PA school!
Hey guys!
Wow, what a whirlwind it has been. I'm still alive, and surviving PA school.. so far. :) It is now our third week and we have jumped right into Neurology. (sink or swim, right?) I am also in Virginia (37 hours later driving from Boise, Idaho) and 2 hours time difference from Mountain and 3 hours from Portland (cough cough people you need to set a timer if you want to catch me before I go to bed). End rant, just joking but I love you all, please keep calling and thank you for your calls and support!!
SO, I thought I would write a little bit about what I am learning so it can be another way I can remember it (so sorry about all the med terms you non med people- so follow the FUN FACTS) and because this stuff is pretty cool and interesting. I just hope to not gross anyone out when I talk about anatomy and cadavers- Sorry not sorry!
This weeks happenings:
Performed a laminectomy on our cadaver. AKA we chiseled out the spine and were able to see the spinal cord, the dura, pia and arachnoid meninges surrounding the spinal cord, and the cauda equina (horse tail or nerve roots after the spinal cord ends). We also found the sacral plexus, saw how the sciatic nerve runs down through the hamstring and divides into the tibial and fibial nerves superficially at the lateral side of the knee. FUN FACT This is why they pad your knees when in the "stirrups"- so you don't have foot drop! Cool. Also, FUN FACT ortho is not as "gentle" as you would imagine and now I can never eat brown canned tuna. Thank you cadaver.
We also learned how to describe a patient as if we were writing a chart note and someone had to imagine the patient from JUST the note. FUN FACT it is FUN. :) We will also be visiting an assisted living facility and getting histories from residents. Our first "patients"! woo. I can't wait.
Earlier this week, we had a test on Radiology and interpreting x-rays. I learned how to diagnose pneumonia (viral vs bacterial), spot cardiomegalies, pleural effusions, etc and how important Radiologists are! haha. But seriously. Give them all high fives!
We have been learning about the different parts of the brain, the Central Nervous System, the Peripheral Nervous System and how everything is intermingled. As our professor says, "you do not want to pee or digest when you are running from a lion!" FUN FACT that has to do with your amazing and oh so complicated Nervous System. So if you are interested in how that works, go read about it. :) It is really complicated and it would take 5 years to explain it, but Super Interesting once it 'clicks'.
I am definitely skipping over a bunch but most importantly, I am super thankful for everyone's support and have learned how amazing my classmates are. Would not want to sit in a room for 9 hours with anyone else!! :)
Thanks for reading!!
Jamie
Wow, what a whirlwind it has been. I'm still alive, and surviving PA school.. so far. :) It is now our third week and we have jumped right into Neurology. (sink or swim, right?) I am also in Virginia (37 hours later driving from Boise, Idaho) and 2 hours time difference from Mountain and 3 hours from Portland (cough cough people you need to set a timer if you want to catch me before I go to bed). End rant, just joking but I love you all, please keep calling and thank you for your calls and support!!
SO, I thought I would write a little bit about what I am learning so it can be another way I can remember it (so sorry about all the med terms you non med people- so follow the FUN FACTS) and because this stuff is pretty cool and interesting. I just hope to not gross anyone out when I talk about anatomy and cadavers- Sorry not sorry!
This weeks happenings:
Performed a laminectomy on our cadaver. AKA we chiseled out the spine and were able to see the spinal cord, the dura, pia and arachnoid meninges surrounding the spinal cord, and the cauda equina (horse tail or nerve roots after the spinal cord ends). We also found the sacral plexus, saw how the sciatic nerve runs down through the hamstring and divides into the tibial and fibial nerves superficially at the lateral side of the knee. FUN FACT This is why they pad your knees when in the "stirrups"- so you don't have foot drop! Cool. Also, FUN FACT ortho is not as "gentle" as you would imagine and now I can never eat brown canned tuna. Thank you cadaver.
We also learned how to describe a patient as if we were writing a chart note and someone had to imagine the patient from JUST the note. FUN FACT it is FUN. :) We will also be visiting an assisted living facility and getting histories from residents. Our first "patients"! woo. I can't wait.
Earlier this week, we had a test on Radiology and interpreting x-rays. I learned how to diagnose pneumonia (viral vs bacterial), spot cardiomegalies, pleural effusions, etc and how important Radiologists are! haha. But seriously. Give them all high fives!
We have been learning about the different parts of the brain, the Central Nervous System, the Peripheral Nervous System and how everything is intermingled. As our professor says, "you do not want to pee or digest when you are running from a lion!" FUN FACT that has to do with your amazing and oh so complicated Nervous System. So if you are interested in how that works, go read about it. :) It is really complicated and it would take 5 years to explain it, but Super Interesting once it 'clicks'.
I am definitely skipping over a bunch but most importantly, I am super thankful for everyone's support and have learned how amazing my classmates are. Would not want to sit in a room for 9 hours with anyone else!! :)
Thanks for reading!!
Jamie
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