October Round Up

Life has been busy, busy, busy, but I wanted to do a quick round-up of all the exciting things that happened in October. From school, to engagement parties, to my dad receiving a huge honor for his contributions to emergency medicine, October was a whirlwind. But I would not have it any other way.

Red October

Lets start with school. At WesternU we specifically call October “Red October” because our schedule is insane. We had about 8 unit exams, amongst multiple quizzes, a paper to write, planning PA Day, learning how to give injections, and picking up another class called Interprofessional Education. Phew! At the beginning of the month my stress level was through the roof to say the least. Thinking about all that I had to do was overwhelming. In August I started school taking things month by month. Then the pace of school picked up, so I started focusing week by week so my responsibilities felt more manageable. Well “Red October” hits, and my goal was to take things day by day. Ha. That was really the only way to juggle all that I had to do. Next thing I know the month flew by and mama I made it!

Tylesse’s Engagement Party

Even though PA school had me wrapped around its little finger this month, it was still important to me to make time for friends and major moments in life. One of my best friends from college got engaged! Her and her fiancé had a small get together to celebrate their love, and it was perfect. Good food, great company, and just a genuine fun time. Catching up with my friends was much needed as well. At first I wasn’t going to go because I had two exams that week coming up, but then I snapped out of that funk. These events are once in a life time! Even if I have to remind myself 1000 times, taking a few hours off from studying won’t kill me. And to prove that, I did really well on my exams. So if your head is buried in a book right now, don’t forget to take a break. Clearing your mind for a few hours is just as important as getting the pathophysiology behind asthma down. Oh and I will officially be a first time bridesmaid!

ACEP Awards Dinner
My month came to an amazing end in Washington D.C. Hopefully I’ll be moving that way post graduation ha. But on a serious note, on October 28th, 2017 my dad was awarded the James D. Mills award for his contributions to emergency medicine throughout his career as a ER doctor. He was recognized by the  American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), and was nominated by his peers. Needless to say this is a HUGE deal. My father is one of the most humble human beings, especially for all that he has achieved in his life. What inspires me most is his journey and perseverance.  He grew up in the lower socioeconomic area of Dallas, Texas, lost his father at a young age, went to Stanford University for undergrad, then onto Harvard Medical School for his doctorate degree. Yes these are some of the most prestigious schools, but my dad went through it without a mentor and during a time when we didn’t see a lot of minority physicians. Especially African-American physicians. He is such an inspiration to others, and one of the many reasons I chose medicine myself. I could honestly go on and on about this. My dad isn’t the flashy person that needs all of the awards at the end of the day. Simply telling him that I appreciate all that he has done for me as I track my way through PA school and life is enough for him. But seriously congratulations to my father Dr. Wesley Curry MD, no one can do it like you!

 

 

PA Week 2017

Happy happy PA Week to all of the amazing Physician Assistants out there!! Can you believe it has been 50 years of this profession?! It was exciting and humbling to celebrate my first PA Week during such a monumental year. October 6-12 is not only dedicated to celebrating FIFTY YEARS of our profession, but to also bring awareness to the many contributions PAs have given to healthcare. Those that started this profession really paved the way to make PAs a vital part of the health care team. PAs are now considered one of three primary care providers along with doctors and nurse practitioners. That is kind of a big deal lol. Below is a poster I found that gives a general idea of our profession in a snapshot. #PAsDoThat!

At WesternU specifically, my classmates and I put on our own PA Day so our campus could celebrate with us! We got to enjoy food, sumo wrestling, puppies, boba, music, a photo booth, etc. We have this cheesy tag line that every party starts with PA ha, but seriously it was a good time. I kind of wish we had a celebration every week because it was really a moment to let loose, and forget about all of our upcoming exams. But hey this week was definitely a rejuvenation to keep on keeping on.

I’ve briefly mentioned before about how much I appreciate my classmates, but I feel like this week is especially important for me to give them a shout out. First of all we are half way through our first semester, and still have smiles on our faces ha. I know I have said this a million times already, but PA school is grueling. How we juggle it all baffles me sometimes. No one will truly understand what this type of “grueling” means except for those that have already been to PA school, and my classmates that are with me through those 8 hour lecture days (today was a 10 hour day, yikes). We are a diverse bunch, and I am so grateful for each and every one of them.

Someone told me I wouldn’t feel supported in a huge cohort, but that is far from true at WesternU. No matter what we are going through, what emotion we are feeling, there is someone or even 5 of those “someones” that feel exactly the same. We have our little venting sessions, and then get it together. An important reminder is that we worked hard for this, and deserve to be here. One of my classmates, who used to be a yoga teacher, really put me on to changing my perspective on things that stress me out. On days when we feel like we’re at our limit, we focus on the positives. Even if its that we only have two exams this week instead of three lol. Trust me, it works. I am beyond grateful to be on this wild ride with all 96 students, and cannot wait to see us grow into kick ass PAs!

Happy 50 Years Physician Assistants, and here’s to 50 more!

Pomona Community Health Action Team

Happy Sunday everyone! This past week was pretty hectic as the pace of school has gone from 0 to 100…. real quick. We had a quiz in Pharmacology and Clinical Skills, as well as exams in Physical Assessment and Health Promotion Disease Prevention (what we call hippy dippy for short lol). But aside from all that I wanted to do a quick post on a student run organization I recently joined. We go by the Pomona Community Health Action Team  also known as PCHAT.

At WesternU PCHAT is the largest interdisciplinary club, meaning students from DO, PA, Podiatry, and Pharmacy programs come together to provide free medical care for the underserved community in Pomona. This is initially what first drew me to this organization. As a PA I know I will be interacting with healthcare providers in different fields, so might as well get a head start on developing these relationships right? More importantly though, reaching out to the underserved community is a huge passion of mine. Before graduate school I took a course on medical sociology, which covered topics including health care disparities for minorities and those with lower socioeconomic status. The amount of factors standing in the way of underserved communities living their healthiest life is crazy and needs to be taken seriously. Moreover, the lack of minority health care providers is huge. I could go on about this topic forever, but PCHAT is an avenue for me to actively explore my passion for eliminating healthcare disparities as a physician assistant student.

Yesterday was our first PCHAT clinic of the school year, and it could have not gone better! We conducted sports physicals for the Pomona Unified School District, and had a turn out of about 40 students. Each student had their vitals checked, glucose screened, and received a complete physical exam. As a PA-S1 just having gone through my HEENT unit, I was in charge of completing that part of the exam. Pause… This is yet another reason I wanted to join PCHAT lol. During didactic year, most of the physical exams we complete are on our classmates. You can imagine how comfortable you get practicing your techniques on your friends. I wanted to challenge myself this year so that when I enter second year and start clinicals, I will be more comfortable examining “strangers.” So after I completed my HEENT exam the second year DO students I was paired up with completed the remaining neuro, cardiopulmonary, and musculoskeletal exams. After we were all finished with each patient, we presented to our preceptor and he signed off on the physical.

That is the gist of PCHAT without going in to too many details. Next month our clinic will include all ages so we do reach out to older patients as well. For any PA students that just started their journey like me, I highly recommend getting involved on campus to further enrich your experience. Extra physical exam practice is definitely a plus. Since my school is a health sciences university, all of us are studying some form of medicine. So the commitments for most organizations are pretty minimal as we always have a lot of studying to do. For example, my position in PCHAT requires me to dedicate 5 hours once a month. And those 5 hours come from one day of clinic, and give me extra credit for my Adult Medicine course (extra bonus). If you are a pre-PA and have a particular passion, don’t let go of that. There will be ways, most of the time, for you to continue to explore that passion and give it life! At my school we even have a music club. Studying is important, but don’t forget who you are as an individual because thats what got you to PA school in the first place!

Long Study Hauls

I hope everyone is enjoying this extra long Labor Day Weekend! As a PA student, the extra long weekend provided a MUCH NEEDED extra day of preparing for our HEENT (head, ears, eyes, nose, throat) unit exam in adult medicine. This particular course focuses on all of the etiologies, signs, symptoms, and treatments of the HEENT diseases. So if that sounds like a lot, trust me, it is lol. Me and one of my classmates studied pretty much all day today (like 10 AM to 4 PM), so now that I am on a quick study break I wanted to talk about how to prevent burnout when studying the same material for long stretches at a time.

First things first though, cramming in PA school does not work. In my program we are fortunate enough to not have class on most Fridays, so I use this day to review all of the lecture material at least one. During this time I stress understanding of why things are the way they are. For example, with allergic conjunctivitis, the eyes are itchy and red with tearing and occasional discharge. I personally have bad allergies, so a buzz word for me when I see anything allergic is itchy. Little things like this can really help tie things together for better understanding. This way when the exam rolls around, I am not seeing testable material for the first time.

So I have been reviewing this material for about 2 weeks, and tomorrow is my exam. Thankfully I just have one exam tomorrow, but there will be days where I have multiple exams, so prioritizing will be key then. But for a single exam, I devoted my entire study session to adult medicine. How did I last studying from 10 AM to 4 PM straight (aside from a few social media breaks here and there)? A study buddy, great ambience, and snacks!

Study Buddy 

My study habits are weird in the sense that I like to study alone, but I like to have company at the same time. One of the main benefits of having a study buddy is that you can bounce ideas off of each other and more importantly teach each other. Everyone has their weaknesses and strengths so don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something to a classmate. Remember it takes a village, and I am lucky enough to have classmates that don’t mind slowing down if I didn’t get a topic the first time around. Also we have each others backs! Today we were going over our exam objectives, and I didn’t realize I missed two whole objectives until my classmate told me. We had a laugh after I told her she “saved my life” because I’m sure I would have freaked during the exam. Study buddies are great too because they keep you accountable. If I were studying alone, my social media breaks would probably last a lot longer than 5 minutes.

Great Ambience

I cannot stress ambiance enough! If I study in my room, my bed is literally calling my name. Next thing you know I am asleep. I personally do well anywhere that doesn’t have a bed and there is some background noise (Pandora’s Josh Vietti Station is great and not distracting). So in the kitchen, coffee shops, library etc. Find a place where you feel relaxed, can spread out your stuff, and won’t get easily distracted. My main requirements are strong wifi, outlets for charging, and not a lot of foot traffic. Starbucks used to be my go to spot, but most of the time it is freezing and the blenders are too loud. Since starting PA school, I have been trying out “mom and pop” coffee shops and enjoy them much better. One spot I went to was quiet, and had about 3 patrons over the four hours I was there. Good food and drinks is always a plus too!

Snacks

If you are going to study for 6 hours, heck even 1 hour, I always make sure to have something to snack on. When I am hungry I cannot focus on anything except my stomach growling. So having fruit, a granola bar, or coffee cake is usually what I have. This is also why I like studying at coffee shops. Staying hydrated is extremely important as well. Recently I have been getting headaches when studying, and then come to realize that I haven’t had any water. My classmates are all pretty healthy, so seeing their Hydro Flasks (literally everyone has one lol) reminds me to keep drinking my water. Once you replenish your body with water, and some sort of food I guarantee you’ll feel rejuvenated to keep going.

Now I did study for most of the day, but made sure to take a break as well. My break was 4 hours to relax, eat a real meal, and write this post! If my exam wasn’t tomorrow, I probably would take the rest of the evening off. But since that isn’t the case today, I will probably get in another couple of hours before bed. I know this seems crazy, but if you enjoy the material you are learning time really does fly by. PA school is intense, but this is what I signed up for and I am grateful to have this opportunity. Hope this helps you guys out during long study hauls in the future!

 

Notability

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to briefly touch on note taking because it is one of the biggest pieces to the puzzle of surviving PA school. Why? Because your notes are what you will refer back to a million times to master the material, unless you were blessed with a photographic memory. First and foremost find out what type of learner you are. Visual, aural, kinesthetic, read/write? A combination of a few aka multimodal? If you just don’t know, take the VARK Questionnaire (takes 10 minutes tops). For me, I am a combination of the visual learner and kinesthetic learner. Bright/bold colors, lots of pictures, and hands on is how I learn best.

When I first started PA school I was a little bit nervous (okay a lot bit nervous lol) because I heard that what study skills worked for me in undergrad, may not work for me now with this amount of material. I tried making outlines, typing into Powerpoint slides, flashcards, you name it. These methods may work for some, but for me I felt disorganized and that’s when panic started to set in. So before completely unraveling at the seams (like week 2 of school ha), I went back to my tried and true holy grail Notability app that I used in undergrad. It can be found in the App Store (free for iPhone and iPad; $10 for Mac), and is all yours after a quick download.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Now this app is perfect for kinesthetic and/or visual learners because you can annotate  directly on any PDFs, draw pictures, use lots of color, etc. I even downloaded PDF copies of my textbooks into the app to annotate using my iPad Pro. It honestly can’t get better than this for a FREE app. The aural and read/write learners can also get use out of this application because there are features for typing, adding pictures, and recording sound. So if you were lost like me trying to figure out how to effectively take notes during class, try Notability. Now I am not guaranteeing you will learn everything with your first pass through the material. I still have to put in the work, but having my notes in one place makes life easier.

Not convinced? That is okay! I have listed some other methods that could point you toward success for your particular learning style. What is most important is that you find what works best for you.

Visual Strategies

• Draw things
• Use bold colors and underlining to highlight important topics
• Keep notes spatially organized
• Turn your visuals into words

Aural Strategies

• Explain notes to a classmate
• Record lectures
• Read your notes out loud
• Discuss topics with classmates

Kinesthetic Strategies

• Engage as many senses (smell, sight, touch, taste, hearing) as possible
• Apply “real world” situations to material
• Use a lot of examples

Read/Write Strategies 

• Write out the words over, and over, and over
• Make outlines with lists
• Read your notes silently
• Rewrite main ideas in your own words

I know there are a ton of apps/methods out there for studying. Regardless of what you chose, make sure you are learning the material NOT for memorization, but for understanding. We are learning how to treat patients! The solid foundations we build now will definitely benefit us during our clinical year, and much beyond during our career. What study methods work best for you guys?

Happy Note Taking!

Officially official, PA Student

Let me start by saying what a freaking week it has been! So much has happened since starting PA school, but first lets throw it back to August 12, 2017 when it all officially became official. AKA I was cloaked with my FIRST WHITE COAT. Sure this coat may seem like another piece of clothing that I clearly don’t need, but as a medical professional it represents a rite of passage. And that passage is to the role of healer. The main responsibility I have in my career in medicine is and will always be my obligation to care for the patient. More importantly, to keep the human element in medicine. Patient’s are not just their diagnoses, they are moms, dads, brothers, sisters, children, friends, etc. Empathy and compassion must be the backbone for our clinical practices, and these words are what I am reminded of each time I look at my coat. You guys have heard me say “it takes a village” previously, and I am so happy I had some of my main supports by my side to witness this moment. A lot of stress, hard work, and tears got me to this point, but now looking back it was worth every second.

Fast forward to today, and I have one week of PA school under my belt as well as my first exam! They have this saying that PA school is like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant. Maaaaan let me tell you, whoever came up with that was spot on. My first week was both exciting and overwhelming to say the least. Exciting in the fact that I am finally where I want to be. I think this journey will always be a little surreal for me because I have wanted to go into medicine since I was in middle school. Thats a long freaking time now as I inch closer and closer to 30 years old. Anyways, my professors are awesome, my classmates are supportive, and the material is finally something I’m 100% interested in.

Now the overwhelming part. To my pre-med/ pre-pa students out there reading this post, don’t hit the panic button just yet. My goal here is to keep things as real as possible, not to scare you away. So, I am excited to finally be studying actual medicine, but the “unknown” is actually where the overwhelming part comes from. An exam the second day of school can ignite that. But I say this because all material that I learn from this day forward is material that I will need to treat my patients. So there is no more cram for the test, pass the class, and forget it all like in college. Now, I need to refine my study methods so that I can retain hundreds of diagnoses, procedures, and treatment plans. As a brand new PA student, I don’t know what that entails just yet. Hence my feelings of being overwhelmed. But you know what, ITS OKAY! My professors did a great job at letting us know that even though they are asking a lot of us, it is all possible to do.

I dedicated the first few days of the week to getting organized, and to be honest I didn’t feel that I had a grip on things until day 5. In my program we are taking 10, yes TEN, classes in one semester. That is a lot of syllabi, readings, assignments, and exams to juggle. Thinking of it that way though is not helpful, so I started taking things day by day. Remember you have to get to your short term goals, before you can reach those long term ones. With this mindset, I instantly felt my stress levels decrease. I also joined a study group to split up the work, and just have a few people to vent to when things get cray.

So although I was overwhelmed this week, I am still 100% sure I chose the right career path. As I get the hang of things, I know my study habits will work themselves out. One thing a professor mentioned that really resonated with me was that when I feel frustrated or discouraged, I should look at my white coat or volunteer. Why? Because I was so proud on the day of my white coat ceremony, and volunteering will connect me to patients. These two things will always be a constant reminder of why I chose this crazy ride called PA school. This may sound weird to us science nerds, but grades really don’t matter in PA school. It is more so about developing the understanding of medicine to be great practitioners and treat our patients.

PA Orientation Week

Orientation week is complete! I cannot tell you how long I had been counting down the days until my first day of school, only for this week to go by so fast. Knowing how hard my classmates and I worked to get into this program makes this all so surreal, and exciting! My program did an excellent job by making orientation interactive and fun. Day 1 was student processing where we received our white coats, stethoscopes, and medical equipment! New shiny items definitely keep my attention. Day 2 consisted of meeting deans and other staff members. We also took a campus safety course and learned how to take down an active shooter (crazy stuff, but I felt so empowered after!). Day 3 was meeting faculty and ice breakers with my classmates. Finally day 4 was college orientation. As Western University is a campus specifically for health sciences, our DO, PA, PT, Pharm, Optometry, Vet, Podiatry, Dental Medicine, Nursing all came together for one huge event. I honestly could have not asked for a better introduction to PA school, and I hope all of the other first year PA students out there had a similar experience. For my pre-PAs out there, I wanted to post a few tips about how to make the most of your first week.

TIP 1: BE SOCIAL

This seem like a no brainer, especially with all of the excitement of just starting and wanting to meet your classmates. BUT it is so important to be a social butterfly, especially if you are an introvert like me. My class size is huge. There are 98 of us. And for reference it is triple the size of a lot of programs out there. So each day of orientation I tried to sit with a different crowd, and introduce myself to as many people as possible. Put yourself out there! Chances are your classmates want to get to know you as well because you’ll likely see them more in the next 2 years than your own family. Today I am only 1 week into my PA journey, but I already know my classmates will be my second family. Being around like minded people, with the same goals, and positive vibes (granted we aren’t stressed out with finals yet lol), is just want I wanted for this experience. It will definitely take a village, so start getting to know yours.

TIP 2: GET ORGANIZED

Orientation Week is a blur. Why? 1: you’ll receive a ton of pertinent information about the academic year and program in general. 2: excitement, nerves, and fun! From syllabi to campus safety to the white coat ceremony, you’ll want to make sure you have an organized start to the new year. Break out that cute planner or google calendar and get all of those important dates down. A lot of the time your weekly schedule won’t be the same, and when the workload drastically increases you’ll have a trusted source to refer to to stay on track. This is also a great time to look at your school schedule and make time for things that are important to you. Running, playing the guitar, walking the dog, etc. Whatever it may be to keep your sanity, find a time that will work best for you on a weekly basis so you can keep up that hobby.

TIP 3: RELAX

Welcome to the craziest two years of your life. Crazy in a good way of course because you are starting your career! If you are nervous, that is okay. Trust me I had nerves too. I always say a “healthy” amount of nerves is a good sign because it means you are challenging yourself. But don’t put too much pressure on yourself this week. RELAX. After most orientation days, I was exhausted and spent my evening watching Law & Order: SVU. Granted I won’t be able to do this when classes start on Monday, but for now I am going to enjoy myself. Since I took a month off for FUNemployment , orientation week was the perfect way to get back in the swing of sitting in a lecture hall. Since there technically isn’t any material to study just yet (at least for my program), enjoy these last precious moments of freedom.

 

WELCOME TO PA SCHOOL!

Funemployment

Funemployment | noun | the condition of a person who takes advantage of being out of a job to have the time of their life.

I first came across the term “funemployment” when one of the PAs I worked with in the ER was relocating, so she had about 3 weeks off before starting her new job. Although she had to pack up and move, she still had a bunch of fun activities planned during her mini unemployment, hence the term FUNemployment. For me, funemployment was the month before PA school to just LIVE. So I dedicated the month of July to do just that. And believe me, I did! I quit my job as a medical scribe about 5 weeks before orientation day, and used that time to clear my head and live as carefree as possible.

Traveling, sleeping in, cooking classes, working out, hanging out with friends, and Netflix binges was how I spent my time. My social media sites were probably extra with pictures and updates during July, but I’ll keep it simple here with a highlight reel.

1) The BAHAMAS

This trip was literally ONE week before the first day of school. At first I was a little hesitant cutting it so close, but I am so glad I did. For the first time in a long time I felt rested, refreshed, and rejuvenated. The weather, the water, the people, the culture is EVERYTHING. This was my fifth trip to the Bahamas (thanks to my parents’ timeshare), and I am still amazed by how clear and warm the ocean water was. My routine was literally beach in the morning, pool in the evening, multiple strawberry daiquiris in between, repeat.  I did have an adventurous day where we took a power boat out to a private island and got to feed sting rays, snorkel, and wrestle with sharks. Yes sharks, but I stayed safe and sound on the dock lol. I worked to hard too get into PA school to risk it all with some sharks 😂. The entire island vibe is so laid back and the locals are so friendly, that I hope everyone gets to experience it at one time or another. Ladies, 3+ trips to the Bahamas and you are considered a Bahama Mama 😉

             

2) FRIENDS

I’m sure you know just as much as me that trying to get your close group of friends together is nearly impossible due to schedules, significant others, and at this age even weddings and babies. BUT I made an extra effort to see those closest to me knowing that for the next two years, my time wouldn’t be my own. I love the saying it takes a village because without my friends and family I know my journey to PA school would have probably had a lot more lows than highs. So weddings, birthdays, wine tasting, dog beaches and lunches were some of the things that brought us together and I couldn’t be more thankful.

                        

3) EXERCISE + CLEAN(er) EATING

This one might throw you off guard, but yes exercising can be fun when you find the workouts that are right for you! When I was working crazy hours in the ER (think 10 PM to 6 AM) and finishing prereqs, my CASPA app, and preparing for interviews my workout game seriously fell off. I had no energy, my skin was a mess, and had a little more fluff than I wanted lol. But with the month of free time I had, I made sure to take full advantage and get back in the gym and the kitchen. I started with BBG aka Bikini Body Guide, which is a 12 week program of 30 minute workouts. I definitely struggled in the beginning, but as the weeks passed I became stronger and even started seeing baby abs and my biceps in the mirror! I also added one day of cycling at 24 hour fitness. I hate these classes, but love them so much at the same time lol. As far as my diet, I am a HUGE snacker. Mindless eating chips out of the bag is definitely me. So I started incorporating more fruits/veggies, and am having fun creating recipes for dinner. My hope is that these new habits work as my stress reliever when things get hectic with school.

                      
I could go into so much more, but that’s my quick round up of my funemployment. One thing I made sure not to do was study. This is a tip about 99% of the students in the class ahead of me suggested, and I happily obliged. Now I’m sure there are people out there that feel more comfortable doing a little reviewing, and there is nothing wrong with that. The point is whether your “funemployment” is 3 months or 3 weeks, do whatever it takes to be your best self before starting school that way you are ready to kick ass! Orientation day is TWO days away.