Quitting a job 4th year to travel/go on away rotations

[Alacrity]

If it works for you two, don't worry about whether it seems crazy..

Crazy is fun.
I've seen normal.

Ask yourself, when you look back at this 40 years from now. Which option do you think you would regret.
(OK, I'm loading the deck with that question)

I remember an animated movie where the husband regretted never going to Paradise Falls with his wife.

[Pollyanna]

My folks always said, "a lifetime with the person you love won't be enough so never waste a day being apart if you can help it".

Go, be together (even if its just a few moments a day), and enjoy the adventure!

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

We took a year off between MS3 and MS4 to go live and volunteer internationally. It was the absolute best thing for us and our marriage. I feel like it totally strengthened our ability to deal with the stressors of residency. We relied on each other for everything including physical safety....it was intense and awesome.

I did not attend DH's away rotations. DH also applied (and matched) into Urology and with an early match, he had time for only 2 away rotations that really could count towards letters of recommendation. DH spent both of those rotations working from 4 AM until 9 or 10 PM and then reading some more. He took 1 weekend (of the 8 on away rotations) off to be the best man in a wedding but otherwise did not take any substantial time off on the weekends. Urology is a really tough match (only 2/3 matched this year) and DH was concerned that any distraction wouldn't work. I can be independent but there's no denying that if I were with him, he'd spend time with me instead of reading when he got home at night...

On this side of the match now that DH is an intern and sees the evaluations of away rotators, I think he made the right choice. They really are judged on their focus, poise, knowledge, etc. as well as soft skills like "fitting in", "easy going", etc. It's really, really stressful and requires all their focus.

All this to say....I think you should go on the trips and not the away rotations. Now if you can attend some rotations that don't count (like after the match or not in Urology), that's totally different. But I wouldn't attend a true away rotation that is a Urology audition rotation.

[mountainmarmot]

We took a year off between MS3 and MS4 to go live and volunteer internationally. It was the absolute best thing for us and our marriage. I feel like it totally strengthened our ability to deal with the stressors of residency. We relied on each other for everything including physical safety....it was intense and awesome.

I did not attend DH's away rotations. DH also applied (and matched) into Urology and with an early match, he had time for only 2 away rotations that really could count towards letters of recommendation. DH spent both of those rotations working from 4 AM until 9 or 10 PM and then reading some more. He took 1 weekend (of the 8 on away rotations) off to be the best man in a wedding but otherwise did not take any substantial time off on the weekends. Urology is a really tough match (only 2/3 matched this year) and DH was concerned that any distraction wouldn't work. I can be independent but there's no denying that if I were with him, he'd spend time with me instead of reading when he got home at night...

On this side of the match now that DH is an intern and sees the evaluations of away rotators, I think he made the right choice. They really are judged on their focus, poise, knowledge, etc. as well as soft skills like "fitting in", "easy going", etc. It's really, really stressful and requires all their focus.

All this to say....I think you should go on the trips and not the away rotations. Now if you can attend some rotations that don't count (like after the match or not in Urology), that's totally different. But I wouldn't attend a true away rotation that is a Urology audition rotation.

Thanks for the advice. I think we will treat this summer when she starts MS3 as a trial but we are leaning towards me not coming along. I would like to visit a few days of each rotation, though, and take care of some grocery shopping/laundry etc.

We are planning a cruise and backpacking trip in Europe along with a possible international rotation after the Urology match...it would make for a spectacular 2-3 month vacation!

[Bgc24]

This is exactly what we are considering! I am also a teacher and thought that taking 4th year to travel with my husband and take care of him along the way would keep us both sane. How did this work out for you? Please share!

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

It worked out great for us. He matched at his first choice residency program. That being said, he did do research while we were there so he was publishing and also not “just running around”. He felt like that path was more respected on the residency interview Trail.


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[MarissaNicole]

What specialty and what kind of travel? T&S had a very unique opportunity but they weren’t just traveling I believe they were doing medical work in Africa. So it wasn’t just a typical away rotation.


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