Monday, January 28, 2013

The First Cut is the Deepest



Last week we had our first cadaver lab.  As we waited for class to start, I couldn’t help but feel anxious and a little nervous.  I have watched plenty of autopsies, fingerprinted deceased individuals, and dissected a cat, but I had never cut into a human before. 

We gathered around the metal cadaver boxes as we received instructions on our first incisions and the rules of the lab.  We learned that four individuals (two male and two female) donated their bodies to our class. I’m so grateful for their donation; there is so much to learn from their bodies that a textbook cannot adequately explain.  At the end of the semester the school holds a memorial service for the friends and families of the individuals who donated their bodies to science; which I think is a wonderful way to show our appreciation.

Once we finally received our cadaver assignments, we met with our group (four students to a cadaver) to unveil the cadaver.  There was no time to be hesitant about making the first incision; we dove right in.

For this first lab we started by making the typical autopsy “Y incision”. We were then responsible for identifying the muscles in the posterior and anterior thorax, and the anterior abdomen.  This may not seem like a lot, but it took us the whole four hours.  Our cadaver was a portly man so we spent a lot of time cutting adipose tissue away from the muscles (mental note: I need to start running more!!).

I had a lot of fun in lab and the time flew by.  However, I must admit that after bending over the table for four hours my back was pretty sore and my hands were cramping from holding the forceps and scalpel.  I’m not sure if I just have really weak forearms, but they were definitely sore the next day.  As for the formaldehyde smell – it didn’t bother me while I was in lab, but once I got home (even after I showered) all I could smell was the formaldehyde on my fingers.

As my final thought, I just want to say that I’m overly excited that I get to wear scrubs once a week for lab.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Back to School


My first week as a Pathologists’ Assistant student has flown by.  Coming back to school after having 8 months off has been a rude awakening.  Gone are the days of hitting snooze, watching Netflix in bed, and being employed.  Hello staying up late reading textbooks, bringing flashcards everywhere, and eating cheap meals.  But I already love the program and I know that all this hard work will pay off.

Line up for the first semester:

Human Anatomy for the Path. Asst.
Anatomical Pathology Techniques
General Pathology
Advanced Forensic Photography

If you are curious, our schedule looks like this:


Here are my first impressions of the classes:

Human Anatomy for the Path. Asst.
            I haven’t taken an anatomy course since 11th grade (YIKES!), so this class seems like it will be the most challenging for me.  I spent all of Wednesday studying a table of common anatomic derivatives and terms and I’m starting to feel more confident about the class.  I’ll admit that I also practiced naming all the anatomical planes and terms of movement while out at dinner as well.  This class also includes microanatomy and a cadaver lab.  Our first lab is next week and I cannot wait!

Anatomical Pathology Techniques
            In this class we will cover the various techniques that we will encounter as PAs.  This week we learned about the fixation process, formalin safety, and the frozen section techniques.  I can’t wait to try out all the techniques, although I must say that finishing a frozen section in less than 7 minutes seems absolutely impossible!

General Pathology
            We have this class with the dental students. I feel as though the 17 PA students stick out in a sea of scrub clad dental students, but hopefully we will become one cohesive class.  From what I can tell, this class seems like it will prepare us for our summer course (Mechanisms of Disease). So far we’ve learned about cell injury and inflammation, but I'm looking forward to learning about specific disease processes and how they affect particular organs or systems.

Advanced Forensic Photography
            I am lucky enough to have taken Forensic Photography while in undergrad at WVU.  In the Forensic and Investigative Science program we had multiple classes that required the Nikon D7000 DSLR cameras, so I feel pretty comfortable working with them.  It seems like we will get to complete some pretty cool projects (my classmate and I are planning to do our first project on photographing bite marks).

In addition to these classes we also get to spend 2 days on a Histology rotation as well as 2 days in the Gross Room.  We also will attend 1-2 pathology conferences a week.

We have our first exam on Thursday, so it's time to get back to studying!


Saturday, January 19, 2013

This is me


I thought it would be nice to let you know a little bit of my background before taking you on my journey through graduate school.  I'm Nicole, currently 22, originally from Silver Spring, MD (right outside of DC).  I went to undergrad at West Virginia University and therefore Morgantown is now a second home to me.  In May 2012 I graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a B.S. in Forensic and Investigative Science.  I then applied to the Pathologists’ Assistant program at WVU. Now 8 months later, I am finally starting my journey of becoming a PA.

This blog will not only be a great way for me to look back on my experiences in the program, but I hope that it will also help those considering the PA path as well. While I was researching PA programs I ran across the blogs of Forrest and That Girl with the Scalpel. These blogs helped solidify my decision to apply to the PA program, therefore I hope to pass along my knowledge so that anyone interested will understand the daily life of a PA student, and so that my family and friends have a better understanding of the Pathologists' Assistant world.