Well, I am thinking back to when we started residency...many moons ago.....I know that my husband and his peers actually went on a weekend retreat to get to know each other and get settled in. There were many opportunities for us to go out in the evenings with the others initially...but because we had just moved in and had no babysitter and small children, it meant that I stayed home with the kids...It was like this for many of the female spouses.
The local resident's spouse group had a meeting after we had been there for several weeks and we all were introduced to each other...but it was difficult for many to attend if they had children and their spouse had call....
I think that it would have been useful to have a get-together (childcare provided) that talked about coping strategies, feelings that were normal (because I think we were all afraid to tell each other how we felt at times because of how it "looked"), and I think just some things to help us really bond with each other (the spouses) would have been great. As it was, the women broke up into little cliques and there was much strife and unhappiness between the groups.
I don't think that it would have helped to come in and say "this is going to be the hardest time in your life and the divorce rate is X " etc, etc...
It might have been nice to meet a year into residency again to see how everyone was doing and have another meeting about coping strategies, find out what everyone has been up to, etc, etc.....and give people an opportunity then for honest dialogue about their feelings and problems...and offer solutions.
I'm not helping, am I?
Kris
The Medical Spouse Network
The local resident's spouse group had a meeting after we had been there for several weeks and we all were introduced to each other...but it was difficult for many to attend if they had children and their spouse had call....
I think that it would have been useful to have a get-together (childcare provided) that talked about coping strategies, feelings that were normal (because I think we were all afraid to tell each other how we felt at times because of how it "looked"), and I think just some things to help us really bond with each other (the spouses) would have been great. As it was, the women broke up into little cliques and there was much strife and unhappiness between the groups.
I don't think that it would have helped to come in and say "this is going to be the hardest time in your life and the divorce rate is X " etc, etc...
It might have been nice to meet a year into residency again to see how everyone was doing and have another meeting about coping strategies, find out what everyone has been up to, etc, etc.....and give people an opportunity then for honest dialogue about their feelings and problems...and offer solutions.
I'm not helping, am I?
Kris
The Medical Spouse Network
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