Review of near future

Hola familia,

 

I want to keep all of you informed about the process that I have been going through to apply to grad school. You have all been very supportive over the years and I really appreciate it. If you have not already heard through my mom or dad, I'm sure you will be glad to hear that I've been accepted to Oregon Health and Science University's PA program. I am really excited about the program and the opportunity. OHSU is ranked 6th out of the 154 PA programs in the US, and ranked higher going by first time PA certification pass rates and recognition of competence in the medical community. There were over 1,500 applicants this year and there are only 38 spots open in OHSU's program. It is an excellent school and very competitive, so I feel fortunate to be accepted there.

 

I had prepared like crazy before the interview by researching, shadowing and doing volunteer scribing for multiple PAs in different settings, and by doing mock interviews. I interviewed on the first day of interviews which is always a good thing because admissions are a rolling process, so it's first come first serve in a sense. The interview was pretty different from the med school interview I did last year. There were 8 interviewees total and 10 admissions committee members. The interviewees were split up into two groups of four and we did a group interview with admissions committee. It was interesting. A question would be asked and each of the interviewees would answer the same question, one after the other. The order of the interviewees answering the questions was changed with each question so that no one had to answer first more than the others. Some of the other interviewees thought that it was helpful because we were able to think about what the person before us said and build up on that. I felt like I already knew what I was going to say and having more people around just made it more nerve racking if anything else. But it wasn't set up to be a competition, we weren't supposed to argue against others. We were just supposed to say what we thought. It was relatively relaxed to be honest. After the group interview there was a written essay to answer and then an individual interview. I felt like I did well on everything, and received positive feedback via body language.

 

I did the interview on a Friday and was called the following Wednesday and told that I got it. It was pretty funny. They called my parents' home phone and mom answered while dad and I were sawing down brush and planting trees in the back. Mom insisted that the program director stay on the line in stead of calling back later. She hurried down the property screaming at the top of her lungs "NICHOLAS! NICHOLAS! OHSU IS ON THE PHONE!" Dad is chainsawing in the background and I'm screaming "WHAT MOM? WHAT DO YOU WANT? WE CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Eventually I got to the phone and there was hardly any service so I had to run up to the house. The program director heard everything, of course, and was laughing pretty hard at the situation. I could hardly talk because I was out of breath from running. But I think he enjoyed it.  Typical family scene - awkward, uncool, but funny.

 

That all came before Halloween weekend, which inspired me to celebrate even more hellaciously with my friends from the UP cross country team who had come from California and Washington state for the weekend. That weekend I received my visa for Spain and I bought the eariliest flight to Spain that I could get, which was scheduled for after my last shift working as a scribe, the 15th of November. I am very excited to see my girlfriend Carmen, who I haven't seen for four months! Above all I am looking forward to seeing Carmen, but also to seeing other friends there and teaching again. I am going to return to the same position I had last year teaching at an elementary school. I was supposed to start working at the school in the beginning of October, but I had to wait for my interviews and my visa before I could go. Fortunately, everyone at the school really likes me and they were willing to hold my position. Now, I just have to work more hours to make up for the time I missed. I am very excited. If you are thinking that it isn't the best move to leave scribing when I am about to start PA school, I will assure that I have already considered this. I have already taken everything from the scribe job that I can. What I need to do now to prepare myself for the medical field is go back to school. The scribe job is an internship, meaning it is a job with a steep learning curve that provides great experience, but is extremely demanding and very low paying. At this point I have reached the tail end of the learning curve and am at a plateau where I am not learning many new things, so the job has turned into just computer work. On top of that the program is limiting its workers to 1000 hours a year so that the program doesn't have to provide benefits to the scribes. So now I get no benefits, work less hours and still get paid minimum wage. To sum it up: I have been very frustrated with scribing since I came back home because above all I am not gaining new knowledge/experience from it, I am busting my ass off for the doctors I work for, I drive an hour to two hours to get to work, I work only 3 -4 shifts a week at any hour of the 24 hour clock and I get paid minimum wage. I am really excited to never be a scribe again!!!! hahaha. To finish painting the picture, none of the scribes that were working when I was hired 2.5 years ago are still there. No one scribes for more than two years, and here I am! OK, enough pouting. I appreciate that my boss let me come back to scribing. It has been worth it to scribe while I was here to get back in with the doctors and the PAs in the area. That is the reason why I came back, for those connects.

 

So, in Spain I will enjoy my last hoorah by exploring the Spanish Countryside with Carmen, eating tapas, listening to flamenco, mocking flamenco dancers, teaching English, reviewing all of the interesting cases that I have seen in the hospital and recorded - and research them, reviewing some science stuff that I know I should brush up on, and possibly volunteering by doing translation at a Hospital. Its going to be a great time. I bought a two way ticket to ensure that I make it back here! hahaha.

 

I think I will start up my blog/diary again and maybe I will post this in there just to get me back in the blogging mood.

 

Have great holidays! I will try to stay in touch via emails, blogs and Facebook.

 

Un abrazo fuerte de tu sobrino! (Its typical for Spaniards, men and women,  to finish a card with "un abrazo" which means a hug. I wrote " a strong hug from you nephew!")

Nick