What i did when i was accepted

[whoRyou]

Thanks :) i try to live by that now for sure.. it took a while to set in though!

Better NOW than EVER! Good Luck to YOU!

[whoRyou]

Thanks :) i try to live by that now for sure.. it took a while to set in though!

Better NOW than EVER! Good Luck to YOU!

[Just Steve]

Steve & Delco ... FWIW

Don't forget to LIVE!

 

In this poignant anecdote, the story depicts a person who was driven to pursue a career and even admits to them regretting their choice to have kids (dying for them to move out so I could go back to work)

 

There is not much that is further from the truth in my personal opinion in regards to what I did/am doing.

 

I feel it is my responsibility to help ensure that my family is provided for and can live in a comfortable manner. This does not mean i am soley responsible or that i have to make the most money in the family. i am mearly stating i need to contribute my fair share. It is my goal to not only show my children the wonders if the world but also to experience it with them. In order to do such a thing in the manner that I wanted, I needed a profession with enough stability, demand, and salary so that I could arrange blocks of time to spend with them. For example...the hospitalist PAs with whom I am currently rotating with work 7 days straight then have 14 to 21 days off. Many ERs require somewhere around 14 shifts to have full time benefits. In a larger system I could arrange my schedule to work a week on, week off. Possibility exists where I work the first two weeks of the month, take two weeks off the last half of the month, then take the first two weeks off of the next month, working the last two, giving a month off. i dont know if that is a true reality but you can see where you can make things work to your advantage. Rural family practice in my area have jobs that are a week on, week off. Imagine the life you could give your kids making 85,000-125,000+ a yr, working every other week.

 

I pursued higher education to be a better provider and to be a better dad. I dreamed of family vacations, a retirement account, and savings for my kids' education. My wife made enough money where she could take care of the household expenses while I sink my income into debt payments and savings. I worked very hard to arrive to this point and am 4-5 months away from being there...or rather, I was.

 

Now I am 40, 100,000 in debt, have no retirement account, no current job, no fixed address once I finish traveling for my school rotations. I still feel my obligation to my children and also need to rebuild my life. My bloodline family is not in a position to be more than distantly supportive in an emotional manner. The only way out is hard work. The life I dreamed of will have to be put on hold for a bit.

 

So those poignant stories of how the power broker, banker, politician who worked hard all their life for the nice house, fancy cars, and status, then only realizing late in life that they missed some key points of the Journey....I just don't see it applying.

 

I was trying to live life. The landscape changed unexpectedly.

[Just Steve]

Steve & Delco ... FWIW

Don't forget to LIVE!

 

In this poignant anecdote, the story depicts a person who was driven to pursue a career and even admits to them regretting their choice to have kids (dying for them to move out so I could go back to work)

 

There is not much that is further from the truth in my personal opinion in regards to what I did/am doing.

 

I feel it is my responsibility to help ensure that my family is provided for and can live in a comfortable manner. This does not mean i am soley responsible or that i have to make the most money in the family. i am mearly stating i need to contribute my fair share. It is my goal to not only show my children the wonders if the world but also to experience it with them. In order to do such a thing in the manner that I wanted, I needed a profession with enough stability, demand, and salary so that I could arrange blocks of time to spend with them. For example...the hospitalist PAs with whom I am currently rotating with work 7 days straight then have 14 to 21 days off. Many ERs require somewhere around 14 shifts to have full time benefits. In a larger system I could arrange my schedule to work a week on, week off. Possibility exists where I work the first two weeks of the month, take two weeks off the last half of the month, then take the first two weeks off of the next month, working the last two, giving a month off. i dont know if that is a true reality but you can see where you can make things work to your advantage. Rural family practice in my area have jobs that are a week on, week off. Imagine the life you could give your kids making 85,000-125,000+ a yr, working every other week.

 

I pursued higher education to be a better provider and to be a better dad. I dreamed of family vacations, a retirement account, and savings for my kids' education. My wife made enough money where she could take care of the household expenses while I sink my income into debt payments and savings. I worked very hard to arrive to this point and am 4-5 months away from being there...or rather, I was.

 

Now I am 40, 100,000 in debt, have no retirement account, no current job, no fixed address once I finish traveling for my school rotations. I still feel my obligation to my children and also need to rebuild my life. My bloodline family is not in a position to be more than distantly supportive in an emotional manner. The only way out is hard work. The life I dreamed of will have to be put on hold for a bit.

 

So those poignant stories of how the power broker, banker, politician who worked hard all their life for the nice house, fancy cars, and status, then only realizing late in life that they missed some key points of the Journey....I just don't see it applying.

 

I was trying to live life. The landscape changed unexpectedly.

[whoRyou]

In this poignant anecdote, the story depicts a person who was driven to pursue a career and even admits to them regretting their choice to have kids (dying for them to move out so I could go back to work)

 

There is not much that is further from the truth in my personal opinion in regards to what I did/am doing.

 

I feel it is my responsibility to help ensure that my family is provided for and can live in a comfortable manner. This does not mean i am soley responsible or that i have to make the most money in the family. i am mearly stating i need to contribute my fair share. It is my goal to not only show my children the wonders if the world but also to experience it with them. In order to do such a thing in the manner that I wanted, I needed a profession with enough stability, demand, and salary so that I could arrange blocks of time to spend with them. For example...the hospitalist PAs with whom I am currently rotating with work 7 days straight then have 14 to 21 days off. Many ERs require somewhere around 14 shifts to have full time benefits. In a larger system I could arrange my schedule to work a week on, week off. Possibility exists where I work the first two weeks of the month, take two weeks off the last half of the month, then take the first two weeks off of the next month, working the last two, giving a month off. i dont know if that is a true reality but you can see where you can make things work to your advantage. Rural family practice in my area have jobs that are a week on, week off. Imagine the life you could give your kids making 85,000-125,000+ a yr, working every other week.

 

I pursued higher education to be a better provider and to be a better dad. I dreamed of family vacations, a retirement account, and savings for my kids' education. My wife made enough money where she could take care of the household expenses while I sink my income into debt payments and savings. I worked very hard to arrive to this point and am 4-5 months away from being there...or rather, I was.

 

Now I am 40, 100,000 in debt, have no retirement account, no current job, no fixed address once I finish traveling for my school rotations. I still feel my obligation to my children and also need to rebuild my life. My bloodline family is not in a position to be more than distantly supportive in an emotional manner. The only way out is hard work. The life I dreamed of will have to be put on hold for a bit.

 

So those poignant stories of how the power broker, banker, politician who worked hard all their life for the nice house, fancy cars, and status, then only realizing late in life that they missed some key points of the Journey....I just don't see it applying.

 

I was trying to live life. The landscape changed unexpectedly.

Steve I admire you trying to make a bad situation - good for your children and maybe possibly for yourself. I wish you nothing but the best in your future with your NEW life. Keep moving forward, my friend, keep moving and I wish you the very best in your new endeavors.

[whoRyou]

In this poignant anecdote, the story depicts a person who was driven to pursue a career and even admits to them regretting their choice to have kids (dying for them to move out so I could go back to work)

 

There is not much that is further from the truth in my personal opinion in regards to what I did/am doing.

 

I feel it is my responsibility to help ensure that my family is provided for and can live in a comfortable manner. This does not mean i am soley responsible or that i have to make the most money in the family. i am mearly stating i need to contribute my fair share. It is my goal to not only show my children the wonders if the world but also to experience it with them. In order to do such a thing in the manner that I wanted, I needed a profession with enough stability, demand, and salary so that I could arrange blocks of time to spend with them. For example...the hospitalist PAs with whom I am currently rotating with work 7 days straight then have 14 to 21 days off. Many ERs require somewhere around 14 shifts to have full time benefits. In a larger system I could arrange my schedule to work a week on, week off. Possibility exists where I work the first two weeks of the month, take two weeks off the last half of the month, then take the first two weeks off of the next month, working the last two, giving a month off. i dont know if that is a true reality but you can see where you can make things work to your advantage. Rural family practice in my area have jobs that are a week on, week off. Imagine the life you could give your kids making 85,000-125,000+ a yr, working every other week.

 

I pursued higher education to be a better provider and to be a better dad. I dreamed of family vacations, a retirement account, and savings for my kids' education. My wife made enough money where she could take care of the household expenses while I sink my income into debt payments and savings. I worked very hard to arrive to this point and am 4-5 months away from being there...or rather, I was.

 

Now I am 40, 100,000 in debt, have no retirement account, no current job, no fixed address once I finish traveling for my school rotations. I still feel my obligation to my children and also need to rebuild my life. My bloodline family is not in a position to be more than distantly supportive in an emotional manner. The only way out is hard work. The life I dreamed of will have to be put on hold for a bit.

 

So those poignant stories of how the power broker, banker, politician who worked hard all their life for the nice house, fancy cars, and status, then only realizing late in life that they missed some key points of the Journey....I just don't see it applying.

 

I was trying to live life. The landscape changed unexpectedly.

Steve I admire you trying to make a bad situation - good for your children and maybe possibly for yourself. I wish you nothing but the best in your future with your NEW life. Keep moving forward, my friend, keep moving and I wish you the very best in your new endeavors.

[benny32311]

Well after I found out I was accepted, I was very much relieved. I kept working and got all my paperwork for school done in the off time, while finishing some online courses that I had enrolled in. I didn't take any vacations, but I did try to spend time with family and friends as I knew that I was not going to be around. I tried to brush up on some med term. I would suggest that do whatever makes you feel comfortable. If you have a special relationship focus on that. You will need to maintain them while you are in school, it's harder, but certainly not impossible. If you want to go somewhere, do that too. If you just want to work and continue to live life, do that (save a few bucks up too!).

[benny32311]

Well after I found out I was accepted, I was very much relieved. I kept working and got all my paperwork for school done in the off time, while finishing some online courses that I had enrolled in. I didn't take any vacations, but I did try to spend time with family and friends as I knew that I was not going to be around. I tried to brush up on some med term. I would suggest that do whatever makes you feel comfortable. If you have a special relationship focus on that. You will need to maintain them while you are in school, it's harder, but certainly not impossible. If you want to go somewhere, do that too. If you just want to work and continue to live life, do that (save a few bucks up too!).

[jen0508]

my relationship didnt last through PA school. I was fore-warned, a PA i shadowed prior to applying warned me that nearly half her classmates got divorced/split up while in PA school (including her). The number wasnt that high for my class, but we did have several classmates who divorced/split up from their signficant other. I think PA students need to know this from the start. PA school is very hard and will seriously disrupt your life, particularly the first year. You will have minimal time for your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend and they may not be able to handle it.

[jen0508]

my relationship didnt last through PA school. I was fore-warned, a PA i shadowed prior to applying warned me that nearly half her classmates got divorced/split up while in PA school (including her). The number wasnt that high for my class, but we did have several classmates who divorced/split up from their signficant other. I think PA students need to know this from the start. PA school is very hard and will seriously disrupt your life, particularly the first year. You will have minimal time for your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend and they may not be able to handle it.

[rev ronin]

my relationship didnt last through PA school. I was fore-warned, a PA i shadowed prior to applying warned me that nearly half her classmates got divorced/split up while in PA school (including her). The number wasnt that high for my class, but we did have several classmates who divorced/split up from their signficant other. I think PA students need to know this from the start. PA school is very hard and will seriously disrupt your life, particularly the first year. You will have minimal time for your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend and they may not be able to handle it.

 

When I graduated, I got my wife an iPad, which has her name engraved on it, with the tagline "we survived PA school together". I think the relationship attrition rate in my class was closer to 60%, but was higher among the engaged/committed-but-not-married folks than the married ones.

[rev ronin]

my relationship didnt last through PA school. I was fore-warned, a PA i shadowed prior to applying warned me that nearly half her classmates got divorced/split up while in PA school (including her). The number wasnt that high for my class, but we did have several classmates who divorced/split up from their signficant other. I think PA students need to know this from the start. PA school is very hard and will seriously disrupt your life, particularly the first year. You will have minimal time for your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend and they may not be able to handle it.

 

When I graduated, I got my wife an iPad, which has her name engraved on it, with the tagline "we survived PA school together". I think the relationship attrition rate in my class was closer to 60%, but was higher among the engaged/committed-but-not-married folks than the married ones.

[delco714]

Side note i think 10 classmates including myself and my fiance got engaged since the start and not many breakups i believe.. one or two. How's that?

[delco714]

Side note i think 10 classmates including myself and my fiance got engaged since the start and not many breakups i believe.. one or two. How's that?

[UGoLong]

Reading the posts here has been interesting and I wonder why the difference in breakup/divorce rates between many of us. Some of that can be random too; we still have 6 couples we met in the Air Force and vacation with every two years. After 40+ years, we're all still married.

 

I'm not calling for a survey, but I do wonder if some programs are (or were at the time we went there) more "relationship-friendly," probably without intending to be, than others. I interviewed at 3 programs when I applied and could sense major differences in attitudes and approaches. Some, for example, seemed to pit the students against each other in an eternal competition while some wanted cooperation. I suspect that such differences could have other consequences as well.

 

It might also suggest asking current students another question or two when you interview. I think I learned more from that than anything else during my interviews.

[UGoLong]

Reading the posts here has been interesting and I wonder why the difference in breakup/divorce rates between many of us. Some of that can be random too; we still have 6 couples we met in the Air Force and vacation with every two years. After 40+ years, we're all still married.

 

I'm not calling for a survey, but I do wonder if some programs are (or were at the time we went there) more "relationship-friendly," probably without intending to be, than others. I interviewed at 3 programs when I applied and could sense major differences in attitudes and approaches. Some, for example, seemed to pit the students against each other in an eternal competition while some wanted cooperation. I suspect that such differences could have other consequences as well.

 

It might also suggest asking current students another question or two when you interview. I think I learned more from that than anything else during my interviews.

[Just Steve]

My brain exploded at the news and it was a week before finals. I let school know and they offered to delay my exams and even offered to let me roll back to the next year. With the job market as it is, now being relatively homeless and for the most part dependent on student loans, rolling back wasnt an option. I took my finals on time to get back home and try to repair things over summer break.

 

School has been unable to be quite as accommodating during clinical year. I live in a rural area and there has been some complexities finding training sites. My last four months of rotations are scheduled in locations that makes traveling back to see my kids on weekends pretty difficult.

 

Just gotta get through the PANCE and land a job. That is the focus.

[Just Steve]

My brain exploded at the news and it was a week before finals. I let school know and they offered to delay my exams and even offered to let me roll back to the next year. With the job market as it is, now being relatively homeless and for the most part dependent on student loans, rolling back wasnt an option. I took my finals on time to get back home and try to repair things over summer break.

 

School has been unable to be quite as accommodating during clinical year. I live in a rural area and there has been some complexities finding training sites. My last four months of rotations are scheduled in locations that makes traveling back to see my kids on weekends pretty difficult.

 

Just gotta get through the PANCE and land a job. That is the focus.

[Hemegroup]

Steve ... for what it's worth, you did nothing wrong buddy. If a 'partner' is unable to understand your work and appreciate your working towards a better future for your family, then they aren't worth as much credit as you're giving. I remember a student I met during my interviews at Pacific, the guy's family lived in Texas and there he was out in Oregon. He was trying to get clinicals closer to home but at the time we spoke there were no guarantees. But they did what needed to be done to make it work. The fact that your wife couldn't handle it shows me she probably wasn't as much of a soul mate as you thought. If it hadn't been this, who knows what else it would have been. No one who truly loves you unconditionally would ever want you to not reach your dreams, even if it meant not seeing you for YEARS. THAT is true love. You just keep on becoming a great medical provider and developing your relationship with your children.

 

And I'll share something back at ya. During the first week of my Surgical rotation, my partner of 12 years let me know that he had fallen in love with a woman. It was the most devastating thing I've ever gone through in my life. He was back in California and there I was in Philadelphia, thinking the long-distance thing was working out. Looking back, I feel the same way ... if love can't wait or it's going to find another path, then it wasn't right in the first place. Anyhow I tried going in the next day and couldn't make it past the lobby doors. My program was compassionately understanding and told me to take as many days as I needed. I only needed one. It's hard not to let emotion have its way with you, but it's possible. Pain is weakness leaving the body. Let this make you stronger, it can and will.

[Hemegroup]

Steve ... for what it's worth, you did nothing wrong buddy. If a 'partner' is unable to understand your work and appreciate your working towards a better future for your family, then they aren't worth as much credit as you're giving. I remember a student I met during my interviews at Pacific, the guy's family lived in Texas and there he was out in Oregon. He was trying to get clinicals closer to home but at the time we spoke there were no guarantees. But they did what needed to be done to make it work. The fact that your wife couldn't handle it shows me she probably wasn't as much of a soul mate as you thought. If it hadn't been this, who knows what else it would have been. No one who truly loves you unconditionally would ever want you to not reach your dreams, even if it meant not seeing you for YEARS. THAT is true love. You just keep on becoming a great medical provider and developing your relationship with your children.

 

And I'll share something back at ya. During the first week of my Surgical rotation, my partner of 12 years let me know that he had fallen in love with a woman. It was the most devastating thing I've ever gone through in my life. He was back in California and there I was in Philadelphia, thinking the long-distance thing was working out. Looking back, I feel the same way ... if love can't wait or it's going to find another path, then it wasn't right in the first place. Anyhow I tried going in the next day and couldn't make it past the lobby doors. My program was compassionately understanding and told me to take as many days as I needed. I only needed one. It's hard not to let emotion have its way with you, but it's possible. Pain is weakness leaving the body. Let this make you stronger, it can and will.

[cinntsp]

We were told on day 1(orientation) something along the lines of "if you're in a relationship that isn't 100% solid, you might as well end it now and save yourself the hassle while you're trying to study for exams." PA school will definitely test the strength of a relationship, especially if it's long distance.

[cinntsp]

We were told on day 1(orientation) something along the lines of "if you're in a relationship that isn't 100% solid, you might as well end it now and save yourself the hassle while you're trying to study for exams." PA school will definitely test the strength of a relationship, especially if it's long distance.

[Hemegroup]

Back to the OP ... I have to also tell the story of the day I found out I was accepted. I was in my Uni dorms and saw that I had a message. I had to use the restroom so I was on the toilet when I heard that I had been offered a seat. A seat in the program, I mean. It was the happiest and loudest BM of my life.

[Hemegroup]

Back to the OP ... I have to also tell the story of the day I found out I was accepted. I was in my Uni dorms and saw that I had a message. I had to use the restroom so I was on the toilet when I heard that I had been offered a seat. A seat in the program, I mean. It was the happiest and loudest BM of my life.