Clinical correlations has been a class I have grown in from week to week. The structure and nature of the course allowed me to learn and improve with each session and keep pushing myself to do better. Each scenario brought something different to the table. In some, I learned more about the topic we were covering since I may not have been too familiar with it, whereas others allowed me to dive deeper into diagnostic or treatment modalities.

I had many struggles in this course. One of my greatest weaknesses was not participating as much because I wasn’t sure if I was correct. I overcame that about half-way through the course and learned that even if I was not on the right tract, I would learn why that was and correct my direction of thought. These mistakes allowed me to grow, learn, and become more confident in forming differential diagnoses and deciding on steps to rule in or rule out possible conditions. Another aspect of the class I struggled with was overcoming the awkward dynamic of online group work. Not wanting to step on any body’s toes while trying to make your thoughts known was a hard balance. It took some time but myself as well as my classmates were able to figure out a smooth flow to our group discussions and prospered because of it.

While I have improved in formulating a differential diagnosis and coming up with treatments, I believe this is an area I can improve in tremendously. The differential diagnosis is the basis of how I will choose diagnostic modalities and treatments for patients and coming up with a solid list in a timely manner is important for patient outcomes. Getting more experience and seeing conditions, signs, and symptoms on real patients will definitely help in this aspect as the theory behind all we learned will be applied to real life. This is a skill I hope to master one day and will be actively working on throughout clinical rotations as well as my future career. The lessons I have learned in this course will be some that I apply every day and will continue to build on as I work toward becoming a physician assistant.