Besides interning in the ER department at Downstate Hospital, Nechama shadows a PA. “Watching her diagnose patients, I’m getting an advanced knowledge of the field before I’m actually in it.” But she’s also a medical assistant twice a week at Pediatrics Associates, where she greets patients, takes their vitals and history, and does odds and ends. “Just typing for the doctor lets me learn a tremendous amount about what typical well visits and sick visits are like.”