Let’s Get it Started in Here

To anyone reading this and tuning into my journey I’d like to give a quick introduction in this new platform. My name is Kelsie Balsam, I am 23 years old from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I graduated from Carlow University with a B.S. in Biology. 8 months after graduation I am lucky enough to be 1 of the 16 students enrolled in the class of 2021 West Virginia University Pathologists’ Assistant Master’s program. The title is a mouthful so in this blog I will be referring to us as PA students, not to be confused with Physicians’ Assistants. It has been an honor to be accepted into a competitive program so throughout these next two years of a chaotic schedule, I will need little reminders of how great of an opportunity this is and how worth it the hard work will be. Through this blog I hope to find an escape from the negative thoughts that can creep up when a stressed student is feeling defeated. Before I get into things about the program, I must be clear. I will not be putting up pictures or any information that is personal of any patient. The internet is a great place but oversharing can impede in patient confidentiality (there’s a thing called HIPAA!!). However, I will do my best to be informative on what life is like for a PA student and give some information on the topics I am learning since alumni of this program helped in my decision to apply to WVU through their blogs and personal experiences (shout out to Nikki Scrubs big fan of your work!). This Master’s program is one year didactic and in the second year, clinical rotations begin. Doesn’t seem like a lot but I’ll be taking it one day at a time to survive of course! After graduation there is an exam to become a certified PA. I’d love for my friends and family to keep up with the blog and get a better understanding of what goes on in this program.

This road will not be easy, but I truly feel I found my purpose in this world. I can’t exactly trace the day that I fell in love with the medical field, but I do remember 6^thgrade Mr. Reffert’s biology course being the first class that piqued my interest. His charisma and passion for teaching the subject was infectious to his students. It was as if this subject demanded my attention right away and I soon found an eagerness to keep finding answers about the world around me. Looking back, my time in middle school and high school level bio classes kept me interested in the sciences. When deciding what to do after graduation, the human body became my focal point of interest in furthering my education. I had so many teachers helping me at an early age to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I always felt I was on the right path. Not everyone has an idea of what they want to do so young, but I plan to use that as a driving force to stay motivated when I feel like giving up in this intense career field. I am asked a lot about why I chose the career of being a Pathologists’ Assistant and telling people I loved studying the complexity of human body fell short of what I was feeling. I took a theology course my junior year of college and I found the words. There was much discussion of the miracle of life and how science may actually support there is a higher power to this world. The human body is miraculous and so intricate that it’s a wonder the systems orchestrate in perfect unison to function and make us alive, and healthy. Amazing I don’t walk around with the risk of the common cold killing me every day, right? 

 But this is where I take the most interest in the career field. Pathology is the study of diseases and understanding how to diagnose an affected patient. Basically, this is figuring out why our perfect systems stop working. I spent some time in undergrad watching autopsies and watching WVU PA students in their second-year rotations at Presbyterian Hospital confidentially take over the morgue. They were well prepared amongst a team of medical professionals and helped doctors and residents build cases by reviewing patient history and taking appropriate tissue samples to find cause of death. They took apart the physical pieces to complete the post mortem puzzle! I also spent time in the gross room of that hospital with veteran PA’s (many WVU grads). Surgical pathology involves the collection of appropriate samples of tissue received from the OR or outside sites using gross and microscopic techniques to help histologists create a clear tiny slide that can be examined under a microscope and reviewed for diagnostic purposes. (That’s just a little summary of the big picture there is a lot more to it all of course that’s why I’m here). These duties are critical in recognizing between normal and abnormal tissues, often relating to patients with cancer. As the year goes on in class we will learn about many diseases, techniques to distinguish these tissues, and be able to apply our knowledge to actual diseased organs. I will get into types of specimens we often receive and interesting cases if they make their way to our class. So, although a PA may not directly be giving CPR or distributing life-saving medicines to a person seeking medical aide, the job of a PA is pertinent to proper medical care in this community of health professionals. 

Okay I know that was a lot, but I think my job is going to be cool and I am surrounded by Doctors, PA’s and other classmates who love what they are doing also. There are recent graduates in my class, but also people who have experience working in path or histology labs who decided to further their knowledge and become a PA. Everyone is truly welcoming and approachable and it’s a good environment already to be in. I think no matter what we are all ready for this next level and willing to put in the extra effort that is expected. They say if you love your job, you’ll never work another day in your life. I find the more you love your job, the harder you will want to work for it. Stay tuned! A lot of hard work ahead.