Branch On The Vine

By: Alli Matthews

Like I said last Tuesday, life has been crazy lately. Let me reassure you, it’s been a good kind of crazy. I’ve been spending more time with friends, baking, reading, and getting all the things done to become a Michigan resident. (Yes, I am now legally a Michigander once again!)

Also, I have some exciting news: I have accepted a full-time job as a physician assistant in psychiatry!!! I get to start on Monday. 

You might be wondering what that will look like. Basically, I will be asking about symptoms, diagnosing, and treating patients with mental illness. I will be working in an outpatient setting, (kind of like a clinic). I will be trained by a doctor and then when I’m ready, have a collaborative relationship with him. That means we will still work together to care for patients, but I will be seeing them on my own. Since this is my first job after graduating from PA school, they are having me start with patients ages 12 and older, but eventually, I’ll be serving all ages.

I feel totally honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to care for people in this way. There is a HUGE need for physician assistants to work in the mental health field because of our ability to prescribe medications for people. 

Now you might be wondering, what does this mean for the blog? I have 2 updates about how things will change here at Branch On The Vine:

1. I will be sharing more mental health content!!! 

My hope is to make content that is both helpful and encouraging to anyone who reads my posts. I was honored to receive a lot of positive feedback about the Mental Health Series. I think it’s because more people are struggling and admitting to struggling with mental illness than ever before. Therefore, I’m going to give you more information about mental health as I learn about it in my career to both deconstruct the stigma and help you have the best mental health possible. 

2. I will be posting less – at least while I am adjusting. 

This is definitely sad for me, but I know I need to be realistic. Starting a new job as a physician assistant requires studying. I have so much to learn about psychiatry, and I’m so excited to do so! However, this will give me less time and energy to write for a while. 

I want to do whatever I am doing well. I don’t want to stretch myself so thin that I’m not serving my patients adequately or I’m not producing high quality content. Therefore, I am taking a break from the routine posting cycle. I will post when God gives me the time, hopefully once per week but maybe less. 

I can’t thank you all enough for reading what I write. I write to bless the Lord and bless you, but you have blessed me so much by taking time to read what God puts on my heart. I’m so thankful for this community and how God is working.

I’ll leave you with a verse I have been pondering lately. I hope that it encourages you to fully commit to Jesus in whatever you do:

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the whole earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

2 Chronicles 16:9