One of my favorite things about the Physician Assistant Exam Scholars Newsletter is the sneaky way I teach you about thinking. Thinking from new angles and with new ideas. You know, what you’re supposed to learn in high school and undergrad.
Instead, our system prides itself on jamming in facts.
Thinking is key to the life of a PA.
At the hospital, I get paid to think. The people who follow directions do not get very far. It’s the thinkers.
Diagnosis is a thinking game. It’s a game of elimination. I do it all day long. I see patients and diagnose diseases. I fix problems in the OR.
All. Day. Long.
“The gas is leaking.”
“The bed won’t unlock.”
“The suction isn’t working.”
“We don’t have that instrument sterile. Can you use anything else?”
“We’re missing a needle.”
“The cautery won’t work.”
“The camera keeps going blurry.”
“Why did the lights just go out?”
“Arm three on the robot isn’t moving anymore.”
“We just lost power to the Harmonic Scalpel.”
“We dropped the graft on the floor.”
“The patients sliding up on the table and we need them at 20 degree of
Trendelenburg but they won’t stay.”
Every day, all day. This is my job. I fix things.
It’s easy. Know the possible causes and start eliminating them.
The suction isn’t working.
Is the machine on?
Is it plugged in?
Is the tubing hooked up to the machine?
Is the tubing kinked off somewhere? (i.e. is someone standing on it?)
There’s an algorithm I run though with any problem. Start with the obvious common problems and move down the list. Eventually, you isolate the problem and then you fix it. You can’t fix it before you know what it is.
Just like diagnosing a patient.
Although the January issue of PAES is the money issue, I will also be teaching you a little about how to think. Along with ways to earn some extra money on the sly in a fashion you’ve never even considered but would be so easy to do. In fact, using my plan, you could not only pay for this newsletter, but there’s also a solid chance you could pay for your schooling.
Hmm. Yeah, I think you probably could. You’d have to be willing to hustle a little to make that kind of dough and get your work done, but I bet you could do it.
Of course, you’d have to be able to think to get that far.
Anyway, the January issue of PAES goes to the printer on Thursday night when the ball drops.
Here’s the link if you’d like to see a few ways to recoup your investment into this here newsletter and so much more. It takes action. And here’s your chance:
Physician Assistant Exam Scholars
Brian Wallace