My mom likes to remind me often that nothing in my life is ever really planned more than two weeks ahead of time. I used to like to think of myself as a "planner", but clearly this whole med school journey has changed that for me. Never did I think I would've lived in the Caribbean, carry around a Michigan driver's license in my wallet and drive around with New York tags on my vehicle. But that my friends, is where life has taken me. Life can not always be planned.
We get asked a lot, probably weekly by family, friends, acquaintances and so on "What are you doing in New York?(ha, lets be real, I ask myself that question a lot too), Your husband went to school where? Why have you moved around so much? How much longer do you have?" So for you questionnaires, save this post, bookmark it, add it to your favorites, heck, print it out and refer to it as you see fit.
Norm started medical school in January 2010, in Dominica. No, not the Dominican Republic. He completed 16 months of "book work" on the island and came back to the states to do clinical rotations/clerkships which he will do for two years (unpaid) therefore resulting in the whole 4 years of medical school thing that people tend to forget about.
Clearly some time has passed since our days of living poolside on the island (oh wait, that was just me) and we have found ourselves residing in New York. Norm is currently rotating at Staten Island hospital for an elective in GI. Once he is finished with that he will take Step 2 CK (one of many ridiculous expensive licensing exams) on April 19th. Then the next day hit the road to head to Orlando to complete another elective rotation for 4 weeks. In the meantime, baby # 3's due date falls right in the middle of Norm's Florida rotation and weeks before Norms big test day. This happened with Claire while Norm was preparing for Step 1. Apparently, we like to plan babies around super stressful test dates. We like to keep things interesting. There goes that whole planning thing.
Norm will complete the 4 week rotation in Florida on a Friday and drive back to New York starting a surgery elective on Monday. I will hopefully have a brand new baby to tend to at this point. Oh, and the two other chitlins.
At this point he will be in his last semester of medical school ever! What?! We will also be getting our last student loan check ever! A double, what?! what?! is needed.
After that surgery elective he will travel into the big city and complete a 12 week long surgery rotation. Which brings us towards the end of August. Leaving him with only 4 weeks of rotations left in school.
While all of this crazy is going on, Norm Jr. will finish Kindergarten in the end of June. Which shortly after that me and the kids, meaning, a 2 month old, 21 month old, and 6 year old, will pack into our Nissan Altima and make the 16+ hour drive back to Florida. Seriously, I know your jealous. Now the fun begins. Job hunting for me. ATTENTION FLORIDA FRIENDS!! I will need a job. This may appear desperate and thats because I am. Remember when I said last loan check in May? That's right. We won't see any income for over a year when Norm starts residency in late June of 2014! I can and will work anywhere and do anything. It would be nice if it could be in the teaching field and put that good ole college degree to use, and the pay would be nice, but not necessarily my only option. Help a sister out!!
Norm will stay here finishing his surgery core during this time and pack up our little 800sqft New York apartment and make the move back to Florida as well end of August. (We still have yet to figure out how we are paying $1300 for that U-haul. Any have any connections with a moving company??) He'll then take a few weeks off and start applying for residency programs. All medical school students have to have all applications into a program called ERAS by September 15th. This is a little more intense then your run-of-the-mill job apps. He will have to look at programs that have taken past IMG'S (international medical graduates) in his field of interest (which is Internal Medicine), then look at those programs and see if they offer any fellowships (he's interested in GI, Inf. Dis, and Cardiology), then of course things like cost of living in the area, good schools for the kids, whether he gets insurance and benefits through the hospital and so on. He plans on applying to over a 100 programs so you can only imagine how much time (and money) will have to get put into this process. Hence, the job needed from me and time off for him.
Once he submits that information he hopes to complete with last 4 week elective rotation. Probably somewhere in Miami. All the while, I'll be living somewhere, Norm Jr. will be in first grade at some school, the other two in daycare somewhere, and I'll have some sort of job. Great planning once again.
From the months of November til the end of January they (meaning, the world of med school students and programs) call it interview season. You put out what seems like a bazillion apps and hope to get a handful of interviews at some of your top programs. At which point you pay out of pocket for plane trips, rental cars, hotel rooms, food, the works. All to hopefully make a good impression on someone, somewhere. You see why this j-o-b is a must?!
After Norm completes interview season, sometime in mid-February he has to rank his top programs based off how the interviews went and how he felt about the programs overall. They in return will rank him. There is some big algorithm on the computer called "the match" where you are assigned to your highest program that also ranked you and wasn't already filled with higher ranked applicants.
So for our family who asks us, "Why can't Norm just get a residency at ORMC?" I hope you are beginning to realize the process doesn't really work that way. Not to mention, these hospitals get thousands of applications each year. For Norm's specific area of interest, they only take 12 residents each year. Fun statistic eh?
Then, comes mid-March 2014(in case you're loosing track). The coveted match day that medical students from all over the US sit in front of their computer screens constantly hitting the refresh button over and over again until they see that email they've been waiting for for four years. That's when we'll find out where we'll be spending the next three years! To think I'll be living in one spot for three years seems like a new concept to me. We haven't lived somewhere that long since we started this journey! It will be nice, but I'm sure at some point I will get bored and feel the need to box something up.
So when June or July roll around, Dr. Norm Beatty can officially report to his first day of work (and a first real paycheck in years!). At which point we will all breath a huge sigh of relief to think that all this hard work has paid off. I'm sure the nostalgia of it all will where off pretty quickly as first year residents put in a minimum of 70hrs a week. Good times. Just when I thought I could breath a bit.
So for the girl that never seems to plan a thing, I feel like at least I know what the next 15 months will look (or what it's supposed to look like). Of course, all this could change. And probably will. We still haven't ruled out a reunion in Maryland with Grandma. Surprise!! :)
And for those of you wondering what 34 weeks pregnant looks like. Here it is in all its glory.
After Norm completes interview season, sometime in mid-February he has to rank his top programs based off how the interviews went and how he felt about the programs overall. They in return will rank him. There is some big algorithm on the computer called "the match" where you are assigned to your highest program that also ranked you and wasn't already filled with higher ranked applicants.
So for our family who asks us, "Why can't Norm just get a residency at ORMC?" I hope you are beginning to realize the process doesn't really work that way. Not to mention, these hospitals get thousands of applications each year. For Norm's specific area of interest, they only take 12 residents each year. Fun statistic eh?
Then, comes mid-March 2014(in case you're loosing track). The coveted match day that medical students from all over the US sit in front of their computer screens constantly hitting the refresh button over and over again until they see that email they've been waiting for for four years. That's when we'll find out where we'll be spending the next three years! To think I'll be living in one spot for three years seems like a new concept to me. We haven't lived somewhere that long since we started this journey! It will be nice, but I'm sure at some point I will get bored and feel the need to box something up.
So when June or July roll around, Dr. Norm Beatty can officially report to his first day of work (and a first real paycheck in years!). At which point we will all breath a huge sigh of relief to think that all this hard work has paid off. I'm sure the nostalgia of it all will where off pretty quickly as first year residents put in a minimum of 70hrs a week. Good times. Just when I thought I could breath a bit.
So for the girl that never seems to plan a thing, I feel like at least I know what the next 15 months will look (or what it's supposed to look like). Of course, all this could change. And probably will. We still haven't ruled out a reunion in Maryland with Grandma. Surprise!! :)
It is quite a ride huh?? Hang in there Cassi, you can do it. Norm will get lots of interviews, he is smart to apply to a ton and it is worth every penny to get a match in the end. This time next year you will breathe a huge sigh of relief when he has a match, and you will actually look back with fondness over this crazy adventure. But dang it, I was kind of hoping you guys would go to Dominica next year so I could see all your adventures!!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this post. Thank you for explaining it so eloquently. I can't wait for this process to be over for you. You are making HUGE sacrifices, to say the least. Oh, you are a winner. Miss you, my friend!
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