Better day ...

So, the second day of pre-clerkship bootcamp was better than the first. We did have a lot of talks about HIPAA, medical errors and electronic medical records, but at least there was no reading aloud from the handbook and no more discussions of professional attire. The speakers were generally quite engaging, and they did the best they could to make rather dry topics engaging, while still getting serious points across (such as: never ever post anything about patients on Facebook! Duh!) 

The panel of PAs who are preceptors and students who just graduated was really intriguing and encouraging. They did not suggest that clinical rotations are a piece of cake, but they made them sound engaging and worthwhile, and they told us that if we pay attention, do our homework and show up on time (big thing: never ever be late!!) we will be fine. I think I can handle that. 

I am still worried about whether I can handle ingrown toenails and subungual hematomas loss of consciousness (on my part, not the patient!), but I am determined to try. Good thing the first rotation is internal medicine: lots of blood gasses, acid-base chemistry, diabetic medications, but not likely to see any bloody nails. 

In the meantime I am on my way to reorganizing my office, putting away the piles of notes and printouts that are the detritus of the didactic phase. And I am lining up my books for the clinical rotations: I promise myself I am going to read about the specialty in which I am working every day. AndI am going to carry around a notebook to jot down questions, meds to look up, conditions to research and other relevant info. 

For now, I am also excited to plan my triathlon season. I wrote a long e-mail to coach Kelly, and I can't wait to hear back from her. And I have been reading Matt Dixon's The Well-Built Triathlete: excellent resource! Dixon is so insightful and sensible: I really want to incorporate his advice in my training, and it is good to know that coach Kelly is on board with that too. So, here are my (provisional) resolutions with regard to learning from Dixon: 

1) rest and recovery must be taken as seriously as training; I want to do my best to keep a regular sleep schedule, and incorporate meditation as a tool to decrease the stress burden. 

2) nutrition needs to be better planned: whole foods throughout the day, less sugar, more consistent eating for recovery during and right after workouts.

3) strength work must be a regular part of my training, not just an off-season activity.  

Ok, I think this is a good start. I need to do more reading to come up with more specific ways to put Dixon's lessons into action. Til then... 

A very trying day...

I hate to say it, but I really hated Pre-Clerkship Bootcamp today.  I was all set to be introduced to the challenging, inspiring world of clinical rotations, and instead I got bored, depressed and finally left with a colossal headache.
I still don't know how to use my pager, I cannot seem to log in right to do the EPIC EMR training, and I am dreading another 8 hours spent reading aloud from the student handbook (seriously: that's what we did today for a good portion of the morning! 3rd grade was more sophisticated than that!).

I left feeling demoralized, dispirited and sure that I am going to be one incompetent, miserable PA student on rotations. How can something that should be intriguing, inspiring, challenging but exciting turn into such a disheartening experience?

Let's hope tomorrow is better ...