Rotations #3: Rural Family Practice Part I

During the month of November, my hubby rotated with a rural family practice doc approximately 30 minutes from home. This rotation was such a nice change from the previous month of OB/GYN (and even this current month of Surgery)!! Due to the rural schedule and commute time required to get to the clinic, my husband actually ended up going in about 8-9 times the entire month. Because Tuesdays are education days, he was given those days off! Because the doc only worked mornings on Thursdays, he was given those days off (though he did go in one time to participate in a particular procedure)! That only left Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays . . . and actually, there were a few of those days that he got off as well! How crazy is that!?!

My husband was more calm and relaxed than I have seen him in a while! We got to spend much more time as a family, and even on one afternoon while my son was at school, my hubby and I went on a date to the movies! This spontaneous little date between the two of us was such a nice little change! Though there was a downside . . . due to the commute time and the nature of the rural clinic, there were many nights when my hubby would not get home until 6:30-7:00. I would always wait to serve dinner (or wait for him to make it!!) and my son would end up staying up later than usual to spend time with his daddy! Overall, from my perspective, it was a great month! :)

Though FP is still not what my husband wants to do, he was able to get a lot of great experience doing a variety of procedures. He enjoyed it so much that he is looking to rotate with this same doc next year!! I can't wait!! :)

As for my husband's side . . . I will have to post his thoughts on a later date. Unfortunately, he did not have a chance to write anything up before his Surgery rotation started and will not have another chance until this rotation is over with! I don't want to forget to post at least my response, so until next time . . .

Rotation #2: Obstetrics & Gynecology

My husband's second rotation was Obstetrics and Gynecology. He actually finished this one a couple of weeks ago, but between all of us being sick and him preparing for a big presentation, I have not had a chance to write about it yet!

Anyways, I had heard that the hours would be long during this rotation. And, I discovered that everyone was completely correct! My hubby was often gone before anyone else got up in the morning and would often come home late, typically around 6:00-7:00 in the evening. He was putting in at least 12+ hour days and would come home completely exhausted! And, of course, then there was call . . . he would leave at his usual time in the morning (way before I would wake up!) and would stay overnight at the hospital. The nice thing . . . he was allowed to come home in the mornings around 9:00. He would then get some sleep for a few hours (all depending on how much sleep he got the night before) before waking up to attempt to spend some time with us. We rarely spent time together during this month, and when we did, he was often exhausted and to be honest, NOT that fun to be around all the time! :)

Like I said before in the "I'm Stuck" post, this rotation was hard for me. Not only because the hours were long, but because my husband would come home exhausted, yet excited about the many things that he saw or did that day. I do believe that it is now safe to say though, they I do not have to worry about him pursuing this specialty! Yippee! :) I am definitely happy about that, but still wondering and waiting to see what he eventually decides . . . will it be Internal Medicine like he has said from the start or will it be something completely different?

Anyways, for those of you interested in the student perspective, here's what my husband has to say about the OB/GYN rotation . . .

I have to say that I was not looking forward to my OB/GYN rotation at all. I can’t say that I was dreading it but I hadn’t heard good things from other people’s rotations at different sites. However, I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I finished.

At my rotation site we spend 2 weeks doing Gyn surgery and 2 weeks on OB. My first 2 weeks were on Gyn surgery and it was a good experience. I hadn’t spent any time in the OR before this and so it was kind of a shock at first. However, once I got used to scrubbing-in and realizing what not to touch it wasn’t that bad. The attendings were patient (for the most part) and would let me “do” a lot of stuff. I was first-assist on a few operations and there were a couple of very difficult operations (vaginal hysterectomies) that the residents didn’t make it too so it was just me and two attendings!! These are usually cases that are fought over by the OB’s and I was lucky enough to have it all to myself. Needless to say I really enjoyed this aspect of the rotation.

The next two weeks were OB and I wasn’t really looking forward to it. I didn’t mind the idea of being in on deliveries but I was a bit anxious about what my role would be. All of the residents made us comfortable but at the same time expected us to help out and there was no room to just sit around. I was able to do a lot of the same stuff an OB intern would do (with guidance of course) and the nurses helped me out quite a bit as well. Most of the ladies I followed were accepting of students which helped a lot as well. We usually saw our own patients throughout the day and followed them until we left or they delivered. Every delivery I was in on I was able to help in some way. The OB residents really did let us handle a lot of the responsibility. In one particular case I was working with the chief resident on the delivery and the attending (the doc that was following this ladies pregnancy) walked in late didn’t even gown up. He gave me a few pointers over my shoulder and let me have at it. The chief resident let me deliver the baby and clamp the cord while she watched my technique. That made the rotation worth it. During the next week I got to repeat a lot of the above with the addition of being taught ultrasound techniques and getting to scrub-in on a lot of C-sections.

Overall, I was extremely happy with the rotation and had a blast during it. I was on call 5 nights and one weekend. The downside was that my weekend shift started on the Saturday AFTER we were technically done with our rotation so that was difficult as I had no time to relax before my next rotation. During call nights we would follow labors as well as do ER consults and occasionally get some sleep before rounding on our patients at 5 the next morning. This made the rotation a bit exhausting and I did miss my family quite a bit. It wouldn’t have been worth it if I didn’t have such a good experience.

I would SERIOUSLY consider this job if OB/GYN’s didn’t work so hard. Don’t get me wrong, I am not lazy, but when I see them come in at 2:30 in the morning after going home at 10 p.m. the previous evening to deliver a baby and then have to go into the clinic or start surgeries at 7 a.m. that morning is too much for me. A lot of them looked very tired and worn out and I got more than “I am too old for this” comment. Being a doctor isn’t easy but they just work to hard for my sake and I am too old to do that to my body again. I can definitely see the draw to the specialty though.

Coming soon . . . Rural Family Practice!

STUCK!!

There have been times recently where I feel that I am stuck between an rock and a hard place. I want to be so supportive of my husband through his medical school journey, BUT yet, I also want to steer him away from certain specialties. For example, my husband is currently doing his Ob/Gyn rotation. There are days that he comes home sooooo excited about the different things that he got to do that day. And, I get so excited for him! I'm so happy that he is enjoying what he is doing and I love to see his passion for the field of medicine shine through. And, I am glad to see that he is actually enjoying Ob/Gyn. From the very beginning, he has stated that he would never go into this specialty! I mean, he has made it VERY clear about the NEVER part! And, now that he is doing it, he is actually enjoying himself!! I love to see that!

On the other hand, I personally do not like the hours on this rotation AT ALL!! I HATE that I rarely see him. I HATE that he is gone for 12+ hours a day. I HATE that when he is on call, which is at least once a week, I don't see him for more than 24 hours at a time. So, in the end, it makes me want to persuade him to not go into this field. I mean, I kind of enjoying spending time with my husband! :)

So, there's the dilemma!! I want to encourage him to do what he finds the most fascinating, the area in which he can see himself working for many years to come, and that he is going to still enjoy and be fascinated with for those many years. HOWEVER, there is a reason that I married him . . . I love him and I love spending time with him. If it is a specialty that I will rarely see him, what is going to happen? I know that this is very selfish. I try not to be, but he's my husband for goodness sake! Don't I have the right to be just a little bit?

I know that my hubby is a family man! He does not want the long hours at the hospital. He wants to be able to see his family on a regular basis. Family is our priority. BUT then again, I can turn his favorite line around to include him instead of me . . . if the husband ain't happy, the family ain't happy! SO, I'M STUCK!!

I know that I'm probably jumping the gun here . . . it is only the second rotation! BUT, we do have to start deciding on the elective rotations that are going to be the most important in his residency interviews in just a few short months. This is a constant conversation in our household. My hubby is worrying about not finding the specialty that gives him the "AHA!" effect. I worry that that effect is going to come from Ob/Gyn or Surgery. What can we do!?! I guess we will just trudge through this leg of the journey, just as we have the others, and wait to see what life will bring us! Until then, I wait . . .

Rotation #1: Internal Medicine

My husband has officially finished his first clinical rotation!! Yippee!! During this past month, he was doing his rotation in Internal Medicine, one specialty that he has at the top of his list of interests. I had heard from many people that Internal Medicine could be one of the worst rotations (after Ob/Gyn and Surgery, of course!) because of the hours. I had braced myself for the worst of rarely seeing him and spending some nights alone while he was on call, but it was far from what I was actually expecting!

Most mornings, my hubby had to be there between 6:30 and 7:00. He was expected to be done around 5:00, but oftentimes, he was home between 3:00 and 4:00. He was never on call and never had to stay late. Totally unexpected!! Though he was not required to study for the most part, he did try to spend a little bit each night reviewing different diseases to stay on top of things. Overall, this past four weeks has really been enjoyable. I have had the opportunity to spend time with my family as a whole. The one thing that I have to keep in mind . . . if he does end up choosing IM, then I cannot expect him to spend this much time at home as an intern, resident, or practicing physician. From what I have heard from others as well as from my husband regarding his attending and resident's schedules, he would be spending a LOT more time at the hospital!

Now, from the medical student perspective . . . yes, you could say that I performed a little mini interview on my hubby! :)

1. What was the most difficult aspect of this rotation? Managing 5-10 diseases for a single patient.
2. What was the neatest aspect of this rotation? Being able to follow patients for several days and watch their progress.
3. What was your overall perspective? It was overwhelming for a first rotation for the first two weeks (i.e., trying to read a chart and figure out the computer system on top of everything else), but it got better as a flow was developed.
4. Any additional comments or thoughts? It definitely makes one realize how much you have to learn!

Next Rotation: Obstetrics & Gynecology . . . that should be interesting! :)

Remembering Year 2 . . .

The second year of medical school . . . They said that it was suppose to get easier. I believe that they were wrong! Maybe it was just our own personal circumstances. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe, just maybe, I am not the only one that thinks that the second year was harder. When talking to people who were a year or more ahead of me, I had been warned about 5th quarter. I had heard that the coursework would get tougher, the exams would increase, and that I would see less of my medical student; however, others told me that it would not be as difficult on the whole family has the first year and transition were. I think that those people lied!

Okay, so maybe we just had a bad start! During the finals week of my husband's 4th Quarter, our son had to be rushed to the emergency room and stay overnight at the hospital. The reason . . . he was not getting enough oxygen. We are still not exactly sure why. After many tests and multiple doctors, we still do not know the cause. We probably never will. We just hope and pray that it was a one-time deal. Because of our little guy's sickness, my husband ended up not being able to have his little week vacation in between quarters to prepare for the dreaded 5th quarter. He had to finish taking his postponed finals over this break so that he could be with our son while we were dealing with the mysterious sickness. A decision that looking back on, he or I do not regret! After all . . . family is our number one priority and always will be.

As time wore on, we finally were able to relax about our son's health. We no longer were waking up every hour in the middle of the night to make sure that he was breathing okay. He appeared to be a strong, healthy boy and all the tests agreed. My hubby was then able to focus more of his attention on his studies. During this dreaded quarter, we often only saw him for dinner. He would come home, eat dinner, and head off back to the school to study some more. I was staying busy myself with my ever-changing job and being involved in SAA. When he was home, it was usually because I needed to be somewhere for an SAA event. So, you could say, we really did not get to see each other that often. Boy, was I glad when the end of that quarter finally was here!

Sixth quarter was probably the easiest of all quarters from the medical school aspect! It helped to make up for the lack of time spent together the previous quarter. However, once again, a difficult time hit us during his finals week of this quarter! An early Sunday morning in February, I received a phone call from my devastated father that my grandfather had been killed by a drunk driver a few short hours before. Though most of the time I am okay with being so far away from family, it was times like these that I wished I was closer. I tend to be a private person when situations like these hit and preferred not to talk about my grandfather's death or how I was personally dealing with it. We flew back home for the funeral and to be with family. That was VERY difficult, and it was hard that it was only a short trip. We had meant to spend my husband's spring break traveling to what would be our new home in Michigan, but once again, he had to spend his break studying and finishing up his finals. We ended up postponing this trip until a week later and shortened our trip to better accomodate the little time that we had left to fit in our schedules. Now, I make it sound like all these family emergencies really put a glitch in my husband's medical school plan. As I said before, family is our number one priority. It always has been and always will be. However, with that said, I would like to state the obvious here. Medical school is hard enough. When times like these arise, things that are completely beyond your control, it only makes things more difficult. We try to make the lemonade, but I don't like to sugar coat it and sometimes, it can just be hard to keep all the bitterness out of it!

Seventh quarter . . . not a bad quarter class-wise; however, this was the time that the pressure really started coming for the Step 1 Board Exams. My husband does not feel that he is very good at these types of tests and really began to stress out. He was really worried about his classes, but these boards were always looming over him. At first, I didn't completely understand. Then, he explained to me how important these scores can be in determining his (and, ultimately our) residency location. The quarter was over in a flash, but we began seeing less and less of our medical student once again. Every waking hour, he was off studying for the board exams. I was still dealing with the death of my grandfather because of the criminal trial that was going on back home. And, on top of it all, I was beginning to worry and stress myself out about the upcoming move. We once again had to deal with reserving a moving truck, finding a place to live (that would be able to meet our limited budget), finding a new job, and one of the hardest things of all, finding childcare for my son. That was a lot of "stuff" on one plate! I wanted to spend as much time with my new-found friends in Kirksville before we all went our separate ways again. I was finishing up my job and wanted to spend more time with my son. There was so much I wanted to do and had to do, but could not find the time to fit it in. Looking back on the first two years, this was THE hardest time. It was difficult being away from my husband so often, we all know how moving is a stressful event in and of itself, and to add all the "extras" just complicates matters so much more.

On the bright side . . . we got through the boards!!!!! And, my husband did very well on them!! I couldn't be more proud of him!!!! One last hurdle . . . eighth quarter. This was definitely a hurdle because I still do not understand why we had to wait around for this quarter. It was a lot of little details regarding rotations and most of the time, my husband was not even there half the day. He even had a week off right in the middle of a 4 week quarter. Seriously, what was the point? We did get to spend a lot more time together and catch up though . . . something we definitely needed!

Now, on to rotations . . . yippee!! Where the fun really begins!! :)

Looking Back at Year 1 . . .

Since I was reminiscing the other day about my husband applying to medical schools, I thought that I would also reminisce about the first two years of med school while it is still fairly fresh in my memory! I hope that this is not too boring to you!! :)

When we moved to Missouri for my hubby to start medical school, we had a son only 7 months old. Of all things, this was one of my biggest stresses and worries about medical school. Would my hubby get to spend time with his son (and me, of course!)? Were we going to be one of the only ones with kids, especially one so young? Were our families' worries about going back to school instead of concentrating on our families going to become true? Did we make the right decision? Seriously, all of this stress was so not worth it!!! :) If there is anyone else out there with these same things on your mind, my personal recommendation is . . . Don't worry about it!!! All of my ideas about being a medical school family were completely wrong!

When we showed up to orientation, we saw many people with children! A few couples from our orientation group definitely stand out to me even today . . . one couple with a 6 week old son and one couple who was expecting their first child in the spring. Just to see these two families relieved so much stress, but talking to them and getting to know them better, has done so much more!! I think you gals know who you are and I don't know if I ever really said thank you. So . . . THANK YOU!! I don't know if you ever realized what a difference you made in my life from the start of medical school, but you truly did. And, who knew that you would make an even more of a difference as our journey has progressed. Both of you (and the rest of your families) are amazing and I am a better person for knowing you! :)

Anyways . . . this time was not just the start of medical school, but also the first time that I returned to work full-time since giving birth to my son! We traveled half way across the country, left everything behind that we have ever known, and planted ourselves in a place that we had never saw ourselves being! We experienced a lot of anxiety, from making it in med school to finding childcare that we felt comfortable with to even just balancing our busy lives. I won't lie . . . . it was hard at first. The first quarter was very stressful because of trying to find this balance. The second quarter was better. We were beginning to find our balance. My hubby was back in the swing of things from being out of school for so long and he made it a point to eat dinner with us every evening and spend every Saturday morning together as a family. I was able to get more involved in the amazing organization of SAA (now known as the Student Advocate Association, but at the time called the Student Associates' Auxiliary or something like that)!! This kept me involved and busy, meeting people, helping out, and becoming more educated in the field of osteopathy. In addition, I did things with one of my co-workers who ended up becoming a very good friend and was one who truly helped to keep me grounded. And, to top things off, my son was able to find little playmates through his daycare and other med student families. By the time the third quarter came around, we were feeling very good about where we were out, we were planning a trip back home to visit family, and I was looking forward to my summer off with my boys! We had figured it out and we had survived the first year of med school! Woohoo!

Before we could leave, however, my hubby had to do his preceptorship. This worried me a little! He was going to have to stay at his preceptor site an hour and a half away. He would be home on the weekends, of course, but we have never really been apart that long before. As I look back on it, it went pretty smoothly. My son and I stayed busy preparing for our trip, wrapping things up at my office, and playing in the sun (a LOT!). We would talk with my hubby every evening, often multiple times, and we would summarize our days. Mine . . . playing in the sun, doing our weekly errands, etc. His . . . experiencing the hospital, taking patient histories, and performing rectal exams! Honestly, I am so glad that I am not the med student!! :)

We finally got to hit the road to head back home. We were on the road and living out of a suitcase for five weeks, traveling through the states of Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. We saw a lot of family and friends and it was definitely a trip to remember!

When we got back to Missouri, my hubby had one last quarter left before he would consider himself an official second year. It was a short quarter and I don't remember too much about it . . . I guess it was not that bad!

Personally, I thought that we had made it through the worst. I had heard that the first year was the hardest. For me, not so true . . . . but, enough rambling for now! I will write about our second year later! I don't feel like writing a book today and second year was a doozy . . . so until next time . . . :)

Do You Remember?

Do you remember the time before medical school? The time that medical school was just a figment of our future and dreams? Before the MCAT, before ALL the applications, and before all the interviews? If you can consider yourself a MSW, then I know that you have been here!

My husband and I were recently just discussing this time in our lives, and honestly, we are completely amazed at how far we have come in the last few years. My husband originally did not want to go to medical school. He had not been dreaming about being a doctor all of his life, but he did know that he enjoyed studying the sciences. He actually ended up becoming a medical technologist (that would be his first six years of higher education) and began debating the idea of applying to Physician Assistant programs. I remember multiple conversations between the two of us about where life would take us next and I just kept asking him . . . why a PA? Why not a full-fledged doctor? What were his reasons about taking this path instead of medical school? Come to find out, he did not think that he would be accepted into a medical school! He thought that he had a better chance of making it into a PA program with his grades from undergraduate!

Needless to say, we had many more conversations before he was finally convinced that he should at lease give it a try. This was not easy!! He really wanted to be a doctor deep down, but was just so unsure that he wanted to put out the time and money to just be rejected! Throughout this entire time, I kept giving him tons of encouragement letting him know that I would be here for him through both the thick and thin. And, I kept reminding him that I did not want to play the "What If" game ten years down the road . . . What if I had applied to med school? What if I had been accepted? Ten years down the road would have been a lot more difficult to apply and be accepted then at that moment. He had so many amazing opportunities and experiences behind and in front of him . . . and he finally decided to go for it!!

I remember reading over his many applications (both the first and second round!), proofreading and making suggestions along the way. I remember him getting his first rejection letter and then his first, second, and all the way through his sixth invitation for an interview! And, then the most exciting part . . . his acceptance to his first (which we quickly declined!) all the way through his fourth!! He never imagined that he would make it that far and actually get the choice of where he wanted to attend med school!

This brought a new predicament . . . how do we choose between our top 3 choices? (And, I say we because it was a family decision, not an individual one.) I was expecting our first child and we wanted to have an area that was a good place to raise children, a place that I would be able to find a job and feel at home in, and of course, where he would get the highest quality of education. We deliberated about this for days before we finally made our choice . . . ATSU-KCOM. We were heading to Missouri! We could not believe it (and neither could our families!). Many of our friends and families were shocked! Why would Craig decide to go back to school when we had a child to raise? Weren't we getting too old to go back to school?

Through all the doubts (including our own), I have to say that we have made the right decision. As I am sitting here writing this, I am now a third year MSW. We cannot believe that we are over half-way done with the schooling part. In less than two years, my husband will be a doctor! There have been times along the way that have been easier than I expected and there have been times that have been harder than expected, but overall, I believe that the whole experience has made my whole family better because of it! We are stronger and we are proud of our accomplishments . . . and, I know that this is simply the training for what is to come . . . internship and residency! :)