Life Lately

Well it's been somewhat hectic.  Which may account for my lack of blogging in recent weeks. Maybe it's just this time of year, you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas, seeing family and friends regularly.  Or maybe I've just been lazy.  Either way, I'm vowing to do better.

So what's been going on with us?

*Well, Josh started his surgical rotation last week.  His first two weeks are in Orthopedic Surgery which was his elective choice. He could choose between Ortho, Ear Nose and Throat, and Burn.  He listed Ortho first and got it, however I'm not sure he was thrilled that it was the first two weeks. Oh well. Students were off on Monday for the Veteran's day holiday, but don't you worry, even with Monday off, he has still managed to work over 75 hours this week...and counting.  He's still at the hospital right now.  The good news is, in the moments I've gotten to say a few words to him, since most of this week he's been working or sleeping, he says he REALLY likes surgery.

*I got a job!  Yay! I started working at Redlands Gymnastics Club two weeks ago.  I'm only working about 15 hours a week, but that is perfect for me.  The pay is just so so, but it gets me out of the house regularly and keeps me interacting with persons other than my dog. :)  Good timing considering the surgery rotation is 12 weeks long!

*Operation Grenada Child has been breezing right along.  In fact, almost all of the boxes have arrived at my apartment and the plan is to ship them out tomorrow!  It's been so fun to see what kind of things people have put in their shoeboxes.  They have all come in looking amazing and I just know the kids are going to be so thrilled. I mean I don't know if many of the little girls have ever gotten a barbie doll or Dora doll brand new in the original packaging.  Or a little boy who's ever had his own set of brand spankin' new toy cars or a new football.  I just can't wait.  And I can't wait to get these boxes out of my house.  They are taking over!!

*Speaking of Grenada...I leave a week from today for my 11 day visit!  In seven short days I will be reunited with my island in the sun and my Limes kids.  Ahh there really just are no words to describe my excitement.

So that's what has been going on with us.  What have you been up to?

An Update About Internal Medicine

Remember back in September when I did THIS post about our first weeks in IM?  Well, we are in the home stretch people.  Josh takes his shelf exam on Thursday afternoon and then we have a break!  Okay, maybe it's not much of a break, really just a long weekend before 12 weeks of surgery start on Tuesday, but still, we're excited. 

So how have the last 8 or so weeks gone you ask?  Well, pretty much like the first four.  Josh worked, a lot (one week over 100 hours).  He learned, a lot.  And we are still happy with our decision to come to ARMC. 

Last week, he had his oral exam (20% of your grade) given by the attendings at Arrowhead.  This was much like a "round-robin" type of question and answer session.  Each student was asked a couple of questions by the attending in front of their fellow students.  The students were given a list of topics that they could be asked beforehand.  He said it went well, the questions were not meant to be tricky, and he knew the answer to every question asked. 

So Thursday is the shelf exam and the students have had this week off to study which they all appreciate, but unfortunately, they are required to study in the library at ARMC.  Which personally, I think is kind of silly, but I guess if you are a procrastinator then this forces you to prepare for the exam. 

What else have we learned?

Well, a few weeks ago, SGU's Office of Career and Guidance held a lengthy meeting about what to expect during the next year and a half as far as applying to residency, scheduling 4th year electives, and all that jazz.  It was helpful and if you are interested, most of the information talked about at the meeting can be found on their website. 

Also, as soon as you start 3rd year, consider writing your CV or Curriculum Vitae.  It's basically a resume that you give to attendings to use as a guide when writing your Letters of Recommendation and you also have to include it in your Master File at SGU.  There are guidelines on the OCG website for how to write it.

I say this because you may end up like Josh and want a LOR from your very first rotation and if you are a slacker too busy to think about writing it early, then your wife ends up writing it for you during your last week of the rotation while you are studying for your shelf exam. 

Wife of the Year Award right here. Just sayin.

Just get it done early.  Save yourself  your wife the stress.

Also, sign up at www.sguclinicals.com for up-to-date information regarding the clincial years.  It has definitely been a great resource for us me.

So that's it.  IM is almost over and what a great learning experience it has been for both of us!  Can't wait to tell you guys the details about surgery!