Things that can be unpleasant

One thing I've noticed is that I really do tend to do things that I find unpleasant. For instance, I will almost always volunteer to run the bowel when I'm on autopsy (of course that usually makes the person that I'm on service with volunteer to do it the next time) because I think that repeated exposure will desensitize me to the experience. And, I'd like to think that I'm getting faster at it!

I do the same thing with products of conception. Some of my classmates have had moments that were emotionally difficult when handling POCs with identifiable fetal parts, and I'm not completely immune to it. Some people react to their discomfort with seeing a POC by being vocal about their squeamishness (not necessarily at Duke, we received them were I worked before as well), which is another reason why I volunteer to handle those specimens. I know that with my language and actions I'm not doing anything that I wouldn't be comfortable with the parents seeing. The staff PAs stress to the students and residents to not say anything in the dictation that would be upsetting to the parents, and I think it is just a good practice to keep their sensibilities in mind.

And finally, the interview process. Surprisingly, I like interviews. I don't tend to get nervous about them, possibly because I moved around so much as a child and I'm comfortable meeting strangers. Now afterwards I might think back on how things could have been phrased better or information that I wish I had put forth, etc. But during the actual process I'm usually fine. What I am not particularly looking forward to is salary negotiation. It isn't just the number, it is factoring in continuing education allowance, hours, weekend and holiday call, relocation expenses, cost of living, corporate culture, bonuses, and a lot of other things. No one else in our class has gone through the process yet, so we're all still feeling our way through it. We have interview and application resources that we're reading through but there is a huge difference between reading up on it and actually doing it.