Fall Semester

The fall semester is officially underway.  This is our last didactic semester before clinical rotations start (I can't wait)!

This semester we are taking the following classes:

• PSIO 743 – Fundamentals of Physiology
• MICB 702 – Microbiology
• PATH 465 – Medical Laboratory Management
• PATH 620 – Clinical Pathology Seminar
• PATH 610 – Educational Methodologies
• PATH 605 – Advanced Microanatomy
• Surgical Pathology and Anatomy Review

One of the things I love about having classmates with type A personalities is that they make beautifully organized schedules and notes.  So I’d like to say big thank you to my classmate, Lauren, who made the schedule above!

I’ll be back next week to give a more detailed description of each class. 

Summer Class is Over!

Our summer class finished up on Monday; I don't think I've ever been more excited for a class to be over (except maybe Organic Chemistry).  I was starting to feel very burnt out towards the end of the semester.  It's hard to believe that we only have one more semester left until clinical year! I'm so proud of my classmates and I.

Since I've had my head stuck in Robbins for the past 11 weeks, I'm very excited to start reading a book just for fun over break. I'm starting with The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K. Rowling (written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith).  Since I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and the book is about a murder case I figured it would be the perfect read.

Class starts back up again on the 19th, but until then I'm squeezing in as much summer fun as I can!

Mild Hypochondria

I’ve found one downfall to studying pathology this extensively; I think I’ve developed a mild form of hypochondria.  While studying the skin chapter this week, I found myself not reading, but examining every mole on my body. And for that entire day, I convinced myself that I had melanoma. When I go to the pool I am practically one giant blob of sunscreen. I refuse to let a wedge resection of my ear end up on someone’s gross bench for basal cell carcinoma.  However, I guess this precaution is probably for the best – protect your skin folks!

I pretty much think I have any disease in Robbins that starts with nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, weakness, etc.  “Patient presents with fatigue after long nights of studying and nausea before taking exams and giving presentations”- No differential is needed; I’m diagnosing this case as “PA school”.

It was practically a breath of fresh air reading about testicular tumors, knowing that I will never get one (girls don’t have those parts).

Also, I’ve never considered taking up cigarette smoking and after seeing its effects I can’t imagine justifying it. Smoking can cause EVERYTHING – lung cancer, mouth cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, etc.  I just can’t imagine willingly subjecting your body to such terrible diseases.

Public Speaking

On Tuesday I’m giving a 30-minute presentation to my class on ovarian tumors. If we’re being honest, public speaking is one of my least favorite things to do.  I don’t think I’ve ever talked for 30 minutes straight in my whole life.  Cue the sweaty hands, shaky legs, and extremely red face.  It’s actually curious that it scares me because at one point in my life I was really into acting and singing and I have performed in front of way bigger audiences than my 17 classmates.  How could that seem so easy, but school related speeches be so torturous? It’s definitely something I want to work to be better at because I do think it is an essential part of the job and life.

Any advice for giving speeches or calming nerves? Does anyone actually ever do the whole picture the audience in their underwear thing?

Autopsy Shadowing

A few years ago I had an internship with the Prince George’s County Evidence Unit (Maryland).  One of our duties was to go to the OCME in Baltimore and view the autopsies for each of our cases.  We were there to fingerprint the deceased individual, to collect their nail clippings and blood card, and to collect their clothing and personal items.  While we waited to collect all the evidence, we were able to watch them do the autopsy.  I had no idea what they were looking for when they removed the organs and took sections of certain things, but I was fascinated by it. Ultimately, this experience is what led me into the field of pathology.

Last week I observed an autopsy at West Virginia University Hospitals.  WVUH does around 500 medical examiner cases per year.  Two second-year students were on their rotation at the time and they were very helpful at explaining what they were doing and why. Although I have already observed autopsies before, I now have a better understanding as to what I will be doing during the autopsy process as a PA.

Steps of an Autopsy:

First, the weight and length of the deceased individual are recorded. Then photographs are taken and any clothing items are removed. The pathologist then documents any external features (tattoos, scars, lacerations, bruises, etc.). 

Then the Y-incision is made, the rib cage is removed, and the organs are exposed.  Specific fluids (blood, urine, vitreous fluid) are then taken for toxicology purposes.  The PAs proceed by removing the organs. Once all the organs in the thoracic and abdominal cavity have been removed, the PA starts the tedious process of the neck dissection.  You have to be very careful when cutting in this area because it is very easy to slice through the skin (families will not like seeing this at the funeral). Also, the funeral home uses certain neck vasculature to embalm the facial structures, so cutting these leads to an unhappy embalmer. Once the thyroid and tongue are removed, it is time to remove the skull and take out the brain.

All the solid organs are weighed and each organ is serially sectioned and grossly examined.  Sections of certain organs are put in cassettes and submitted to histology. The bowel gets cut and examined (this part smells AWESOME), the stomach contents are collected, and a tissue from each organ is placed in a jar and saved for any later tests.  When all of this is done the body is sewed together and you’ve completed an autopsy!

*This procedure may vary depending on pathologist’s preference, location, and each specific case.

NikkiScrubs’ Studying Strategy

This week I’d thought I’d share how I prepare for exams.  This strategy has not only been useful for PA school, but also got me through undergrad as well.  However, everyone learns differently, so what works for me may not work for others. I thought that by sharing my strategy, you might have a better grasp on how much work goes into succeeding at PA school (at least the didactic portion)!

Location

I like to study on my bedroom floor. I have a desk, but it barely gets used because I don’t find that it is comfortable to sit in that position for long periods of time.  My roommate is also in the PA program, so noise isn’t an issue.  Also, I have found that I can't study at the library because I have a tendency to people watch.

The Material

For each test I like to gather all my notes from the lectures and the readings and put them in a Microsoft Word document.  Last semester my “study guide” averaged about 25-30 pages for each test.  I like to print these out (sorry trees) because I find that when I study with my computer open I end up on YouTube or various social media websites.  After I’ve printed my study guides, I highlight important topics that I know I need to spend more time on.

Actually Studying

To study the material on the study guides I like to use a dry erase board (Side note – I wish Expo would sponsor me because I’ve gone through so many dry erase markers). I find that by actively studying, and not just staring at a piece of paper, I retain a lot more of the information.  I use the dry erase board to rewrite notes over and over again.  Then I like to test myself by seeing if I can write out key concepts without looking at my notes.  This ensures that I actually do know what’s on the study guide.  

Great for definitions- especially when spelling counts

Great for drawing diagrams

Test Day

Right before the test I like to read through my study guide a couple of times.  I usually won’t use the dry erase board much on test day, unless it is to go over things that I tend to forget.

PS- Unlike most of undergrad, studying the night before an exam will not be sufficient!

Summer Class: Week 1

Week 1 of summer class is done!

Our first week looked like this:

Monday: Memorial Day – no class (yay one last day of summer)

Tuesday: Class at 2pm to review Chapter 1

Wednesday: Class at 2pm to review Chapter 2

Thursday: Class at 2pm to review Chapter 3

Friday: Test at 9am

Class time is not your typical scenario with a professor lecturing from a podium with an accompanying PowerPoint. Instead the instructor goes down the row and asks each student a question pertaining to the reading.  This goes on until he doesn't have any more questions (usually around an hour). This aspect of the class was nerve-wracking at first, but I think I’m getting used to it. I’m sure my face still turns bright red every time it’s my turn to answer a question though.

Essentially the summer class is a self-taught class. At home it is your responsibility to do whatever you have to do in order to come prepared to class with the chapter’s material. We have a variety of resources to help teach us:

§  Recorded lectures and PowerPoints from when the medical students took the class

§  Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease (my new best friend)

§  Baby Robbins (condensed version of the textbook-great for reading by the pool)

§  The questions asked during class time

Overall, I thought the first week of summer class was rough. I spent so much time trying to figure out my strategy.  Should I listen to each ~50 minute lecture, should I only read big Robbins, should I do some variation of the two? The main reason I felt so overwhelmed this week was because I felt like I had used all my time reading and gathering the material, but I didn’t feel like I had enough time to study it all. The sheer volume of information on each test doesn’t allow me to study the way that I studied last semester (I'll write a post about that next).  This just left me feeling out of my element and very frustrated.

On a positive note, now that the first week is over, I feel a lot better about the class. I think I’ve figured out a plan that will work and will be an effective use of my time.  For the remaining weeks we will have class off on Thursday, which will be great to use as a full day to study. The class will still be challenging, but I definitely think it is manageable.