med student spouses/partner

DH is PGY3-Vascular Surgery. Here in Italy you go right into sub-specialization. He hates it and thinks he should have gone into general so I think he is toying with the idea of doing another specialty after he finishes this one (which will suck money-wise but will probably be better career-wise).

He's not cocky. Yet anyway. He's actually quite the opposite and has a hard time dealing with the other surgeons on his team.

[madeintaiwan]

Mine is in my sig but...

DH loves sports. Played football at a HS that lives and breaths football. He is in the college football hall of fame. He wakes up at 4:30am three times a week to lift and play basketball and he plays basketball every Sat for at least 2 hours. And he is always trying to squeeze in some golf or raquet ball. Especially the golf since DS got his own clubs last Xmas. He draws charcoal portraits; I have to admit that they are quite amazing. He loves to build. He has built a media storage cabinet and a chest. He loves fishing; used to go on a retreat with his dad every year to Convict Lake.

He is very very calm, until you really push him over the edge. But you really have to push him. He doesn't get upset about much and doesn't hold grudges. He is pretty easy going. If you're nice, he's nice. If you're not nice, that fine too to a certain extent. If he doesn't like you, there must be something very wrong with you. He is very confident but I wouldn't say cocky [I hate cocky]. Loves poker, just loves a good time. He's all about a good time. Work hard and play hard. He has 9 aunts and uncles on his dad's side and they are always crazy [loads of fun.. until someone gets too drunk] having a great time. He is very determined and when he sets his mind to something, he can't stop until he has accomplished whatever it is. He's kind of quiet until you get to know him. And because of the whole big family thing, he likes to tease alot. It's like a family trait. But if you ask him to stop or let him know you don't roll like that, he's more than willing to stop.

And his muscles are a little big , but not too big [gross]. He's all about being fit, but loves his cookies and milk every night, but will take a break for weeks from indulging if he feels he's getting a little gut. He got into one of those water submerge body fat machine things when we were at UCD and he was so proud of his 4.5% body fat.

I hear the stereotype for ortho is dumb jock. One of the peds internist at CHLA teased him that if he ever wanted to use his brain that they would be waiting for him to return from the dark side. He definetly is into sports but he is far from dumb. He loves to use his hands and doesn't really want to work with sick people. I'd say he's an ortho guy.

[SuzySunshine]

The orthopod sterotypes are funny to me. I have a good friend from high school who was valedictorian of his class, 4.0 in college and medical school while on a baseball scholarship and is an orthopod. Besides my husband he is probably one of the smartest men I know. So yes, he was an athlete and is now an orthopod but definitely not a dumb jock.

[Vanquisher]

Yeah, orthopods couldn't possibly be dumb anymore. It is one of the most difficult specialties to match in now. But, the dumb jock stereotype persists.

[Deebs]

The ortho stereotype only exists so that everyone has someone to make fun of. EM takes their fair share of getting picked on, too, and they've become one of the more competitive matches (as DH says jokingly, he only needs to know the first hour of any illness). I don't know an ortho surgeon who doesn't look incredible cleaned up. My personal stereotype is that they're fit, into sports (or formerly into sports), but not huge weight-lifter types. I only know three plastic surgeons, but they all love women (even the one that does strictly reconstructive surgeries), and are very aware of what a good body looks like. If I was picking one as a patient, that's the doc I would want working on me .

OK- After being the wife of an EM physician for 10 years, 6 of those being attending years, I will say DH has deffinately changed since Med school days. He used to be a hyper adrenaline junkie, anal to a fault, intense as all get out. After hitting it hard for a couple years after residency, he saw the potential for quick burnout and decided that being all that is not really good. He is now a relaxed fly fishing junkie who only is mechanically oriented at work. So not the handyman at home, lol. Still a major player at work but has learned to seperate that part of his life from home life and that's good for us because he would have drove us crazy over the last few years.

Sorry if this is irrelevant.

He had big muscles (orthopod?)

:funnycry: :funnycry: :funnycry:

OMG, STOP!!

I thought you'd get a kick out of it, Heidi. No, seriously, my dh worked at children's hospital and he said the orthopods all had these huge muscles with barbwire tatoos going around their arms.

Speaking of the stereotype persisting for a laugh...

gotta love the Todd. Nellie, I feel you deserve one of these

nice jpeg five!

Oddly enough, I haven't met a whole lot of doctors - DH and I met well after he'd graduated, so I didn't get to meet a variety of them.

I'd be curious to hear from some of the specialty-guessers how you think you'd spot a cardiac surgeon? I'm wondering if DH fits the mold...

[Flynn]

Oddly enough, I haven't met a whole lot of doctors - DH and I met well after he'd graduated, so I didn't get to meet a variety of them.

I'd be curious to hear from some of the specialty-guessers how you think you'd spot a cardiac surgeon? I'm wondering if DH fits the mold...

Oh I'LL PLAY with this one.

Here is the stereotype from my experience:
brilliant -- serious genius scores on SATs and standardized tests
ambitious
thinks heart surgery is just "IT" (nirvanna)
charismatic
confidant to the point of blinding arrogance
good at lots of things besides medicine
doesn't take BS or crap very well
TYPE A (to the Nth degree at work)
known as the "biggest a$$es in medicine"

[Stella]

Oh crap... you just described my SO... to a T.