Sunday, February 14, 2010

Q&A Session

There are several reasons I started this blog, and one of them was because I really felt like as a medical student spouse I was somewhat in the dark as to what medical school and medical training would involve. And I cannot even blame this on my husband, because honestly he didn't know what we were really in for either. I feel like most premed students don't even understand what the process involves, all they know is that they want to be a doctor. So one of the many reasons I started this blog was to give some insight into our lives as a medical school couple, and to shed some light on the whole process. As many people have generously offered their advice to Drew and I, I would like to do the same for others.

Although I am always open to questions, I wanted to take an opportunity to specifically invite you to ask me any questions you may have. Either leave them in the comments, or email me at marriedtoamedicalstudent (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll try and address the questions next week (if anyone has any). I'd also like to encourage you to say hello, if you are a lurker. One of my favorite things about blogging is meeting new people and reading new blogs!

I hope you all had a fabulous Valentines Day!

9 comments:

Allie said...

Hi! I love this post. Former lurker, new blogger here :)

My Hubs and I are in the spot as you guys right now - anxiously awaiting Match Day this March! I have absolutely loved reading your blog over the past couple of months...it's so nice to have someone that I can relate to, going through this crazy process. I agree 100% that at the beginning of this journey, we didn't REALLY know what it would be like. We knew it would be a long road, and often difficult, but just really had no clue. I can only imagine how helpful your blog is to those ladies who are just starting out in this process or maybe even a couple of years behind.

My question to you, without getting too specific, is are you guys likely going to have to relocate very far for residency? I'm curious because we lucked out in the sense that there are more residencies in the NYC metro area than in some entire states, so our move will only be a matter of a few miles, and I know that is not the case for many residents and their families across the country. How will this affect your career?

Jenny said...

Umm you know what I wish they had told me before starting? The amount of money involved outside of tuition! Books for rotations, boards and the stuff you buy for boards, interviews, audition rotations, etc. This is not free. I don't really have questions, as I'm living the life, but I'm sure you can commiserate with me on the money.

Elle said...

I have a good questions... in our relationship we're flipped I'm a female and the one going to medical school... so although I've enjoyed reading the blogs of medical students wives, I was wondering if you knew of any great blogs or resources for med students husbands? I can't imagine the preppy boyfriend dropping by one of ya'lls blogs, but I do think that it would do him good to hear some of what other people go through... like for instance, he doesn't believe me when I say that during the clinical and residency years, it is entirely possible that I will spend 24-36 hours continuous at the hospital... I think it would do him some good to have an understanding that these things are a common part of the experience.

Julie Leah said...

Thank you so much for your comment about my blog! I actually designed the header myself and then found a background on shabbyblogs.com that matched. I also got the sidebar headers from shabby blogs but I tweaked a few to fit my blog. And one of my friends designed my button for me :) I got the signature here (http://www.mylivesignature.com/). You just put in your name and then you can pick the style and color! My blog is really just a mix and match of things I've found and liked, but I think it works! Thank you again for your comments! And for following! You're a sweetie!

Ams said...

Ohhhh I am definitely going to be asking you some questions... going to come up with them and email them to you :)
And for some reason - I *still* can't follow your blog... the followers things doesn't load on my computer! GRRRRR... what's up with that?

Jessica said...

Hey! I've really enjoyed reading your blog as you are two years ahead of us so I feel like I have an idea of the way things will go (my husband is constantly asking "how do you know that??" haha)

My question is if your costs counter for applying for residency are accurate? Currently it is at $900 and I have been told by some fourth years at our school to save up $10,000 to be on the safe side. I am sure that it may be more expensive for us since there are no programs my husband (or most students) are even interested in in our state but I was just curious since there is such a discrepancy and I have seen you mention how expensive it has been.

I can't wait until my husband has a salary again (even though it will be a small one!) Can't wait to see your adventures ahead in internship year! :)

austin and tracee said...

Thanks for being so willing to answer questions, how gracious you are! I have a sort of different question for ya.

So my hubby is actually still working towards his bachelors, and he keeps bouncing between 2 options: going to med school to become a psychiatrist or getting his doctorate in psychology.

The HUGE fault to med school is time. I have done a ton of research, but haven't come across any personal break down of the time REALLY needed to be put in.

So I was wondering if you could elaborate on how much time med school really took? How many hours was he in school every day or week? How many hours needed to be spent studying? Really just how much time did the two of you have together during those 4 years? The more detailed, the better! Thanks again :)

~Tracee

Life of a Doctor's Wife said...

Well, since we're done with med school, I don't really have any questions...

But...

What is your hubby's school's match day like? Will you get to attend? (I got to go, and it was super fun - and stressful - and exciting. I hope you get to go!)

Justin and Gracie O. said...

I'm delurking to follow... finally. :) I recently came across your blog and I have to say, it is so helpful to me as a medical school wife! I love getting insight into how the next two years will be for us as far as rotations and applying for residency. My hubby is a 2nd year, but he hasn't settled on what specialty he wants to do yet. The next big hurdle for him is the USMLE, which he plans to take this fall.

My questions are: How did your husband study for Step 1? Did he take a live course and if so, did you both feel like it was worth the cost? At what point did he know for sure neurosurgery is what he wanted to do for residency? Did he wait until knowing how he did on his USMLE, after experiencing the surgery rotations, or has he just always known?

Thank you so much for doing this!

-Grace