Halfway Through the First Semester of PA School
Hey everyone! Thank you so much for visiting my blog, I appreciate you!
Here's a recap of what PA School has been like for me so far. We are officially halfway through the semester!
| AUGUST 12, 2017 | The long awaited white coat ceremony!!! It was so thrilling to start PA school for a week and to have this happen on that very Saturday! Just check out my giddiness in this picture lol. It was an awesome ceremony that was so intimate and symbolic. We were cloaked by our PA-C faculty and witnessed by our close family and friends. "It's happening, omg this is real. Am I even worthy of this white coat? Holy moly." I waited for this day to come for so long now, I saw all my friends get cloaked in other professions and couldn't believe it was finally my turn. I was so excited when I was cloaked on stage and I still am - every time I wear it!
| WESTERNU MSPA CLASS of 2019 | Yes! First class photo in our spiffy new 'Physician Assistant' shirts! Can I just say how amazingly diverse our class is. Look at these beautiful people! It was definitely overwhelming to meet all 97 classmates but as time passed, we got closer and closer. We were such strangers on this day, and now- two months in, we know each others' names and call each other family. We support one another during school and with life outside of school. I am in love with our class.
| SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 | Find your tribe! Here's mine and I honestly look to them for support and laughs. Classes are that much more enjoyable with these people! This was one month in- our white coat ceremony seemed like last weekend- how time flies!
| SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 | There's more to life than just PA school! Koi, a scrub company based in Santa Monica invited Arielle and I to their annual warehouse sale. I met the amazing nurse, @mightynursemegan and the wonderful med student, @purelypositivitea ! We enjoyed an evening of great music, yummy food and an amazing silent auction. This event benefited A Window Between Worlds, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating and supporting a network of transformative art programs that empower individuals impacted by violence and trauma. We had so much fun, thank you Koi!
| SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 | Pomona Community Health Action Team AKA PCHAT! This is one of the oldest interprofessional student organizations on campus. PCHAT is dedicated to improving the health of the Pomona community and to bridging the healthcare disparities gap that our community faces. Clinics are held every month within the community and all services are completely free for our patients. Since we just finished the HEENT unit, we were able to perform our physical exam on real patients (head inspection, fundoscopic eye exam, otoscopic ear exam, nose and throat inspection)! It was a great opportunity to translate the skills we learn in the classroom to real-life patients, while providing a valuable and needed service for our underserved Pomona community!
| SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 | Instagram Live with these two DO students! On the left you have Ed, a USC alum just like me and we actually volunteered abroad together in Tanzania, Africa! On the right you have Paul, whom I met through Instagram! They are both first years and it's been a pleasure keeping up with these two. I've learned so much about DOs through them!
| SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 | Community Emergency Response Team AKA CERT! We all volunteered at the Claremont Community Center as victims of a dramatized mass casualty event. It was a great refresher for my EMT skills and a reminder on how to act in such events. We had so much fun with this!
| Medelita Honoring Inspiring Professionals Ambassador | So honored to be a HIP Ambassador for this amazing company founded by a PA-C! I won a lab coat giveaway back in July from @medicineinmichigan and Medelita and fell in love with the quality of it all. They were graciously enough to embroider my white coat with my name and future credentials- I can't wait to wear it one day soon! The scrubs that I'm wearing above were gifted to me by Medelita and I am so grateful! This is their ELEMENT line: Horizon scrub top with Delta scrub pants. So aesthetically pleasing and soft to the touch. Incredibly comfortable and functional. Thank you Medelita!
| Clinical Skills & Physical Assessment | It is so fun to actually use our medical equipment and to do more hands-on things! This was my first time owning a stethoscope and using it in the proper manner. We recently learned injections and gave each other flu shots! Yes, we learned that day and injected each other within the same hour lol. We trust each other that much! I am so glad that I was a pediatric medical assistant prior to PA school because it definitely benefitted me here during injections! I was very comfortable with needles- but when it comes to veins... I'm a little more scared...
| OCTOBER 1, 2017 | I started this blog! It was in the midst of many exams and quizzes and I found it the opportune time. Crazy, I know but this was relaxing for me. I truly enjoy expressing my thoughts through this medium. So thank you for reading this far into this long post. I appreciate you!!
| OCTOBER 11, 2017 | WesternU celebrates PA Week 2017! Our class put on this amazing event filled with food, drinks, lawn games, photobooth, sumo wrestling and puppies! We felt like an absolute family on this day because we intimately worked together to get this event up and running. I also met so many pre-PAs at this event, thank you so much for coming to celebrate with us! I love my class so much and I am beyond humbled to be where I'm at right now.
Thank you for reading this long long post. Please, if you have any suggestions on what you'd like to see more of, comment below! Have a wonderful day!
