PA-S, FML: Inside PA School, from a Real PA Student with stories, studying, and advice‪.‬ PA Kay

Last time we left off, PA Kay had just taken her boards. This episode, she has an update for you on that, including what she's been up to since then (spoiler: it has *not* included being employed and earning a paycheck like a real adult. Whoops). If you're just here for the "Things I wish I had known" segment (it's fine, we're still cool), skip ahead to roughly minute 20, where PA Kay gives some good advice about how to be a star student while out on clinical rotations, without looking like a douchebag. Finally, a few more pearls about clinical year that PA Kay wishes she had known, and a (almost) goodbye.

Soooo....I did the thing. I took the boards. Yesterday. Here are my thoughts on getting through them, including 3 pieces of advice that should help your plan of attack for studying.

Fact: You're going to do something that signals you out as a newb on your surgery rotation; that's just life as a PA student. But wouldn't it be nice if that wasn't on your *very first* day? PA Kay's got you covered. Here are your 3 simple rules so that you don't look like an asshole on Day 1 of your surgery rotation, and to keep the scrub tech from rolling their eyes at your newbness (true story).

In 30 seconds or less, explain the pathophysiology behind, and how to use transferrin, TIBC, ferritin, and MCV to differentiate between iron deficiency anemia and anemia of chronic disease. ........ lol Just kidding, that can't be done in 30 seconds (at least, not thoroughly)! If you need a more in-depth refresher on anemia labs, stick around as PA Kay explains what they mean and how to use them clinically (& for the boards!). She also shares a quick peak inside her Family Medicine rotation, and the top diagnoses she encountered. Hint: the title of this episode is a dead giveaway.

Can you spot the difference between WPW and LGL on an EKG? How are WAP and MAT different? Where'd the p-wave go in junctional rhythms? How do you treat the various presentations of Afib (stable vs unstable pt)? Is SVT *always* narrow complex QRS? How do you keep straight the two different types of 2nd degree heart block? PA Kay has an EKG test in 48 hours, and she hasn't studied EKGs in 5 months. Come along on her panic-studying journey and learn the answers to these questions, plus a whole bunch more. In this episode, PA Kay takes you through a hefty review of a few basic EKG topics before escalating quickly into arrythmias, MIs, and their treatment. 

Type 2 Diabetes is everywhere, and if your idea of how to treat it consists primarily of metformin, then you're managing diabetes the same way we did the last time New Kids on the Block were popular (no offense to NKOTB, it's just a 90s reference). Bring your knowledge of how to treat diabetes 25 years into the future as PA Kay goes over what the PANCE wants you to know for Type 2 diabetes. But the icing on the cake (whoops, bad analogy) is the behind-the-scenes knowledge from PA Kay's endocrinology rotation; learn what the diabetes experts wish primary care providers knew about how to treat this ubiquitous chronic disease. EDITOR'S NOTE: At the end of the episode when PA Kay keeps saying "glucagon," she really means "glycogen." Her bad, apologies.