Wow- I can’t believe I’m saying that I am finishing up my last month as a PA-S1! This summer we have focused on skills we will need as we move into our clinical year and begin practicing real medicine on real patients. It has been so exciting to apply the knowledge we have learned and practice procedures that will have immediate benefit on our patients’ lives. Some of the things we have learned in the past month- sutures, nasogastric tubes, foley catheters, lumbar puncture, casting and splinting, intubation, chest tube insertion, FAST ultrasound, incision and drainage, injections, and IV insertion! That’s a lot, right?! We have learned the indications, contraindications, and potential complications of all of these procedures and have a basic knowledge of how to perform them. As physician assistants, we will be licensed to perform all of these procedures (and many more) on our own for our own patients. Did you know that PAs also prescribe medications and assist in surgeries?
My class also had our first OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Experience) this past week! It was our first experience getting to talk to a real patient (actor) and practice applying our skills. We had 20 minutes to interview, examine, and create a plan for our patient. I was SO nervous for it, but getting to practice what I will actually do as a PA was so fun and made me that much more excited for clinical year! (Will I still be nervous? Yes) I’m looking forward to a short break before getting into the clinic!
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