...and so it begins

In seven days, I will be attending a white coat ceremony signifying the beginning of the clinical portion of my training as a physician assistant. I will raise my hand and recite the Hippocratic oath and together with my friends and colleagues, join the ranks of thousands upon thousands of medical students who have been given the unique opportunity to learn to practice medicine hands-on. This past year has been filled with countless hours of lectures, power point slides, libraries, graphs, tests, diagrams, and more stress than I have ever experienced thus far in my life. I have, however, learned more in these last months than I have in all of my other years of college combined, and hopefully have started to form a solid framework upon which to build a successful clinical experience and career. But starting January 15th 2010, the game changes... for the first time I will be putting my hands on actual patients and delving into an exciting and thoroughly intimidating new world of "real" medicine. My patients will no longer be volunteers, classmates, or my poor wife whom I have examined (poked and prodded) so many times. These will be living, breathing patients coming from a myriad of different places with genuine complaints looking for sincere counsel and compassionate care. I am nervous and uncontrollably exited all at the same time. I know that I have come a long way, but have so much more to learn making the feelings of inadequacy sometimes overwhelming. Yet, I am excited for the opportunity to learn, and finally take on the responsibility to care and serve patients. My purpose for writing is to document this journey, as it is the only time that I will have the chance to learn clinical medicine for the first time. I hope that by sharing my own experiences, I can learn and grow as a student, and a provider, and laugh at the mistakes that I am sure to make along the way. I hope to provide and interesting commentary on my experience, and also share some of my own random thoughts about life, family, medicine, and anything else I find interesting as I go. So here's to good times and new adventures...

...Just don't look stupid (that was my inside voice)