Student Diary - Student Life - Physician Assistant Studies UTHSCSA

White Coat, PBL Class

Class of 2008

Student Diary - Class of 2008

September 2005
The first month of school so far has been great. The schedule is pretty good. That’s not to say the classes are easy but rather the academic schedule allows for plenty of study time throughout the day. Some students have even continued to work part time. However, it is difficult for them at times because student life requires flexibility. Many times your schedule will change sometimes with only a one day notice, and this will happen starting with the first week of class. All of the classes the first semester are only first year PA students with the exception of one class we have with the second year PA students. Everyone has a big brother or big sister that will answer your questions and give you tips and advice. Everyone, from the students to the faculty and support staff is professional and friendly and very helpful. Classes are interesting and stimulating. We break into small groups to learn and practice our physical examination. We are appointed experiential learning days throughout the semester where we get to ride out on an ambulance, ride with air life, and do a couple of rotations in the hospital. There are also many opportunities to get involved with student government and professional organizations at a local and national level and be involved on educating the community about our program and PAs in general. The first month is mostly class lectures and guest speakers and we start to have patient contact. Not being up to date on immunizations will prevent you from patient contact experience.

April

We are taking six classes this semester. It seems overwhelming at first but it’s not as intense as we all thought. All the faculty works together to spread out exam dates and homework assignments to make life a little easier on us. One class we’re taking is Cultural Issues in Health Care. The class is very interesting; it examines a view of medicine that is usually overlooked. The class mainly focuses on alternative medicine; we have many guest speakers and off campus activities which are all very enlightening. This is the only class we have with the second year students. We had a Chiropractor as a guest speaker and Professor Forister talked to us about massage therapy both gave us demonstrations which the class especially enjoyed. We went to Whole Foods Market where the staff gave us a presentation and tour of the market. The staff was informative and we all enjoyed the presentation and the freebies. Our class went on a scavenger hunt throughout the underserved areas of town. The class was divided into various areas of town to explore clinics, shops, and community centers. The experience was fun and informative. Another component of our course is Medical Spanish. Our class works in small groups and practice patient evaluations in Spanish it is difficult for the beginner Spanish speakers but everyone has a desire to learn and understand the language also Professor Forister has been patient with the groups. Overall the Cultural Issues is highly informative and fun class, were all looking forward of what’s to come.

Jeannine

PA school isn’t all work! We have had several really fun social activities in our first month here: At the end of the summer, the Class of 07 threw us a party at one of their apartment complexes to welcome us before school started. It was a lot of fun, and we got to meet our big brothers/big sisters and find out some valuable information about PA school and what to expect at orientation. They also made us some goodie bags with a CD that had all sorts of great information on it! Before our white coat ceremony, Professor Colver threw us a welcome barbeque at her home. The Class of 07 was also at the barbeque, so it was an opportunity for us to get to know them better. Part of the faculty was also there, so we were able to talk to them and get to know them before our classes started. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and a fun drawing where we each got a textbook! Several of us have gotten together on the weekends to hang out and take study breaks as well. We have had dinner at Chachos, lunch at PF Chang’s, and even a movie one afternoon that we got out of class early!!

Carly

The PA class of 2008 diary would not be complete without telling you about our professors. We are getting to know them pretty well, considering we have seen them M-F for the last four weeks! Dr. Blessing will be center stage this month, so let me have the pleasure of introducing you. Dr. Blessing, Ph.D., PA-C, is a tenured Associate Professor and Department Chair of the UTHSCSA PA program. He has been awarded many honors and recognitions for leadership, teaching, and for service. One of his most recent awards was for one of his passions, research. Dr. Blessing was the first recipient of the Association of Physician Assistant Program’s (APAP) Research Achievement Award. The second edition of Dr. Blessings’ book “Physician Assistant’s Guide to Research and Medical Literature” was published just recently. It is his desire that it will be beneficial to many PA students and that it will be useful to them in learning healthcare research techniques. Dr. Blessing has also been busy co-authoring a book on Medical Ethics that will come out in the spring. Even with all this on his plate, he has time to teach our Introduction to the Profession class. Since he personally knows some of the people instrumental in laying the foundation for the PA profession his lectures are always informative and filled with pride for the profession that he has so greatly contributed to during his career. When Dr. Blessing is not teaching, writing, or fulfilling his duties as Department Chair he enjoys playing a little golf, or if he can get down to the gulf he loves salt water fishing. His wife, Brenda also enjoys fishing and they both love to travel. A hobby at home is playing the computer game “Civilization”, which Dr. Blessing likes because it isn’t timed and doesn’t require eye-hand coordination! Dr. Blessing’s advice to PA applicants is to truly understand what it is that you want to be. He thinks people need to understand that the program requires a lot of work in a short amount of time and that you must be dedicated to work hard and make personal sacrifices to achieve your goals. The quote by Dr. Blessing at the end of our course syllabus sums up how Dr. Blessing thinks, “Long hours and hard work are not problems”. With four weeks of our 33 month program behind us we are learning what hard work is, but I can say that all 24 of us believe the hard work is worth it! We are all looking forward to becoming part of the family of caring health care professionals known as PAs.

Rebecca

Spring Semester 2006
PA1’s are well into our second semester and you may find this hard to believe, but we actually had our first patient encounter! One of the highlights of this semester is our Introduction to Clinical Practice course taught by Professor Colver. We learned a lot during the fall semester from Prof. C in Cultural Issues in Medicine, when she introduced us to valuing patients from all cultures along with their varied belief systems. Now, we get to put that into practice during our three patient encounters at the downtown location of the University Health Systems Acute Care Clinic where Ms. Colver is a clinician.

Professor Colver has an extremely busy schedule with her many duties as Associate Chair of Physician Assistant Studies here at the University. Along with her classroom instruction and clinical duties she is the Chair of the Admissions Committee. If you are a potential applicant you may have met Ms. Colver on one of her several campus visits that acquaint interested undergraduate students throughout Texas with our program here in San Antonio. Ms. Colver also conducts once a month Applicant Orientations each May through September. Ms. Colver keeps the lines of communication open by way of e-mail and if you would like to get her monthly applicant update just drop her a line at colver@uthscsa.edu and she will gladly add you to the list. Ms. Colver’s best advice for applicants is to find a program that meets your educational needs as well as one that is a good match for you personally. Ms. Colver believes that it is important for your goals and the goals of the program to be a “good fit”. She sees the strength of the UTHSCSA program as two fold. First, a strong faculty that works well together to give the students the best possible education, and additionally a strong emphasis on community service that under girds that education.

Ms. Colver serves her profession by her involvement in the American Academy of Physician Assistants where she is the Graduate Advisor to the Student Academy. Ms. Colver is known as a gifted mentor and this position gives her another opportunity to encourage and counsel students. Ms. Colver is also a member and supporter of the Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History. To learn more about Ms. Colver’s unique education pathway and her prestigious award from the Association of Physician Assistant Programs see her biosketch on our PA Homepage under the faculty/staff link. Of her many accomplishments I can’t think of a higher compliment than that which was given to her just recently by the Chairman of our Department, Dr. Blessing, when he spoke of Ms. Colver as “an excellent clinician”. I believe I speak for all twenty four of us in the PA1 class when I say that is what we all aspire to be and it is comforting to know that we are being taught by the best!

When time allows Ms. Colver does have some personal hobbies and pastimes away from campus. She likes gardening and gourmet cooking, but especially enjoys spending time with family and I do believe I saw a twinkle in her eye when she mentioned grandchildren!

The second semester is much more intense. Anatomy and physiology really challenge us by the sheer volume of information. We also started to see patients this semester and gain experience writing SOAP notes. I can honestly say this semester is a true test of time management skills. Outside of class time our class gets together monthly to celebrate birthdays, or for a volunteer opportunity – this semester many of us are volunteering at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. At the end of May a few students will be going to the AAPA conference in San Francisco which will lead us into our third semester also starting at the end of May.

We have had several social activities this semester. At least once per week some members of the class go out for lunch to take a break from school and studying. During Spring Break some of us went bowling and had a great time laughing at one another’s skills. We also got a lesson in how to do “Dance Dance Revolution” and figured out who has skills in basketball and air hockey. Another exciting social event in our class is our Intramural Flag Football team! Ten members of our class are playing on the team which is called “The Phighting Phalanges.” They have a lot of fun and are doing a great job! We have some activities in the works for the rest of the semester and the upcoming summer so stay tuned!

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