For my first rotation, I had the pleasure of working with and learning from Gary Maida PA-C and Sal Susino PA-C. Gary Maida was our pediatric professor and therefore very knowledgable in his field and therefore was able to teach me how to apply what was taught in class into the clinical world. I was performing rapid tests (for influenza and streptococcus pharyngitis), and administering injections/vaccinations within the first week. I was able to see patients on my own, present the case and then he’d go in to assess the patient. He would often give me a set of labs and ask me what I think is going on and what I would advise. Being a relatively new PA graduate, Sal Susino would go over high yield topics for the PANCE and I’d often go to him if I didn’t know the answer to a question on rosh review. I was in a very comfortable environment and got to ask questions if I needed clarification on certain things and felt comfortable telling them both if I wasn’t able to visualize a child’s tympanic membrane or if I wasn’t sure if I heard crackles on lung auscultation. I think this was a really great rotation to start off with; I definitely learned a lot in the five weeks I was there.

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