A very special episode as we welcome an excellent teacher whose work with Dr. Hare directly influenced the format of Be Excited!. Andrew Foster, PA-C in General Cardiology joins us to discuss his service, his work in the field, and common cases and Must-Not-Miss diagnoses in his field, and there are a lot of them. Be Excited! about Cardiovascular medicine.

In this episode our guest is Lauren Campitelli, PA-C. Lauren has worked in Emergency Medicine, which has informed her career and decision-making as a GastroIntestinal service Physician Assistant. We discuss the profession, including the must-not-miss diagnoses of GI medicine along with common cases. We also delve into her career and why she likes GI medicine, as well as her advice for aspiring and current PA students and graduates. Be Excited! about GI medicine.

In this episode we discuss Endocrine Medicine and Diabetes care with Paige Thompson, MPAS, PA-C. Paige brings her experience in treating conditions causing Diabetes, Thyroid conditions, Adrenal conditions and Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis pathologies.

In this episode Professor Hare and Ryan Davies, PA-C discuss the Psych PA role, including suicidality and the approach to a variety of impactful psych conditions, with empathy, respect and a trauma-informed approach.

This episode is a conversation with Palliative Care CRNP Courtney Alesandro. This frank and wide-ranging discussion covers many issues common to late-stage and end of life in medicine. Note that this episode may be stressful to those who have been through end of life situations with a friend or loved one. As is often the case we use humor in the discussion, but the themes of empathy and respect for patients and their families are always present.

This is a 15 minute Meditation designed to increase calm and focus for studying or prior to exams. While not everyone needs or benefits from meditation, students with difficulty focusing, test anxiety, or just those who need to tune out the noise around them may find this a useful adjunct. It is best to try this prior to an exam so that you know how it works for you. There is a short version at 9 minutes posted for when you don't have time for this full version at 15 minutes.

In Part 2 of the Didactic Survive and Thrive discussion, I discuss best practices for studying, cramming for exams, time management and study breaks, and some tactics that have been variably successful for students in my courses.