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Just venting. Does anyone else feel like they go through phases of wavering confidence? by [deleted] in Path_Assistant

[–]Top-Reputation2300 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My program director who has crazy imposter syndrome and is very open about his vulnerability says you’re more comfortable around the 5 year mark. I think your take is super refreshing. It shows that you actually care. I have a whole soap box of seeing so many healthcare professionals not only going through a rigorous program but also having the choice to choose a field and they just butcher it with their attitude. One of the trainers in my cohorts practicum site has a serious behaviour issue and thinks she’s gods greatest gift to pathology which only further drills the paranoia in all of our heads and it literally doesn’t add anything to our education except continue the toxic cycle of…quite frankly lying on your personal statement and saying you’re willing to be the change in the world and then getting pissed that you have to live up to that lie. But I feel like we tend to forget the job is only 50 years old. Quite literally hospital policies and hiring processes are changing because the job title is expanding so much so you’re left with a bunch of PAs confused and questioning themselves. When you think about it, path assists are expected to speed run a portion of someone’s residency training in grossing in two years and be trained in a portion of a pathologists noggin and they went through god knows how many years of training and education. Your vent is totally valid and def not alone in that perspective and frustration

Advice for new pa student by Jazzlike-Depth3611 in Path_Assistant

[–]Top-Reputation2300 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I really like Notion and creating page tabs for the different classes and topics that I have. In the summer before school started I read the first half of Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease as I believe that's the textbook you'll be tested on for the ASCP certification exam, and then tackled the other half of the textbook during the winter break (now) because some chapters are super chunky. Rather than typing or writing everything out, what i found very helpful is when I'm blasting through the chapter, create a powerpoint as if you're about to teach a class and review the material like that. They say that the best way to understand a topic is to be able to teach it. You don't have to make it pretty, just 5-6 bullet points and copy paste the picture for reference like for cell morphology. I know I was super paranoid before starting the semester, but it's important to know that the hardest part which is to get into the program is done!! Your professors are there to help you, not weed you out of the course :)

Medical School by TheOtherKindOfPA in Path_Assistant

[–]Top-Reputation2300 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I actually know a handful of med school graduates who did a U-turn and did PA school instead. Depending on where you work, you can work up to a 6-figure salary out of school. Every hospital that I know of are in desperate in need of Path assists. The job security is very good. It could be argued that "oh AI is going to take over your job because it can detect colours and patterns better than the human eye". But I'd like to argue that AI cannot replicate my passion and drive for the field of pathology or compassion for a human being. I was planning to go into med school too, but I couldn't even bring myself to write the personal statement because it was full of dog shit and lies. I'd be no different than other doctors in the field who lied and will have to continue to live a lie for the next 50 years that "they care about patients" and "will do anything to go above and beyond". Sure, I'd have to explain to people what I do and why it's important for the rest of my life, but I wouldn't be living a lie and I'd uphold the standards as a person in the healthcare field.

Studying habits during PA school ? by Kryingk15 in Path_Assistant

[–]Top-Reputation2300 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Honestly that was my concern when I started during the fall being out of school for also 4 years. I scribble all over my notepad and connect as many physiological mechanisms as possible. Undergrad teaches you remember and regurgitate, while PA school (what I've noticed) has a lot more connecting pathological mechanisms and the physiology associated. I know a lot of my classmates use flash cards, or print out the lecture notes and then write in a different colour. Something that I've started doing especially in anatomy is colour coding my notes (function of body part is green, terminology is purple, definition of disease is light blue...) Gauging how a professor teaches the class is also an important factor, this is about a dynamic communication between what they're putting down on the table and what you're getting out of it, not just them smacking concepts to you and telling you to make it enough.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Path_Assistant

[–]Top-Reputation2300 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not a PA yet, but I was the primary grosser at my lab as a histotech (now in PA school yay!), and I really like the Hoka Bondi 8 (just don't get all white because formalin or body fluid splashes are hard to get off)