Med School Update: End of 2nd Year

It's difficult for me to give emotionally accurate updates on Big Daddy's progression through med school. It's not me doing the work, and I have an outsiders perspective. That being said, here's where we're at.

Everyone told us 2nd year would be easier than first year. That's all a matter of opinion. I think that's the consensus mostly because there's one year down, and the students have a better idea of what to expect. Were the classes easier? I can't answer that. I can say that I think he hit his stride when it came to understanding how to study, when to attend classes, and how much weight/ worry to put into each test, lecture, and lab.

And now it's over! He will never have to endure a full course load of classes again! I'm not sure who's more relieved about that - him or me. Don't get me wrong. Big Daddy is very smart. Smarter than I am, and that's one of the reasons I married him. But classroom learning is not for everyone, and I am a solid believer in that. The last 5 years have been a trial of endurance and fortitude for both of us, and we can now move on. I have absolute and utter confidence that Big Daddy will really find his groove and "blossom" in the next few years.

(Can men blossom? I can't think of a more manly adjective right now)

The next 2 years: We were assigned our first choice of rotation locations in Michigan. We'll be spending our time in Mt. Clemens, at Mt. Clemens Regional Medical Center. We weren't sure what to expect next, as we (Big Daddy) heard multiple horror stories of how difficult it was to solidify the actual schedule of rotations. Not our experience at all. A few weeks ago the coordinator emailed his schedule, which was laid out for the next year. There were two unassigned slots, and he was able to fill them with his first choices of Cardiology and Emergency Medicine. Done and Done. No lottery, no phone calls, no class meetings, no guessing. And he's got 5 days off at Christmas! I'm already plotting for days filled with snowball fights, hot chocolate, movies, and cookie baking.

Full schedule as follows (beginning August 3, ending July 9):

• Family Medicine
• Pathology
• Anesthesiology
• General Surgery
• Pediatrics
• Orthopedics
• OMM
• Internal Medicine
• OB/Gyn
• Family Medicine
• Cardiology
• Psychiatry
• Emergency Medicine

After June of next year, he'll begin a 2nd year of rotations. This will consist of assigned rotations in Mt. Clemens and interview rotations at other locations, all spiced up with applications & interviews with residency programs of our choice. Our understanding of interview rotations is as follows: You find a residency program you're interested in, and you request to do a rotation there in the effort to evaluate whether or not you'd be a good fit with the program, the people, the environment, etc. Details on year 2 (4) are still fuzzy, but will hopefully crystallize as time passes.

That's it for now.