felt like helping out. One of the benefits of picking up shifts on short-staffed nights is that I’m often in the A-Zone which is not only where the traumas come to, but also where the tech desk is next to the provider desk. This, for me, is the real benefit. I learn a lot this way.

For example last week, both the attending and the lead PA that night had students following them. And in good Socratic fashion, they took time out to further their students education. Since these were slow nights, this meant I was able to listen in and even participate. As a result, I got basically graduate level lectures on hyperkalemia and pain management. That’s pretty cool.

I also in the last month was able to take advantage of some time schedule and visit the campus of the PA school I’m currently planning on attending. It was both exciting and a bit of a letdown. The letdown is because (and this is typical of a number of programs) it’s not on the main campus of the associated university and is basically in an office building. So much for that ivy covered wall experience. That said, I’ve had that, so that’s ok. But it was definitely exciting because I was able to stand in the classrooms and lecture halls I’ll be in in about 8 months!

I still wake up and have to pinch myself and say, “did I really get in?” I’m in a number of Facebook groups for prospective PA students and it’s heartbreaking to see some of the posts as they list their rejections and the like. I give advice where wanted and condolences where appropriate. There are also the successes which are nice to see and to give congratulations on.

But at this point, PA school itself is 8 months away. I’m thrilled and nervous!