A thank you

to all that were kind enough to mentor me during this process.  I realize that this was an invasion of your work day, time away from getting your job done efficiently. I realize that with each patient that came in the door, you realized, as did I, that my being there was an invasion of their lives- their most private lives. In this, I must also that the patients that accepted me and allowed me to eavesdrop into their visit.

By allowing someone to shadow, to experience what the real word of being a PA, you have given a gift both to the future PA but also to the profession. It is not surprising that it's a requirement to shadow a PA for acceptance into most programs. The day to day life of each PA and their particular area of practice is vastly different from each other. By looking at each particular PA I shadowed and what their careers entailed, I was able to see the possibilities for my own career, and honestly, give me some "oomph" in the rather tedious process of pre-reqs.

I had wonderful PA's to shadow. I sat in on  morning rounds, grand rounds, the weekly trauma meetings, and cardio-thoracic meetings. I was in the hospital, in clinics, in private offices and in the Student Health center. I saw a lot- stitches, a very interesting I & D, burns,  a freshy pregnant woman, a first pelvic, numerous UTI's,  skeletal issues, and things I just had never thought of- how does someone get something stuck in their ear? Especially if they are over the age of six?

So, thank you. Thank you for your time, your advice, your support. Thank you for offering an ear and saying "if you need anything, just drop on email!" Thanks for the tips on surviving school, for the copies of notes taken, for the books passed on. Thanks for taking your time, both for and with me, but for the profession itself.