First Semster of PA School

Ok, so it's been awhile since I posted.  It's also been six weeks since I started PA school.  WHAT?!!! Where did the six weeks go?!  Why haven't I been posting more about my experiences?! What the Hell?!

Let me begin now.  Six weeks late.  (sheepish grin)

June 2, 2014.  A day that changed my life forever - the first day of PA school.  Honestly, the first day was pretty boring.  It was an orientation day full of a bunch of rules and explanations of what the next two years of our lives would be like, along with paperwork to fill out.  We had a chance to meet our professors as well as introduce ourselves - that was so nerve wracking.  A simple "Hi, my name is Tricia" with some quick facts about myself left me literally shaking! but it was fun to meet everyone.  Tuesday started the first day of anatomy. Our anatomy class is structured as a hybrid, meaning our professor pod casts the lectures for us to watch the day before we go into lab to dissect.  There are some dissections that we skip due to time restraints, so on those days we have a traditional lecture then go into lab and look at models.  So,  for the first day of class, we basically had an introductory lecture and then went and looked at a few models in the lab. Nothing special, just something easy to get us going and oriented with things.  Wednesday we dove right in and started with a back dissection.  There are six "tanks" (cadavers) with two groups of 4 assigned to each tank.   Each group has an hour to dissect and we take turns on who starts first every morning, so some mornings I get to sleep in!  The first day of dissecting was a little weird.  It was just a lot different than what I thought it would be like, and it is a lot harder to find structures than you think.  I honestly thought I would like lab more, but I really don't like to dissect.  I like to look at the structures after they are found and cleaned up, but our body has so much fatty tissue that it takes forever to find anything.  It is too tedious and time consuming for me.  :o)
The first week of class flew by and took a lot of adjusting and figuring out, regarding how to study and what to study.  We were all freaking out by how much material we had to know and in how little time we needed to know it, which is pretty common.  We basically have to know a different body area every day, or put another way, we are learning in eight weeks what most medical students learn in one year.  Needless to say, there were multiple freakouts per week/day/hour/min.  :o)   Our exams are every two weeks, and for the first exam we covered the back, chest and arm - learning all the nerves, blood vessels muscles and bones for each area.  I am happy to report that I passed without having to re-mediate.  We have to get an 80 or above on our exams or we have to retake them.  If we get below a 72 we get an academic warning, and after four warnings we are kicked out of the program.  This year they implemented a new policy that warnings are left on a students record even if you retake and pass the exam, so this adds a little more pressure. 

Our class is pretty inclusive and helpful towards each other.  I can be sitting at a table studying and another classmate will sit next to me and we can start studying.  Then another group will come in and join us.  Everyone has pretty much divided into their own little groups, but everyone welcomes anybody that wants to join in on the study session.

The second exam covered the head, neck and lower extremity with a little bit of the spinal cord thrown in.  The triangles of the neck were covered in the last week before the exam and everyone was freaking out by how much information we had to know.  A group of us stayed after class for three hours trying to get it figured out.  I didn't do as well on this exam, but I still passed!

The third exam, which we took today, covered all of the cranial nerves, oral cavity and thoracic cavity.  I won't find out until Wednesday how I did, but I am hoping I passed.  We have two weeks left and one more test to go! until a three week break and before we start back up in August.  My brother is going to visit for the first week and the other two weeks I am going to relax and enjoy it while I can!  I have been working every other weekend over the summer, but I am really hoping I can quit it August.  It worked out that I work on the weekends we have a test, so I don't have much to study those weekends, but when the fall starts, I am pretty sure I won't be that lucky.  Plus, I don't think I'll have the energy.  I am really hoping some things change so I can quit in a month. 

Well, that is a very short and jumbled version of what has been going on the past few weeks.  It has been full of a ton of studying, but it has all been a great experience.  I will try to go into more detail in a couple weeks after classes end.  :o)

Final Countdown....

Now I have that song stuck in my head.  Maybe I'll crank it up on my drive to school and run up the stairs like Rocky when I get there.  :o)

So, I haven't updated the blog in awhile, mainly because nothing has been happening.  I have been really enjoying my down time the past few months, working here and there and getting my nieces off the  bus after school.  My first day of class is June 2nd, and I can't believe it is only two weeks away! 

I bought my anatomy books and lab coat I think I have everything ready to go.  I already have my first reading assignment and will be doing my first bit of studying later today.  Yes, I still have two weeks before class starts, but I want to figure out how long it takes me to read and take notes so I  can figure out my study schedule.  I also want to figure out how I want to do my notes, as I am pretty sure I will be doing them differently than I did in undergrad - mainly due to time constraints, you know the whole "study smarter, not harder" thing. 

My first PA school books and lab coat!

It still hasn't really hit me that I will be a PA student soon. It still feels like a dream, and I admit I'm a little nervous about all the studying I am about to be doing.  I know there is no way to prepare for it and it will take a lot of continuous adjusting, but it's the realization that I have no idea what it's really going to be like and that is the scary part.  As "scary" as it all seems, I am excited to meet all my classmates and look forward to getting to know them better this next year.  I don't make friends very easily, as I am a bit of a loner/wallflower/awkward person, but since we are all in the same boat rowing towards the same goal, I am hoping I will be able to fit in and make some friends.  I was definitely NOT in the "cool" group in high school.  I had two really close friends and I got along with everyone, but didn't fit in with any specific group.  I'm sure part of it was because I moved schools the end of my sophomore year and you know how it is when you are the "new" person in a small school where everyone grew up together - the outsider.   Hopefully there will be other dorks in the class I can hang out with.  :o)

I talk about my workouts and such on this site, so I might as well continue.  It's not like I have many people reading this anyway.  ha ha
In order to keep on track with my dieting and training over the summer with classes starting up, I decided to join in on a couple of body challenges.  One is through bodybuilding.com and the other is through drsarasolomon.com.  My goals are to lose the last bit of fat clinging to my hips and thighs, as well as build my legs up a bit and start seeing more definition.  Today marks the first day of both contests and they will run until the end of June. The challenges came at a great time as I have been pigging out on a lot of sugar and pizza and basically fell off the wagon.  I needed something to motivate me to get back on it and stay on it.

Now, if only my front looked as good as the back.



Some random photos I wanted to share - I bought a really cool case for my phone and it came today!  It's my school colors and I am sad by how excited this makes me. 

I also made some homemade body butter using coconut oil and almond oil. It's so easy to make and I love how soft it makes my skin.  Just whip up some hard coconut oil with a blender and add in a little bit of almond oil until it's nice and fluffy! 

That pretty much sums up what I have been doing the past month or so.  I also started a second part time job doing paperwork for a trucking company.  I'm not sure how long I will keep it or how it will work out with my classes, but it would be nice if it all fit together.  I only have to go to the office once a week for a couple hours to complete invoices and file.  It's not bad at all, and the extra money is very much needed.  The second week I started, one of the trucks was in a minor accident and is out of commission until his truck is fixed.  There are only two trucks, so this cut my workload down to half for a few weeks.  :o)

Well, I think I've rattled on long enough and I should start my reading.  It's going to be rough getting back into the swing of studying!

High Five for Friday!

1. Organization!


Now that I am not working full time I have had a chance to finally organize and de-clutter some things around the house.  I went through the tote I had all of my school stuff in and purged all of my old notes and cleaned up my binders in preparation for classes. I moved them out of the tote and into a cupboard upstairs. I also bought some nifty little containers for all of our DVD's and I was able to get rid of the big shelves that took up so much space.  I kept one shelf for all of our series sets and my workout videos and brought that upstairs.  It feels so nice to have all the movies in one place!  For the past year they were in limbo between being upstairs and in the basement. 

I also rearranged some things in the kitchen to take advantage of all the cupboard space we have and to make things easier to get to.  I also went through all of our pictures that were hiding in totes and put what I could in photo albums so we can actually look through them.  I sort of feel like I am a pregnant women "nesting" with all the organizing I've been doing!

2. Finally after a year, I decided to hang a few pictures on the walls in the living room.  I was really enjoying the clean look of bare walls, but with all the free time on my hands I finally decided to put something up.  Part of the reason  I didn't hang anything sooner, was because I couldn't decide what I wanted to do. We only have a couple walls to hang stuff on, and one is pretty good sized and the other has an alarm system in the middle of it.  I felt like I didn't have anything to put in the big space, and wasn't sure how to work around the alarm, but today I just picked something and went with it.  Eventually I will get something else, but I think it will work for now.

3. On Tuesday, I met one of my future classmates for coffee.  I was so excited when she messaged me asking to meet!  We really hit it off and even talked about meeting up for dinner on Friday.  I'm really excited that we got along so well, as we are the only two that live in Hutch, plus it will be nice to actually have a friend who lives in the same town.  Neither of us have many friends, so I think it will be nice, plus and having a classmate live in the same town opens up study session options and we can even carpool, which will be really nice and save some money on gas. 

4.  I have been patiently waiting for our school packet to arrive, and in the meantime I have been perusing other PA blogs and forums to see what books everyone really recommended on top of the required books.  One came highly recommended and was even required for some schools, so I broke down and got it.  It is Study Without Stress: Mastering Medical Sciences .  I have only read a couple of chapters, but so far it is really helpful.  It’s a little expensive, but so far it seems worth it. 

5. Monday the weather was so gorgeous!  It was in the high 70's, so I took advantage of the nice weather and went and sat out on the patio. I let Bubbs run around the yard while I sun bathed and just relaxed and enjoyed the afternoon. I'm not quite ready for summer, but I would love if we had about five months of 70 degree weather.  Would not hurt my feelings one bit!

5a.  Last Monday, Brad and I went out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  They had .99 margaritas and I had to indulge a little.  They were so good!  Recently, I found some tights to go with one of my sweater dresses, and since we were going out, took the opportunity to get dressed up a bit!  This dress is so soft and with the leggings, it's so warm!  I absolutely loved this outfit, but hate that I look a little poochy in the pictures.  Oh, well. 

Intermittent Fasting and Staying Fit

Even though I have not talked about it on here in quite some time, I am continuing to work out and eat as healthy as I can - most of the time.  I have been pretty good with the eating part until this past month. Sitting around the house and not having a set schedule every day really messes with my appetite and food cravings. I'm an intermittent faster and I recently switched to the Alternate Day Fast, where I eat a small meal (25% of my calories) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and then three larger meals (125% of my calories) on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and I keep Sunday a normal eating day.  It's also called the Up Down Diet, and you can read more about it here. So far I have seen some good results with this lifestyle, however it's definitely a lot easier to do when I am busy at work and not sitting around the house! I have been playing around with fasting for about a year now.  I started with the 16/8 – fast for 16 hours, eat during 8 hours, then moved to a 20/4 method, which I really like and will probably go back to once school starts, but I decided on the ADF type of fasting after reading this article from BuiltLean.com, and after Dr. Sara Solomon tried it and raved about her results.  The article basically summarizes different fasting methods and looks at which one is better for losing fat while maintaining muscle mass, and it seems the ADF method is the better method. So far I like this method because it is kinda nice not having to worry about what to cook three days out of the week, it’s very flexible and I am really seeing results.  

March 2014:

These are from August of 2013:

 Last year in January I weighed 118 pounds, and today I weigh109.  I went from somewhere in the neighborhood of 24% body fat, down to just under 18% and I can now fit into my "skinny" jeans that I haven't been able to fit in for three years.  This isn’t a typical fad diet where you lose 10 pounds in two weeks, keep it off for a month or at least long enough to look good in that little black dress, then go back to your regular eating pattern to only gain back 15 pounds.  It is a slow and steady, flexible lifestyle change.  I try to eat as healthy as I can, but there are definitely times where I have a few pieces of pizza, or a burger or a candy bar.  The things is, I don’t eat these things all the time and I when I do, I just get back into my fasting schedule.        

On my "fasting" days, I like to eat a small pre-workout meal a couple of hours before my workout  Research has shown that working out after eating a small meal helps burn more calories up to 24 hours AFTER the workout, versus working out on an empty stomach.  Keep in mind, however, that working out fasted will help you burn more calories DURING the workout.  I want to burn more calories afterwards, so I usually eat my small meal before. 

My workouts are a combination of full body HIIT with and upper and lower body split for weight training.  I rotate between Hot Body Method, Bender Fitness  and ZWOW routines depending on the day.  On Monday and Thursday I do the Hot Body Method workouts.  These are pretty intense HIIT style full body workouts that vary between using bodyweight and weighted routines. They are pretty similar to the ZWOW’s, but I feel they are slightly more challenging. Wednesday I reserve for stretching or Yoga. Tuesday’s and Friday’s I do the Bender Fitness strength training workouts . She has a variety of workouts including HIIT and yoga, which I've done in the past, but right now I am using her weight training workouts for strength and endurance - Tuesday’s are leg days, and Friday’s are arm days. Saturday’s I do a ZWOW for more full body HIIT training, and Sunday is my rest day.

After the workouts I either do a finisher – a short intense combo for extra burn, or a mile run depending on my mood.  I'll do a finisher if I don’t feel like running as they are a little more fun, challenging and sometimes shorter!

Here is a weekly breakdown:

 

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
Rest	Hot Body Method w/Finisher or run	Bender Fitness Legs w/run	Yoga Or Stretching	Hot Body Method w/Finisher or run	Bender Fitness Arms w/run	ZWOW w/Finisher or run

This was pretty much my schedule for the past month.  I really like the combination of full body HIIT with the weight training.  I feel like I am getting in the fat blasting resistance cardio I need, as well as the muscle building I want at the same time.  It also makes for a bigger variety of workouts and I definitely won't get bored. My goal is to lose the rest of the unwanted fat around my midsection and gain a little more muscle in my legs and arms by June.  Then, once I’m in school I can cut back my workouts to maybe three times a week and stay in maintain mode. The workouts I do are pretty short, so I feel that three times a week is doable… it’s just a matter of not feeling guilty that I’m working out and not study for that 20 min!

Work and Waiting

Not much has happened since the last time I posted. I’m still waiting for the e-mail/packet from WSU telling me what the next steps are, what books to get and what equipment is needed.  I’m actually excited to see the book list – how big of a nerd am I?   

Brad finally went back to work and I have been filling in at the rehab house.  One of the aids there recently had knee surgery and they will need extra help for a few weeks, so I decided to pick up a few to help out.  I enjoy the extra money, but I was also looking forward to a little down time before school started.  I wanted to use the time to go through our totes in the basement and organize things a bit, as well as go through all my old school supplies and books and figure out what I need to restock. I know I have three months before school starts, but I also know that it will be here before I know it!  I think I only have a couple more weeks to fill in, so I better enjoy the extra cash while I can.  

I haven’t been working a set schedule, and I am finding that I really miss having a routine.  I’m the type of person that likes to plan and do certain things on a specific day – for example, I like to do laundry on Sunday that way I have clean clothes for the week.  With this “fill-in” type schedule, I never know what I’m working until a day or two beforehand and it makes it hard to plan ANYTHING. It feels so weird to do laundry during the middle of the week, or to clean the house on a Wednesday.  I know it sounds funny, but after seven years of working 8-5 with weekends off, aka being spoiled, it’s hard to get used to a fluctuating schedule.  Even with the crazy schedule, the perk of getting home at 3:00 in the afternoon is pretty hard to beat. 

Well, I think I’ve rambled on enough for now. :o)