Yr 3 Perspective of a Med School Wife: Megan

Megan's picture, June 2014: Waking Up from Naps is Hard to Do

Thank you to Megan who was brave enough to provide her perspective again this year! You can read her Year 2 perspective blog post by clicking here.

Megan and Devin moved to Medford in June of last year, and happened to live just down the street from my parents. Medford was their home base for year three, with the majority of Devin's rotations scheduled in Southern Oregon. Scott and I were able to see their family every time we went down to visit my parents. It also came in handy to have my parents down the street when Megan went into labor while Devin was in Lebanon for the second didactic week. Yeah, really!

Now Megan has moved to Utah to be with family while Devin is traveling for audition rotations. We will miss having them somewhat close for visits!

Q: What are your responsibilities this last year while your med student was on rotation?

A: Cleaning, cooking, making lunches, being pregnant, taking care of a rambunctious 3 year old, taking the dog for walks, giving birth (all alone, I might add), caring for a newborn and not sleeping at all- ever. It's been a great year! It really has :)

Q: What did you do differently in year three to support your med student?

A: Raised two kids instead of one...

Actually, I didn't change too much when it came to supporting Devin on a day-to-day basis. I still would make his lunch, when needed, and make sure he had uninterrupted study time at night.

Q: What surprised you about clinical rotations?

A: The amount of time that Devin had to ʺworkʺ each month varied greatly with which rotation he was on. When considering which specialty we wanted to pursue we were told to choose the lifestyle we wanted and then look at what specialties fit that. The clinical rotations were really able to give us a good feel of what type of lifestyle fit our family.

Q: How are you preparing for residencies?

A: We were a little late in the game when it came to finding away rotations. We were waffling between specialties and really didn't feel 100% good about any of our choices. So we finally had to sit down and write out a game plan and stick to it. Because we were late in the game with audition rotations, we really just had to take what we could. And, even though we don't absolutely love the locations of his away rotations, we figure it will be a good experience, anyways. And who knows, maybe he will fall in love with one of the places! But if not, there's always interviews at other locations.

Q: Any advice SOs beginning third year?

A: Try to decide on a specialty early in the year. Use your elective rotations wisely! If you are going for a competitive specialty look into research. If you think you may have an interest in one specialty but your clinical rotation is way late in the year (April/May) you may consider using one of your elective rotations and doing that specialty then. Just, utilize your elective rotations. :)