1 Year Out

This week marks 1 week out from PA school. To reflect a bit, as I've been feeling a bit run down lately, I was going to recap the whole career progression, as I've found that career stress, sending, and social life are all intimately intertwined.

A year ago I graduate from CU's 3 year PA program psyched on going into orthopedics and sports medicine, I'd done nearly all of my elective rotations in ortho and enjoyed them all. But meanwhile, building throughout PA school were 2 opposing/conflicting tides, one was this thought that I wanted to go on to become an MD, i.e. do residency and specialize, and two that I'm an intellectual dork and something like internal medicine or emergency medicine would provide the intellectual stimulus and variety more than ortho. But, being as life is that you start one thing and it's best to see things through on occasion, I finished PA school planning to go into ortho.

I had 3 job offers within a month of passing my boards and almost moved to Cali. The summer was a bit of a mess, no job, no money, I was injured, had called off my S. Africa gradation trip so I started work in August at an ortho group outside Boulder. The group seemed a good fit in the interview but as it turned out there was no availablity of mentoring for me, a new grad, and I was left boarded and frustarated and undertrained working way too many hours, climbing like poop and wishing I was in residency getting the training I really wanted and making use of my time.

I left that job, sent a boulder problem, and then started a job in Community Health. Communty health is under-served work; no insurance, poor health, at least 50% spanish speaking, family medicine/urgent care. This was not my focus in PA school but I figured it could provide a strong basis for any other job and it may help pay off my loans and get me to where ever I want to be next without the burden of debt. As it turns out I'm working tones of hour at this job too, still climbing like poo but I am intellectually stimulated.

I've made arrangement to go to S. Africa to do my graduation present a year late. I'm psyched for this but just hope I can find the time and energy to train for this.

I laughed at myself yesterday as I stepped onto the scale in my room. 172lbs before the run 169 after the morning jog. 1 year ago I was at almost the exact same weight, shooting for the exact same goal, 165 and crushing v10's, and on my way to Rocklands.

As for the MD question, time will tell. I have research questions I'd like to pursue and I like the idea of being a sports medicine doctor but going back to repeat the same courses for 3 years is a tough pill to swallow. Taking the MCATs again (I took and crushed them 8/2000 and for various reasons never fully when down that path) is an even tougher pill to swallow.

So, if you see me staring off lost in muddled introspection that may be my inner discourse, quality of life questions, PA with less comitment or MD with bigger loans and bigger hurdles.