Two Years in Review

Didactic year is tough, anyone will tell you that. We sit in a classroom Monday through Friday for up to 8 hours a day. We learn so much information from professors and guest lecturers, it is truly like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. Our program does an excellent job of hands-on training, we started learning how to take a history and perform the physical exam the first week of school. This is what laid the foundation for us to be the best providers for our patients. The biggest surprise of didactic year was growing so close to everyone. I speak for everyone when I say how thankful I am for each person in our class. Even though we spent the majority of our time studying, we still found the time to support and celebrate each other.

Clinical year consists of eight rotations, each six weeks long. We came back to campus every 6 weeks for testing. It was always fun to come back and hear everyone’s stories about diagnosis they had made and procedures they had done. Preceptors share their time and knowledge with students, which is the best gift any student could ask for. We were able to put in chest tubes, intubate, suture, hold a beating heart, educate patients, and learn our own style of medicine. Medicine truly is an art, and I know any PA student will tell you that. We have seen birth to death, and many things in between. Our journey in medicine has just begun, and I know the MSU PA class of 2022 will put our knowledge to good use to serve our communities well.

 

Thank You 

As we have wrapped up two years of vigorous work, we would like to pause and reflect on those that got us here. We would like to thank LeAnne Snow for guidance before we even stepped foot in O’Reilly 101-you are a big part of all of our stories! We would like to thank our professors: Kimberly Cook, Nathan Miracle, Andrea Applegate, Shannon Hauschildt, and Katelyn Maben. Thank you for leading our cohort to success in the didactic year, clinical year, and beyond! You have been patient with us in this learning process and our encouragers! Thank you to our program director, Dr. Canales, for being available to share your guidance to each of us amongst your responsibilities. Sincere thank-you’s to our administrative staff, Donna, Ben, and Kathy, for answering the many emails and paperwork that got us into our rotations. As for clinical rotations, a big thank-you to all of our preceptors for sacrificing your time and sharing with us your wisdom, correction, and expertise. Without each of you, we would not be where we stand today— taking our PANCE exams to add that C to PA-C! We hope to humbly step forward with our experience and pour into the future cohorts of physician assistant students.

 

Advice for Future Classes 

Class of 2023,

I am so excited for each of you as you begin using all that you have been studying rigorously for the past year of your lives. Clinical year was a special one. My advice to each of you would be to take every single opportunity you are given and never allow clinicals to become mundane. Walk into clinicals every single day eager to learn. This year is full of opportunities if you are open to accepting them. No matter how incapable you feel, say yes. Say yes to every procedure, seek out opportunities, and never forget that you are capable of much more than you know.

Have grace with yourself as you learn this year. You will make mistakes and there will be questions you do not know. Sometimes you will work long hours and feel like throwing the towel in. But I promise this is going to be the most exciting year of your life if you look at it from the right perspective. Every day you put your white coat on, remember how much responsibility it holds and be excited to learn. Never forget how fortunate you are to be in this position. You fought so hard to be here, and I am so excited to continue following along each of your journeys.

 

Class of 2024,

Don’t blink! The next two years are going to be the most challenging of your life, but if you let them, they will also be the best. No one can ever prepare you for what you are about to do, but I promise it is going to be so worth it. The first piece of advice I would give is to remember that your identity is so much more than ‘physician assistant student’. Don’t forget to make time for your family, friends, and the things that make you, you. The next two years will push you to your limits at times, but you are going to make the best memories. Document it all and take a million pictures! Allow those around you to support you when you need it, it is all going to be okay.

Looking back, physician assistant school was the best two years of my life. I am overwhelmed thinking about the lifelong friendships you will build, the memories you will make, and the things each of you will experience practicing medicine. I know you are all nervous right now, and that’s okay. But just know there are so many people cheering for you. The next two years are going to fly by, make the most of it. You’ve got this. Welcome to the Missouri State family!