The Light is Coming

People tell you, "enjoy every moment it goes by so fast." I really hate that phrase because sometimes you just want things to be over, but I truly never imagined that my time in PA school would go by so quickly. The other week we picked our rotation tracks for graduate year, WOW! I remember being a freshman walking to my Anatomy I class staring in aw at the PA students with their white coats on. It looked like they had every aspect of their life together. Little did I know that dressing professionally and throwing a white coat over you shoulders can make the most sleep deprived, over-worked, stressed person look put together from an outsiders point of view. It is finally hitting me that my first year of clinical rotations is almost complete; there is only 2 more to go before graduation.

Even more shocking is that I am going to be graduating college in a few weeks. While it doesn't really feel like graduation because I'm walking on May 20th and will be back on rotation June 6th, I still get to walk across that stage with a gown and cap and I will be handed a diploma. I have to say goodbye to some of the greatest friends and memories I have, and that is what makes me the most sad. I have said so many times that I never loved my college, but I definitely made the most out of it and have had so many wonderful moments with amazing people.

I have been waiting to write this post until I had a final schedule for my graduate year, but I feel like that moment will never happen so I'll write what I have so far. Graduate year, in general, is chaos. All of the rotations seem to be off Staten Island and are located in Manhattan or New Jersey. I am nervous for the commuting and the level of knowledge expected from me as a student. Regardless, the rotations I have selected are going to be incredibly exciting and challenging, and I'm ready.

My first rotation is Urgent Care at Brookdale Community Hospital in Brooklyn. One of my goals when picking tracks was to get a rotation at this location. It is located in a somewhat sketchy part of Brooklyn and people are brought into the emergency room after sustaining stab wounds and gunshots. I figured, if I am going to do emergency medicine and urgent care, I want it all. Also, this location is a Level I trauma center, which I am incredibly excited about. I loved trauma while on my surgery rotation and I wanted to have an entire trauma clerkship, but it didn't work out (as I'll explain later). What is also different about this rotation is that during the 4-weeks I only have to work 12, 12-hour shifts; that's 3 shifts a week. I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule and I just have to make sure I get to each department at some point during those 12 shifts. While this will be a culture shock as my first rotation, I think I am ready for the challenge.

My next rotation is a clerkship. Clerkship are a 4-week rotation where we get to choose any specially that we are interested in. Originally I was going to be do transplant surgery at Mt. Siani Hospital. This was the ONLY rotation I wanted and something I was so excited for. Unfortunately, I was not able to get this clerkship after originally being told I was accepted. I was supper bummer because 1) I know they are hiring and I would potentially stay in NY if a job presented itself, and 2) when else would I get to try out transplant surgery and fly on a plane to harvest organs, that is SO cool! Everything happens for a reason and I am just going to have to trust that I will get a great clerkship to fill that space.

I start my fall semester with neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Hospital. I was pleasantly surprised to find this rotation offered since before we only had 1 location for neurosurgery and spots were limited.  I was able to observe a craniotomy while on a 24-hour shift during surgery and it was amazing. I don't care if I only get to observe the surgeries, I just want to see that again. I am quite excited for this month.

I then get to stay on the Island of Staten for my NICU rotation at Richmond University Medical Center. I am so nervous for this rotation. When we had newborns brought into the pediatricians office for their first wellness check, I had no idea what to do and I had no desire to touch the babies. The last thing I wanted was to touch them and do something wrong, and these babies were healthy. In the NICU these babies are sick with tubes and lines all over their small 2 or 3 pound bodies. It will be an interesting month, most likely filled with fear and nerves.

After the NICU I head back to Brookdale for my emergency medicine rotation. While EM and urgent care are technically supposed to be different, at Brookdale you do the same thing regardless of the rotation you are on. I hope I like it the first time because I have to go back there.

I finish the fall semester with my second clerkship. Again, I currently have no rotation set up. I originally was going to be placed at Jersey Short Trauma, but the rotation can not accept any students at that time. I asked to be placed at a rotation at Mass General Hospital in Boston in the Orthopedics department. I'll be honest, I HATE orthopedics and I am so nervous I will pass out in the OR hearing bones broken and set. I also have no place to stay if I were in Boston, so I'm hoping something else presents itself and I don't have to go there.

The spring semester is short, with only 2 rotations. The first is my advanced medicine rotation at Jersey Shore Critical Care department. I didn't think I would be excited for a critical care/ICU rotation because it is filled with really sick patients who are always dying, but I think I can use this rotation to learn a lot about general medicine and how to manage critical patients. The commute will be interesting (an hour each way), but I'm thinking the drive will be worth it.

My final rotation until I become a PA-C is long term care. Typically, students spend a month working 10AM-12PM (only 2 hrs) at a nursing home. There is nothing to do except look at pressure ulcers; I am not too excited about it. Instead, I'm trying to coordinate a month rotation in Guatemala. The people and culture of Guatemala were life-changing and I am trying to find a way to go back. This rotation would be much different from Belize and a lot more rural/off the map but I am so excited by the possibility. If this ends up being a reality, I better start practicing my Spanish medical phrases; I won't have translators this time!

There are so many exciting events happening in the next year: finishing senior year, graduation, amazing rotations, becoming a real PA. I can finally start to see the light at the end of this incredibly long tunnel. I want it to hurry-up and happen so I can experience everything, but I also want to live in each moment and enjoy every second. Nonetheless, it is going to be an incredible year.