Residency Applications/Interviews

Ed and I are right thick in the middle of residency applications.  In fact, Ed has already done 2 official interviews and I just dropped him off at the airport for his third.  As most of you know, Ed is applying to military residencies because he is on scholarship for medical school (shout out to all you tax payers...thanks for our income!).  His first interview was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Md.  He absolutely loved the residents and attendings, and the fact that his hospital is brand spanking new (opened this year) and it is right across the street from the NIH, Ed was salivating at the idea of moving to DC.  Ed started medical school as part of the MD/PhD program, but because his preceptor moved to Colorado this past summer, his research has been halted and he is going to take the Masters in Science and not get to finish the PhD at UK.  The WRNMMC program would allow Ed to work on his PhD project at NIH during residency, so his goal of getting the double doctorate is not quite dead!  Yay!

He also interviewed at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Tx.  I accompanied him on this trip and did an unofficial interview at Christus Santa Rosa Family Medicine program.  We both had great interviews and can totally see ourselves ending up in San Antonio.  Obviously, I loved being back in Texas and seeing so many Aggies everywhere, and with my two best friends being Texas natives, it is definitely my second home.  BAMC has a lot of perks that WRNMMC didn't, namely that the case load is higher and he will get better facial trauma training.  One of the downsides is that the research isn't nearly as strong as DC, but there is some opportunity.

Ed is currently on a flight to Seattle to interview at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis (Tacoma, WA).  We don't know much about the program, but it seems to have a strong reputation.  Also, the Pacific Northwest is known for being the hot-spot for Family Medicine training.  Unlike where we live in the Southeast, Family Medicine is the "cool" thing to do out West.  There are 7 different Family Medicine residencies within an hour drive of Madigan, but the one I am most interested in is Tacoma Family Medicine, not only because it's the best location, but it has an awesome reputation.  Once again, we'd be happy to end up in Washington state - such a fun, vibrant area with skiing, hiking, and ocean activities all so close.  It may take a while for me to adjust to the clouds/rain though.

Ed and I leave for Hawaii this coming weekend.  Yes, I just said that - HAWAII.  Whoop!  We will be there for a whole month doing away rotations.  I will be working with the University of Hawaii FM Program and Ed will be with Tripler Army Medical Center at Fort Shafter.  We have rented a condo on the beach near Diamondhead.  It looks amazing.  Don't worry, I will be posting lots of pics.  Whenever we mention Hawaii as an option for residency to our friends, everyone thinks ranking them first is a no-brainer.  We agree that living in Hawaii for 5 years, all on Uncle Sam's dime, sounds fantastic, but we have to decide if we are willing to be that far away from home for so long.  Since we will be attempting to start a family during that time period, I feel like it may be hard to have Papa and Happy (my parent's nicknames, thanks to my niece Mary Beth) half way around the world.  So, needless to say, it is a very good thing that we are doing rotations there so we can get a feel for actually living there instead of just visiting for a one-day interview.

The interviews are starting to pour in for me.  That's one of the joys of choosing Family Medicine (or primary care in general).  It's not nearly as competitive as ENT.  I have interviews set up for VCU-Fairfax (in Fairfax, VA...duh), Georgetown (DC), Franklin Square (Baltimore), Meharry (Nashville), and Trident (Charleston, SC).  If you've been paying attention during this post, you should now be asking, "Why are you interviewing in Nashville and Charleston?"  That's a great question.  And here's the answer.  While we are quite confident that Ed will match into an Army spot, there is always the possibility that he could open up his Match Day letter on December 15 and it read "deferred," which means he is released to do a civilian residency.)  Ed has applied to about 20 civilian ENT programs in the Southeast, two of which are Vanderbilt and Medical University of South Carolina.  And since he had to apply to civilian ENT residencies, I had to apply to FM residencies near those spots as well.  Can you say headache?  So while our main focus is DC, San Antonio, Tacoma, and Hawaii, we have to be prepared for all options and keep other schools in the back of our heads.

OK, well I'm tired (and slightly stressed) from writing this, so I'm gonna go.  I will update y'all about Ed's Madigan trip and of course Hawaii in a few weeks.  Until then, check out my hunky hubby before one of his interviews.  Mmmm mmmm, gotta love a man in uniform.