Saturday, January 11, 2014

The end of surgery

Yesterday was my last post call day and consequently it was my last day of surgery core. It was also my most exhausting call as we were slammed with not only trauma patients but general surgery patients. Today I take my last core shelf exam. I have never cared less about an exam. I have learned so much during the last 12 weeks that it is so hard to summarize but I still think taking this test is pointless as I have already finished my USMLE STEP 2 exam, like 6 months ago, and the shelf's serve as preparation for that. Anyhow that was a little off topic.


So what's next...well life is crazy for the next few months. I have my last three interviews next week and I am leaving first thing tomorrow morning on a 5 day solo road trip. I will be interviewing in North Carolina and Ohio. I hope the weather treats me well. After that I have two weeks off and then I move to Maryland for 4 weeks to do an Infectious Disease elective. I was fortunate enough to find a place to stay with a friend of a friend as the area I'm going to is not the safest. I am completely devastated by the fact that I have to leave my family yet again but given how I have no choice in the matter we are trying to stay positive. I think the hardest part of medical school is leaving my child to do away rotations. Every time it gets harder and harder to tell her and we both get sadder and sadder. This time we both cried on the way home from school one day after I broke the news to her. It always leaves this gaping hole in my heart. 12 weeks of rotations left till graduation.

3 comments:

Neodymium said...

Hi, Teddy. I just want to thank you so much, your blog has been so insightful. I've been beating myself up over the pros and cons of applying to Ross, and I have a friend who's there now. Your blog has definitely inspired me to take a chance, despite my apprehensions, which are trivial at best. I guess I'm just worried about being successful at a school like Ross? Is the curriculum and training fair to students or did it ever feel like it was detrimental in any way? I'm so amazed at how far youve come, and your documentation of the whole ordeal. It really is inspiring. Thank you again for sharing your story and struggle, and I wish you good luck with your residency interviews!

MOM2MD said...

Dear Neodymium,

I hear what you are saying. There are always negative things floating around about the school. I have personally never felt that I was treated unfairly. If you work hard and adapt well you will be successful. It's not without challenges. It's difficult to move to a new place let alone a small island where you don't know anyone. The time I saw people get in trouble was when they were irresponsible, ie partied too much, when they didn't adapt their study schedule based on the need of that particular module or semester or when they got so home sick they never left their apartment. It may feel like the school is out to get you but in reality you are your own worst enemy. I always tried to stay away from negative people or conversations, studied hard, changed my study technique as frequently as I needed to and made sure to surround myself with good, quality, hard working people. If you follow your dreams you will succeed. Keep me posted if you decide to apply. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Neodymium said...

Thanks Teddy! Your response was very enlightening. Is there anyway I can get your email address in case I have more questions? Thanks!