Overwhelmed

[UCPA2018]

So I'm finishing my last two rotations and graduate soon and I'm having a lot of anxiety about things I don't know and things I have to look up when treating patients. We aren't taught dosing in school so I always have to look up dosing on new medications which is fine but my current preceptor gives me a lot of grief for it. She's been practicing for a while and is intelligent and I have quite a while left to spend with her. Its making me very anxious whenever I tell her I need to look something up before prescribing or making a recommendation and she continually puts me on the spot with patients. I don't mind being put on the spot but its always regarding medications and dosing. 

All of this stress and the fact that I'm almost graduated is really making me anxious about practicing on my own. 

I just need someone to tell me this is normal and to stop stressing out! I've done very well in the program and gotten great grades on all exams and done very well on both PACKRAT tests I've taken so I know I'm on the right path.

[Jkarram]

This is normal, stop stressing out. 

[RuralER/Ortho]

Dosing isn't important to memorize in general. You can essentially always look this up. I actually recommend that people look then up for the first year or so in practice. Then you just magically start knowing them without realizing it.

 

Good luck! You'll be fine.

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

Dude I looked dosing up months into my first year. The only doses you need to memorize are for emergencies where seconds matter, which are very few in the clinic.

[Colorado]

I'm still looking stuff up ALL THE TIME. I did very well in school,  but struggled with dosing too. Now I'm 1 month in to my new job. You'll be fine. Your preceptor should understand a bit more perhasps.

[thinkertdm]

I'd rather people looked up the dosing than winged it.  Also current dosing reccomendations, like for sinusitis, UTI, AOM.  It's augmentin, 3-5 days, and bid, respectively. I've seen bactrim for 10 days for uncomplicated UTI, amox tid for aom, and everything under the sun for sinusitis.

Tell your preceptor to give me a call.  There are more important facts to fill your head with than medication dosing for crying out loud. 

 

[UGoLong]

When I was a kid, my doc would often excuse himself. One day, I had to go to the bathroom and saw the doc in his office, leaving through a reference book.

When I became a PA, I often used an on-line reference (usually epocrates). I eventually started using it in front of patients, who seemed to appreciate that I was thinking through my plan. I have continued to do so whenever I have the slightest doubt. After 12 years, the drugs I use all of the time are locked into my brain.

Be glad we live in a time where most of the world's knowledge is so accessable!