Bri's PA Journey (2026)

15/10/2021

Propofol, succ, + ambu bag stat!! 💉

Intubation was so much fun in lab a few weeks ago!! This is using a macintosh laryngoscope and an ET tube! Ernie’s teeth may or may have not been okay in the making of these photos 🙄

Swipe to see my feelings about doing this on a non-ergonomically friendly table!! S/O to all the anesthesiologists out there, you’re real ones 💪🏻

04/10/2021

Happy National BF Day bebe!!! 🤍

Warning: sappy post ahead (but lots of truths)!

Maintaning a relationship in PA school is both a gift and a challenge - ESPECIALLY distanced one.

I heard all of these horror stories before starting school about couples breaking up, not being able to balance a relationship + school, not having any time outside of studies to focus on your partner, etc. None of these have proved to be true, at least for me (and I’m in a 24 mo accelerated program). That’s not to say it’s easy.

For those of you entering school in a relationship, here are some things that really work for us:

1. Creating a list of “non-negotiables”.
What does that look like to you?
For us, it’s at least a FT call every day - whether it’s 5 min or an hour. Seeing their face and hearing their voice may be just what you need to get you through the week.

2. It HAS to be 50/50.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you visit one weekend and they visit the next. Maybe it’s trying to dedicate more time to studying during the week so when they do come to visit, you can spend meaningful moments with them.

3. Communication + flexibility.
Do you ever get super irritable when you’re stressed + overwhelmed? 🙋🏼‍♀️ Communicating what your exam schedule looks like for the week, or breaking down your work load for them and reinforcing that your stress is steming from school and not your partner is so so important!! It can be really difficult during a distanced relationship for your partner to understand how much work you are ACTUALLY submersed in when they aren’t there to visualize it. This is where trust and transparency comes into play - bigtime!

4 Let your partner know that you need their support.
We hate doing this as humans. At least this was a challenge for me. Who wants to be vulnerable and tell someone that you need just that extra bit of support or love or encouragement? I think often we take on too much and aren’t great ar recognizing when we need just a little extra help. To be vulnerable is to be brave, and it will only make your relationship that much stronger.

5 Let them know how much you appreciate THEM.
This is a two way, recprical street here! As they work hard

02/10/2021

Okay SOO I know I haven’t been super consistent with this account but the reality is that PA school is my life now and sometimes social media requires the brain energy I don’t have!! 😵‍💫

BUTTT I did promise I would do a post giving a little recap of what my experience in PA school has been like these past 9 months!!!

I want to say that I feel unbelievably grateful for the opportunities that have come my way and helped make PA school super memorable!

• I was elected VP of my class and our SAAAPA chapter back in March! It’s been incredible to serve alongside amazing friends who are dedicated to creating community within our class!
• I was accepted into Student Health Policy Fellowship where I was able to learn and discover my newfound love for grassroots advocacy!
• I was invited into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi which reinforced that every late night studying has been worth it!!
• I am in the process of conducting a PA advocacy project (more to come on this)!!

And to top it all off:
I FOUND OUT MY ROTATIONS THIS WEEK!!!!!!

Lots has happened during my time in didactic and I am so excited to turn each corner where new opportunities await!

Any guesses on where my first rotation will be?! 😋

09/09/2021

Hey people!! 3rd (and last - tg) semester of didactic has arrived!!

I am really excited for this semester mainly because anything is better than summer semester was!! Lol jk (sorta). This semester we are actually taking some new classes and we’ve dropped a couple also!

The classes we’ve dropped are:
-pathophys
-healthcare issues
-anatomy (we dropped this 1st semester)

And we’ve ADDED:
-emergency med 😵‍💫
-special populations (OBGYN, peds, infants, geriatrics, etc.)
-med procedures 💉 (most excited about)!!!

These are some pics to sum up our day in med procedures lab today! We practiced
💉hand knot tying
💉surgical scrubbing
💉reviewing types of surgical instrumentation
+ got some new toys!!!

I really underestimated how intense scrubbing in for surgery is. I feel like for us who’ve never worked in an OR it’s V intimidating?! Gotta get that sterile technique down pat!

Anyways, enjoy some beautiful pics of my amazing friends who make this thing a little more tolerable! I have so much to fill you all in on so I hope to be making a post soon with many many updates so stay tuned 🥰

26/06/2021

Holy guacamole!!!! DIDACTIC IS HALFWAY OVER... and it seriously could not have come at a better time.

This past week we had 3 exams, 2 practicals, and we FINALLY finished cardiology (iykyk). There’s no doubt that PA school is the hardest thing I’ve ever signed up to do, but the best things in life don’t come easily. There are days where I just have to pause and take on life by the minute. I have to convince myself that each step will be worth it in the end. It is so challenging mentally and emotionally. Being able to take care of my mental health is a struggle some days, but I am blessed beyond belief to have a support system like no other to get me through.

I have learned so much (literally) about medicine, human connection, and what’s most important in life over these past six months. I can’t speak enough upon how thankful I am for the friendships I have made and the people who carry me through each and every day. So pls enjoy some lovely pics of me and friends when we received our white coats!!! 💛🤗

19/04/2021

Whatchu know bout that otoscope? 👂🏻

Ahhhh!! What a wild ride PA school is that’s all I gotta say...

A week ago we finished up the “classroom” portion of our semester and had our last final. Because of COVID, MCPHS has set aside 3 weeks for strictly lab/practical time. We began finally going in person last week!!

So far we have practiced physical exam skills for the skin, head/neck, and ears! This week we will be doing the eye and pulmonary. 👁🫁

It has been SO much fun to finally have my beautiful stethoscope and fun lab tools! I feel like lab is the part of PA school that ACTUALLY makes me feel like a PA. Being able to use the knowledge I’ve learned alllll semester and apply it to real “patient encounters” is so freaking exciting and fun 🤗

More pics to come once we receive our white coats!! 🥼

P.S. s/o to for being such an amazing lab partner and letting me look in your ears... accepting new volunteers🤪 @ MCPHS-Manchester

20/02/2021

1 MONTH RECAP 😧

I am officially done 1/10th of didactic and time is just flying by!! During this month I have had:

📎 8 exams
📎 8 quizzes
📎 10 assignments
📎 endless support and encouragement between my fellow classmates, I love you all

Some of my favorite things I have learned so far are:

⚡️understanding how the skin can tell us so much about what is going on internally within the body

⚡️what certain pulmonary function tests look like for different respiratory disorders

⚡️drug mechanisms of action (especially antibiotics)

⚡️how to recognize patterns of generalized malignancy

⚡️understanding which tests to order and corresponding treatments for various infectious disease pathologies

⚡️how to conduct a patient and clinician centered interview + obtain an HPI

⚡️how to form a differential diagnosis!

It is amazing how fast time is moving and how much I have learned. 🤯 right now we are doing EENT and I thought I would hate it but I’m actually loving it!! PA school is full of surprises I guess and I’m here for it. Time to grow that differential!! 🤷🏼‍♀️

17/02/2021

One of my biggest goals starting PA school was to narrow down my STUDY HABITS! 📚

To be honest, my studying in college was so sporadic. Usually I would just study directly off slides or make a quick study guide... maybe even the occasional quizlet. I knew that I really needed to figure out HOW I study in order to be successful.

And BOY, am I glad I did (because my study habits in undergrad certainly would not work now lol).

After taking many difficult exams already, the biggest thing I’ve found is that repetition is KEY. Although my studying style does vary depending on the class, I always study in more than one form!! Typically my starting point is marking up my slides on my iPad and simultaneously forming a quizlet! From there I will either write the material out (over and over again ... ehem* pharm*) or make additional quizlets/study guides highlighting key points. I also love to come up with pneumonic devices and using for pharm (I am a huuuuge visual learner).

As all of my fellow PA students know, it is definitely an immense transition from undergrad. There is just SO. MUCH. MATERIAL. (in such little time). Break it down, find the buzzwords/key concepts/pearls, put the time in to comitting it to memory, and repeat. The more time you put in = the more you get out. 🤷🏼‍♀️

You’ve got this!! 💪🏻

09/02/2021

My evolving relationship with over these 3 back-to-back exams 😅

It has been a super busy couple of weeks, but I can’t believe week 4 is already here!! So far I have had:

◽️med term exam
◽️pharm exam
◽️anatomy exam
◽️derm module exam
◽️pulm pathophys exam
◽️+ a ton of assignments sprinkled in here and there throughout!!

The amount that I have learned is such a short period of time is uncomprehendable. I can’t wait to learn so much more! Pharm antibiotics exam Friday... I’m comin for you 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻

Stay afloat my friends 🤍

22/01/2021

I made it through week 1 of PA school!!! Only a couple more to go right? 🤪

Ya’ll...

It’s a lot. But it’s good. It’s what I’ve dreamt + hoped of for YEARS. Now that it’s finally here, it’s time to kick it’s butt.

Some things I started to learn this week are derm disorders, pharm drug interactions, gathering a patient history, patient centered care, anatomy of the head/neck, and pathphys of the pulm system.

I’m LOVING the material!! I just gotta find some way to get it all in my brain... and have it stick 🤯 I know that it’s overwhelming right now, but my focus has been finding comfort in a routine that works for me.

Here’s your reminder to yourself: YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS.

Ok bye TGIF 👋🏻💕

19/01/2021

Alexa play “Hey Look Ma, I made It” by Panic! At the Disco 🤩

15/01/2021

Orientation ✔️

Swipe to see my fuzzy slips lol

We covered sooooo much today!!!! But I was able to see my classmates from the Worcester campus also which was so fun! Cheers to my one last weekend of freedom before the real deal begins NEXT WEEK. 🥂

Bri's PA Journey