Introduction

By way of introduction, I am a PA student just beginning my clinical year.  I have survived the dreaded didactic year, but now the time has come for my real education.  I will spend the next year going from site to site learning the intricacies of clinical medicine.  I will typically spend four weeks at each site with the exceptions being a two week selective rotation and a four month long stint working in a family practice office.  I have many plans for where these will be, but very little is set in stone at this point.  I am striving for flexibility and patience, as are my wife and the rest of my family that have supported us this far.  And I speak for all of us when I say that we are ready to get on with this year - mostly so that I will be done with school and can resume at least a semblance of a real life. 

A word on the title: Primum Non Nocere is a Latin phrase meaning, "First, do no harm."  It is, in a very big way, the foundation of medical practice.  I found it fitting for a student going into the clinical years (where I will actually be working with and on patients) to make this the headline of the notes that I will be passing along to friends, family, and all others who come along to read these posts.  It is a major concern, of course, that in learning to provide medical care I will make a mistake along the way and cause harm to one of my patients.  In fact, if I were NOT concerned about the potential for harming someone, I would need to have my head examined.  So may it be a reminder to me as I write and a declaration to all that my head is in the right place and I am suitably sensitive to the weight of the tasks I will be undertaking.

That said, I think this year will be a lot of fun.