First Year Student Blog: LeiMeredith Moore-Byers

Share

 The Lane

To be a physician assistant student is to voluntarily commit to expanding your mind daily for 24-36 months and beyond. I will use this space to share a thing or two I wish I knew.

I am thinking back to the moment when pursuing healthcare just felt right. A newly minted 911 dispatcher for Virginia's capital, EMS calls had a hold on me in a way that was impossible to ignore. Five years later, I began the most rigorous training I have personally ever received.

The Duke PA program begins in August, and it was around March that my flood of questions began. I’d snag anyone with an inkling of an idea as to how best to prepare.

“Rest and relax up until the day you start – you’ll have more than enough work to do then.”

“Don’t buy too many books ahead of time without hearing what the program recommends first.”

“Brush up on anatomy and physiology.”

“Don’t compare yourself to everyone around you - stay in your lane.”

While I appreciated every piece of advice, it is that last statement I’d like to hone in on today. We often hear of and reference this “lane” in which we travel figuratively through life. I argue that there must be more to this lane than staying, especially in the case of a PA student and eventual clinician.

It was about week three of didactic year when the stress set in. A boulder sat on the back of my neck following an eight-hour day of lectures. I could not see the boulder or touch it, but it was there, and it hurt. I put on a low-fitting hat, told my dog I’d be back, and went for a tear-filled walk. I think it hit me at that moment that I wouldn’t know it all.

What used to be a Type A life of checklists and feelings of completion was quickly becoming, “what’s the best you can do today?”.

Moore-Byers standing next to a fellow student in the hospital, both wearing masks

Stay

It did not take long to acknowledge that the people around me were talented, gifted, resilient individuals – all with their own stories and prior knowledge to share. While it is sometimes difficult to balance appreciating their gifts and standing by your own without comparison, it is essential. In this way, in my lane, I learned to stay.

Merge

If  I had always stayed in my lane - during common problem labs with small groups,  cadaver dissection or emergency care scenario practice - I would not have gained nearly as much as I did. Listening to and learning from those around me, we offered what we could to the best of our student-angst abilities. I could not complete these tasks alone, and definitely not based on my previous certified nursing assistant and medical assistant experiences. I needed the people around me. In this way, from my lane, I learned to merge.

Moore-Byers wearing mask and face shield next to student on exam table

Accelerate

At some point in your journey as a student, you reach a point where second-guessing yourself will no longer serve you. Learning to overcome the inner voice which urges, “don’t say that, it may be wrong,” is a battle in and of itself. Recognize it, embrace it and be patient with yourself as you navigate pushing through it. In this way, in my lane, I am learning to accelerate.

In the months and weeks leading up to Day One, in the midst of buying supplies, planning where you’ll stay and maybe even reviewing the basic sciences, don’t forget to prepare you. Don’t forget to pack your strengths and weaknesses. Bring your experience. Bring your passions and humility. Bring your whole self and ready that self to change as you open your mind to learning the fundamentals of medicine. Some weeks, you will not know how you got through – but you will.

Bring your lane, but don’t stay in it. Allow it to expand, merge with others and accelerate to places you didn’t know it could.

Sending the best of wishes and growth in your PA school journey.


LeiMeredith Moore-Byers is a first-year student with the Duke Physician Assistant Program. Email leimeredith.moorebyers@duke.edu with questions.
 
Editor’s note: Duke Physician Assistant Program students blog twice a month. Blogs represent the opinion of the author, not the Duke Physician Assistant Program, the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, or Duke University.          

 


Share