Yr 4 Perspective of a Med School Wife: Maren

Props to Maren, who not only willingly contributed to this crazy blogging experiment of mine EVERY YEAR (1st year, 2nd year, and 3rd year posts), but also had a baby during the craziness that is fourth year. You are one of the strongest mamas I know, Maren!

Intern Year/Residency: Transitional (internship) year in Chino, CA

Q: How did you support your med student in year four?

A: I supported my student by not complaining about his away rotations and by trying to leave his decision-making (for residencies and last-minute rotations and stuff) up to him after giving my input. I also tried not to freak out and guilt-trip him when things didn't work out ideally.

Q: Did your family move for fourth year?

A: No. After 2nd year, we moved to Portland as a home base for both 3rd and 4th years.

Q: What did your student consider when selecting residencies for applications and the match?

A: We had to first consider military residencies, then civilian transitional years. When considering military residencies, we were going off my student's sense of what he thought he would like the most/have the best chance at/be the best at. When we considered transitional years, we decided based on location.

Q: What was the most frustrating part about Yr 4?

A: Confusing our strategy (due to lack of information) for a military residency and then missing some deadlines for civilian transitional years. I actually think things worked out for the best, but it's always hard to sit by and watch preventable problems arise.

Q: Any advice for medical student significant others who are approaching this stage?

A: Gather all the info you can about the process, strategy, and your options; and then decide with your SO what your priorities are in deciding what you want. There are a lot of different priorities to balance: your SO's sense of fulfillment in the specialty, location, the program director's attitude, salary, hours/type of call, etc.