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The other day an image came up in my memories that brought me back 2 years. I still remember vividly the exact moment the email popped up on my phone screen. I was so overwhelmed with joy that I could now officially call myself a CCPA. This got me thinking that I should write an update about how far I’ve come in the last 2 years. I’ve had a lot of questions from patients regarding the PA profession in Canada, both out of genuine curiosity and for the sake of pre-PA students they know! I’ve also had emails and questions from pre-PA students directly. After Graduation My goal was always to be a ..read more

DISCLAIMER: I am not a physician, an epidemiologist, or an infectious disease specialist and I am not an expert on COVID-19. This article is not meant to serve the purpose of medical advice. This article is simply an attempt to summarize information, cited from reliable sources. Its purpose is to help people better understand viruses and how they spread on a very basic level, with a focus on COVID-19. At the time of publishing, the sources used were current up to March 21, 2020. What is a “coronavirus”? The term “coronavirus” refers to a large family of viruses that are known to cause respirat ..read more

It’s been 5 months since we finished school and almost 4 months since we wrote our certification exam – so where are we now? It’s been an exciting few months for me. I dove head-first into a busy family practice where I learned a ton about the ins and outs of general practice. I met some incredible people and was lucky enough to have an excellent fellow PA mentor available and open to questions. I worked long 11 hour days and studied when I had free time. A few months into Family Medicine, an opportunity arose in a nearby Orthopaedic Surgery clinic. Since Ortho has forever been my passion, I ..read more

A lot has changed since I finished PA school in August 2018. After taking a couple weeks off, I studied daily for the PACCC Exam which I was registered to sit on October 2018. I studied for exactly 4 weeks prior to the exam. I used A Comprehensive Review for the Certification and Recertification Examinations for Physician Assistants. I would definitely recommend it as it provided a great review of most of the topics on the exam. Always be sure to cross-reference with the most up to date version of CanMEDS-PA to make sure there aren’t any gaps in your knowledge. I would recommend creating a s ..read more

There are many minor differences between the two accredited PA Programs in Ontario, which might mean that one program is better suited for you than another. Myself and Katrina, a 2nd year Physician Assistant at McMaster University, have worked together to tease out some of the similarities and differences between the Consortium of PA Education and the McMaster PA program. If you’re lucky enough to have the option of choosing one or another, hopefully this post will help in your decision making! Side Note: I apologize for the length of time it took for this post to be published. I was having ..read more

What is PANDAS? Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) can affect as many as 1 in 200 children, as estimated by the PANDAS Network. PANDAS occurs when a streptococcal (GAS) infection triggers a misdirected immune response with central nervous system manifestations. The proposed pathogenesis is controversial, but it is widely accepted that an important component involves GAS antibodies cross-reacting with host antigens in the brain, resulting in encephalitis. Children aged 5-12 are most susceptible as they have higher levels of exposur ..read more

If you know someone who is in a health care program at U of T, you may have heard them talk about “pain week”. This year, pain week took place on the week of March 19th. Pain week focuses on giving health care professionals a chance to develop their interprofessional skills in the management of chronic pain. The students included are in medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing.  The first day was mostly an intro to pain week, where all the professions (approx. 1000 students!) gathered in a large conference room to hear from a patient panel. These patients ..read more