AHHHH!!!!

We’ve just finished orientation and I’m beginning to wonder what I got myself into…this is really going to be a long semester. The blog will have to double as my journal from now on because time will be scarce, so sorry if it’s all about school and politically or grammatically incorrect.

The first day was long (and it was only a half day!) and discouraging. You know, the awkward, we all feel weird and out of place feeling. Generally it doesn’t bother me, but with being in the classroom sitting at desks and such just adds to the awkwardness. I had planned a get together at the park later that evening (because I know that at my age it’s normal to drink—if you’re not LDS, that is) so we can break out of this awkwardness. Unfortunately, it had been raining all day and it was a 70% chance of thunderstorms, so I reluctantly cancelled it. Everyone decided to get together at a bar later in the evening and I felt very left out (I think I would have been less so if I didn’t purposefully plan a non-alcoholic activity). Sad day. Also, for the first time in my life I had to explain to someone why I wasn’t going out to drink. [In high school everyone knew, so I wasn’t invited. At BYU it wasn’t a question. And I had no friends at UNL, so it wasn’t an issue (I did have friends, but they all were institute buddies).]

The next day went better. There’s the boring orientation stuff (though some of it really was interesting, most was not) and then we had our anatomy orientation and tour. Dr. Todd (one of the Anatomy head professors) told us that our personal success is directly correlated with the academic success of our dissection group. Then he proceeded to say have your group of two PAs and three PT (Physical Therapy) students turned into the office by noon. Wait, WHAT?!?! I am a group/buddy studier and I’ve been worried about this from the beginning of summer (sadly Trent, my best friend and study buddy from BYU, has decided to do medical school instead of PA school and isn’t here with me). So to choose a group that will be your family for the next four months equals lots of pressure! And I hadn’t even met anyone!! I will be with 3 random PT students (well, one of them I went to high school with) and another PA student who happened to be sitting next to me during this announcement. The PA student I’m with got her masters in Clinical Anatomy from Creighton and took Anatomy with the Creighton law students, so I’m thinking this is a good match (unless she decides she knows everything and doesn’t want to study…). We’ll wait and see.

I also wanted to make a note that the Anatomy lab is absolutely gorgeous! Well, obviously a room containing 52 dead bodies can’t really be attractive nor aesthetically appealing, but the lighting is great and it’s not this creepy basement lab I was expecting. This place is state of the art! If you’d like to come take a tour, I’d be happy to oblige. And yes, I am a complete nerd and love it!

I have come to one conclusion: PA students really get cheated. We have the most credits of the first years (we actually tie with the med students—21 credits [keep in mind most graduate non-professional programs call 9 credits full time]). We have the most hours in class (9-5 every day except Wednesday, which is 8-5). We don’t get summers off (everyone else does after their first year). We only get a masters and not a doctorate (though we technically do more school than PT students). We also have the most competitive program (meaning our national ranking, GPAs, and test scores exceed all of UNMC’s programs). Can they make it any harder for us? Uh oh, this rivalry between PAs and med students could be bad for Jeff and I… ;) No, I love this profession and even though I think PAs get cheated on a lot of things, it will be worth it

Other than the above events, nothing too exciting happened. Besides a 3 hour speech from our director about what happens if we fail (and the second years assured us we will all fail at least one test), I’m excited for school to begin.