BJS on the road: Life After PA School

I have officially seen my last patient as a PA student! I am currently in the Phoenix airport waiting to fly back up north. I will be graduating with my Master’s on Saturday, August 13th up in Portland. I truly can’t believe that graduation day is here! Some people have been saying that this was a fast 2.5 years but for me, it was slow. Sometimes painfully slow. We have been in 9 different cities, I have had interactions with 2178 patients, and we have met too many amazing people along the way to count. Nevertheless, the day is quickly approaching where I will have reached the pinnacle of my education pathway.

I am excited. And nervous. And scared. I’m not sure what life after PA school looks like. What will it be like to stop being a student? To live in SLO with my husband and family? To search for a job and be a “real” person? Right now the future is filled with a lot of uncertainty. I need to pass my national exam before I can start working, and I need to have that proof of passing before any employer will take me seriously. So as it stands right now I do not have a job and Justin and I don’t have a place set up to live on our own. However, God is good and has a perfect plan so that takes some of the stress off (Proverbs 3:5-6).

There are some things that I’m sure of though: life after PA school will be GOOD. Justin and I are going to enjoy our marriage, I am going to start training for a mini triathlon, and we are going to get back into the things we love and have missed about SLO including friends, family, pint night, bike night, slo-op climbing, hiking, skating, surfing, farmers, volunteering at youth group, beer making, wine tasting, and being part of the professional community.

I am thrilled to be taking on the title of Physician Assistant. This is exactly what I want to do with my life and I can’t wait for it to start!

Below is a practice picture of me in my graduation outfit.