Cacapon State Park Berkeley Springs, WV (35mins from SU)
National Mall: WWII Memorial Washington, DC (1hr 20mins from SU)
National Mall: Washington Memorial, Washington DC (1hr 20mins from SU)
Zoooo! Knoxville, TN (5+ hrs from SU)
@ a Restaurant on the river in Knoxville, TN
As the end of the spring semester ends for the 1st year students and the end of rotation 3 for us second year students draws very close, the weather is warming up and we are finally getting out of the house and exploring the area. I have mentioned before that Winchester is not a big city, but there are lots of things to do around the area including state parks, historical sites, and of course, Washington DC. In addition, during the clinical year, you will probably travel away from SU to partake in at least one of your rotations. I think I may have mentioned in the past the one of my classmates was on her ER rotation in Tennessee, so we decided to visit her and during that time we visited the Knoxville Zoo (which you can see a picture of the Emu above). Just today, since the weather was warm, we decided to venture into the capital city and visit the National Aquarium and all of the classic monuments. Hopefully this gives you a better idea of the things you can experience while attending the SUPA program. The faculty has told me that the class of 2012 has been selected, so congratulations to those of you who were selected!!
Right now, I am on my pediatrics rotation in WV, about 30 mins from SU, and I am having a great time. I round on hospital patients before my preceptor, and I am even going to do a circumcision procedure with no help (sounds kind of scary and/or gross, but it is a procedure nonetheless!) Next up is my elective rotation in Neurology, which I am very excited to start.
In other news, the PA program recently participated in a health fair with Valley Health Systems to teach and encourage high school students to engage in all fields of medicine. Our program set up a suturing table where we taught high school students how to do simple interrupted sutures, and explained the role of a physician assistant and how to go about becoming one. One of the pharmacy students said to my roommate, "hey, you made our table look bad..." Let's be honest, the physician assistant students and faculty were probably the coolest people at the event. :-)
I was even interviewed on a local news station about the PA field and what it is like to be a PA student. I had my 20 seconds of Winchester fame. It was a good time, and it was a great way to help get the word out about what a physician assistant is.
Well, I have rounds in the AM, and I need sleep. Hopefully the pics are helpful!
