Iron Intern

Well, we made it through intern year round #1 successfully.  Praise the Lord.   Last weekend was the annual chief residents graduation dinner and the new intern class has been in the hospital this week doing orientation.   I wish we weren't repeating PGY1 year, but that doesn't take away the fact that we are SO THANKFUL to be staying at UMass for the duration of Josh's general surgery residency.

At the end of every resident year, there are a number of awards given out to residents who demonstrated qualities that were above and beyond the normal expectations.  Most of the awards are for senior residents, however there is one award given to an intern called the "Iron Intern" award.  Now, Josh is not one to ever brag about himself but since I'm his wife and I write this blog, I'm allowed to brag for him.  Of the 11 interns this past year (6 categorical, 5 preliminary) all of whom were very hardworking and strong general surgery interns, Josh was awarded the Iron Intern award for outstanding service this year.

Obviously, we knew that Josh was well-liked and respected enough at UMass to be given a categorical spot for this coming year but it is so amazing that all of his hardwork and dedication to his job this past year was recognized by his co-workers, especially since he was only a preliminary resident which has a tendency to carry with it a negative connotation.  I know that being given this award had to make him feel good and it makes me very proud and makes the sacrifices that we have made over the course of his career feel worth it.

On top of this great award, we got to celebrate with a nice dinner out for the chief resident graduation dinner put on by the program.  My sister-in-law Kristin was actually out here from California and lovingly agreed to watch Ryan for us so that we could enjoy the evening.  We got to get all dressed up and even though I was 30+ weeks pregnant, huge, and unable to drink and Josh had to work the next day, we still had a thoroughly enjoyable evening out.

Dr. and Mrs. Joshua Scurlock

Ryan and her "Iron Intern" Daddy

It was a great evening and strange in some ways because I remember sitting at the same dinner last year, wishing and hoping that maybe I could somehow be there again the next year and the next and eventually be the wife in the room watching her husband be recognized as a chief resident graduate.  And God-willing, that will happen five years from now and it feels so good to know that.  Last year, so much was unknown, so many things were up in the air.  There was a lot of stress and worry and unanswered questions as I sat there.   And this year, though life is still filled with different kinds of stress and worry and questions, I was able to sit there with peace knowing that we did it, together, Josh and I got through this year and the ultimate goal of securing a permanent position at UMass was achieved.  The sacrifice of moving our family across the country was worth it.  I'm so proud of us.   I'm so proud of my Iron Intern.  And hey, maybe he can set a record for receiving the Iron Intern award two years in a row! :)