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Hi! My name is Sara Wong and I am a second-year Physician Assistant (PA) student here at Salus. Currently, I am completing my third clinical rotation at an inpatient and outpatient recovery center for our Psychology/Behavioral Health rotation.

This is what my day typically looks like:

In the morning, I wake up around 6:30 a.m. to get ready for the day and leave my apartment by 7:10 a.m. My commute takes about an hour and I arrive at the recovery center around 8:10 a.m. and am in the office ready to start by 8:20 a.m. The morning is relatively relaxed. I chat with my preceptor and fellow students about the patients we saw on telehealth the previous evening or discuss those scheduled for later in the day. At 9:30 a.m., we see our first patient of the day. This particular visit is a follow-up to check on how our patient is doing on their recovery journey, if they are doing well on their medications, and how they are feeling overall.

Around 10:00 a.m., patients participating in the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) group arrive for their psychotherapy group session. The students and I select one patient from the group to complete an in-depth evaluation. We take a very detailed history of our patient; this particular evaluation took about an hour and a half. Afterward, we return to the office and complete the patient note, deliberate possible differentials, and develop a management plan. We present our findings to our preceptor just before breaking for lunch around 1:00 p.m. After lunch, our patient is brought back for a follow-up with our preceptor, who verifies our findings and makes any necessary adjustments to their medications. In the afternoon, we see a few more patients via telehealth, ranging from initial patient evaluations to follow-up visits. At 3:30 p.m, we attend a staff meeting with our preceptor, who is the only PA on site, and other outpatient staff, including therapists and a nurse. We debrief and discuss collaborative care plans for the current patients. After the staff meeting, we wrap up for the day and head home around 4:30 p.m.

I typically get home between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. depending on rush hour traffic. I spend some time preparing dinner and either studying or unwinding. Around 7:20 p.m., I join back on Zoom with my preceptor and other students to see our evening telehealth patients. After finishing with the last patient at 9:30 p.m., my day finally comes to a close. I take a couple hours to study more or relax before getting ready for the next day and head to bed, ready to do it all over again the next day!