Dream speciality

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Hello! Tonight I am going to quickly discuss what it means for a physician assistant to pick a speciality and what kind of field I would like to hopefully pick to specialize in.

 Many PAs pick a specific area that they would like to work in, and this is usually acquired during the rotation process of their major (at least at Duquesne). This is a very convenient aspect of the physican assistant program at Duquesne because the ability to learn more about specialty areas of medicine is integrated right into a semester's curriculum. There are 7 rotations total (pediatrics, surgery, OBGYN, etc.) and the final rotation is chosen by the PA student. This part of the rotation set-up is another factor that attracted me to the program at Duquesne.  

So in the end, if I am lucky, I will hopefully be picked up the hospital/practice that I am assigned for my last rotation. Growing up, I always wanted to specialize in surgery and try to work in an emergency room. Recently, however, I have been more drawn to becoming a dermatology PA. I think that it would be interesting to learn about skin growths and diseases. It is also a speciality that has the most flexible hours, especially when compared to working in any kind of emergency room. I think that I could possibly see myself opening some sort of dermatology practice with other PAs or Doctors. 

I think that it is always important to be aware of what speciality I would like to pursue in my future, but to also always be open to my interests changing in the future. I know that I definitely do not have the same minset now as I did when I was 18. So, I will certainly not have the same mindset as I do now when I am 23 and graduating. 

Thanks for reading and have a great rest of your night!

Sincerely,

-Meredith :)

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