Sunday Morning

Good morning, readers!

I love Sundays. I usually sleep in late, wake up and prepare a delicious breakfast, and lounge around until late afternoon. Not so today. There's just too much work to be done. And I'm loving every minute of it. And I'm happy to be enjoying it as much as I am, because if I weren't, I'd have some serious thinking to do. Yes, PAs make great money. Yes, PAs get to "help people." And they get to do things to other human beings that most will never do. But there isn't enough money in the world that could keep me here if I were miserable!

It just hit me last week that in less than 9 months, I will inside an office or hospital somewhere dealing with real patients. They will be sharing intimate information with me, and they will instill a great deal of trust in me. They will disrobe and allow me to see them and touch them. They will listen to what I say as if it is law, and they will follow whatever regimen I prescribe, many without hesitation. What an honor, what a gift! I believe it was the cardio lecture last week that really got me thinking. Our adjunct instructor, who is an internist, impressed on us the importance of reading, researching literature, and learning as much as we can NOW. He stressed the importance of touch, and explained how therapeutic it is for patients. He stressed the importance of listening (the overwhelming majority of patients can be diagnosed simply from taking a great history and performing an excellent physical exam). He stressed the importance of good physical exam techniques. This is the time to absorb as much as possible, because once out in the field, there is no going back. It's important to learn now, to set a strong foundation now.

I didn't come to PA school to become an average practitioner. I came here to be the best!