It's been good...

So, no major news. Oh, wait! Yes, there is! I made an 88% on my first Pathophysiology test. I felt good about the test, and it showed. Technically, according to the PA program grading scale, that's an A! Anything 87% and up is an A! I will take it!

One more piece of minor news (apparently there was more news that I thought!)... My brother moved back in with our parents last weekend. That left Mike and I with an extra room--which I converted to my office! I miss my brother, and I know Mike does too. But, on the other hand, it's amazing to have a place all my own to do homework and study....

Things have been going smooth. I have no complaints. I read a lot, and that's not going to chance. I just wanted to post an update. Unfortunately, I have a huge amount of testing coming up in the next few weeks. It's midterm time already. Can you believe it?! I know I can't!

One last thing... It was 69 degrees outside, and I was fortunate enough to get out of class at 2:00. I went for a 3 mile jog... It was bliss. I think it will help me study better too! Back to the books!

The end of week 5...

So, it's been a rough week. First, I reveled in the 95% in Clinical Assessment. Things were off to a smooth start. Then, I was complacent with an 82% in Anatomy lecture--I wanted more, but I settle for that and vowed to do better. I was angry and confused with my 70% in Anatomy lab.

Then, the biggie... Physiology on Wednesday. I got the score today... 50%. That's right. That's even WITH a curve. What did I do? I cried--like a little girl. I cried to Mike. Then I called one of my friends to make sure the grades were actually posted correctly (which, they were), and I cried when talking to her. Then, I cried to Mom and Dad.

....Sigh... *wiping tears*

Even with all the studying I did, and all the confidence I had, I can't believe it.I am not going to panic yet. Mom said I shouldn't panic. I think that's a good idea, considering it's only the end of week 5. Dad encouraged me. They are the most supporting people I have ever seen. I call them on my good days, and I call them on my good days. I love them. I have the greatest parents in the world.

I have a three-day weekend. I am going to gather the troops, rethink my game plan, and put together a strategy for the next two years. I am reminding myself, "This is all I want."


This picture is from my graduation from SBU. They got me through then, and they will get me through now.

Coming home in tears...

So I had a hard day today...

I got my Anatomy lecture test back--82%. I got my Anatomy lab test back--70%. I wasn't totally displeased with the 82%. In fact, I felt that it was accurate. However, I do feel that if nearly everyone in the class misses an answer because it was one of the two correct answers and the professor felt that everyone should have picked "C" simply because she likes that letter better than "A" (even though she stated that this was a correct answer), there should be some displeasure. And there was. The worst part is, before trying to explain herself about that one particular question, the professor had stated that she would credit a question if half the class missed it. THEN she refused to say that she would give credit for the so-called botched question. :( It's not the fact that we all could have had 2 more points, it's the fact that we have been dealing with those kinds of things for 5 weeks already. She informed us that because some of the class had done well on the test, she was going to make the next one fill-in-the-blank. How thoughtful.

As for the lab test, I WAS disappointed. I felt okay going in, but I felt better about it when I left. I thought that it had went well. When we were handed our tests back by our lab "assistant," who is nothing more than an undergraduate student, we were told that the lowest score was 68%. That means I was the next lowest score. When there were a few questions about how certain things were pinned and labeled, we were told by our UNDERGRADUATE LAB ASSISTANT that, because we were graduate students, we weren't able to argue about our grade like we did in undergraduate courses. THE NERVE.

The stipulation in the PA program is that we can only accumulate 9 credit hours of a "C" grade before being excused from the program. I realize that we have a long time to go in the semester. But, with the physiology test on Wednesday (yeah, the one that is a TOTAL foreign language to me), I feel like there is a strong chance of making a C in Anatomy and a C in physiology. Let's do the math. Anatomy--6 hours. Physiology--3 hours. YIKES. Just the simple realization of this has made me realize my mortality within the PA program. Again, I must remind myself, this is ALL I WANT.

I tried studying with three people from my class this afternoon. After listening and contributing very little to their intellectual conversation, I found that I have a lot to learn about physiology before Wednesday.

Wish me luck for Wednesday. I apologize for the sarcasm. I just don't like coming home in tears.

By popular demand...

By popular demand, I am taking a break from studying for my Medical Physiology test to give an update! :) I had a busy week at school, including two lecture tests, one anatomy lab test, and THREE extra hours of medical physiology lecture back-to-back in addition to the regularly scheduled hour we had previously in the day. By the end of the 4 hours of Physiology, my brain was fried from what seemed more like a foreign language than the subject of cardiac action potentials we were actually studying!

Let me preface this by saying, I CRAVE quiet when I study. I NEED it. So, when Mike traveled out of town for his job on Wednesday and Thursday nights, I seized the opportunity to study to my heart's delight. It was... well... amazing.

One more preface: I entered undergrad as the valedictorian of my class. I had above a 4.0 GPA. Needless to say, I had high expectations. However, when I got my first test score back in undergrad, I was devastated. My very first test score--58% on a Chemistry I test. I immediately started doubting my potential in college. That's it--I was destined to fail out of school at the end of the first semester. Luckily, my mom and dad are the rational ones and wouldn't let me do that. I guess considering the fact that I made it grad school, things turned out okay. :)

My Clinical Assessment test was on Thursday morning. This class basically involves learning the "art" of examination and history-taking of patients. There is a clinical procedure that is followed by care-providers. There are an enormous amount of questions that a care-provider asks (just listen next time you go into a doctor's visit!). We were tested over this and the skin and also how it is examined. We also viewed slides for certain skin anomalies. Some of these slides were less than appetizing. Don't know quite yet if dermatology is the place for me. :)

On Friday morning, I had my Anatomy test. That afternoon we had the lab portion of the test. There is something interesting about going into a room with 7 cadavers who are helping you learn--post-mortem. I have never had cadaver lab before, and I didn't know how I would handle it. It's actually quite amazing to get into a cadaver's body and find differences among the other bodies in the room. I have the utmost respect for anyone who donates their body to science. This is one of the best ways to learn.

So, without further waiting, my score on my FIRST test in grad school--Clinical Assessment--was 95.2%!!! I was so pleased. I think there was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I think a little relief goes a long way. I haven't recieved my scores for my Anatomy lecture or lab tests yet--those are to come on Monday.

My next hurdle is Wednesday--Medical Physiology. If I get past that test, maybe, just maybe, I will survive. Now, back to studying...