Tuesday, January 17, 2017

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…

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