Day in the Life
Physician Assistant
My name is Jennifer Cueni, and I am a second-year Physician Assistant (PA) student. I am from the Pittsburgh suburbs and attended Temple University for my undergraduate degree.
4:10 a.m.
I snooze my alarm 1-2 times. Time to get ready for the day! This includes lots of coffee and donning business casual and my white coat. Also, more coffee.
4:45 a.m.
Leave the house and drive to my Internal Medicine rotation in Vineland, New Jersey.5:45 a.m.
I arrive at the hospital and meet with my team in the resident’s lounge.
6:00 a.m.
I receive sign-out from the night-float team about patients on our service. As a student, we are assigned around 4-6 patients a day
6:30 a.m.
Start paper rounds on my assigned patients. This involves looking up new labs, vitals, imaging/diagnostics, consults and learning about any over-night events.
7:30 a.m.
Next, I go see each patient. I ask them how they are doing, perform a physical exam and talk to their nurse. I then form a plan for each patient and prepare for rounds.
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
We round with our team’s Attending Physician. This includes presenting each patient to the Attending and proposing an appropriate plan. We then see the patient with the attending and inform the patient about any pertinent events/plans.
12:00 p.m.
Lunch and lecture! As a student, you never stop learning, even during your breaks! During lunch we either have a guest speaker, tackle mock exam questions with the residents/students, or present interesting topics. Today, we had a lecture regarding the work-up for patients with metabolic acidosis.
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Finish rounding with the Attending.
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Re-check patients that had anything pending from the morning (labs, diagnostics, etc…) and see any newly-admitted patients. Finish writing progress notes.
4:00 p.m.
Drive back home! On these long drives, I listen to podcasts or Ariana Grande’s new album on loop (usually more of the latter).
5:30 p.m.
Time for a run! I try to fit in exercising anywhere I can in my schedule! It helps me relax after an action-packed day and allows me some personal time. I moved back to Philly after the didactic year, so I love to go for runs along the Schuylkill!
6:30 p.m.
Eat dinner with my boyfriend, catch up on some Netflix, and relax! Even though PA school is demanding, there is time to unwind.
7:30 p.m.
Research topics for tomorrow. There is so much to learn during each rotation. Internal Medicine is especially broad, and residents/attendings will often assign you a topic to research and present the next day. Today, I am researching causes of acute kidney injury.
9:30 p.m.
Time for bed! I make a date with my pillow every night around this time, and I am usually never late! I consistently try to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. This helps keep me refreshed for whatever life has to throw at me the next day (no, really, patients might throw things at you).
