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30. Balancing Act: The Life of a Non-Traditional Student
167 Plays1 year ago
In this episode I speak with Megan Nosol, PA-S2 about her journey to PA school. From a speech pathology career to being decelerated in her program.
Check her out here
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Transcript
Introduction to PA Experience Podcast
00:00:15
Speaker
Welcome to the PA Experience Podcast. I'm your host, Sebring Sands, and as a PA, I take you behind the scenes to see what it takes to become a PA in all steps of the journey.
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Introducing Megan Nossel: Career Changer
00:02:38
Speaker
welcome everyone to another episode. It's I'm glad to be back. And I have amazing guests on today. I just they just keep getting better and better. They just want to talk, introduce me to their friends and their friends are amazing. So today I have Megan, do you want to introduce yourself? Okay, so
00:03:03
Speaker
My name is Megan Nossel. I am a second year PA student at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. And I would probably be called that non-traditional student. I'm a career changer. I have three kids. So it's been a different journey, I think, for me getting into a school compared to
00:03:34
Speaker
my classmates and I'm excited to be here. Talk with you. Awesome. Well, thanks for coming on. And this is kind of a cool dichotomy. We got Alec, which was like the, like the youngest you could possibly be as a in PA school, basically. And then one of the, you know, a non-traditional older kids. So later in, you know, on the older end, so it's, it's kind of cool to see the two differences. So what career were you before?
From Speech Pathology to PA
00:04:03
Speaker
I was a medical based speech pathologist. I did that for about eight years. And I specialized in like working with patients, adult patients. I never worked with kids. Um, I worked with, um, patients who like suffered TBI and, uh, or CVA. I also specialized in head and neck cancer.
00:04:30
Speaker
Okay. So we're doing a lot of like swallow evals and stuff like that. That's right. That's right. I specialize.
00:04:38
Speaker
I'm a little familiar with that because I worked as a CNA in this more bougie assisted living facility. And they had like a staffed speech pathologist to do swallow you vowels and help with feeding because a lot of we had a memory unit where it was a struggle to feed the residents and some that, you know, had those TIA's and Strefford suffered from paralysis from strokes in the past. They couldn't really
00:05:06
Speaker
move or chew very well. So yeah, very important. And in the hospital too. Um, they really are needed sometimes for different patients. Yeah, it's good to hear. And how long did you work in that? I did that for about eight years. I worked in like a variety of settings. I worked in, I started in skilled nursing facility and then I worked
00:05:30
Speaker
mostly for an outpatient clinic after that. But I did do some nonprofit work. I worked for a nonprofit group for patients with aphasia and their family members. So I did a little bit of everything. What originally wanted you to pursue that career?
Career Transition: Teaching to Pathology
00:05:52
Speaker
Well, I, you know, since I'm about 41, I'll be 41 this year, I've had a few careers and I actually started as a high school English teacher. And, um, I got to know the speech pathologist at my high school that I was teaching at. And I was like, gosh, that sounds, that looks more interesting than what I'm doing right now. And I really love teaching. I've actually always taught ever since I became a teacher. So I'm used to like teaching.
00:06:21
Speaker
courses and I taught courses and I was a speech pathologist as well. So yeah, I decided to make the switch. After that, I felt like it was just a better I thought was better for my mental health. As a teacher, high school teacher, I just didn't feel like I had a lot of like support. And I love teaching the students, but
00:06:49
Speaker
just like the politics. It's always the politics for me. Um, so I, you know, did some prerequisites and went to UNC Chapel Hill for speech pathology. And then the first year that was a speech pathologist, I met a PA at this skilled nursing facility. And I was like, tell me more about
Why Choose PA?
00:07:16
Speaker
what you're doing. And,
00:07:18
Speaker
literally that first year of my job, I was like, I'm going to start prerequisites. That's how it began. Did it take you eight years to do those and that's why you were in there for that year, for that long? It did because I was working full-time and I had two kids during that seven-year span. It took me a long time.
00:07:44
Speaker
So how many credits were you doing? Were you doing like some here, some there? Were you running into credits running out, like expiring? No, not necessarily, no, because I guess, like I had to pretty much do all of the science, you know, so it was pretty much getting like a whole, I mean, you know, as a speech pathologist, I had a lot, I had some anatomy and physiology, I had physiology,
00:08:13
Speaker
but it wasn't enough for to apply to PA school. So I just, I just needed more of that natural sciences background. And it just took me, I was not, I didn't consider myself like someone who was, you know, able to really do those science classes, those courses. And it took me some time to like kind of get into that mindset. So,
00:08:41
Speaker
You know, I, I struggled like with chemistry, um, got a lot of help in that and was able to kind of move forward past that. That was probably one of my first hurdles in that. And, you know, my journey is, you know, into PA school, but yeah, I think once I got into like the natural sciences and I really like kind of like, Oh, like this is, I can do this, like getting into that mode.
00:09:09
Speaker
I was able to move forward and push forward. Okay. How's it like having the kids during the time? I'm really, I'm really lucky. Like I have a fantastic supportive husband and I definitely would not be able to do this without him. I just, I don't know how a lot of like the single parents do that. I think they must have a lot
Balancing Family and PA Studies
00:09:32
Speaker
of support. I think it's like, it's a, it's just a requirement because you know, kids get sick.
00:09:38
Speaker
You know, they, they struggle here and there with things and you're kind of being pulled in all different kinds of directions. And so you need, you definitely need help and a lot of guilt comes with it too. So you have to kind of work through, like you probably, you've probably experienced that too. It's not just moms, like, you know, like I, I probably have missed a lot. I have sacrificed a lot, but I try to look at it.
00:10:07
Speaker
know, from the positive side as well, like I'm showing my kids like you can do hard things. That's definitely a great way to look at it. I don't know if it's just me or if it's a calm thing with husbands. I felt more guilt with my wife than with my kids. Because I was like, this is what happens. Like,
00:10:29
Speaker
One of the parents at least has to work. It's inevitable. You have to work. And well, growing up, my dad actually stayed home and worked remotely doing things here and there. So I didn't really get the one parent of the house all the time. But
00:10:49
Speaker
I felt more guilty like my wife doesn't see me very much, especially in PA school. And like my kids, my kid, I had my daughter for a long time, just her. And she's used to it. And my wife would, you know, take her to do things, play with friends. She's very social. So she'd get a lot of her
00:11:08
Speaker
you know, stuff from that and I'd come home and it's it's been a lot of time with her, but my wife really struggled for a while to like like just home alone with the daughter. Yeah. And really wanting me to be there. Yeah. So I definitely. It's interesting to hear that side, you know, like, yeah, I'm always like, oh, my, my poor kids, you know, I didn't kind of feel bad that I'm my husband, you know, but
00:11:36
Speaker
Yeah, I, I, that's interesting to hear that, that side, um, that perspective, because I think mostly I'm, I'm worried about my kids and I feel it has been all like he can handle it. He's, he's strong, you know, like, but you know what, I bet you if I really probed, maybe he would feel the same, like things that you felt. Yeah.
00:12:00
Speaker
Well, that would be interesting to have a conversation. So let's jump back a little bit. What were some of the things that you liked about the PA that you interacted with and made you want to do all this work to switch?
Flexibility in the PA Profession
00:12:13
Speaker
Because that's a big decision. It is a big decision. I think that I was most drawn to how accessible they were. I felt like I had good
00:12:28
Speaker
relationships with the physicians in the facility, but they weren't so engaged in talking with me. And I met this PA who I felt was very collaborative. And I'm not saying that physicians aren't, it was just at the time, it was really cool to me that I could talk to this PA and
00:12:55
Speaker
Like we could actually like work out a plan together. And I just felt like it was really collaborative. I liked their approach and they did that with everyone. So that really gave me like this, this really positive experience. And I started looking into it and I was like, this is, this is fantastic because I'm the kind of person who has so many different kinds of interests that
00:13:21
Speaker
the PA field really lends itself to that kind of personality, I think. You can change specialties if you want. You can do a couple different things. I like that. That works really well with who I am.
00:13:37
Speaker
Yeah, that lateral mobility. I talked about in a previous episode that people don't really understand how amazing that is unless they're in preschool or going to apply for a job, because you can really be anywhere where you can get hired. If they're willing to hire, you can work anywhere. I just interviewed someone that was able to get hired doing breast health, and she's pretty autonomous doing that. And just amazing the things we could do at work.
00:14:06
Speaker
Um, a couple of people that work with me are a little newer, like year two in the practice, but started in car cardiology, switched the ortho, or it wasn't the R switched the ortho surgery. So there really is an amazing flexibility. And if you don't, if you're getting burnt out in one thing can easily switch, which is amazing. Yeah. I really, I really love that. And like, it really, I've met physicians who have like.
00:14:36
Speaker
you know, invested all this time, all this energy, all this money into training into, you know, one field and then they get in it and they're like, I don't really like this and they're stuck. And they either have to like stick it out or they can, you know, pretty much start again with residency. And like, I've seen that and it makes me really grateful for like just
00:15:02
Speaker
going to PA route. I can't imagine being that situation. I really like the freedom and the flexibility. Yeah, I tell people that in PA school, it's a really amazing opportunity to work with residents
00:15:20
Speaker
so that you can understand why you didn't go that path. That's so true. And now it's a PA. I don't know if it's just me, but I'm seeing all these surgeons and like just them worrying about the surgeries. I'm like, I just walk in. I'm calm. I don't have to stress about anything because they take all the responsibility and I get to do the fun part of surgery.
00:15:43
Speaker
And don't have to worry about, you know, the patient outcomes as much like obviously I do don't want them to get infected or pain management stuff like that, but their ultimate responsibility. And they're always on call and they're really responsible for lots of stuff. Sure, their pay is more, but I don't know if it's worth the stress and the time because they they work a lot more than we do. At least hours. And it's great. So, yep.
00:16:13
Speaker
I don't understand people that get into, get into PAs that I get into this mindset. Like I regretted going, not going to med school. So I'm going to go back. I don't think there's very many, but I do talk to one of those people. I was like, no, I probably undermined the podcast, but no, I think that would be really interesting. Like, because like, I don't really know anyone who would do that, but maybe like,
00:16:42
Speaker
I don't know. I think that I would like to understand like why someone would go through that torture, but hey, you know, to each their own, everyone has their own journey. Okay. So how, so if you don't mind, do you know the stats that you applied with like GPA and clinical hours that you applied with?
Academic and Work Background
00:17:05
Speaker
Oh, my clinical hours. I mean, working full time for like eight years. That was a lot. Um, so you probably had
00:17:12
Speaker
Thousands thousands. Yeah, I can't remember like I Don't know I'd have to go back and look but definitely way over the okay the minimum Stats wise, you know, I think I had about a 3.5 in my science My prereqs, you know, we're pretty good pretty strong
00:17:42
Speaker
I had like pretty much a 4.0 in my, in my undergraduate. And, um, so I have, I have, this is my third master's degree. So I had like a 3.7 in my first masters and like UNC didn't, didn't do like, um, a typical like GPA. It was like pass or fail. Um,
00:18:11
Speaker
So I don't think I even got a GPA for that. But I was pretty strong student. I think my science classes for my prereqs definitely pushed me. Understandably, but yeah, I had a lot of work experience. I think that I've been on the board for like nonprofits, a few nonprofits. So I have a,
00:18:41
Speaker
strong volunteer background. Yeah, I think that was a picture of my background before PA school. Man, you're definitely going to be a mover in the PA field. I don't know. Future president. Future president of the AAPA right here.
00:19:05
Speaker
Oh, I don't know if I'd be cut out for that. I get frustrated and overwhelmed with politics.
00:19:12
Speaker
Oh, well, I guess that's true. I'll leave that to Alec. Yeah, that's true, too. I just had to send Diem to Jason Privilege. He's the new president-elect of AAPA, but he was a faculty for Sacred Heart, and he'd come and share all of his adventures and successes in politics just in the Connecticut legislature.
00:19:37
Speaker
I'm like passing all these amazing PA forward legislation and stuff like that. So I'll give him a text like, hey, you should get her on board. Oh, I don't know. I don't know if he would want me to understand that you like you've done podcasts and you're on the podcasting. How's that been going? I haven't really checked out a lot of other podcasts. You know what? I think we're kind of at it like standstill right now. I think
00:20:07
Speaker
Well, I did do a podcast with one of the addiction psychiatrists that I work with at Brigham, right?
Podcasting and Projects
00:20:16
Speaker
We did that in March, I would say, but they have been like, they've been doing a lot of like departmental work. And so it's kind of like, I'm waiting for that, that to be finalized. You know, we did the interview. I think they're just kind of
00:20:37
Speaker
working with the recording right now, but. Is it official school podcast? Yeah. Yeah. Program podcast. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. You know, like when I was doing it myself, because I did a podcast when I was a speechologist and I remember how much work goes into that, like just editing and.
00:21:00
Speaker
It's a real pain in the butt, but if you have like multiple people doing it, I'm sure it can go quickly, but I don't know how you handle it.
00:21:09
Speaker
Oh, that's pretty simple. I've gotten down to a sign. I can edit it and I usually don't edit these interviews because it's, it's, um, when it's just myself, yeah, I edit that quite a bit, but with just talking with two people that the cadence is good in the conversation. So I, and you know, there's minimal editing. I need to do usually if there's like a long gaps, maybe I'll cut that. I just have prerecorded stuff. I just plug in play and it's, it's not too bad.
00:21:37
Speaker
Okay, that's good. Well, I was probably just, you know, making it more difficult than it really was. Okay, so how was applying to preschool? Was that tricky? Were you first time or do you have to reapply? I'm sure it wasn't super tricky with your just your resume was pretty amazing. You know, I applied to probably eight schools.
00:22:07
Speaker
I interviewed for two and I got into two. Um, and it was a difficult decision because neither of them were in North Carolina, which were, which that's where I was at the time. So it was a difficult decision because it's, you know, it's moving my whole family. Um, but you know, I, I felt like the Casper thing was just all very overwhelming.
00:22:37
Speaker
process time-consuming but I enjoyed like I enjoy interviews and I get energized by that so I you know if you're someone who it gets nervous with interviews I Definitely recommend like doing as many interviews as you can because I think the more you you do it You know the more comfortable you are but You know
00:23:06
Speaker
I found that kind of process, the interviewing. I liked
PA School Application Journey
00:23:10
Speaker
it. I had fun doing some of the challenges that they gave me. I'm a writer, so I enjoyed the essay. Yeah, I think that just overall, it was an OK process, nerve wracking, any other process.
00:23:34
Speaker
So when you moved your family, was your husband working at the time? Yeah. So my husband can pretty much work from anywhere. He's an it guy. So, you know, I'm lucky. I'm yeah, I'm really lucky, you know, in that regard. And so, um, it even works out. It works out actually a whole lot better to be in Connecticut rather than North Carolina, because he's from Poland. And so he can drive to JFK.
00:24:00
Speaker
take a flight straight out of JFK to Poland and it works out really well for him and his family. So, you know, we just found like Connecticut was like best for our family. So it wasn't too bad. How old are you kids? I have a 14 year old, a 10 year old and a four year old. How are they boys?
00:24:22
Speaker
Are they excited or like, oh, mom's doing this again, they're going to school again? How was that conversation? I think that they're used to me being in school. I've been in school, you know, you know, I was doing those prerequisites and I was working. So they're kind of like used to that. But, um, I think being like fully in school for PA school, I thought, I thought that that was probably more difficult than the move, you know,
00:24:52
Speaker
I thought like it was a good move to a like even stronger school um I thought it was like it's a it's a nice community um they've made friends relatively quickly thankfully it takes time and I think kids are pretty resilient in that regard um but I think
00:25:18
Speaker
I think it has been a little bit of a challenge for like my oldest, especially, you know, he's kind of getting into like, you know, more difficult years, like the teenage years. And I think he needs more support than he did, you know, when he was younger. So trying to balance that has been a little tricky, but you know, what's required of PA school, you know, it's just,
00:25:47
Speaker
It's a long it's long days. A lot of times he's just not able to I'm not even I'm not able to Be home and you know the time in time to like have you know good conversations sometimes so that's that's hard, but I try to you know think about quality over quantity and Really focus that like time on the weekend
00:26:15
Speaker
to do things one-on-one with them. Okay. Yeah, I mean.
00:26:21
Speaker
That's definitely true, kids. Luckily with me, I think we just were in this culture. We moved from Utah, where most of our friends either went to some sort of grad school out of state. So it was like, this is what we do next. We'd go out state. And it was kind of this fun adventure, next step in the path. Because we felt stuck for a while, because I graduated in 2017. But I went back for three semesters, realizing I don't have enough
00:26:48
Speaker
like my GPA isn't good enough to get into anywhere really. So I went back to three more semesters, so two more years of being in there and working this dead end CNA job with like stupid hours. And then finally getting into PA school and moving was pretty exciting. My daughter's pretty young at the time. She was four turning five.
00:27:12
Speaker
Um, but it, it was, it's kind of a, just a career next step in the path and wasn't super bad. My wife didn't, doesn't have a career. So she was fine moving. And she even, she was funny too. Cause when we're, um, when I was applying to school, she picked sicker heart. I was like, let's go here. And that's where I got in. Wow. Okay. Well, leave it to your wife then. Yeah, that's great.
00:27:41
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, you probably like it depends on like the child's age, you know, I don't think my youngest will even have very much memory of me doing this, but I think my oldest will definitely remember and hopefully I didn't I haven't, you know, scarred him too much.
00:28:05
Speaker
Well, just think during his prime years, you were making bank along with your husband. Nice vacations. And yeah, well, yeah, we'll see about that with three kids. Good Lord. Yeah, I had some anxiety with that. Just.
00:28:23
Speaker
Cause I felt like I was starting late compared to my friends that were like mid twenties on a career and I'm in my early thirties and we're pretty much starting from scratch. I have no retirement, really no savings cause we burnt it all.
00:28:40
Speaker
basically to get from end of peace school to first job. And it's just starting from scratch. I don't have any money for a down payment for a house. I can't afford that yet. So it just takes time to kind of get that going. But and I also also was worried that because we had such a big gap between kids like my daughter is going to leave the house by the time we have money to do fun things like go on vacations, go to Disneyland,
00:29:09
Speaker
and things like that. And I was I was I was kind of anxious about that. But it all worked out. And she's still pretty young. She's eight. So we still have 10 years of, you know, being able to do fun things. And we have a baby now. So that's too crazy. But that definitely was a stressful point for me in starting my career a little bit. So I'm sure. Yeah. I mean, I do.
00:29:38
Speaker
I do stress out sometimes about, gosh, starting over again. I had a decent career and it's always taking a risk. You basically took huge risks to get where you are. I think it's not the same as someone going straight out of college and doing this here. It's just a different
00:30:08
Speaker
risk. And I guess that's I think that says a lot about you, because if you're willing to take big risks, you know, there's really a good if you if you are persistent, I really do believe this that second, I think you cut up. Can you hear? Yes, can you hear me? Your talk again. Can you hear me? I can't hear you. Your thing die.
00:30:38
Speaker
No, it's fully charged. One second. Okay. We probably have to cut up the first risk of, you know, moving forward with, you know, a huge risk in your, you know, in your, you may or may not come out on top of that. And it's scary. And I think for older students, it's, most of these students I think are starting at, you know,
00:31:07
Speaker
career changer or they've invested a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of money in trying to get to PA school. And it's scary from that viewpoint, I think. But I think with big risks can come big rewards.
00:31:28
Speaker
And that's what that's what you have to believe Like I'm going to get I'm going is is going to work out this is going to lead to good things
00:31:40
Speaker
Yeah, definitely on the other side of preschool. It's not it's almost like I didn't go to preschool. Oh, wow. Like it just that time, I guess I was in preschool, but it just wasn't as now. It's like, OK, I went through it and now I'm like on the other side. It's amazing on the other side. There's light at the end of the tunnel. All right. What was your salary like when you switch when you went to preschool from your speech pathology job?
00:32:10
Speaker
Yeah, you know, I think that depending on where you're at, like I worked for this really niche clinic who was a neuro rehab clinic. And so I got to like the trade off for me was like, from going from skill nursing facility, which was like probably about 70 75,000 a year to outpatient clinic where I was making probably about 60
00:32:38
Speaker
but I felt it was good to take the cut because it was more flexible. Like as a mom, like I could make my own hours. I had my own office. I just had a lot of flexibility. They even let me take like long vacations, you know? And so I think it depends on what you really want. But for me, it was like a very flexible job. It's not really about the money for me.
00:33:06
Speaker
Yeah, it is a good it is a good boost. But yeah, I mean, it is a bit of a boost, especially here in Connecticut, starting as like 120 or like 100 tens low to 120 is pretty common for look forward to that. Yeah. So in the hundreds, you'll definitely get that, which is good. Yeah. So this is a boost. So just kind of to help patients
00:33:35
Speaker
like see the differences a little bit. Yeah, it is a bit of an increase in pain. Two years. So if you are thinking about that, you know, that's one of the things to think about. So how has school been at least your first year, you just kind of finished it. How did that go for you?
Challenges in PA School First Year
00:33:56
Speaker
Yeah, that was it was that was a lot. I would say that's probably one of the hardest years of my life, but
00:34:05
Speaker
I think in a different way that I'm used to, like mentally it was there, it was a lot. Long hours, just like figuring out what works for me as, you know, for studying, trying to like get, tried to be like very strict with myself with like a daily routine and really recognizing that taking time to do like,
00:34:34
Speaker
self-care is very important as well as, you know, eating, you know, eating good and exercising. It's, that's really important. Like people tell you that all the time, like, make sure you're exercising, make sure you're eating right, you know, like, make sure you're getting enough sleep. And like, it really does matter. I can tell you, like, I know it's cliche for people to tell you that, but please listen to that. I've learned, I've learned.
00:35:02
Speaker
So like academically, were you kind of a top performer or kind of more average? How was that? OK, so I actually. Nearly flunked out of my first semester. I started in twenty twenty one and I got a D in anatomy and a D in physiology and
00:35:32
Speaker
So a little bit about that, I think it's really important to recognize that sometimes you can put in all the effort you want and you just can't, sometimes you just really struggle to find what works for you. And thankfully my school really helped me, gave me another chance
00:36:03
Speaker
I had a TBI in 2017. And someone who, as someone who treated TBI patients, like I recognized a lot of things, a lot of issues that I was having after that TBI, but I kind of just, I wasn't in denial, but I was more like, it'll get better.
00:36:32
Speaker
I'm just going to work on it, you know, and like figure out strategies for myself. But when I hit that first semester of PA school, I could not. I could not get by in in like the ways that I had been getting by. So I had to get a neuropsychological test and I felt like it was a good time to like
00:37:01
Speaker
hey, if there was impairments, I need some accommodations. So unfortunately, there were some impairments, like the tension was an issue. And I do suspect that I had some attention, like ADD probably, growing up. But I was able to get by with the strategies I knew. But when I hit PA school, that was just not going to fly.
00:37:31
Speaker
So once I got those accommodations, I excelled. So it was night and day. I had to take a whole year and I studied and I went to therapy and I got on medication and that whole year made such a huge difference for me. So I started the next year, so I basically decelerated. And after that, I don't know, things just start clicking.
00:38:01
Speaker
Um, I did really well i've been doing really well Thankfully, I think that I figured out like what works for me in addition to like also like the medication And the therapy that I did like to learn the strategies to use And then I needed extra time so I got that I got what I needed and I'm I definitely recommend like if you're someone who like
00:38:32
Speaker
thinks that maybe that is an issue that you should get checked and get what you need so that you can reach your potential.
Overcoming Academic Challenges
00:38:41
Speaker
Okay. So when you did kind of fail this couple of courses in the first semester, was it automatic deceleration or was it like probation next semester and you chose the deceleration? They basically said, you can, you can leave.
00:39:03
Speaker
you can be dismissed or you can decelerate. And you'll take those courses again. And I also chose to take a few other courses just as like a refresher. And yeah, I actually like, I was on the brink of like just saying, you know what, I'm done. Like I'm just going to go back to my other career and, but
00:39:32
Speaker
my husband kept on saying like, just don't give up, you know, like you cannot do that. Like you've, you've like done this for years. Like you can't just like give up once you hit an obstacle. And yeah, I had to really change like my mindset. I was in this fixed mindset, I think, and therapy helped. And I, I went back not just because like he was telling you not to give up because I felt like I, you know what, I'm going to give it a try. I think I can do it this time.
00:40:02
Speaker
with like the right support, I can do it. Okay. So you kind of mentioned it before, but like you studied with a therapy. What else did you do during that year? Did you work? I did. I did. I actually, like one of my impairments is like just memory. Like it's, um, it's hard for me to, um, it's hard for me to like,
00:40:29
Speaker
sometimes remember things if I'm not, if I'm not using my strategies or if I had, if I feel really anxious about something. So using my strategies, but I also like, I challenged myself by, um, I became a farm, a pharmacy technician and I thought that would be like really beneficial because I could work with farm man. Do you recognize all these names? Yes. You know, I thought it would be like really good for like, just like,
00:40:58
Speaker
pushing my memory a bit because it really did force me to work on my memory. And I just thought it's like a win-win situation. Like I'll get used to all these patients and I'll learn about it. And I did. It was really, it was really a good experience. I love farm.
00:41:15
Speaker
So maybe that helps. Oh, good. That's that's really, really smart and it's cool that you're able to get a job in that. So, yeah, I thought like I need to do something. I need to do something that like pushes me. And my therapist was like, why don't you do something that, you know, works your your skills, but also like helps you with school. And she we came up with pharmacy technician.
00:41:44
Speaker
So yeah, that's what I did. That's really cool. That's awesome. I can add that to my. Yeah, that's very, very cool. So what accommodations are there available and what did you get? So I get a separate testing area as well as extra time for testing.
00:42:14
Speaker
But that does not apply to practical exams. It only applies to computerized tests. So I still have to kind of use my strategies when I'm doing the OSKIs or those kinds of practical exams. I like those. I don't feel as much anxiety when I'm faced with
00:42:44
Speaker
questions. So yeah, that, that's really helped me a lot. Okay. I get, my attention gets like really derailed. If I'm, if I can't be like in this room, you know, even like in a room with other testers, just like less testers helps me. Okay.
00:43:14
Speaker
Cool, so that's, so for everyone that's wondering, those are some possible accommodations that one can receive. Yeah, I saw a couple people, different testing, more comfortable chairs, and like,
00:43:30
Speaker
when I have to double the length to finish the exam, which is cool because you can get those same accommodations when you take pants as well. Yeah, that's crucial. Because a lot of people might think, well, it's not going to prepare me for the pants, but you do get length accommodations on pants. That's something that I think about too. Awesome. So do you think your time constraints has impacted you in PA school?
00:43:58
Speaker
in an academic class academically. Like family country.
Time Management Strategies
00:44:06
Speaker
Family. Yeah, you know, yes, I think there's no way around that I, I have to try to balance school and family. And so I don't always get to go out with the class. You know, they may go out after an exam or after, you know, a practical and I just
00:44:28
Speaker
I don't get to do that as often. Rarely, probably. I'm always kind of rushing. Like I have to actually have my schedule is by the minute. I literally take my outlook. I live by my outlook and my husband has my schedule and I have his schedule so we know exactly what's going on.
00:44:54
Speaker
at any given point. And I have to, I have to know exactly what's going on for the day. It takes a lot of planning. You probably get that. Yes. Yes. So timeout planning is amazing. Yeah. Um, for just every, everyone should do timeout plan, but especially people who have families, um, did you like for your family, your kids, did you do stuff individually or just mostly just family activities on the weekends? A lot of family activities, but now that.
00:45:26
Speaker
Now that I'm recognizing that I may have a little bit more flexibility, depending on the rotation, I'd like to do one-on-one with my kids, schedule at least once a week with my kids, where I'm giving that one child, this is what we're going to do, something that they like to do. And actually, I signed up for a volunteer experience with my oldest. So I'm trying to find things that I can do with them.
00:45:54
Speaker
So that I don't feel like I have to constantly find ways to use that time together. I feel like that would be fun.
00:46:10
Speaker
There's lots of win-win things about that. I think so. That's a great. I was trying to do that. I did that with my daughter a couple of times. Oh, we had like the requirement of volunteer times and the there's this one farm we could pick things for like a community farm that I could bring her and I brought her a couple of times and doing stuff like that is very cool to bring you to because it helps them kind of
00:46:39
Speaker
understand the impact that service has. And also you're spending time with them. So it definitely is a cool way to do that. Yeah. I think I'm going to do that more often. I think that's going to be fun. I don't think they're looking forward to it, but maybe I'll show them that it is really worthwhile.
00:47:04
Speaker
Did you ever study when you got home after like during didactic year after you did a whole day of PA school or you just stayed later and didn't do anything at home? I, so my, my schedule was usually like, I will, I would attend my courses during the day. And usually I had like anywhere from eight to 12 hour days, I'd go home, I'd have dinner.
00:47:30
Speaker
I'd help put my kids to bed and then I'd studied some more until I pretty much went to bed. Um, but I did try to fit in like a workout before I, before I started. So I had like this like pretty intense day of, of learning. And then I tried to like have family time and then slowly transition into study time. That was my schedule. Okay. Okay. Yeah. I mean,
00:47:58
Speaker
figuring that out the single people out there they really have a life and they and they're like constantly saying you got to take time for yourself your whole your whole evening you have like five hours to yourself i don't have that in a week oh my gosh it's really it's like a mental game just to figure that out really yeah now i would like to become a morning person
Morning Person Benefits
00:48:25
Speaker
and try to fit in my workout in the morning. Oh, yeah. You know, I mean, people do like I'm a worried person. Yeah. My my draw to it is like.
00:48:36
Speaker
I could do anything I want. No one's needing me because everyone's asleep because they're later. I homeschool my daughter, so she doesn't need to be in where and my wife sleeps in and we go to bed later, especially now on my schedule. I'm a little bit later, so we pushed our bedtime a little bit later and I still try and wake up.
00:48:59
Speaker
you know, a couple hours before everyone else. And I just have this time to myself. I do whatever I want. No one wants, I could like, I went on a four and a half mile walk today and no one knew I was gone. Cause they were all sleeping. I got back and it was like, this is great. So for morning people, if you're, if your people sleep in, it's great. Especially for kids sleeping, it's great. Just to be done. That sounds amazing. You know what I'm really struggling with? I don't know. Maybe, maybe you have an idea here. I,
00:49:29
Speaker
My husband is more of like a night person and I'm more of a morning person. Yeah. My wife is the same way. She's not morning. Oh my gosh. So what did you do then? Like, I think that, I think like we are actually, I'm having a harder time finding time to be with him than my kids, you know? Yeah. I think my, the hardest thing for me too is
00:49:51
Speaker
I have very strong melatonin and I just start shutting down at like 10. I just like I'm talking with her and I'm falling asleep sometimes. Yeah. And I'm chronically sleep deprived to set as a help. But caffeine helps a little bit. And so.
00:50:13
Speaker
You know, having intimacy is hard sometimes because especially with a baby, like let's do it after everyone's asleep, but I'm like dead tired. So that's tricky, too. Like maybe we'll do it in the morning or not. I mean, I'm navigating that too right now. So yeah, that's really difficult. You know, I'm thinking that I think I'm going to have to reach a point where like I have to compromise with him that like, OK, two days I'll stay up with you.
Balancing with a Night-Owl Partner
00:50:41
Speaker
But two days you're going to have to go to bed with me. Like, I don't know. Like, I don't know how else to do it. And there's also like, there's for me, I have two, two late nights. Cause I, I work Monday through Monday through Wednesday and then I have a day off and then I work Friday and then two days off. So what we do too is I have to go to bed a certain time or else I don't function at work. It's got to function at work.
00:51:08
Speaker
So I go to bed at set time, you know, if she's doing something, she sometimes stays up later. I go to bed at the same time on the week, on those nights where I don't have to wake up early the next day. That's when we tend to stay up till midnight, one o'clock doing stuff. So that's kind of what compromise we did. Yeah. So you can do that. You can stay up that late. Yeah. I mean, sometimes it's tough, but it's not so bad after a little bit. So.
00:51:36
Speaker
Alright, well, maybe I'll just have to like give up on a weekdays just I'm just gonna have to just so it's survival mode. I mean, school trick different, you know, because you have study stuff. And you feel like you always have to be preparing for the next exam. I don't have to worry about that, which is nice. I don't even have to worry about preparing for the next day work.
00:51:59
Speaker
which is a credible feeling. You have so much more time that way, because when you have to study and doing all the preparing, it's just eats up that much more time. So yeah, so it is it peaceful is just hard. But luckily, it's only, you know, 27 months or whatever, how long it is. It's not very long compared to other things. So
00:52:23
Speaker
Yeah, it's temporary. I keep telling myself it's temporary, but I've been saying that it's temporary for a long time. And my husband's about ready to start his MBA program. So that's going to be another...
00:52:37
Speaker
Another struggle, but, you know, one, one thing at a time. Awesome. Well, before we finish, um, is there any last words of wisdom you want to impart to maybe mothers, women, pre-school students, anyone?
Advice for PA Students and Parents
00:52:55
Speaker
Yeah, I, I think it's hard. I think for me, it's hard to find, it was hard to find my people.
00:53:03
Speaker
Like that would understood that understood like my family situation. Like I don't really have, I don't have any parents in my, in my program. So that was hard. Like I wish I could find, you know, more, more parents to connect with, but I did find a group of students who are really supportive and like really kind of get it, even though they're not parents. So, um, I think definitely find your people.
00:53:30
Speaker
I also think that you really have to be gentle to yourself because it's, you are, it's, it's not, it's not a bad thing to be doing this for yourself. It's not, you're also doing this for your family, you know, but you have to follow your passions and that's important too. Just because you're a parent doesn't mean you forget all about all that. So.
00:53:55
Speaker
You know, don't forget about who you are and what your passions are because I think that's going to make you an overall happier person and happier parent. So. Be gentle. Yes, realize you're in the best you can and hopefully your partner or spouse recognizes that and do your best and try to accommodate them and.
00:54:19
Speaker
Yeah. And also find a good mentor who's also like, especially, I'm sure it works the same for, for men as well. Like for women, like it has been, it has meant so much to me to find another female mentor. They, there's just some nuances to it and she's really giving me some great advice and career advice and just life guidance. So find a mentor. It's really important. You have a couple.
00:54:50
Speaker
Not for a bad thing. That's very true. That's very true. It's good to think about. Yeah.
00:54:57
Speaker
Awesome. Well, thanks so much, Megan, for talking. Thank you. Chat about families and parenthood. It's so fun. I do want it. I do want to catch you when you do get a job. So we'll definitely have you back on how life is after pay school and your career. That'll be fun. It seems so far away. It does. But you're getting there. You're getting there. One day at a time.