I'm about to begin my ER rotation and am concerned about how to deal with a situation that I know will happen.

I'm relatively young for a PA student (23) but I'm also very short (4'11) and look much younger than am. I constantly get mistaken for being in high school in random public situations. Because of this I've struggled with patients either directly asking me if "I'm old enough to being doing this" or "are you really a student" OR more frequently it's comments under their breath or spoken behind my back as I'm leaving the room to the likes of "how old is she" or "i thought she was a volunteer". Sometimes they don't directly say anything but I tell by their body language they are doubting my competency solely based on my appearance.

And because I know these are the thoughts of my patients - I struggle to remain confident in my exam and interviewing of them. I rotated in a peds urgent care where I saw ages 0-26. The kids 14-15 or younger I felt really confident with and had no issues but as soon I saw an adult who outwardly appeared much older than myself, my confidence tanked and I felt like no matter how thorough my assessment was - I wouldn't be taken seriously.

Part of it is in my head. I know that. But I also struggle how to respond when those comments are made regarding my age, how young I look, and whether I'm "actually" a student. My biggest fear is not being taken seriously and not being respected as an actual provider once I graduate because of my appearance.

If you haven't experienced this yourself, you're not going to understand it nor will you think it is that big a deal - I get that. So if your advice is "just get over it" or "you're overanalyzing" - refrain please from responding. I'm mostly looking to hear from people with similar experiences or those with useful advice for how I can approach these situations.

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