New to all this

[KlynK]

Hi, I'm Keri and my husband recently (within the past year) decided to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. He is currently in graduate school and will be applying to med school next year. I found this forum and was hoping that I could learn what to expect from more experienced people! And I'm also clueless as to the whole process so hopefully I can learn something too :P

[Meenah]

Welcome, you will be so glad you found us early in the process of the medical journey.

[poky]

Welcome! I also first found this forum before my husband had gotten accepted to med school.

This article is a decent high-level overview of the process. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical..._United_States If you follow the link to the article about Residency, there's a link to a detailed article about "the match" (the process of matching into a residency program as a 4th year med student): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationa...tching_Program That's probably the most confusing part of the process to people not already immersed in it.

Feel free to ask ANY questions you have; I know it's hard to even know what to ask at this early stage, but we're here to answer, and to help you set your expectations and give you some perspective on the range of experience of being a medical spouse. Does your husband have an idea of what specialty he's interested in, or does he just know he wants to be a doctor? Is this a second career for him (it is for my husband!)? Is he planning to take the MCAT next spring, or has he already taken it?

[L.Jane]

Welcome! You'll be so glad you found this early! As stated before, don't be afraid to ask questions. We have someone here that will relate to any experience or feeling you might be having.

[OrionGrad]

Welcome!

[v-girl]

Welcome!

[DrBandMe]

Welcome to the bunch! How exciting for your husband and you to be embarking on this journey together! Post often and ask away - there is a wealth of knowledge here at your fingertips.

[KlynK]

Thanks ladies!

Welcome! I also first found this forum before my husband had gotten accepted to med school.

This article is a decent high-level overview of the process. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical..._United_States If you follow the link to the article about Residency, there's a link to a detailed article about "the match" (the process of matching into a residency program as a 4th year med student): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationa...tching_Program That's probably the most confusing part of the process to people not already immersed in it.

Feel free to ask ANY questions you have; I know it's hard to even know what to ask at this early stage, but we're here to answer, and to help you set your expectations and give you some perspective on the range of experience of being a medical spouse. Does your husband have an idea of what specialty he's interested in, or does he just know he wants to be a doctor? Is this a second career for him (it is for my husband!)? Is he planning to take the MCAT next spring, or has he already taken it?

His thoughts right now are that he wants to be an orthopedic surgeon. This isn't really a second career per se. He was in the Army for the past four years but decided last year that he didn't want to continue down that path. He has wanted to become a surgeon for a long time so he decided to go for it. He took the MCAT in college but, unfortunately, its too old now so he'll be retaking it this spring and then apparently taking it again next year because of the change in format. ????? I don't know, something like that. He got a good score when he took it in college so hopefully he can do the same again!

[diggitydot]

Is he planning on using any test prep courses for studying the MCAT?

[metroguy]

i would recommend a test prep. it's worth the 1200 even if it can increase the score by 1 point.. now whether the journey to becoming a doctor is worth it or not-- that's a question should say answer. i highly recommend faking the answer until you believe it because you'll be asking yourself that question again and again..

[ladymoreta]

Welcome! Looking forward to getting to know you! Post often, and feel free to ask questions if we're talking about something new to you. This site is a huge wealth of information and support.

[Vanquisher]

I'm happy and sorry to have you. Ortho??? Ugh. Here's where I tell you to run away while you still have a chance!!! Save yourselves!!!

I'd rather try to survive a zombie apocalypse than go through residency. It is worse than that bad.

Welcome. I consider it my job to try to talk you out of medicine entirely and definitely ortho at the very least. It's a public service I perform. But, as long as you're here, pull up a chair and ask away.

[HouseofWool]

Welcome. I consider it my job to try to talk you out of medicine entirely and definitely ortho at the very least. It's a public service I perform. But, as long as you're here, pull up a chair and ask away.

I work for an Ortho and it is a grueling specialty. Good luck with the process.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Welcome! I'll say two things - if he thinks he can be happy doing anything else, he should go for that. As bad as residency gets, DH has never said, "I should have been a (different specialty). Ortho residency is just too much to handle unless it's the only thing you could ever picture yourself doing.

Secondly, he's still super early in the process, so I would encourage him to keep an open mind when exposed to other specialities.

Good luck!!


Wife of a PGY-4 Orthopod

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Secondly, he's still super early in the process, so I would encourage him to keep an open mind when exposed to other specialities.

Definitely very true! My DH entered and exited med school with very different ideas about what he wanted to do. He's thrilled with his choice but definitely needed to try things out before he knew. He doesn't have to know now though! You guys are in the early part of the journey! It'll be a wild ride but there's a lot of advice here!