Hi, everyone. Yes, I’m done.

We had a formal commencement ceremony on June 9, 2012 at the UC Davis main campus in Freeborn Hall. It was beautiful. My kids were in attendance, and I owe them huge thanks for helping me through the last two years. As for how we’re doing, the picture above should say it all. [Pictured: Gabe, Sundance, and Paul]

It was amazing to look back on all we had done and accomplished - it made it clear to us how much we’ve all been through together. It’s hard to describe the feeling of being done with it all - I’d have to say I haven’t really taken it in yet. Here’s the video by our Class Historian and dear friend, Marilyse (that’s her in the sweater)…

The whole thing went surprisingly quickly (graduation day, AND the last two years, as I think about it), with most students scattering pretty quickly to private celebrations with family and friends after the ceremony. I attended Sundance’s “Returning to Society” party, at which her amazing family, neighbors, and friends gave her a well-deserved hoopla, my kids swam, and many stories about our times were shared. Sunny has taken a job working with a trauma surgery team in Sacramento, and she seems very excited.

Tomorrow and Thursday my class has a PANCE review session at school, which should be strange (being in class but being done). It will be on by the department faculty as courtesy for graduating students. Many of us are scheduled to take the PANCE very soon - I will take it on June 26. I’m nervous, but I think I will be prepared.

In the meantime, job openings continue to be emailed to us by our faculty. It’s a time of year when many clinics and hospitals actively seek new grads, as PAs (confirmed) really are in the high demand that I’ve been writing about for the last 21 months. I’ve seen openings for everything from internal medicine to bariatric surgery to psychiatry. Many of my classmates already have jobs lined up - all they need to do is pass the PANCE and complete the California licensure process. That’s a lot actually, but it will go very quickly, and before you know it, we’ll have our name on our very own prescription pads. I haven’t applied for any positions yet, but I’m doing plenty of networking to seek out just the right job. I’ll have to keep you in suspense for now.

As I said in my previous post, I have plenty more I’d like to accomplish with Inside PA Training. After I’ve had a brief breather [whew!] and gotten some family commitments taken care of, I’ll have more for you. Our CASPA essay thread has several new essays that have been posted in hopes of receiving your critique, so if you’re looking for something to read and learn from, that would be a great place to start. You can visit the CASPA Essays thread on our forum here.

It’s been a wild ride, thank you so much for taking it with me!

Peace,

Paul

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