Leaving my family behind and saying goodbye was the hardest part, just as I was getting to the airport in Medellin, Colombia, the though of finally saying I was starting PA school this week was hard to believe. I felt an overwhelming amount of feelings. I was sad, I was happy, I was scared, I was anxious, I was excited, so many different emotions all at once. Everything I had worked so hard for had finally payed off, and the day had finally arrived. My adventures this previous summer were now going to be memories and what would keep me motivated throughout these next 2 most difficult years of my life. As I sit here ( I can just think about all the hard and stressful times that lie ahead), but I will use that as fuel to keep pushing forward and get one step closer to becoming a PA. During the first week, the first 40 students of Florida State University Physician's Assistant program finally met. I was one of those who will become the Charter Class of FSU PA's Program. At the moment it doesn't feel like anything fancy, but in a few years, we will be proud to say we were the first students that graduated from the FSU PA program and that will be an honor.
The first week, we had orientation. All I remember them telling us was "You will soon receive information from the fire hose". That was all I kept thinking about, "We are going to drown in tons of information, OMG what did I get myself into". PA school was no joke but FSU gave us so many resources and ways for us to succeed that I was sure we were all going to make it. The best part was receiving our very own FSU MED laptops that can turn into IPADS. This is literally our LIFE, we have access to all of our books online and we can use them as notebooks for all of our classes. I almost forgot to mention, this week we met our first patient as a PA student, a cadaver and got to carry a skeleton home. Wohooo!
When they say PA school is medical school in 2 years, they were not joking. The weekend before classes started, the medical students invited all of us to a social and they were so scared for us. They could not believe all of the courses we were taking and how our schedule was so busy. This did not help, it made all of us feel a lot more overwhelm. Monday was our first day and we will soon be drinking from the "Fire House". We all enjoyed our last weekend of freedom before PA school took over our lives.
The first week, we began dissecting our cadavers in anatomy lab. Lets just say the days were long. Our class schedule is nearly 8-5 everyday except for one day of the week which we get out at 2:30 PM. After class, I just want to come home and take a nap, but we have 7 classes to keep up with so thats kind of impossible. Let me not lie to you, some days of this first week, I did take a nap. I was still trying to get used to the whole waking up early situation especially after being such a BUM in colombia, I literally did nothing. Besides that, I felt like the material we covered in lecture were not that complicated, it was better than what I had expected. I literally though professors were going to flip through slides and not explain things. I am thankful it was not like that and instead they each took the time to make sure we understood everything. However it's still overwhelming I'm not going to lie, we have to preview what we learn the following class, review was we just learned the same day, study for quizes, complete assignments, study for exams, and still manage to have a life outside of school.
PA school must just become a life style. Today for example, I spent 4 hours working on an assignment, 3 hours studying for anatomy, and 2 hours going to the anatomy lab with my group and just making sure we could locate structures on the cadaver and it is only the first week. It is time consuming, but the fact that you have other people there working hard for the same goal makes it a lot easier. We are all there to help each other, to motivate each other, and to make it to the finish line. I am ready to cry, to be exhausted, to be mad, to be sad, to be lonely, and really I am ready for it all. I know this journey will be hard, but the end result will be so worth it. I am humble to say, I have finally made it this fur, and I will keep pushing until I make it to the end even if that means having no life for now.