First Impression of the Fall Semester Classes

Now that the first two days of class have come and gone, I'd like to write some initial thoughts on each class.

Path 693 - Advanced Microanatomy
In this histology course we will be looking through microscopes to be able to identify types of tissues and eventually recognize different pathologies of tissues. This class seems like it's going to be pretty interesting. It's almost like the microscopic counterpart to our anatomy lab during the spring where we dissected cadavers, but this time we are looking at the microscopic world instead. If given the choice of either studying from pictures or from texts, I'd choose pictures every time, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. This first class we just had a review of what most of the tissues in the body look like under the scope and we will be expected to identify them based just on looking at the slide. Some of them are pretty tricky, such as differentiating between thymus and parathyroid. Just as with the gross anatomy lab, I'll probably come in on the weekends to review for this class by looking at the slides in my free time.

Micb 702 - Microbiology
I'm lucky to have taken both a basic microbiology course and a medical microbiology course during my undergraduate years, so this will be my third time taking a microbiology related course. So far, the lectures have been a lot of review for me, perhaps even basic. The course is broken down into 4 sections which we'll be covering in order; immunology, antibiotics, "systems" approach to disease and oral microbiology. We share the class with the dental students, so the last quarter of the semester will focus on the oral bugs like Candida albicans.

Psio 743 - Fundamentals of Physiology
This so far looks to be a very intensive and in-depth class on physiology. Many of the topics that we've covered so far I had already learned during cell biology; things such as homeostasis, microtubules, organelle function and nutrient transport. But, the pace of the class has been blistering fast. This class would probably be better aptly named as, "Esoterics of Physiology" because later on in the semester if I can't keep up I am sure I will get lost.

Path 620 - Clinical Pathology
This class also looks to be challenging for me. It is a class that explores many of the tests done by clinical instruments. I'm sure that my classmates who are medtechs will have little difficulty with this subject. We will need to know given reference values, procedures and understand what results mean for all sorts of laboratory tests such as urinalysis, clotting tests, Pap tests, genetic screenings and so on. There is a ton of data for this class and I may have to rely on some more intensive memorization sessions for this subject.

Mtec 465 - Clinical Laboratory Management
Although it's not technically a science class, it still looks like an interesting one to me. As PAs, we will often be put in supervisory positions or move on to management positions and this is a class on how to manage a laboratory. Things like how to hire a person, how to get through all the various paperwork of running a lab, how to comply with regulations and how to make a budget for a laboratory will be covered. As of right now, I'm more interested in learning how to gross tissues, but there is a certain allure to working as a manager. I've never taken a management course before, but it seems that many of the topics that we'll be covering on paper we already do in our daily lives without thinking about it.
For example, we covered in class today about the concept of Management by Objectives, or MBO. It's a step-by-step process in which one sets specific goals to be accomplished so that everyone knows what their role is and how they can achieve it. Every step needs to be documented on paper such as; 1) what the objectives are, 2) a way to measure the degree to which the objectives were reached, 3) when they were reached and 4) how well did everything work out. We do all of this in our heads everyday without thinking about it. Take for example buying a computer. You need to ask yourself, why you need a new computer? (eg. because the old one broke down.) How are you going to get it? (eg. look online for the best deal that suits your needs.) How are you going to pay for it? (eg. stop eating out at restaurants for a couple months.) How are you going to become proficient with it? (eg. use it right after you buy it so you can get used to the new version of Windows-omega) When were you able to use it proficiently? (eg. two days after buying it.)
Anyways, the above scenario is just something that we automatically do every day, but in this class we are going to be putting those thoughts onto paper. This "must write down on paper" mentality must be one of the reasons for rampant bureaucracy, but it will be interesting to finally learn it.

There are two other classes that we also have but they haven't begun yet, so I'll write about those when the time comes.


It's interesting to note how even though all PA students in all of the programs across the country are awarded a Master's Degree upon graduation, there seems to be some variability between the types of courses between each program. Even at WVU the courses that previous students took here isn't exactly the same as the ones we are taking now. It seems that previous graduates didn't always used to have an advanced microanatomy (histology) class, but those previous students were eager to correlate what they were seeing grossly with the microscopic world, and so the teachers were kind enough to create this class for us now. As awareness of the role of pathologists' assistants becomes ever greater, programs are growing and evolving all the time to keep up. If any of you readers have attended or are attending a different PA program from another school, I'd be interested in hearing what your classes were and how they are similar or different from the ones here at WVU. Feel free to leave comments!

Tomorrow will be the first day of the rest of my life.

It will also be the first day of the fall semester. It's about time we got back to work. I was becoming tired of filling my days with mind-numbing time wasters like internet surfing and getting lost on youtube.

Today I was reading all of the schedules and syllabi for our classes online and I can tell that this semester is going to be busier than the spring semester. I'm not opposed to being busy, I just don't want to be so busy that it begins to affect my performance negatively. (*cough* summer semester *ahem*) So while I am enthusiastic to begin our studies anew tomorrow, a part of me is filled with mild trepidation.

In an effort to preserve my sanity, I will try to change my studying methodology. In the spring, I made hundreds and hundreds of flash cards using a program called "Flash Card Manager". You can do a simple google search to download a trial version. Flash cards really helped me out for the anatomy course and even the anatomical techniques course. The drawback of having made so many flash cards is that the process of making them took up about the same amount of time for ice to melt in the Antarctic. I'd wager that as much as 1/3 of my studying time during the spring semester was spent just on creating those cards. They proved to be worth it though, not just for my test scores, but now I have a personalized flash card resource for whenever I need to look up something that I had already studied. This semester, instead of focusing on flash cards, I'll make an effort to add my own notes and scribbles to the powerpoint lecture handouts. It won't be as refined as before, but it should be able to pull me through while maintaining some semblance of a work/play balance. (90% work / 10% play is good enough for me.)

As mentioned earlier, I was looking through the schedules of our fall semester classes and one seems to have piqued my interest. Our clinical laboratory management course will have us working on quite a few reports and projects, such as trying to balance a budget and how to choose which laboratory tools and software to use. I think that this course in particular will offer us some interesting role-plays to work through. Upon graduation, most PAs begin their careers working at the bench. After a couple of years they may move on to higher supervisory or managerial positions. In the off chance that we accept a rural position and we are the only PA in the laboratory it's good to know that we'll be better prepared to deal with how a laboratory is run in addition to all of the usual things that PAs do at the bench.

Still no word back from the AAPA about my request to list states with PA job opportunities. I'll need to get on their case.

Fall Semester Schedule

Well, I was really looking forward to writing a post about which states that PAs are especially needed, but honestly I don't have the material yet.

As a student of the PA Program at WVU, one of the first things that we did at the beginning of our matriculation was to become members of the AAPA, the American Association of Pathologists' Assistants. Us instant-cup-ramen eating students are given a lucky break in that application fees are lower for us, but I can't remember the figure off the top of my head. Anyways, the AAPA website has a very useful page that only members can see which is a job listing specifically for pathologists' assistants. Laboratory managers from across the country can post an advertisement on the AAPA Job Hotline page for a fee and have quick access to every potential pathologists' assistant applicant. Right now, there has got to be a little over 2 dozen job listings. (If you come from a nursing background you are probably laughing, but it's quite a good number for how few PAs can be accepted into and graduate from these programs.) I wanted to report which states these advertisements are coming from, so I sent an email to the AAPA. I requested their permission to post on my blog how many advertisements per state were there, but unfortunately I haven't received a reply yet. When it comes to private information, one can never be too careful, so I'll try sending them another email within a week if I don't get a reply.

Now that we have successfully registered for the fall semester, I had the time to write out a simple schedule of our classes. Looks to me like it's going to be another busy semester, as expected. 

I'm sure you are all in awe of my prowess with Excel. The Path 610 course won't begin until September 19th so it isn't listed here. We will also be attending pathology conferences with the medical school residents from time to time, so I expect those will be scheduled Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. Wednesdays look to be a little lighter in load, but I know already that we will be using that time for catching up on studying. Unlike the first semester where some of our classes ran until 6PM, this semester, all of our classes finish by 3PM. I think of it as a mixed bag. We will be finishing classes earlier but our mornings are going to be more compacted. Altogether, it's 17 units, but they are going to be some pretty tough units. School starts on August 22nd, so I should study ahead of time during this final week of vacation.

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Update 8/20/2011

Looks like my original schedule was just a tad off. For those of you who are really interested, here is the actual schedule for this year.

Interviews galore this week.

Well, just a little over one week of vacation has passed since the final exam. I'm spending my time here in Morgantown, incidentally, to the benefit of my school's PA Program. The professors here are completely swamped with interviews for next year's class and lucky for them, I and a few other students have volunteered to help out.

Some of you who are reading this might actually be one of the candidates to come for an interview. Many of you so far have commented that the directions for getting to room 2149 were really helpful, so I'll post a convenient link to it for you all right here.
http://pathotoko.blogspot.com/2011/06/interview-process-for-wvus-pa-program.html

I'd like to mention my thanks to all of the applicants who have come so far! It's always my pleasure to introduce a little of the PA Program at WVU to you all.

This week I'm volunteering to help out with 1-2 interviews per day from Monday to Friday. I'm sure that I'll get many more chances to meet some of our aspiring applicants.

Aside from the interviews, I must confess something. I've fallen into temptation once again. That is, it's only been one week off of school and already I'm reading textbooks again, even though it's our break time. I can't seem to help it. It must be in my genes.

So I ordered some of the textbooks that we'll be using for the fall semester and I've read a couple of chapters into our microbiology text. This class, I believe, is going to be surprisingly interesting. We PA students will be mixing with the dental students to take a microbiology course which has an emphasis on the oral flora. So far, the text has been very basic. It's either that or my experience in microbiology during my undergraduate years
must have somehow stuck in my mind. In any case, the text is an easy read and a great refresher for all the basics that I learned back then.

As much as I love pathology, it needs to be said that I have a soft spot for microbiology as well. My mother was the one who introduced me to the laboratory sciences. I would accompany her to her workplace at the Fresno County Public Health Department during the summers of my elementary school years and it really impressed me. What 6th grader wouldn't be awed by bacteria? I even did my science fair project on it. Later on in college I volunteered to help with research at the microbiology lab at Fresno State University and then moved on to working at the microbiology department at Fresno Community Medical Centers, so microbes and I go a ways back.

I must say that it was always fun working with the clinical laboratory scientists/medical technicians, but there was always the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that if I screwed up I'd contaminate the whole lab with a lethal pathogen causing the evacuation of our entire city and leading to the destruction of the world as we knew it. Nonetheless, good times were had.

Alright! The summer semester has finished!

And none too soon. My head was beginning to go bonkers from the non-stop studying.

But, it also feels strange to have stopped studying, if that can be believed. My schedule up until Friday at 10AM (the time of the final exam), had been filled solely with studying pathology. I always knew what I would be doing in the mornings, afternoons and evenings of everyday. My daily calendar was filled with studying and my life revolved around it.

Now, with the conclusion of the final exam, all of the sudden my daily schedule seems to be out of synch. Where once I never had to plan on what to do (as it was always just studying), now I am actively looking for ways to fill my time. The whole world seems to be open with possibilities for these next four weeks until the fall semester starts. I wonder if this is how people feel when they retire. It's almost as if something inside is missing. It must be that habits are hard to break and once a person who has been ingrained in a certain way of life is taken out of their familiar environment, they feel out of place and perhaps even empty. If I'm already rambling-on about this subject after only 7 weeks of intensive pathology studying, I wonder how it's going to be when I finally retire 30-40 years down the road. I'm done for. I can understand a little bit now why some people choose to never retire. I'll just have to wait and see if I'm one of those people.

But in the meantime, I as well as all of my classmates have plenty of things that we need to catch up on. I've decided that I won't be going back to California this vacation in an effort to save money. Although a big part of me would like to see Hanako and my family, my previous experiences living away from home have given me the fortitude to live independently. I'll be just fine here in Morgantown and I'll find plenty of things to do. Or, I might just start studying again in preparation for the fall. Oh, I wish that were a joke. I'll give myself two weeks.

One Last Dash

Only two more days to go until our final test! I'm giddy with excitement. Only a little bit more and we can kiss goodbye to days defined by "all day studying", for now.

I'll say, this has been the most challenging course so far in my entire educational experience. The sheer amount of material to know in such a small amount of time is mind-boggling. I earnestly salute the medical school students and residents who are able to do this for years on end. I would suffer from burnout long before the end of a single year, which is actually what I'd like to talk about after this final exam is done and over.

Thanks as always for your support!

Studying Pathology and Hypochondria

Now that the summer semester is nearly over, our progress through Robbins is rapidly coming to an end. Even though I'm certain that we've learned a lot, for some reason it feels like there is always more that we don't know than we know.

One of the things that I've come to enjoy about studying pathology is that the things that I learn here can also be applied to improve my own personal health. Just as a mechanic usually knows what's wrong with their car when it is having problems, a person studying medicine (especially pathology) usually knows how their body works and what to do to avoid, diagnose or treat disease. However, studying about cancers and  fatal diseases day in and day out can really begin to have an impact on how you view your body and how you take care of it.

For the layperson, taking care of your body consists of eating healthy and getting regular exercise. But, for medical professionals and students who know every single cancer, syndrome, disease and infection that can afflict the human body, just eating healthy and getting exercise isn't going to be enough to allay your troubled mind.

I've always been conscientious in taking care of my body. I don't smoke, I don't eat or drink in excess and I try to go for a jog as often as possible. But now, I've noticed that perhaps I am taking too many unneeded precautions while I go about my day.

1) Lately, whenever I've gone outside on a sunny day I always either wear a long-sleeved loose shirt or I apply sunscreen to my face, ears, neck and arms. Wouldn't want to get skin cancer.

 2) Whenever I walk by a person with a cigarette or a car that has a lot of bad exhaust I hold my breath. Wouldn't want to increase my risk for atherosclerosis, chronic bronchitis or emphysema let alone one of the countless lung cancers.

3) Whenever I buy groceries, if it's available, I choose a product that is sugar-free, non-fat or reduced calorie (sugar-free syrup or sugar-free jelly for example). Wouldn't want to develop Type II diabetes and all of the associated pathologies that go along with it.

4) Whenever I go into someone's basement or attic I always wonder if there's radon present. Wouldn't want to develop bronchogenic carcinoma.

The four types of bronchogenic carcinomas are squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, small cell carcinoma and large cell carcinoma.

5) When I'm studying in bed for long periods of time, I constantly move my legs around. Wouldn't want to develop a deep vein thrombosis.

The patient's right leg is edematous due to a clot in one of the deep leg veins.

6) Lately, I've taken up the habit of avoiding cheese and any milk that isn't non-fat milk. Don't want to increase my risk for prostate cancer with all the hormones that companies inject into chronically lactating cows nowadays.

The white spots you can see is the cancer, probably an adenocarcinoma.

7) I've also stopped eating butter and most greasy foods like fried chicken. I don't want my coronary arteries or aorta to get clogged up like this.

In this aorta, all of the yellow debris are plaques of cholesterol due to atherosclerosis.

So as you can see, with knowledge comes a bit of apprehension. There are many more bad things that I haven't shown because I don't want you to lose your lunch. You don't want to know half of the things we study when it comes to venereal diseases.

I realize that, to some people, I may be going a bit overboard in how I conduct my life now. It's somewhat similar to the person who watches crime and courtroom dramas on TV all the time and then they worry about their house being the next to be burglarized.

So how should one conduct their life when they know about all of these bad things that can happen to their body?

The answer, for me, must lie somewhere in-between the extremes. I'm in no hurry to become the archetypal doctor who smokes, nor am I in any hurry to starve myself and start a diet of caloric restriction to live longer. I'll continue to mostly eat healthy and enjoy my occasional apple pie. (As a matter of fact, I'm eating just that right now as I type this. Now I need to run off the calories before my arteries start clogging. There goes my thinking again. See what happens when you study pathology?)