Excited and Proud

So, not sure if you have been reading my blogs over the past 2 years or not, but I had an incident at school 2 years ago.....

I was going to school full time to become a physician's assistant. The class load was very tough! I had an issue with one of my classes. I tried to study on my own and that didn't work out so well...There was way too much material that had to be covered in a very short amount of time! Anyways, I didn't meet the minimum requirement of 80% on my exams and lo and behold, I was dismissed from the program! I know, I know....It seems harsh. However, I take full responsibility for what happened and I am a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason".

I cried my eyes out and felt like a big loser for a good couple weeks....But I sought out my therapist and talked things over with her and got back on board! I knew that I was going to start re-applying to schools all over the country! I want to be a PA!!

I have taken some classes over to gain better base knowledge, I have attended study skills workshops such as time management, note taking and one on learning styles...I researched a lot of information on learning styles online and discovered that I am more of a visual/kinesthetic learner and that I prefer pictures/graphs/charts to the written or spoken word...I have also discovered that I will no longer take my computer to class and that I will hand write all of my notes (remember like we used to back in the day!!), I will be shadowing a wonderful PA at the Henry Ford Hospital downtown....

I re-applied to 4 programs this past year and received interviews at all 4 schools! I was turned down by 1 program, but was put on the alternate list for the other 3 schools....I finally received a call last week from my 1 choice!!! I am in!!!!!!! I am back in!!!!!!!! And it just so happens to be the school that let me go 2 years ago!!

Micki and I stopped in to share the good news with one of my ex professors and my ex advisor and they remembered me!!! It was so good to visit with them and to have them meet our son! They reassured me that I will do great this time around and are so happy that I am in the part time program!

What a great feeling! Micki and I have been on cloud 9 since we received the call last week! I am so proud of myself for pushing forward and not letting this experience stop me from pursuing my dream of becoming a physician's assistant!!!









Q. What is a Physician Assistant (PA)?

A. Physician assistants are health care professionals licensed, or in the case of those employed by the federal government they are credentialed, to practice medicine with physician supervision. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and write prescriptions. Within the physician-PA relationship, physician assistants exercise autonomy in medical decision making and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. A PA's practice may also include education, research, and administrative services.

PAs are trained in intensive education programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) .

Because of the close working relationship the PAs have with physicians, PAs are educated in the medical model designed to complement physician training. Upon graduation, physician assistants take a national certification examination developed by the National Commission on Certification of PAs in conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners. To maintain their national certification, PAs must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and sit for a recertification every six years. Graduation from an accredited physician assistant program and passage of the national certifying exam are required for state licensure.