3 Exams Down

            My classmates and I just finished our first few tests.  Tuesday we had our first Histology test.  Histology is an online class where our instructors put up power points and documents on our online system called Sole and it is our responsibility to learn it and we meet once a week to ask questions.  Basically we have a test and then have a week off to learn the next unit, and then have another test…the entire semester, but it isn’t too bad.  It’s nice that we get to meet to ask questions unlike typical online courses. Wednesday was our first anatomy practical. I was more nervous for this one. I ended up doing alright, but it’s my goal to do better on the next one. Take your time, read the questions carefully, and practice your spelling (1/2 point deductions add up).  Friday was the anatomy lecture exam.  While I don’t have my grade back, I felt really good about it.  Half of the test was labeling diagrams and we knew that going into it so there was no excuse to miss any of those points.  The remainder of the test was multiple choice, short answer, and fill in the blank.  Tomorrow afternoon is our first Intro to Disease Mechanism exam so this weekend has been filled with more studying.  This will be 59 multiple choice and matching questions.  I think this is my most challenging class so I have been studying a lot and I hope it pays off!

            All work and no play is no fun!  We needed a break at the end of the week and it was my classmates Jessica’s birthday Thursday so we met up for dinner downtown Friday night and had a really good time!  I know I have said before that we all get a long, but we really do have a lot of fun together which is really nice because most people came here not knowing anyone!  I am going to get back to studying but I’m looking forward to a break in exams this week after Monday.  It’s challenging, but I am really enjoying it!

Y We Have Cadaver Lab

Today we had our second cadaver lab! Our Anatomy course is 6hrs and each week we have a 4hr cadaver lab!  Our class has 4 cadavers and we are split up into groups of 3-4 and we will keep our cadaver for the entire semester.

I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous going into it, but once we got started I was fine. Last week mainly consisted of getting to the muscles.  This took a little time because our male is a little portly.  We started the dissection process by making a “Y” incision.  (Meaning you start at each shoulder and cut diagonally towards the middle until you reach the sternum and continue the cut along the midline until you reach the umbilicus.)  Then we started cutting through the skin and fat until we reached the fascia which overlies the muscle.  Then we tried to remove the fascia and fat as carefully as possible so we did not cut (too much) of the muscle.  Our first practical is next week and it is on the pectoral girdle and the upper limb so we just focused on the upper half of the body.  Today we dissected out the brachial plexus which is basically a network of nerves that runs through the armpit.  I got excited once we found it and started identifying the individual nerves because see it is much cooler to see on a human body rather than a diagram. 

The fact we have cadaver lab is really beneficial!  We get to learn the structures on an actual human versus just learning from diagrams and models.   Since there are only 3-4 people in a group we get plenty of cutting time and practice.  Another plus is, if we mess up and cut something that we shouldn’t it’s (kind of) okay!  Of course we never want to mess up, but as a student, now is the time to do it and learn from it!  It is important that we get practice with human tissue because if we never got that opportunity, then the transition into clinical rotations, where we will be responsible for grossing real specimens, would be much more difficult.

Like I said earlier, our first practical is next week so my classmates and I will be spending plenty of time studying in the lab.  Wish us luck!

A Little About Me...

            Hi Everyone! I am a student of the West Virginia University Pathologists’ Assistant Program Class of 2018!  I will be blogging about my experience as a student and hopefully give anyone thinking about applying an idea of what to expect. So a little bit about me and how I got here: I grew up in Charleston, WV and I went to Wingate University in Wingate, NC for my BS in Biology.  I learned about Pathologists’ Assistant school when I was a senior in college and I started shadowing and fell in love right away. I applied but it just wasn’t my time!  If I was accepted then I do not think I would have been ready, but I still knew it was the career field for me. I was accepted to a Histotechnology program in Charlotte, NC and I loved it.  It was interesting to see another side of the pathology lab.  While I was a student, I was hired as a biopsy technician in a pathology lab.  I came in during the evenings and I grossed the GI biopsies so the PA’s had time to get the larger specimens done.  After I graduated, they hired me as a gross technician.  They trained me to do non-complex specimens and I loved, loved this job, but I still wanted more.  I wanted to go to school to receive proper training to become a certified Pathologists’ Assistant.  After a while I decided to apply again.  This time I was accepted and I am excited and honored to be here!  While my training will be useful as far as understanding the larger picture, I am trying to “forget” most of it and start with a clean slate! Not that I was doing anything majorly wrong, but I want proper training and KNOW I am doing something right without having to ask a bunch of questions. 

            So here I am!  We just finished our first week of classes and I am kind of sensing a calm before the storm.  I know the exams are coming, but the sense of urgency hasn’t set in JUST yet. Everyone in my class is pretty cool!  We all come from different backgrounds which is nice, because at some point we can all help each other out! I will definitely keep it real on this blog so if you are thinking of applying, you will know what to expect, but do not let that discourage you because everyone says the stress is worth it! Since it is just the first week I don’t have a whole lot of insight yet so stay tuned! Until next time…