Clear as Mud.

My new home away from home: Stanford University!

After my first week of PA school at Stanford, I have learned one very important thing:

As my roommate, Julie, so eloquently put it, “Apparently PA school at Stanford is really hard.” 

Okay, so maybe I have learned a lot more than that, but that is the most important thing I can share with all of you.  Accepting that this is going to be not just hard, but exhausting, overwhelming, and at times, downright awful has been a huge learning experience. It was probably the most overwhleming and emotionally exhausting week of my life; from moving away from Jake (my fiance!), my friends and family, to adjusting to California living, to force-feeding my brain with 13+ hours of medical knowledge daily... it was an adjustment to say the least.  However, I made it through with minimal tears shed.  (By minimal I mean daily, of course!)

To sum up my first week:

1.) The professors will not tell you specifically what you need to know.

2.) They will tell you that you should not focus on the details.

3.) However, they do tell us that they expect us to know everything (details included, of course).

Clear as mud?  Yep.  I thought so too.

Oh and most importantly...

4.) This “everything” must be learned by each Friday when we have a weekly exam. 

I know, I know, you’re saying that I should have expected this and that of course PA school was going to be hard.  Well, yes, thank you for pointing that out.  Now THAT is a clear statement that actually makes sense.  

Jokes, frustrations, and confusion aside, I love the program.  My professors are amazing, the program is well laid out and I feel like I am learning from the best, amongst the best.  My class of 44 is so great!  Everyone is very helpful and supportive.  We WILL get through the next 21 months.  It just might... No, let me rephrase that.  It will be the most intense (and sleep-deprived) 21 months of our lives.    

Stanford's beautiful campus

On the plus side, my living situation is amazing! My roommate (house-mate) Julie is also in my program and she is the most amazing person I could imagine living with! And Palo Alto, although it is no Alaska, is a perfect home-away-from-home.  Constant sun, a HUGE running and biking community, and Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods just a bikeride away? What more could I ask for?!  All is definitely well on the home-front!  :)

The next two years will be the most challenging I’ve ever experienced, but I know it will ultimately make me a stronger person and a well-educated PA.  

Okay, on that note.... back to the books. I feel guilty if every SINGLE moment of my day isn't devoted to learning. Enough time away from studying.