New to International Medical Spouse Network

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to briefly introduce myself. I'm not even sure how all this works....

My husband is nearing the end of his 2nd year in medical school at Thomas Jefferson University in Phil. Pa. We moved all the way out here from California and boy was that a hard transition! We have three beautiful children ages 5, 7, and 9. I am the current "breadwinner" of the family right now working as a high school guidance counselor (I never realized how difficult the financial struggle of medical school would be). We're young, overwhelmed, and desperately missing home!

Anyway, this is my attempt at hopefully making more friends. It's lonely being so far from home!

Welcome! This board is a great resource and it's very friendly and informal. I look forward to getting to know you!

-Esther

[Auspicious]

Welcome!

[PrincessFiona]

Welcome! One of the families we knew during residency had a Thomas Jefferson Grad....I'd be happy to email the wife and see if she'd be willing to share some Philly tips with you!

The financial stresses of training, plus the additional responsibility of raising children can be just so overwhelming at times. Everyone here on the boards is at a different point in the training cycle....We've all experienced similar feelings of being overwhelmed, exhausted and stressed from time-to-time.

My better half finished the residency/fellowship process almost 3 years ago...I can hardly believe it. I remember thinking that residency would NEVER end...and here we are now enjoying our post-training life. We have 4 children (9,8.5 and 6 months) and I teach one section of Bio lab at our state U or prep labs (depending on the craziness of my life For the most part, I'm home with the kids.

This is a safe place to come and share the ups and downs.....and I've made some really great friendships here as well. I guess what I'm trying to say is welcome to this community. We're all here to help and support each other!

kris

Welcome! You're among friends here--there's always at least one of us who can relate to whatever you're going through. Residency took me from my home in Denver, Colorado to the frozen wasteland of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, so I definitely know a lot about being in a place far from home. The good news is that it's only temporary. Eventually you'll be able to go wherever you want.

We're glad to have you here and we're always happy to listen! (And offer tons of advice...whether you want it or not.)

Welcome! The great thing about this forum is there are lots of other people who understand how that feels. Post often!

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have posted a welcome so far. It makes me feel better to know there are a lot of people out there who have gone or are going through some of the struggles we are facing. This is definitely a journey that is testing our endurance, committment, and sanity!

I look forward to learning more about each of you.

~Monica

[Meenah]

Welcome, we now have another East Coaster!!!! I am Luanne and we are in NJ, Approx 45 minutes from King of Prussia. I am an RN and my husband is a Pulmonologist, we are at the University Medical Center of Princeton (not affiliated with Princeton University) but three blocks away!!
Luanne

[mommax3]

Welcome, Monica!

My husband has been finished with residency for almost 3 years, but we moved from Indiana (and all of our extended family) to San Antonio, TX when he started residency in 1997. It took a lot of adjusting! He is active duty military (Air Force) and after residency was assigned to a base in north Texas, (almost in OK) so we are still in the Lone Star state, and it has definitely grown on us.....although I would move from our current location tomorrow if I could!

Please post as often as you can......this is a very nice bunch of people in all stages of the process!

Sally

I would love to hear your advice on how to get the most out of this site. Being new, I'm not sure how everything works or how to meet the most people. I noticed that there are several "private" forums and other areas of the website that I haven't been able to access. So, any tips from you seasoned veterans would be great! Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you.

~Monica

[Flynn]

Welcome!!! Check this site and post often! You sound like you have a lot of extra time on your hands! Just kidding!!!

This is a great resource -- especially when you guys think of residencies and such. You get the "real" story from a spouses view here -- it's a valuable one since the doc in the relationship sometimes gets caught up in being a doc!!!

Welcome!!

Welcome! This is a great place to vent and chat with those in the "know" about life with a Dr, in all stages of the process!


To get into the "private" areas, you will need to PM PrincessFiona. That should get you rolling with all access.

delete extra!

Delete extra what? 8O

Question: My husband is about to start the beginning of rotations in July (after he passes the first half of his Boards, of course!) I have no idea what to expect as far as time committment and the impact that may have on the family. The first two years were okay, but there were times when I felt like giving up. I swore that if I ever heard the phrase "I can't, I have to study" again, I would completely freak out. So anyway, we're now getting ready to enter a new phase and I'm just curious to know what we're in for. Any stories/advice/tips to share???

~Monica