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2015-2016 Application Cycle


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*** CAVEAT ***  Below is LAST year's equipment list for your consideration.

 

On a related note, budget for a few items you'll need to buy or order your first week -- white coat ($42.38), PD (physical diagnosis) lab wear ($<20 for the shirt, you can get off brand shorts at Target or Walmart for <$10), as well as a set (or two) of scrubs (must be program color).  

 

Additional information on equipment:

 

There will be a representative on campus your first week of class from a company that supplies Welch-Allyn and Littman equipment.  You will be able to order a package of equipment at discounted prices ($640 for a kit with sphygmomanometer with 2 cuffs, ophthalmoscope/otoscope, tuning forks, reflex hammer, eye chart, a few other assorted items -- It's good equipment, though not necessarily cheaper than you can obtain on your own, and you will not necessarily need as fancy in your future - e.g., most offices have wall-mounted equipment and you'll rarely need your own).  

 

You will not need your equipment until a few weeks into the program. 

 

You can get together with your classmates and buy many things in bulk and split between quite a few people (gloves, tongue depressors, specula, pen lights, thermometers, thermometer shields).

 

If you join AAPA as a student (one fee for the duration of your time as a student), you will get a Maxwell's Pocket Guide ... which includes an eye chart and ruler as well as EVERYTHING you need to include in your ROS (Review of Systems, which you'll be doing by end of summer).  

 

Your equipment bag just needs to be a usable bag that allows you to get to your equipment and supplies easily (not a dedicated 'medical' bag).  

 

A film canister is probably hard to come by these days -- but a contact lens case works just as well for holding a couple of distinctive scent items (used for testing Cranial Nerve I, the olfactory nerve in your head to toe exams).  

 

Nova Southeastern University Physician Assistant Program Fort Myers

Equipment necessary for a physical examination includes the following:

 

DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST

 

Stethoscope -- Cardiology grade; with bell and diaphragm

Sphygmomanometer, adult

Sphygmomanometer, pediatric -- Optional

Oral thermometer

Disposable shields

A watch with second hand

Otoscope -- Full size, not pocket

Disposable specula

Ophthalmoscope -- Full size, not pocket

Pocket Eye Chart

Pen light

Tongue depressors

Tape measure (metric)

Ruler (metric system)

Reflex hammer

Tuning fork - 128 or 256 cps

Tuning fork - 512 cps

Paper clips or pinwheel

Cotton balls

2 Non-alcohol based, distinctive scents (individually contained in a test tube or other resealable device – i.e. 35 mm film container)

Latex gloves - non-sterile

Equipment Bag

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Happy New Year Everyone!

 

I am unfamiliar with the Ft. Myers area and have a few questions regarding clinical rotations- at which hospitals/clinics do most students do their rotations? How common is it for students to travel to bigger cities like Tampa and Orlando for rotations? How far do students usually have to travel for their roations?

 

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

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Any idea when summer semester ends and our week-long break between summer and fall is?

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Have you joined the FaceBook group for the incoming class? Look back through the posts -- on Nov 9 I posted with helpful dates information ...

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What's name of the anatomy textbook used?

 

 

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You should wait until they publish a book list for the summer semester if you're looking to get the specific book per the program.  I will say that for Anatomy (and Physiology), the test material will all come from Dr. King's excellent, and VERY DENSE, slides; there was no required book.  There are also good online resources (including Netters) via the NSU Health Sciences Library.  

 

However, if you are looking to acquire something that will hold you in good stead for the class and for future reference, you won't go wrong with a Netter's - the de facto gold standard.  Sometimes you can find a used copy in decent shape, but a lot of people hang on to theirs (as I am mine).  

 

The other thing that is usually recommended (or required), and you'll appreciate, is Essential Anatomy software from 3D4Medical -- it's available for Mac as well as iPad or iPhone (or Windows or Android, I think!) -- It went on sale last year about the time school started and I got it for my iPad for $0.99 (rather than the usual $24.99), so I recommend you watch for a sale (maybe you can sign up to follow it on their website?).  

 

Finally, the MedMaster books (... Made Ridiculously Simple series) are used as primary texts or supplementary texts in some of the classes.  Keep your eye out, or go ahead and acquire, those.  Specifically, you will need NeuroAnatomy; Pathophysiology; and Acid Base, Fluids, and Electrolytes; you will likely benefit from Microbiology (for Pharmacology actually).  

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^^^ yep. Here are the program academic calendar dates for May-August 2016:

 

May 6, 2016 Winter term ends-Class of 2017

May 16, 2016 AD Summer term begins-Class of 2017

May 19, 2016 Orientation-Class of 2018

May 23, 2016 Summer term begins-Class of 2018

May 30, 2016 Memorial Day-University closed

July 4, 2016 Independence Day-University closed

August 5, 2016 Summer term ends-Class of 2017

August 12, 2016 Summer term ends-Class of 2018

August 19, 2016 Commencement Ceremony-Class of 2016

August 22, 2016 Fall term begins-Class of 2018

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^^^ yep. Here are the program academic calendar dates for May-August 2016:

 

May 6, 2016 Winter term ends-Class of 2017

May 16, 2016 AD Summer term begins-Class of 2017

May 19, 2016 Orientation-Class of 2018

May 23, 2016 Summer term begins-Class of 2018

May 30, 2016 Memorial Day-University closed

July 4, 2016 Independence Day-University closed

August 5, 2016 Summer term ends-Class of 2017

August 12, 2016 Summer term ends-Class of 2018

August 19, 2016 Commencement Ceremony-Class of 2016

August 22, 2016 Fall term begins-Class of 2018

Thank you!!! I can't wait to start. Any tips on what to do before classes? Definitely getting some rest in and looking for apartments in the meantime. 

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Thank you!!! I can't wait to start. Any tips on what to do before classes? Definitely getting some rest in and looking for apartments in the meantime. 

If there's something you absolutely want to do, then do it.  Once you start, be prepared that your life is no longer yours for the next 27 months.  Yes, it's not 24x7 and you will be responsible for maintaining some kind of school-life balance and your own sanity, but WHEN you fit your personal life in is at the whims of the program.  There will be evening classes at times.  There will be mandatory weekend sessions or activities (sometimes with less than a week's notice).  Exams will get rescheduled.  Class sessions will get rescheduled to accommodate lecturer's schedules (your schedule/plans are irrelevant).  Mandatory meetings and sessions will be scheduled at lunch.  It doesn't happen every day, but it happens and you are the one that will have to adapt.  

 

So, if there's something you want to do and it requires any advance planning, get it done.  

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According to the last email we received from our student services coordinator, they are still holding interviews. Our facebook group isn't completely full of students yet, but there may also be some students that haven't joined the facebook page. I would contact Renee, she may be able to give you a bit more insight. Good luck!

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