Specialization-Fellowship-post,post,post graduate studies

I know that this is a topic that pushes lots of buttons around here.

At one point, I thought that we may be in for a heated debate about continuing training and the such....until I hear DW voice after a day in the PICU or NICU. She is absolutely high on confidence from the attendings and her procedures done. Yesterday, she did an LP on a newborn in the NICU, first stick, zero/zero tap. I actually thought she was dancing a jig on the phone when she called to tell me about it. Everyone was watching, as she is the "senior" in the NICU this month, she was excited. She has also changed an "easy" month for another round in the PICU later this spring! ( Not sure what to think of that yet ), but she got the best evaluation in all her residency class so far. Several attendings have offered her any help that they could provide in obtaining specialization training after the Air Force. I am happy for her and for us too.

[Meenah]

Congratulations. I have been present when residents do many things for the first time (ER) and it is great when they are successful. Resident life can be so tough, it is nice when they have popsitive outcomes.
Luanne

[Phoebe]

Congratulations to Gretchen and you! It is always nice to hear the rewarding experiences about medical training. It is even more exciting to hear when a student or resident finds something they are passionate about. My husband thrived while on those ICU months eventhough they were the most intensive in his residency program. He also signed up for extra time in the ICU over other electives during his residency. He loves the challenge of procedures, talking to families and the basic hands-on experience in the NICU. Now that he has finished training, being an attending is everything he thought it would be.

Good luck in the future if your wife decides to pursue that path!

Jennifer

[SueC]

That is great!--as hard as it is to do a fellowship, when your spouse gets that excited about something it actually feels pretty good to be supportive about it despite whatever sacrifices need to be made. (I say that with hesitance because I know a lot of spouses here have supported lots of additional training and stressful residency programs and eventually just have to draw the line somewhere and I don't want to sound critical of that at all!) My husband literally gets a sort of high being in the ICU despite all of the sleep deprivation so it was pretty easy for me to get on board with that. Congrats to your wife for finding something that really excites her!

[houseelf]

Wonderful news Matt! Please don't think that because I have issues with my DH continuing training after 7-8 years of residency that I'm against anyone doing additional training. These are just my circumstances and I'm a wus. Seriously, this sounds like you all are very excited with the prospect. Great for you.

Kelly[/code]