Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Why am I in school?

Being on rotations I've gotten to talk to some of the second years that I haven't really had much interaction with up until now. Two different ones have asked me why I'm going through a PA program when I was grossing before. And I guess, looking at it from the outside, I can understand the question. I do think, though, that they will understand why I made the choice after they have worked out in the industry for a while.

Beyond what I'm learning in classes, I'm getting an opportunity to see a greater variety of specimens than I will ever see again. The thing about Duke is that it is a major medical center and there are surgeries and procedures commonly done there that rarely happen in other places. Just from an intellectual standpoint, it is a great place to be.

Not only that, after graduation I will have my masters and be eligible to sit for the board exam, which makes me much more marketable. Also, before I could only gross specimens that a pathologist had signed off on me for, which doesn't mean as much to a future employer than a solid year of documented rotations and dedicated training. Not to mention that board certified PAs earn significantly more money than a grossing tech, which helps offset the tuition investment.

And... I'm really enjoying the experience. Seriously, even with the horrific test anxiety and stress of being back in school after four years out of it and living apart from my husband, I enjoy it. It has given me a lot of perspective about the specimen types I've worked with and I know that Body and Disease is going to even more applicable. Plus, we're going to have microbiology and it has always been my favorite subject! I have great *classmates (yes, yes, I know I've mentioned it once or twice before, but they are!) and we have med students who have been amazingly inclusive. I walked from the parking garage this morning with one, got hugged by others who spied me in the food court at lunch and was joined for lunch by one of my absolute favorite med students. Our program directors are accessible and responsive, and while I'm not entirely sure how the TBL intensive spring semester will be the idea of it is interesting.

*No seriously, they do amazing things like share outlines they've made, send out information about resources, and are just great to work with in groups and on rotations.

5 comments:

  1. Hi, I've been browsing your blog for the past few weeks. I wanted to say thank you for putting out all this information. I have applied for the Class of 2014, and felt so lost before, with all the unknowns of the application and interview process. I think it's great that you have shared your experiences to us aspiring PAs. We seem to share a very similar background, I grossed for 3 years in an academic hospital, didn't have the greatest GPA, have a family now, retook some classes, blah, blah. I share your same reasons for wanting to go back to school, the histotech/grossing position was limited in its responsibilities and advancement opportunities. It definitely takes an inside perspective to see your decision as the natural progression in your career development.

    Thanks again for your candor, it's definitely provided me with a little more confidence going into this process.

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment! Being able to have some resources for people applying/interviewing/thinking about the profession is one of the main reasons I started this blog. I am glad that it has been helpful to you!

      Best of luck with the application and interview process! It isn't always easy (it took me two application cycles to get in) but it has definitely been worth it to be in the program I wanted to be in.

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  2. Thanks, I'll find out soon enough. If you don't mind my asking, with the first time you applied, how did it go? Were you offered an interview? Did they give you feedback on what areas you could improve?

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    1. The first time I wasn't offered an interview. I did email to ask what I could do to improve my application for the next cycle and Pam Vollmer was very quick about replying to let me know what areas to work on (in my case it was take some graduate science classes and take the GRE instead of the MCAT).

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    2. Wow, would I love to talk with you (in all of your "free" time, right?!). You're on the path I want to be on but am despairing of finding a way to do so. Along the way I've asked what I think are the pertinent questions, have gotten some answers, am waiting on others, but generally feel this is something I could be really happy doing and can't quite figure out how.

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