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Shadow Me Next!
Shadow Me Next! is a podcast where we take you behind the scenes of the medical world. I'm Ashley Love, a Physician Assistant, and I will be sharing my journey in medicine and exploring the lives of various healthcare professionals. Each episode, I'll interview doctors, NPs, PAs, nurses, and allied health workers, uncovering their unique stories, the joys and challenges they face, and what drives them in their careers. Whether you're a pre-med student or simply curious about the healthcare field, we invite you to join us as we take a conversational and personal look into the lives and minds of leaders in Medicine. Access you want, stories you need. You're always invited to Shadow Me Next!
Shadow Me Next!
2 - A Clinical Year Physician Assistant Student Who is Building Compassionate Healthcare Skills Through Experience | Audra Cotter, PA-S2
Discover the compelling journey of Audra Cotter, a second-year physician assistant student whose passion for healthcare was ignited at an early age in a household where psychology was a dinner table topic. Audra's path from EMT to PA student is a testament to the transformative power of hands-on experience and the invaluable insights gained from shadowing professionals in the medical field. As our guest, she candidly shares how her early exposure to emergency medicine has shaped her clinical skills and patient care philosophy, offering a glimpse into the foundational experiences that guide her steps toward becoming a compassionate healthcare provider.
Embark on an insightful exploration of PA school life as Audra recounts her didactic year—a grueling yet rewarding period filled with classroom learning and exams. Transitioning into her clinical rotations, she reveals the unexpected lessons from her time in general surgery, particularly in pancreatic and biliary surgeries, where textbook knowledge meets real-world application. Her stories highlight the critical role of clinical exposure in not just enhancing medical knowledge but also in fostering a deeper understanding of patient care.
In this episode, we also tackle the emotional landscape of PA school, delving into pervasive feelings of doubt and imposter syndrome that many students face. Audra emphasizes the power of mentorship and community support in overcoming these hurdles, sharing how a non-competitive environment and collaborative learning with peers can transform the PA journey. Her advice for aspiring PA students centers on savoring each moment and trusting the process, underscoring the importance of enjoying the present as each experience builds toward becoming a skilled healthcare provider. Join us for an inspiring conversation that offers both encouragement and practical insights for those considering a career in the medical field.
Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. At Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and secure your place in medicine.
Check out our pre-health resources. Great for pre-med, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-therapy students or anyone else with an upcoming interview!
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Hello and welcome to Shadow Me Next. This is a podcast where I take you into and behind the scenes of the medical world to provide you with a deeper understanding of the human side of medicine. I'm Ashley, a physician assistant and the creator of Shadow Me Next. It's my goal to introduce you to the incredible members of the healthcare field and to uncover their unique stories, the joys and challenges they face and what drives them in their careers. It's access you want and stories you need, whether you're a pre-med student or simply curious about the healthcare field. I invite you to join me as we take a conversational and personal look into the lives and minds of leaders in medicine.
Speaker 1:This is Episode 2, life as a PA Student, where we meet Audra Cotter, a second year PA student who is passionate about healthcare and has a wealth of experience to share. Before PA school, audra worked as an EMT, where she gained hands-on experience in emergency medicine and developed a strong commitment to patient care. Her time in the field laid the foundation for her clinical skills and deepened her passion for serving others. Now, in her final year, audra reflects on her didactic year, sharing effective study strategies and insights into the rigorous academic challenges she faced. She also discusses her second year clinical rotations, offering a behind-the-scenes look at real-world patient care. What makes this episode special is Audra's practical advice, not just for aspiring PA students, but also for patients navigating the healthcare system. This episode is packed with inspiration, actionable tips and an honest look at the journey of becoming a PA.
Speaker 1:Whether you're exploring a career in medicine or simply curious about what it takes to thrive in this field, this is an episode you won't want to miss. Don't miss out on these inspiring conversations. Subscribe to the Shadow Me Next podcast for automatic updates when new episodes drop. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Shadow Me Next for highlights from today's interview and sneak peeks at upcoming guests. Hi, audra, thank you so much for joining us on shadow me next today. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Thanks for having me. Oh, I'm really good. I'm very excited to talk to you and a little nervous, to be honest, because I feel like, as a PA student, you're in the thick of things right now in your clinical year and, to be honest, I'm a little nervous. Ptsd might call for talking.
Speaker 2:So if I start shaking, but no, tell me.
Speaker 1:So we're going to talk through so much and I know, with you being in school, there's so much to dive into, but big. I know, with you being in school, there's so much to dive into but big, broad pictures for our listener. These are the things that you and I are going to address and work through, so we're going to talk a little bit about you and your background and what brought you to PA school. We'll talk a little bit about first year PA school and what that means. We'll talk about second year PA school and what that means, which I think is where you are right now. Correct In your second year, yes, okay super.
Speaker 1:And then, if it's okay, I'd love to jump into some of the challenges that you faced and maybe some of the ways that you've seen yourself grow even in this short amount of time, and then what the future looks like for you.
Speaker 1:I know that probably feels a little daunting in the middle of your second year, but it'll be interesting to see what a second year PA student, what you're looking forward to in the next few years and then, generally speaking, maybe some advice that you might have for our listener when it comes to PA school or, generally speaking, navigating medicine. There's a lot of our listeners that are not necessarily interested in going into medicine, or perhaps they're just starting to explore the opportunity and it's been really enjoyable to get to paint a picture for them, something that you don't get necessarily if you just go see your NP or your PA or your physician. So how's all that sound? Okay, absolutely, that sounds great. Super, I'm excited, okay. So, audra, tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you to wanting to become a physician assistant.
Speaker 2:I am from a small town in Alabama knew from an early age that I wanted to go into medicine just because I thought it was very exciting, very ever-changing.
Speaker 2:My mom is a psychologist, so I grew up with a lot of mental health conversations, which I think was very formative for me.
Speaker 2:I wasn't exactly sure even in high school, beginning to shadow, if I wanted to do dental or med or PA.
Speaker 2:To be completely honest, physician assistant was something that I wasn't entirely sure about. I didn't have much information on it. So I spent some time in high school and college shadowing PAs and doctors and dentists, and I think shadowing is really what gave me the best idea for what I wanted to do long term, and just speaking with the PAs and hearing what their day-to-day life looked like, the abilities that they had within their jobs and then, of course, the ability to change within their profession to different specialties, was what ultimately was extremely appealing to me, and so I started getting involved with medicine. I was an EMT for a few years, mostly in college, just during the summers, got my EMT license and worked at a small rural fire department during the summer and then took a gap year and worked at UAB Hospital in Alabama under my EMT license, in the respiratory department there, and all of those experiences were incredible for me and, I think, ultimately what really led me to UF or PA school.
Speaker 1:That is incredible. What a cool story. So, working as an EMT is that something that you chose, because you knew you wanted to go into medicine, and it was like a preparatory phase.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I have so much respect for EMTs and paramedics that is not something I could do long term in looking at different ways to gain patient care experience and hours, which is so important for PA school. I thought EMT would be a great way to learn learn medicine in more hands-on ways, with patients responding to emergencies and it really took me outside of my comfort zone, which in hindsight I think really prepared me well for PA school now.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And that was my next question was did working as an EMT prepare you? I have. When I was in school, I had a few of my classmates who were EMTs and they just seemed like gods to me at the time because they were so prepared. I had worked for a few years as a medical assistant as well, so you know, I felt like I had a lot of good, tangible experience, but it was nothing compared to what the EMTs in my class were carrying into school with them. What have you? Do you have any examples of a specific instance where you thought carrying into school with them? What have you?
Speaker 2:do you have any examples of a specific instance where you thought, thank God, I worked as an EMT before this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I. In Alabama, which is where I'm from, there are different levels of EMT, and so I was able to get my advanced EMT license, which is one step below paramedic, one step above basic EMT, and essentially, with that you can start IVs and you have more range for medications that you're able to give as well. And so I think being able to start IVs do peripheral access, that's just one of those skills that you need as many touches as possible to get good at. And I still am not exceptional at starting IVs by any means, and I still am not exceptional at starting IVs by any means. But this past year, during didactic year of PA school, when we were doing clinical skills, that was something that I had some prior experience in and was able to put that to good use. So more hands-on skills have been very helpful coming from being an EMT, and that's something that I'm very thankful that I've gotten the experience to try prior to starting grad school, for sure.
Speaker 1:That is so neat. No, that's definitely something that I did not have the experience of doing before school. Do you have any classmates that got their patient contact hours in another way that you thought was really interesting and out of the box, or something that you thought, oh man, if I had more time I might've considered that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. One of the things that I've really loved about PA school is hearing everyone's background and their story and their experience, and so one friend that comes to mind. She was a full-blown paramedic for many years and her medical knowledge is just really incredible coming in. So she has helped our class in a lot of ways just with the emergencies and the situations that she's not only seen but also led as a paramedic.
Speaker 2:There are many medical assistants people that work in clinics. There are many scribes that are students that were previous scribes, and their knowledge of charting and note writing is just impeccable. So they're always the people that you can ask for charting skills CNAs. There were many people that worked in large hospitals in Florida as CNAs. So, even though they may not have had the same experiences in the hospitals, just knowing and navigating the role of a CNA with patients and hearing about some of the really high profile medical cases within the large hospitals in Florida there's just so many stories to go around. Everyone is awesome and everyone has these really cool background experiences, but it's really. It's just a great place to be in, an environment where you feel like you can constantly learn from your peers.
Speaker 1:Audra, without even asking, I feel like you just beautifully described medicine as a whole. That was perfect. I'm sitting here just honestly starting to get really emotional and really proud of what PAs are, because we really are a combination of all of us PAs at large. It does set us apart a little bit, and I think people are constantly saying how is a PA different from a doctor, how is a PA different from NNP? And I think there are definitely very poignant ways, but for me as a PA, it's the fact that we have such a varied most of us have such a varied background as to how we got to where we are, and I think the one thing that really drives us and pushes us as a PA student or as a pre-health person just trying to figure things out, is patient care and how we get to be involved in that in so many different ways.
Speaker 1:It's really wonderful, and you talked a little bit about what drew you to PA school, of course, but how was first year? So tell us a little bit about what first year is. There's two years of PA school and they're very different, right, so tell us about first year and how it was for you generally.
Speaker 2:First year is what they call didactic year, which essentially just means you are in the classroom, you are studying, you are taking exams, but you're also having lectures. Don't be fooled. You're still taking exams second year, but the first year is primarily where you're learning the bulk of your knowledge. So for my schedule first year, it was similar in a way to what undergraduate studies looked like. You are in class, essentially eight to five every day. Sometimes you get off a little earlier, but you're learning from lecturers. You're having professors come in and teach.
Speaker 2:Uf was really great about having experts in the field come in to teach us on their subject matters. So, looking back, I don't think I appreciated it honestly as much in the moment. But now, looking back from clinical year and seeing the people that they brought in to teach us for example, our cardiology section they would bring in a cardiothoracic surgeon or a PA that had been working in cardiology for 10 years and just having that access to knowledge from the very beginning of the material that you're learning, I think is just incredible, and just having access to ask questions from experts that have been in that field for so long was just really a great opportunity. So, yeah, you're doing lectures every day. You're taking multiple classes at a time, so of course you have medicine curriculum that you're taking. The different subjects change after you take an exam.
Speaker 2:So the first material that we covered was ENT and then we did a dermatology section, and the list goes on and on. Since you cover all of the medical courses. We also took a physiology course and pharmacology. So lots of studying between the two of those, but also really important for building just that foundational baseline knowledge of medicine. And then anatomy. So our anatomy class we called it Summer Anatomy Bootcamp because we did a mini master in the summer that was just six weeks long. Of all you do is anatomy, and I could just go on and on about the anatomy department at Florida. It's really incredible and award-winning, but very important for medical knowledge and for building just from the foundation of medicine the human body and building on top of the processes from what was taught in that first anatomy section. So I'll cut it short there because I feel like I could run on a tangent.
Speaker 1:I understand that. No, I get it. It's so much. And there's that proverbial drinking out of a fire hydrant. Yes, I think the information is unbelievable, but generally speaking it is so much harder than undergraduate studies. But it's, everything you learn is going to be applicable at some point, right.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I think that's what makes it so motivating. And while it's hard, it's something that you are absolutely interested in. Even some of those pharmacology sections we are truly we are interested in this sort of thing. It's what we've chosen to make our careers out of. So while it is hard, it's super rewarding as well. Okay, so that's first year, also called didactic year, and that's generally the same across from PA school to PA school and even across medicine. You're going to be learning the same thing. Now, second year are rotations and rotations. This one varies a little bit from program to program. The length of the rotation, I think, can vary, but generally speaking, it's about a month at each site. You have a core number of sites that you go to and for those listening, I would recommend looking up a couple of schools and then looking at their program and seeing what their core rotations are, because I think that is always very enlightening. And, audra, I think you're creeping up on perhaps the middle to the end of this now.
Speaker 2:Exactly, I'm starting my sixth rotation, which will be a halfway point.
Speaker 1:Halfway oh, what a mile. That's so exciting. Okay, so far, halfway, six rotations under your belt. Which clinical rotation has surprised you? Either positive or negative, obviously. We love positives, but we learn from negatives. So which clinical rotation has surprised you? Either positive or negative, obviously, we love positives, but we learn from negatives. So which clinical rotation?
Speaker 2:has surprised you. That's a great question, I think I would say so. My very first rotation was general surgery and going in you're not exactly sure how clinical rotations, how the year is in general. And for me, starting off in general surgery, I was expecting, I guess, general surgery, but my placement was pretty specific. I was in pancreatic and biliary surgery service at UF Shands, which was absolutely incredible and a really phenomenal experience and I learned a lot within that surgery service. But I was really surprised by how much I learned in a short amount of time.
Speaker 2:You hear, like you mentioned, you're drinking water out of a fire hose and that is absolutely true. In didactic year you're just studying and learning from the book and from the lecture. Learning from the book and from the lecture, but then actually seeing medicine at play in the hospital, in the clinic, with patients, and you see their face and you hear their voice and then with surgery it's in a way very intimate because you're operating on them. That solidified so much knowledge that I studied the year before and that now I know I'll never forget, because when I have a case or when I think about any form of I don't know pancreatic cancer, like before that was a textbook page that I brought to mind Now. It's a person that I've met and that I've seen and that I've had the opportunity to sit in an operation for. So that was really impactful to me and it really changed my outlook on clinical year and now clinical medicine just to see how quickly you learn from meeting people and just practicing medicine face to face with others.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that visual of learning about something and seeing something on a textbook page, and now it's a person.
Speaker 1:And I think that's why our second year is so important as a PA and that's why clinicals are so important for NPs and MDs is because it does. It cements what we have studied into our brains. I think we learn so much by association, and what better way than to meet people and learn about their disease processes and help be part of their care team and their treatment team? For those things, I think it's incredible. That's awesome. So you mentioned getting to stand alongside the surgeons and other PAs and other members of the healthcare team. Have you found so far, after six months, have you been pretty supported by the members of healthcare who are no longer students and this is their job and their career and how they make their paycheck? Do you feel supported by them as a student?
Speaker 2:Absolutely that's been. One thing that I was just speaking to my roommates who are also in PA school about is how quickly you gain confidence, even as a student. Now we're coming up at the halfway point and looking back at where I started in my first rotation, just being terrified really of how do I navigate the hospital, what am I supposed to say to patients. And then now I just came off of a primary care rotation and by the end of it I'm interviewing patients, conducting physical exams, making the assessment and plan and charting, and I feel comfortable doing that only because of how supported I've been throughout every single rotation with preceptors, with fellow students. It makes a difference the environment you're in and the people that are willing to teach you those things Preceptors. Luckily, all the preceptors that I have had have just been fabulous and very open to teaching and very willing to give back to the students and the next community that will ultimately be the face of medicine in the future.
Speaker 1:I was just about to ask you what makes a great preceptor, what qualities make a great preceptor.
Speaker 2:What?
Speaker 1:qualities make a great preceptor. And there you go. Of course, you're just. You're so fabulous about anticipating some of these, and I think they're natural progresses to question sometimes. I'm so glad that you have had a good experience. Let's, let's role play for a second, because I don't think you have such a positive attitude and a can-do attitude that I think it serves you so well and it probably has served you for a very long time. But what happens if a student doesn't have a great preceptor or if they're having a miserable time on their rotation? Are they locked in? Do they have options? Do you know?
Speaker 2:No, that's a great question and I think it depends on the situation, certainly, but one thing that I've learned just in the past few months is to speak up and just to communicate.
Speaker 2:So sometimes I feel like there's a disconnect in terms of if you have a preceptor that, a is not familiar with the physician assistant role Sometimes that happens, they're not certain what you have been taught or what you're able to do and, b if they're not used to having students, they may not feel comfortable kind of letting you interview their patients first.
Speaker 2:I think just sitting down with that preceptor and explaining hey, this is my expectation for this rotation, this is what I, this is my expectation for this rotation, this is what I'm hoping to learn from this rotation, these are the skills I would like to practice and, of course, at the end of the day, it is up to you how much you're willing and comfortable with letting me do.
Speaker 2:But also my goal is to learn from you in this rotation and further my skills as a clinical provider. And so I think working and just working with them and having that communication sets clear expectations and also boundaries where there's just no miscommunication in terms of am I seeing the patient? Do you want me to see this patient. Do you want me to just chart for you? There's been some instances where you walk in and they just want you to be their scribe essentially and it's okay to have that conversation Like I'm willing to help you as much as possible. I want to help you as a student and learn from you, but my role as a physician assistant student is to be the provider and practice those skills in this rotation. So I think setting clear groundwork from the beginning is the most important thing you can do in that situation.
Speaker 1:Gosh, isn't that true for literally all elements of life.
Speaker 1:That's incredible, audra.
Speaker 1:That's such a fantastic tip and, as you were describing that, I'm sitting here thinking I have used that exact same tactic and it's a tool, really, of self-promotion and confidence and setting expectations.
Speaker 1:I've used that exact same tool when speaking to hospital administrators as a PA, when speaking to my own supervising physician, when speaking to other surgeons in the OR.
Speaker 1:If I'm assisting with a surgery and we've had to call in another team, for example, in GYN, sometimes we have to call in urology, okay, or perhaps trauma surgery sometimes, and really making sure that that person, that surgeon, knows that you are in fact very much up for this job, willing and able to assist and help with this patient's care in any way, shape or form. And then, audra, we can even take this to patients right, you mentioned the fact that sometimes preceptors are not fully and completely aware of what the roles of a PA are or what our strengths are, and I speak with many patients weekly, and sometimes even some of my friends who call me asking about hey, what's this, what's this person called a PA that I've seen now instead, of my doctor and it's such a fun for me, it really is such a fun moment to get to step up to the plate and say let me show you who a PA is and let me show you what a PA does and how we can help.
Speaker 1:And I'll be honest, most of the time those patients walk away so thrilled about their care, about how they have a care team that includes not just one person, it's a PA and a doctor most of the time, or a group of PAs, so it's fantastic. I love that. I thought that was that's such a great, that is such a great tip. Fantastic. What, what? How do you prepare for a rotation? Does anything go into it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, great questions. I we get information ahead of time. We're supposed to contact our preceptors and they will send us essentially a guide in terms of where we should show up, what we should expect, what the hours are, what we need to wear, etc. At most I'll look through past lectures that we've had in didactic year just to jog my memory in terms of the rotation, but generally it's a pretty quick turnaround. So today, in fact Thursday, we'll take our end of rotation exam and then we'll start our next rotation on Monday.
Speaker 2:Most of the time I'll give myself the weekend off from studying and then be really excited to jump in headfirst on the first day. Other than that, in terms of preparation, I will review the slides from the year before, be familiar with the location where to show up what they're expecting of me. If I'm nervous about the rotation or just want a little bit more information, I'll text or just get in contact with either students that have completed that rotation prior to me or my mentor, who graduated this past June, and the class above us is an excellent resource in terms of what to expect and how the preceptors teach you in that rotation. So I'll get into contact with one of them and just ask, hey, what should I be aware of? Is there anything I can do on the front end to really succeed? But other than that, I just see how it goes on the first couple of weeks.
Speaker 1:It's always so exciting, isn't it? You have to have such a posture of learning on rotations, and you said earlier that you do still take tests in second year, not just first year, and that's true. But it feels like on rotation, it feels like every day almost, is a test of your clinical skills and your book knowledge and your interpersonal skills. You know your ability to communicate emotionally with patients if they need that, or unemotionally with patients if that's preferred. It's a lot of fun. Rotations are so giving and you can take as much out of them as you possibly can, and it still would never be enough. You'll end up wanting more from every rotation, so I'm so glad that you're having a good time with them. What's the next one? I'll start psychiatry on Monday. Psychiatry, wonderful, and are you doing?
Speaker 2:inpatient or outpatient psychiatry, do you know? So it's a mix of both. I'll start inpatient at Shands and then move to the VA for a week, and then I believe I get some afternoons of outpatient psych.
Speaker 1:So it's a good little mix. Oh, that's fantastic, that's very cool. We're going to start diving into some of the more fun questions about, like your personal growth and some challenges that you've experienced. But before we do that, in the middle of these episodes it's called quality questions is this little segment and I like to ask you if you have had an interview question at any point up until right now in your career. Have you had an interview question at any point up until right now in your career? Have you had an interview question that has stood out in your mind either because it was fantastic or because it was miserable or anything in between. Have you experienced that?
Speaker 2:I think one. So one that is very memorable to me was if you were given, if you inherited a million dollars and you could split it up however you wanted either to invest or donate or keep what would you do with that money that? I remember that because of how stressed it made me. I'm not a financial or like monetary investment person, so I just remember thinking, oh my goodness, I'm not gonna get in here because all of these people that understand like crypto and investment are gonna know what to do, and I have no idea what to do with money. But I just I talked through it and I ended up getting into the program that I interviewed for, so maybe I answered it better than I thought Amazing, amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, those questions can be so hard, and I think sometimes it's because it feels like it doesn't really apply. And then sometimes I had the exact same question. Audra, that's so funny. I had the exact same question for my UFPA school interview, although they had said how would you use your million dollars to improve medicine? And, of course, to me a million dollars is a gargantuan sum of money, but to the medical field.
Speaker 1:It's almost like pennies, right? Yes, so it was a group interview and I remember blessedly I did not have to answer first but I remember a couple of people and their responses and as soon as they spoke about finding a cure for cancer or something like that, I thought a million dollars would be a fantastic contribution to help find a cure for cancer. But it's not enough. You know what I mean, and so I think that those questions when sometimes when it feels like they don't apply, they can be really tricky to answer, and a lot of times I just encourage people to work through them verbally and, just if you don't know your answer, then highlight your ability to think and highlight your ability to process Because, to be very honest, that's going to be so much fun for your interviewer to watch and to listen to and bring them along for the ride.
Speaker 1:If you can get them involved, so that's a fantastic one. That would. Yeah, my stomach hurts thinking about that question. Let's talk about how you feel in PA school, and we don't love talking about our feelings, but you're in the thick of it, audra, and I think so many people are so excited to be in your shoes right now, and reflection is a beautiful thing and also a really scary thing, but have you, up till now, have you experienced any moments of doubt, and how did you work through them if you did?
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, I think, and I've spoken with many classmates regarding just imposter syndrome and the difficulty of PA school and really no one is going to sit down and honestly tell you oh yeah, this is an easy year. This, you know, isn't taking any stress or extra time, it's an investment. That's what I tell people thinking about going into PA school. I have viewed it as a full-time job and I think that's been really helpful for me, coming off of taking a gap year where I did work and spent so many hours a week at a job. For me going into a two-year program at US, it was okay, this is going to be your full-time job for the next two years, and that has been really helpful. Just to set the framework of my mind in terms of completing tasks. And so that would be my first advice is just know, going in, that this is going to take a significant amount of your time and resources, but if you have prepared on the front end and interviewed and done all of the things to get into PA school and you are accepted into a program, then that is an incredible feat just in itself. And so that kind of ties into my second point of doubt, or just imposter syndrome. It is a very real thing and, like I spoke about earlier, just comparing yourself to your peers, it's really not worth it.
Speaker 2:One of the things that I love about PA school at UF specifically is it is very non-competitive. They put a lot of intention into making sure that the class feels supported by one another and is aware that they're not competing for matching spots or jobs or programs You're already in. We're all graduating with a degree, the competition is over, and so that has helped me feel very connected with my peers and with my cohort and, honestly, everyone is going through the same thoughts Like it's more beneficial just to share. Hey, I'm struggling with this concept. I'm not really sure how to study for this anatomy section. What's working for you? Can I group study with you? Those are skills that are important to learn how to study, because studying in PA school is likely going to be different than how you studied in undergrad. It takes time to learn that, and the best way to learn that, I think, is by communicating with other people also.
Speaker 2:But another thing that I really want to highlight is PA school is so much fun. It's really the last time in your life that you are going to be in the exact same situation as 58 people around you. Everyone is going through the exact same thing that you're going through. Everyone understands how hard you're studying, everyone just gets it. So really cherish the time that you have with those people, because you become so attached to them and you are all emotionally invested in one another.
Speaker 2:And then as sad as it makes me think to say it out loud when you graduate everyone's going somewhere different. You're not going to be with them every day or see them as much anymore. But also really cool to think about in the future how many specialties and fields of medicine are going to be impacted by your cohort. And it just makes me excited to think, hey, if I'm in primary care and I have this crazy presentation for cardio and I'm not sure what's going on, what if I can just call up my friend that I was in PA school with that is now working for a specialty cardiology clinic and just chat with them? That's an incredible resource just in itself to have friends that are going to go into different fields of medicine as well.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Absolutely. I do that. Now it's been 10 years since I have seen my classmates and I still they come up in conversation to this day. So-and-so is practicing in this field, One-and-so is practicing in this field and we do.
Speaker 1:It is so collaborative and the network extends far and wide and it just keeps getting bigger, which is so important the support that you get from your classmates, from your professors in PA school. I'm so grateful that you highlighted the fact that it is honest, genuine support. They are invested in you becoming a fantastic healthcare provider and it will happen once you're in. And I do think that makes things a little bit different. We don't have class rankings. We're not all trying to get into the same programs, so to speak. After we graduate from PA school. After we graduate from PA school, we're going to start seeing patients and we're going to pick the field that speaks to us the most. So I think that is so fantastic. Audra, this will be the last question, but if you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting PA school so they've already been accepted what would you tell them?
Speaker 2:Okay, that's a great question. I would say enjoy it, soak it up every day and, honestly, I would say, focus on the day that you have today. I think the anxiety of looking forward and stressing about things in the future took away from some of the experiences that I had in the day-to-day. I spent just time being anxious about what clinical year would look like if I would do okay, if I would be prepared. And clinical year is so much fun. I wish I didn't spend a single second stressing about it. And exams they come and go. You study, you pass, you move on. Focus on what you're going to learn that day, who you're going to speak to that day, what experiences you can have that day, but don't let your worries carry over into tomorrow. It's just not worth it.
Speaker 1:That's so great. I love that so much. And you're right, each day brings its own. I love that so much.
Speaker 2:And you're right.
Speaker 1:Each day brings its own and some days it's a whole lot and some days it's a whole lot of fun, but the experience overall there is an end goal and the end goal is such a fantastic thing and that's the fact that we get to treat patients and we get to improve their lives just by being in it with them, and it really is an amazing field and I am so excited that you are in it and that you will be a practicing PA in the next half year Unbelievable, my goodness. That's so crazy to hear. It's fantastic. Audra, thank you so much for taking the time out of your insanely busy schedule to speak with us on shadow me. Next, the time out of your insanely busy schedule to speak with us on shadow me next.
Speaker 2:It has been amazing, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I've really enjoyed answering the questions and getting to speak with you.
Speaker 1:Thank you so very much for listening to this episode of shadow me next. If you liked this episode or if you think it could be useful for a friend, please subscribe and invite them to join us next Monday, as always. If you have any questions, let me know on Facebook or Instagram Access. You want stories you need? You're always invited to shadow me next.
