The Capstone Project begins...

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014

It has been a while since my last post. The holidays has come and gone. Although I wish I could say that I got a lot done over the break, what I can admit is that I had some time to relax and spend time with my friends and family.

CAPSTONE

The one thing that our class had to get started on before the holiday break was our capstone project. The capstone project in our program is similar to a “mini thesis”. We decide on a research topic. We are paired up with a mentor who advises us how to approach our topic of interest. We then have to submit a scientific paper (5000 to 7500 words) and give a 15 min presentation. The main goal of the capstone project is to increase and demonstrate knowledge in qualitative and quantitative research concepts and methodologies. 

Our first draft of our paper is due at the beginning of March :S

I am currently doing my capstone project about emergency physician assistants. I am interviewing physician assistants who are working in emergency medicine that have graduated from either U of M or Canadian Forces to learn their current practices. We will use the information to adapt our courses/program to further prepare graduates to work in emergency medicine. So far this has been a fun and exciting project. Learning from past graduates gives me insight on what to look forward to after graduation. 

ACADEMIC DAYS

First day back from the break we gave presentations to the first years about our clinical experiences. I look back to what I wrote on my blog posting in Jan 2013 when the 2^nd years gave us the same presentations and I didn’t know anything about what they talked about. I couldn’t get a good read on what the 1^st years thought about our presentations this year. I tried to make mine simple knowing how I was in their shoes just a year ago. I also realzed how much I have learned since then.

Second day back we had clinical skills formative examinations with the 1^st year PA students acting as our patients. This turned out to be a very fun experience. It was easier and quicker than our last clinical exam last year before clinical rotations. Again this gave some piece of mind that we have learned some things :P

Lastly the day before heading back to our rotations we had an orientation to anesthesia. This was a great overview on what to expect during the rotation. We learned what drugs they commonly use and had some practice on IVs and intubation.