Hello readers! As promised, I would like to tell you about my recent trip to Washington D.C. Early Sunday morning of this past week, two of my classmates and several students from the QU PA Class of 2013, along with our program director, head down to D.C. for the annual American Academy of Physician Assistant Capitol Connection Conference. This conference focuses on PA advocacy—and what a gratifying experience it was!

During our first two days in D.C., we attended information sessions that recognized certain matters regarding the PA profession that need legislative and staff support to optimize patient care provided by physician assistants. We attended these sessions to prepare for the meetings we had scheduled on Wednesday with legislators and staff members on Capitol Hill. During the information sessions, we learned about advocacy and it’s relevance and importance to the PA profession. We learned techniques to advocate effectively and became knowledgeable of certain areas revolving around the PA profession that need legislative support.

For instance, one of the major topics revolved around PAs and hospice care. Although physician assistants are trained and capable of providing hospice care, when a patient elects to use the Medicare hospice benefit, the PAs providing care are not reimbursed for their services. Therefore, if a patient has a PA as their primary care provider, this not only creates a discontinuity of care, but also creates significant distress for a patient at a time when they are most vulnerable. Another issue we became educated on was making PAs eligible for Medicaid EHR Incentive payments. This incentive was initially designed for physicians, dentists, and nurse practitioners, with the idea that PAs would be grouped with the physicians. However, this is not the case. This is a glitch in the writing and requires further modification in order to optimize healthcare provided by PAs. The other two areas we learned about revolved around enabling PAs to care for federal workers injured on the job and also ensuring continued federal support of the PA educational programs through Title VII. As you can see, these are all important matters revolving around the PA profession and it was great to be a part of PA advocacy and work for change to enhance patient care.

After preparing to meet with staff and legislators, we head to The Hill on Tuesday for our scheduled meetings. We met with staff from Connecticut to discuss the several areas of concern. It was a great experience! We organized our thoughts ahead of time and each of us students participated to effectively get our points across. The staff members were all very interested in what we had to say and showed enthusiasm in our ideas and concerns. It was a rewarding experience. Especially when Rep. Rosa DeLauro met with us and explained how she loves the work we do as students and future health care providers and supports the PA profession. So awesome to hear!

Although advocacy was the main focus of the trip, it wasn’t just about meetings and information sessions. It was a time for us to build the QU PA Team. We went out to dinner, went sightseeing, and shared tons of laughs together! There was never a dull moment and I enjoyed getting closer with my classmates and getting to know to some of the first year PA students. I’ve always considered the Quinnipiac Physician Assistant Program to be a unified team and I loved having the opportunity to strengthen the unity we share.

--Stephanie Colella, Physician Assistant Student 2012

Wait it’s 2012? And it’s ALREADY February!?” These are the thoughts that have been consistently flying in my head lately. I cannot believe it! The time just seems to be zipping by right in front of me. Today, was the first day of rotation 7 for us second year PA students. That is, 7 out of 9. Seriously, when did we come so close to the end?

We had our 6^th “call-back” this past Friday. We took an exam and met with our professors to go over certain upcoming events, such as community service events, projects, papers, exams, etc. So as you can see, although the end is approaching, there is still SO much for us to get done and so much for us to accomplish. It’s an exiting feeling, but definitely can be overwhelming. In just a few months we will be approaching the end of PA school and the beginning of our career. It can be quite scary. For me, I have not ever taken a break from school. In fact, when I graduated from Quinnipiac with my bachelor’s degree, I started PA school the following week. So it’s quite an interesting feeling to ALMOST see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that we just have a few more months!

You might think that hearing this, makes us second years approaching the end develop a little bit of “senioritis”, but in fact, I think its quite the opposite. We have all these things to do, and all this “stuff” to cram into our brains. Within months, we will be expected to care for our own patients and their lives will be in our hands. With that said, there is no room for slacking, but only room for improvement and growth.

PA school is a fast pace learning experience. However, I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity. I just finished my 6^th rotation. I was assigned for internal medicine to the Hospital of St. Raphael’s in New Haven. I was very excited to be assigned to this hospital, because believe it or not, I was actually born there! It was a great experience. The first 4 weeks, I worked with the residents and was helping take care of patients in oncology. It was an extremely interesting and rewarding experience. The patients were so appreciative of everything that we did. Not to mention, I learned not even one thing everyday, but it seemed that every minute I was learning something else. After those 4 weeks, I worked with the physician assistants on a medicine floor. Again, a similar experience, but these patients seemed to be in and out of the hospital much quicker than the oncology patients. Still, both were great experiences. In addition to taking histories, completing physicals, developing differential diagnoses, learning the appropriate therapeutic regimens and management plans, I was also able to learn bedside procedures such as arterial blood gases and lumbar punctures. Everyday was a new adventure and I am very thankful for another great experience.

So as you can see, being a Quinnipiac PA Student, is definitely demanding. We have pretty intense schedules and a great deal of commitment. However, it is an amazing and exhilarating adventure.

In a few weeks, I will be traveling with several classmates (including both first and second year PA students) and a few members of the Quinnipiac PA Faculty to Washington D.C. to promote advocacy for PAs. Hopefully in my next blog, I can tell you all about this experience. Until then, thanks for reading!

-Stephanie Colella, Physician Assistant Student 2012

Hello readers! Today, I wanted to share some more information about clinical year, but on a much more detailed level so you can develop a greater understanding of the experience we are given.

I am currently beginning my 4^th week in my primary care rotation. I am working with one physician in a private practice in North Haven, CT. A lot of the work consists of health management and prevention. It’s been an enjoyable experience for several reasons. First off, the patients are very appreciative and have really opened up to me as a physician assistant student. They are welcoming, which allows me to feel as if I can truly help with the management and treatment plans. In addition to the welcoming patients, the staff I have been working with has been extremely helpful. The medical assistants are always willing to lend a hand and have made me feel as if I am part of the medical team. Another benefit of my current rotation is the time that my current preceptor spends on the details in order to enhance my learning experience. Everyday I am broadening my knowledge base and fine tuning the concepts I have already learned. Also, there are plenty of resources to use while at the office to help me better understand any diagnosis or management plan.

So what else am I learning that can’t be taught in a textbook? Well, over my past few rotations, I have learned to always be skeptical of what is going on with a patient. Although the common things are common, it is important to also always consider the less common diagnoses to explain a patient’s signs and symptoms, as we live in a world of uncertainty. This is why it is so important to develop a differential. Formulating a sufficient and appropriate differential is what I think is one of the more challenging skills, and something that comes with practice and experience. It requires one to pull together all the key findings and complaints and to then determine what might be causing it all.

Lastly, I thought this would be a good time to mention some encouraging thoughts. I’m sure after reading the first-year PA student blogs and doing your own research, you understand the level of intensity that exists within a PA program. However, I want to take this time to explain how important this first year is and how much it helps in your second year as a PA student. I remember there being days last year, when I would think to myself “how on earth am I ever going to know all this!” and the truth is, no one will ever know it all. But we do all surprise ourselves at times in how much we really know! There are things I did not think I even retained last year, but there are concepts and ideas buried in my brain and each and everyday as a physician assistant student completing my clinical year, I pull more and more of it out and apply it. Learning and practicing medicine is a continuum and the process is endless and limitless!

As you can see, things are really moving along as a 2^nd year physician assistant student!

- Stephanie Colella, Physician Assistant 2012