Life After PA School

Well, its 2017! My last update was about the time I moved to Hershey PA in order to begin the process of becoming a PA-C from Penn State College of Medicine. Guess what? I made it!! Obviously the PA program was the hardest educational journey I have ever endured. There are probably tons of PA students who blog about what its like to go through PA school, and how to endure the long nights of studying and hundreds of exams, which is why I refuse to talk much about it. I will just say that you have to experience the demand of PA school in order to understand it. I will say my time in Pennsylvania was amazing, and I made a few really close friends who survived PA school along side me. A shout out goes to Kyle Landis, one of my best buds in Hershey. We spent countless hours together studying and preparing for exams. I dont know how he did what he did with a wife and a daughter. I only had my dog (yes, Lady is still alive and well) and that was hard enough for me. The last shout out goes to Chris Stone, my roommate, classmate, and friend. If you want to learn how to pick yourself up off the ground, continue to endure the beatings of PA school while dealing with difficult life events at the same time, Stone is your guy! We had plenty of "venting sessions" which were much needed for the endless stress piled on our shoulders. I'm pleased to say that Chris Stone, Kyle Landis, and myself accomplished our goal, and are now working PA's. (I might also note that every one of my classmates made it through the 2 years of hell, graduated, and passed their boards!! (Some pics of graduation below)

Once graduation occurred, it was time to take the PANCE (National Boards to become a practicing PA). Thankfully I passed. I ended up taking a job in the PNW in Salem Oregon. But before I go into details of my new home and new job, I had the chance to go home (Utah) for a couple months. This was a very nice time to just relax and enjoy my free time. Best of all, I had the opportunity to go to Alaska with my Dad, Brothers, and Grandpa. We obviously salmon fished for over a week. This trip was very special to me, because I had the chance to be with my grandpa, who has been salmon fishing in Alaska since the 80's. This trip would be his last Alaska trip due to age and health. We caught plenty of Copper River Reds. We didnt quite have the King salmon fishing we were hoping for due to low spawn yields. But thats part of life. Below are some pics of our experience.

After a nice summer break, I packed up my bags, and drove out to Salem Oregon to begin my new career as an Orthopedic Surgery PA at Hope Orthopedics.Its been almost a year since I have been here in the PNW, and all I can say is that I absolutely love it out here. The winter weather of clouds and rain is a bit depressing, but there is so much beauty out here. I have had the chance to take Lady hiking in the mountains and swimming at the beach. The amount of daily/weekend activities are endless. Although I have much more to see and do here in Oregon, I can say that I have enjoyed myself quite a bit. I have had friends and family visit in order to see for themselves firsthand what has drawn me out here. Instead of writing a novel, I will end this post with pictures of the time I have had out here in the PNW. Enjoy!

The sweetest place on earth

Well, in May I officially moved from good old Utah to Pennsylvania, Hershey to be exact. Here I have been attending Penn State College of Medicine as a PA Student. It has been pretty rough and brutal with regards to the classwork, but we have finally finished our first semester, and I am still here! The area is very beautiful, and green. Its hard not having mountains like Utah, but you kinda get use to it. I have made some amazing friends, and my classmates are like my family. We all have each others backs and are helping one another succeed. I made the right decision to attend PSCOM. The faculty, Staff, and medical providers here are absolutely amazing. My puppy Lady isn't a puppy anymore. She had her first birthday last week. And that's about all thats gone on. I hope to keep this updated, but in reality, once school starts back up next week, I will hardly have time to eat and sleep. Below are some random pics regarding Hershey and PSCOM.

arreeebadercheee (March 2014)

Although I could wright quite a few pages, I am sadly limited. I just wanted to include my amazing trip with one of my besties Jordan Davis. We had a chance to go to Northern Italy and check out some of the fun landmarks. We flew into Venice and rented a little mini car. From there we obviously checked out Venice, and then began our road trip. In order, we checked out Ferrara, Bologna, San Marinio, Pesaro (and the beach), Urbino, Urbania, Arezzo, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, and then flew out from Florence. We stayed along the way at creepy old hotels, hostels, etc. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. Thanks Jordo! Below are a few random pics of our trip.