How We Got Here: Step 1

Step 1-Apply to Residency Programs

As you probably know, a doctor's training isn't over when medical school ends.  Next comes a medical residency that typically lasts between 3 and 6 years, depending on what type of medicine you want to practice.  About three years into school, we started thinking about where Ben might do his residency.  Planning for the next chapter in our life seemed like kind of a big deal, so we took a field trip to the place where we had started the last chapter.  We spent one summer weekend at the Stowe bed and breakfast where we had gotten married.  

We tried to put some order around the process.  We knew we needed a list of programs to apply to when the AMCAS application portal opened.  There are all kinds of ways to come up with this list. What programs are close to home/family/mountains/oceans/fill in the blank. Which cities are safest?  What programs are most competitive?  Least?  Is it an "academic" program or a "community" program?  And what the heck is the difference, anyway?!  You get the picture, right?  

Well, we knew that Ben planned to do a fellowship after residency.  We also knew that moving is the WORST.  Especially when it's across the country.  So if we had to move, we wanted a residency program in a city that also had the right fellowship program.  If the universe played along, boom! Only one move required. So that's how we came up with our list.  We generated a spreadsheet of all of the fellowship programs for Ben's specialty (more on that in a future post) and started eliminating cities.  We wanted mountains and a body of water.  Ben wanted a bike-friendly town.  We both wanted to eat really, REALLY well.  I won't lie: humidity and politics also affected our decisions.  With a culled list of cities, we (mostly Ben) reviewed the programs in each of them to decide which ones to apply to. In September 2013, Ben submitted his applications to a host of programs, including the list we developed that weekend and some suggestions from a stellar advisor at the med school. Now it was time to WAIT.

Next Post: How We Got Here:  Step 2
We hit the road and try on some new cities.  

Where are we now?

Hello?  Hi!  This post marks my sheepish return to the Med School Widow blog...3 years later.  If you're still subscribed to the blog, I bet you were thinking, "What the...?" when you got a notification about this post.  Don't worry; nobody's hacked my site. It's really me.

So...why now?  Well, Ben is 5 months into residency in Portland, Oregon.  Friends and family are thousands of miles away.  I envision this as a way to keep you up-to-date on what's going on with us.  And on a selfish level, I've got a lot of thoughts, ideas and projects running through my head, and I hope you'll indulge me in coming here to organize and document them.

Going forward, this blog will be about lessons learned from residency, what's keeping me busy, what's keeping us amused or obsessed and celebrations of our wild ride.  See you soon!

Next Post:  How We Got Here
Curious about our residency interview process? I'll fill you in and catch you up on our journey to residency!

White Coat Ceremony

Ben gets his first white coat on Friday!  It is the short version... (Did you know there are 3 different lengths?) But as you may know, my husband is about 6.5' tall.  This frequently poses a problem in finding clothes. Fortunately, they do make the short white coat in tall sizes.  Of course, you have to try on the sample size coats to determine which one fits best--and those only come in average sizes.    We're just hoping that the extra 2" on the "tall" sleeves are enough. I would hate for him to be stuck in the white coat version of high-water pants for the next 4 years.

Anyway, there's a whole ceremony. The "cloaking" is the main event at UVM COM's (what else?) White Coat Ceremony. We (and about a dozen other friends and family members) will be in attendance.  This group of men and women has made a commitment to respect and care for the lives and deaths of their future patients.  I could provide deep thoughts on the meaning of the ceremony, but at its most basic level, the white coat is an outward expression of that commitment.  It is also an outward recognition of acceptance into "the club".  

If you're not in town but you want to check out live feed of the ceremony, click here!  It's all going down this Friday, February 18th at 1:45 PM.

Saving Our Social Life

Earlier this month, I realized that our dual social calendar is booked up clear through the end of February.  And while I'd like to think that's because we are exceptionally fun and popular, the truth is that free time is hard to come by these days! That is, time when both of us are free...concurrently. 

Between work, school, hobbies, etc., spontaneity has gone out the window. After the first semester, we realized we needed a bit more balance. But I don't think med school can destroy all the fun!  In our house, planning prevails.  It's what we do.  Why not apply it to our social life as well?

We currently find ourselves making the rounds among our families and friends, and at this rate (one evening per week), it may just take all year to see everyone!  But we do miss you!  And we do want to see you!  So give us a shout.  I'm sure we can whip up a get-together faster than you could get an appointment with your primary care doc. :)

"Attacks & Defenses"

That's the pretty awesome title of Ben's current course.  It sounds like a class on military strategy, and in a sense, that's exactly the point.  It's six weeks of education on anything that could declare war on the human body...and what to do about it.  Wait.  Six weeks?  Six weeks? I guess that's why I found myself quizzing him in church on Sunday.  

Don't worry; we weren't at church.  We were at a church.  Waiting to begin an event celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  And once it started, Ben stashed the flashcards.  Without getting all political, I want to share my takeaway from the event.  Inspired by the life and work of Dr. King, the keynote speaker, Reverend Al Sharpton, shared a variety of thought-provoking ideas and metaphors with the crowd.  Rev. Sharpton pointed out that Dr. King's greatness came, in no small part, from his unwillingness to compromise his vision and values.  He was a man who knew who he was and what his life's purpose was.  And he shaped his actions around that purpose.  Even when it was inconvenient.

So Rev. Sharpton challenged the group to decide: "What is the purpose of your life?"  I'm working on answering that question for myself--I don't think I'm quite there yet.  But I think Ben's getting pretty close.  Whatever our greater purposes end up being, I hope that when we get to the end, we'll be able to say that we left the place better than we found it. 


If you're interested in hearing Rev. Sharpton's entire speech, here's a link!

Big Announcement!

Ok, so I disappeared again.  But this time, I have a really good excuse.  At least I think so.  


I've been busy with a special project.  A project 3 years in the making.  I've talked about it.  I've dreamed about it. Frankly, bringing it to fruition scared me silly, but...I finally worked up the guts.  And today, I am excited (and slightly nauseated) to announce that I am the proud proprietor of my very own business--selling my very own handcrafted jewelry!  Here's an example of what I do:

I will, of course, keep my day job, but as I've mentioned in previous posts, one must have hobbies if one is married to a medical student.  While Ben has crammed abnormal amounts of knowledge into his brain, my hobby has gotten out of hand.  At present, it threatens to take over the living room--beads, thread, finished items! So it was time to get legit and go live with an online shop.  If you're so inclined, you can check it out at marthawareables.etsy.com. 

Funny Things Med Students Say

"Your olfactory nerve must be really long, Shadow."

Shadow is the family dog.