“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” - Wallace Stevens

Today was absolutely beautiful; while I was at work in between bathing patients, my friend Becca (another Pre-PA student) text-ed me and asked me to run around the lake with her (it totals roughly 4 miles). Since I go to the gym every day anyway, I decided this would be my work out, especially with the beauty surrounding us outside today. Unfortunately, we forgot to stretch before we took off down the unevenly paved path. It was our first time running in an odd temperature, and for myself, the first time running in such a high altitude (we had to basically hike to get to the running point). As we were running we began to notice an odd and very painful sensation in our ears, despite the fact that both of us are always working out and our in quite good shape, we began discussing what could possibly cause the pain in our ears. This is a conversation while running that would most likely never happen unless you have some interest in medicine. The ear pain continued to be a topic of conversation throughout the run and the rest of the day, and it dawned on me; this is what our lives as Pre-PA students should be like right now and hopefully in the future as well. We are totally enthralled with medicine and the human body, but not only that how we can utilize our knowledge for the greater good. Not that I didn't know this before, but it was just one of those "ah-ha" moments where the actual situation you're in reminds you of a simple thought. After coming home and doing some research on the ear sensation, I learned that it seems to be a very common problem among runners when it comes to temperature change; though I could not really find any information stating a cause. Becca and I thought that maybe it had something to do with equilibrium/homeostasis, pressure/blood flow, any thoughts?

"The biggest influences in your life are sitting around you, right now."

     As a Pre-PA student it is known that there is going to be some intense competition to achieve the dream of being a Physician Assistant, but unfortunately I think a lot of students forget how much they can learn from the student's they are in class with and instead, focus on the competition. 
     I heard a quote recently, which is also the title of this entry, "The biggest influences in your life are sitting around you, right now." The moment I heard it, something in my brain just clicked and thought that more students need to try and remember this. Who do you stay up late studying endless hours of material with? Who is always there to eat mounds of delicious food with you in order to de-stress? It is the students you spend most of your daily life with, and it is those students who you learn a great deal from, weather it be educational lessons or life lessons, a lot of what your mind is absorbing is coming from them. 
     Now, I am not suggesting completely forgetting about the competition, a little competition is healthy, and definitely needed when going into a field that puts other's lives on the line. Though, I do not think it is healthy to have this competitive nature of the Pre-PA major to be the focus. If this your focus, your stress level will not only go up from the work load, patient contact hours, and daily living, but it will go up from the basic anxiety of always having to "win." But what are you really winning by focusing on competition? Not much more than an award for highest blood pressure at age 20. 


On this blog I will post random segments from the life of a Pre-Physician Assistant Student; I don't expect for everyone to agree with what I say, and I welcome all comments and feedback (: