Hello to all you beautiful (and patient) people!

[MarissaNicole]

Intern year wasn't as bad but we only had 3 or 4 months on NSG and the other months were various specialties.... and it depended on the month. For example burns was busy but neuro was pretty light. I would plan on going to see him on the easier months.

As for PGY2 I would plan to spend some of his vacation weeks with him.

Before I say anything about the days or hours I should also add that it depends on how busy the program and whether or not he has a co-resident (s).

My motto is expect the worst and hope for the best. (4 days off a month is pretty common in NSG - one sat, one sunday and one full weekend).

Wife to PGY4

[metroguy]

i second the opinion about kids-- once you have kids, marriage and residency gets complicated/stressful. before kids, marriage and residency was not that big of a deal (at least for the non md spouse).

[Sheherezade]

Hi! Another Cleveland based member here. I'm an "old lady" now; husband is an attending in a different field at CC. I've been around this website since residency though and I TRY to remember what it felt like accurately. (None of this "We walked uphill in the snow in my day!" stuff. ).

Residency isn't so bad if you are both career focused and there are no kids involved. The LDR thing could work since Chicago is a pretty easy visit and if he ends up bailing on you for work, there is still lots to do. Best advice is to set your expectations low for the next few years. And expect surprises. For him, that might mean an evening assisting in an unexpected surgery ; for you, it might mean a canceled date or being left at a restaurant alone on your anniversary. *sigh* Medicine. It's full of surprises.

I'm glad you found this place! It's great to have online friends to move with you as you travel through med training.

[crabby_patty]

Haha yikes!

He doesn't start his neurosurgery block until November, burns is next year, etc...so right now he actually has plenty of time to spare...time that he needs to study for Step III, hahaha. He has actually been pretty good about visiting me, so I'm not too worried about intern year. The good thing is that he's set on academia and he gets 3 weeks of vacation a year (that he gets to pick...I think?), and he has a co-resident. I'll be sure to make him use his vacation days

Yeah...kids are far, far, far faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaar off into the future :P maybe in 10 years?