Cadaver Lab & Bananas

I found 2 new loves in PT school - Cadaver Lab & Bananas.
Details of the Cadaver lab in another post. The most important point I want to address in this post is to not mix these 2 loves.
Bananas are cheap, healthy, filling and oh-so-tasty when ripe. I ate one just before I went down to my cadaver lab. This was probably my 4th week of cadaver lab and I was having a rocking good time with the dissections. But the smell of my favorite fruit mixed with the smells of the cadavers was dissssgusting. I never made that mistake again. Allow 20 minutes between a meal and a trip to the cutting station. Even if you think you are a pro and the smell of bodies never stopped you from having lunch after your dissection. Eating BEFORE class is something totally different.

Picture of banana from http://paulwhartonstyle.com.

Dress Appropriately

I don't think I owned these types of nice dress clothes when I had a disposable income. But you get the idea. Look your smartest. Dress up for the interview.

I got into a random conversation today at lunch about whether the faculty at my school gave each of the interviewees a scan up and down before accepting us into the program. I said hells yes, I think my professors checked me out before accepting me! Then I hear about how some girl [during my classmate's interview] had the balls to come to the PT interview in a T-shirt and jeans! My classmate said she gave good answers but she's not a part of our class. Maybe the girl got accepted elsewhere. But would you really risk a chance to get into PT school because you didn't feel like buying a nice outfit? Go to Target or H&M and buy a cheap blouse/button down and slacks. Of course the interviewer is judging! I almost feel ridiculous even writing this post.

The only thing more ridiculous is this picture of Iggy. But at least he is dressed appropriately for his profession.

I think of my professors as working professionals. They happen to be responsible for inputting my grades but at the end of the day, they are working folk. And if they had to decide whether to put the girl in the button down shirt and dress pants on his/her team or the girl in the t-shirt and jeans [and they have similar academic stats], it seems obvious who he/she would want to represent their team.

If you are unsure, it never hurts to dress up. But it will only work against you to look like this.

Top Picture from All About Fashion.

Picture of Iggy from Fashionista.com

No vacations during PT school

There are none. Apparently you go to school year round. I did not know this! That was the most important part you will read this this blog post.

I figured it out after 6 months when I was checking in with my faculty to see when I can take some time off with my bf. Even during Xmas, we have a week off for Xmas and new years then it's back to studying for a comprehensive exam that is specific to my school. It's a cumulative exam that pulls from all of our course work up until that point. Technically a great way to keep the knowledge fresh or at least circulating in our brains after the course is over. Though it feels like a never ending cycle of torture.

Then you get, at best 1 week between spring-summer classes, and 1 other break between summer-fall. It is only if your professors are kind enough to schedule your finals right after classes end so you have more time before your next batch of classes start. Keep this mind if you thought you might get summer or winter vacation off in PT school.

Truthfully, should you be going on vacation while carrying around $40k/year debt? I say yes. You need to recoup after being brutalized during the semester. This one really smart fellow in my class said to me he's never worked so hard in his life, not in undergrad, not while working at bear sterns. Ha! Yeah buddy, that's why they went bankrupt. Just kidding about the bear sterns part. But really, You will work hard.

Some people will be displaced and school will be away from their home town. It's a good time to go back to the homestead, do your laundry for free at your mom's house, eat your dad's cooking and watch some good old premium cable tv that you can't afford while at school. Oh and get off that terrible bagel diet for a few days.

For me, I'm a douche bag. I'm on vacation while school is in session. I'm in sunny California with my boyfriend and best friend waiting for a 3 day outdoor weekend concert to begin. I'm skipping some classes and getting school work done on the plane. But taking that much needed break. I've never forgotten the importance of vacation. Its a good reminder of why you are working so damn hard. And a good nitro boost to power through the weeks leading up to finals.

Ok some fun stuff from the plane ride over that amused me and have nothing to do with PT:

Hugo is really a fantastic movie. I tried not to cry on the plane with the super hipsters seated next to me.

Then I saw this funny episode about hipsters on happy endings. I think it was planted.

The man next to me had his iBook, iPad, iPhone and dre beats ON all at once. Then I convinced myself he might be an important tech guy and not to judge. Then I saw him pay for internet to surf Facebook! He kinda looked like this but with a pair of drebeats and his iPhone in his left hand dangling in the aisle.

A note since I wrote this post: My days back from my brief vacation have been painful. I got a stinkin 70 on one of my quizzes and was unpleasantly surprised by a new group project with 2.5 weeks left in my semester. But it was all worth it to see the Black Keys and Tupac come to life.

Photo from Think Basis.

Happy Secret to Work Video

Shawn Anchor's TED talk: The happy secret to better work.

This guy is a fantastic presenter. I almost peed in my pants from laughing so hard. I'm horrible at summarizing so just watch the video about the happy secret to work.

Ways to create lasting positive change...

1) 3 Gratitudes

2) Journaling

3) Exercise

4) Meditation

5) Random Acts of Kindness

Picture from Forbes.com

How to get ready for the PT school interview?

I had a simple interview. The interviewers even said in the beginning that they try to run a low-stress interview. They asked me 3 questions and they were just checking to make sure that I was the same person that submitted the application.

Here were my 3 questions:

1) Why PT? (kinda like the tell me about yourself question)

2) Why (name of school here)?

3) Scenario question: If you were doing group work and one of your teammates plagiarized his portion and you have 1 month before the due date, what do you do? Since there was another interviewee in the room, they tacked on the statement before I answered"...and the teammate is not willing to redo his portion. What do you do?

A few pointers about interviewing...

1) All answers (no matter the question) should give the interview a reason why you would be the BEST CANDIDATE FOR THEIR DPT PROGRAM. For instance, they ask "why pt?" Your answer should complement or pull from your essay. Be consistent. And it should also be positioned in the way that answers the question but again explains why you are perfect for the program.

Your real reason for being a PT is because I was an athlete. I got therapy and I love what my PT does for a living. Its a fair reason but it doesn't say why you would be perfect for their program. Lay it out there for the interviewer.

Better answer: "I have experience with the PT profession as an athlete so I pursued volunteer work to see if it was for me. It was through my volunteer work that my experience played a critical role in sympathizing with the patient and talking with them through treatment. It was then that I realized that I could make an impact in this profession."

Its a good answer because it's telling the truth while backing up the statement with a story to support while you are the BEST CANDIDATE FOR THEIR DPT PROGRAM. In interviewing, nothing is the best predictor of future performance than past performance. The real life scenario gives the interviewer a sense of whether you would be good for their program based on what you did in the past.

To Be Continued...

Picture from SQLAuthority.com