Just the Facts Ma'am! Welcome Tif

The Doc: 2nd Year Resident in Anesthesiology

The Wife: Tif . . . I work full-time at a local university as an Academic Advisor, ironically with a large population of pre-med students!

The Kids: 2 -- son (5) & daughter (almost 2)

The Situation: You all know what we have been through and what we are currently going through . . . lots of moving (3 times if 5 years!), lots of taking care of things myself because hubby is at the hospital, but lots of good and very proud moments as well!

The Site: My hubby and I write on our public blog at www.ourmedicallives.blogspot.com, though I am way behind in posting because of our very busy schedule and I maintain multiple other sites as a little hobby! I also have a private Facebook group associated with our site, searchable via Our Medical Lives. I have been checking the site for a while now. I love hearing what everyone has to say and come here to feel like I am not alone!! Thanks!!

Welcome to our new friend - Sybil

Hello!

I am glad I found your blog! My husband is a neonatology fellow (think tiny preemie babies) and we just moved to Gainesville, FL for him to begin the fellowship at UF/Shand's Hospital (so that would make him a PGY4 - Neonatology). I would love to be included on your contributors list (our blog is http://sybilandalex.blogspot.com/).

Does anyone on here lives in the Gainesville area? I would really like to meet some people here. I am currently looking for a job but as you know, moving to a new city is tough. We have been married almost 8 years and lived in 3 states (Memphis, TN - med school; St Louis, MO - residency; and now Gainesville, FL - fellowship). We moved the last week in March and it has been a very lonely past few weeks in a city where I know no one. People have no idea the sacrifices that physicians' wives make!

Sybil

Busy Lady: Samantha

Hi! My name is Samantha. I officially joined the ranks of Doctor Wives last year and I'm so excited to find this blog. My husband is a PGY-3 psychiatry resident and we're trying deciding on which fellowships to apply to for PGY-5. I think I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the residency tunnel! Just in time to head into the fellowship tunnel :)

We currently have 2 fur-babies but are hoping to add a human baby to our family soon. I work for a start up pharmaceutical company and I have a Masters in Public Health. I'm currently working on my Masters in Architecture and Design, so needless to say we're pretty busy.

Welcome Heather

Hi! I am new to the "Lives of Doctor's Wives" blog--found it while waiting on my husband to come home--he is on an away rotation, and the 3 kids and I came to visit (at his request) thinking we would get to see him, but um no, I don't think it's going to happen:)My name is Heather, my husband is PGY3, General Surgery, and I don't really have a website at this point, although I've just started blogging a little--so I may link up at some point!

Thanks!!! Heather

Howdy Liz!

My name is Liz. My husband is currently finishing up his intern year and will begin his anesthesiology residency training this July. We have four young children. I have a masters degree in public health. After residency, my husband and I plan to travel to 3rd world countries to participate in medical humanitarian work. I am new to the blogging world and amazed at how wonderful this site is. I love being married to a doctor, I love to laugh, and I love talking with other wives about being married to doctors. I hope that I can add some helpful insights as a contributor to the site. A lot of our common experiences are wonderful, and yet, a lot are so horrible that all we can do is talk about them, and then, hopefully, laugh about them together.

Glad you are here Laura!!

Hi! I am Laura. I am a mother of three, tutor, and a doctor wife. My husband, Ben, is in his third year of an orthopedic surgery residency. We have been going through an extremely difficult time recently because his residency program did not get accredited for this next residency year. We found out a little over 7 months ago that we had to find a new residency program to take us for the last two years of his residency. It has been just one more thing to struggle with during an already hard time. We have a home to sell and more debt to accrue with moving costs. Luckily we found a residency program that we are thrilled about going to, but we wish more so that this had never happened in the first place. We will be moving to Pittsburgh in little over a month to complete his last two years at AGH. It is much harder moving in the middle of residency than at the end of medical school. We have a house to sell that isn't selling, we have had to find money to pay for the interviews that he had to do to get into a new residency, we have to move without any relocation loans, and we have to do all this without any time off. In fact my husband has been told by the new residency to be there or orientation by the second week of June, while our current residency told him he is not allowed to leave until the last day of June. Anyway, I have been feeling down on my luck and today I have boiled over into a depressed state. I have resisted posting a hello for some reason, but today I feel so alone in my struggles that I felt a need to reach out. Any of you in Pittsburgh? I am sure none of you have dealt with a closed down residency program -- it is so rare, but if you have -- do you have any advise? I do blog at benandlaura.blogspot.com and I am hoping to meet some friends through this doctor wives blog. Thanks for a listening ear.

New to Medicine - Welcome Shauna!!

I came accross the blog about a month or so ago, and I'm so happy I did!

I recently (very recent, 5 months ago) started dating J. He's PGY3 family medicine. Let me just start out by saying that I had NO IDEA what residents go through! The looooong hours, the call shifts, the stresses about money, board exam, applying for jobs and the interviewing, etc., plus visa paperwork (he's from Canada). I would have done lost it a long time ago!

I think I've read just about everything there is to read on the blog, and it's been a great help in understanding how difficult things are and how to better deal with them. J and I live and hour and a half apart, which makes even a normal relationship difficult to start as you want to spend time with and get to know each other. In comparison to the distances some of the ladies have to deal with, an hour and a half is nothing...but add in the crazy life of chief resident, and it becomes very hard. I am in school full time and working part time, so my schedule also hampers spending time together.

Though this is all new to me, I can see the patience and determination these men (and women) must possess in order to get through med school, residency, fellowships, and practicing all while maintaining relationships with family and friends...plus the dedication of the spouses and SO's and what they have to deal with.

So, thank you for having this blog out there!! It's helped me deal with the "I got called in...again," and the "I'm so tired, I just need to sleep."

Oh, maybe I should introduce myself...I'm Shauna...Hi!

Welcome Adriana

Hello, my name is Adriana Heskett. My husband is in his 4th (and final) year of residency for OB/GYN. We have three kids, Emily (5), Palmer (3), and Logan (3 months). I currently work from home as a financial aid administrator for a local college.

~We are so glad that Adriana has joined us! She is a valuable resource for us and it's so great of her to offer to share some of her knowledge!

Adriana has worked in financial aid for 8 years and has a lot of experience/knowledge when it comes to student financial aid. There have been a lot of changes recently with regards to deferment/forbearance/repayment of loans and sometime soon Adriana has offered to write a post explaining how it affects us in residency and those going into practice!!!

I CANNOT wait to read this, Thank Adriana!!!~

Introducing - Portia!!

I am married to a wonderful, although largely absent, PGY4 orthopaedic surgeon. Since giving birth to our daughter last June I have postponed a full-time career to be with her. I love being with her, but lately I'm beginning to feel stir-crazy too. It's been tough, and I have recently begun seeking support and friendship to help mitigate frustration and loneliness. Anyway, I say all of this because I want you to know that finding the blog..just reading the postings...made me feel so much better.



Portia- Welcome!!! Have any great advice ladies????

Let's Say a Howdy-doo to Cheri!

Hello Lives of Doctors Wives Family!!!

My name is Cheri and I have recently married Ian (an PGY1 ER resident). He is originally from Canada and I from Ohio. We met while he was in medical school at The Ohio State University. It was always my dream to end up on the east coast and I am very happy we matched in New Jersey yet am sad to leave my JOB, family, and friends in Ohio. I am going to start the process of obtaining my masters degree this winter while teaching elementary school. I am excited for our new life to start, yet have realized that we are more co-existing then actually living together. In reality, like all of you, I am excited for this indentured servitude experience to come to an end!!! I am excited to become a contributor of the site but more importantly an aquirerer of support during these extremely hard next few years when I have to give up my husband to his job.

Let's Welcome Leah

Hello!
My name is Leah (AKA JumpingJane) and my SO is a PGY2 General surgeon. I have been around the blog for a few months now, making comments here and there. I am originally from Kansas, but met J in Texas while I was obtaining my masters and he was in med school. After he was matched in DC. I finished up my masters and joined J just recently in June. Its an interesting ride moving half way across the country with out any family or a job. I appreciate this site immensely. It makes me feel a little less alone. I am lucky that my boyfriend is willing to do the dishes and help clean on his days off, so the being woken up every day at three am and his psycho cat are annoyances I live with. :) Anyway, Hello! and Thank you for being out there!

Suzanne (Mrs.D)

Hello everyone!
My husband is a first year resident in Internal Medicine. We moved to Cleveland a couple of months ago from Rochester (and I know some med students who are still in Rochester, if anyone is applying there). Both sets of parents live far away, we have no kids and no pets, and I work from home. It's been interesting to deal with this big change in our lives without much of a support system nearby. I found this forum shortly after I started my own blog, and it's so nice to have a community of people all going through the same thing! I've enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts so much - and checking out some of the other ladies' blogs.

Hello Elisabeth!

Hi,
My fiancé (soon to be husband in October) is MSIII in Cleveland, Ohio. He’s a native to Columbus, Ohio and I grew up in Maryland. We met while working at a life sciences consulting firm in Boston, MA. I still work at that firm in Boston 50% of the time and the other 50% I spend in Cleveland with my fiancé working remotely. So glad to have found you early in this journey. I’m happy to provide local tips in Cleveland and Boston as I’ve gotten to know both areas pretty well. My fiancé hasn’t chosen a specialty yet but I’m looking forward to at least being the in same state full time in residency!
-E (that’s what all my friends call me)

Count Me In - Amy

Hi Everyone!

I’ve been subscribing to this blog for a while and feel it’s about time I jump on the bandwagon and introduce myself! My name is Amy and my boyfriend of 5 years is an MSII at OSU. We moved to Tulsa last year from Boulder, CO where we met during undergrad but I am originally from upstate NY. I’ve worked in magazine publishing since I got out of college and enjoy the outdoors and spending time with my yellow lab (yes, I’m one of the people who voted “fur babies are all I need, thanks” on the survey).Neither one of us has any doctors in the family so this world is completely new to us and all of your support and advice is wonderful. The transition to school has been tough since we moved to a completely new state and don’t have any family nearby. However, we’re finally starting to find our place in Tulsa. A big thanks to Lex for helping us all get connected!

Just have Faith

My name is Faith. My husband, Spencer, is an MSII at OSU. We've been married for over four years and have three children: Benjamin (Benny) is 3, Anderson (Andy) is 18 months, and Lilia is 2 months. Starting Med School with two kids was quite an experience. We moved away from both our families and had to figure everything out in a new area - and I had to do a lot of it alone with two young kids (my Sam's Club membership card has Andy's face below mine because he was in the baby bjorn!). We know we are where we're supposed to be doing what we need to and we're doing our best to enjoy the ride!
faith

Hello Daphne

Hello! My name is Daphne and I am happy to be a part of this awesome blog. What a blessing to have other ladies to talk to that completely understand what it means to be married to a dr. Quick thanks to Jennilee for informing me about this site!

I have been married over six years now to my husband who is a PGY5 in orthopedic surgery @ Loma Linda University Med Center. We met and began dating before he was accepted into medical school. I was in washington while he started med school @ Loma Linda in CA. It was a trying 2-year long distance relationship. We would often times go for 8-weeks without seeing eachother, but I think it made our relationship that much stronger. In June of 2003 I turned 22, graduated from SPU and got married, all within a week. I had no clue what life would be like, but I was happy to finally share it with my husband. The past six years have definitely been a time of learning and compromising for me. It has by no means been an easy road, but not one that I wouldn't change either. With time my husband and I have learned to make this anything but ordinary life work and I have learned to adapt (slowly at times) to whatever rotations, upcoming tests, conferences, calls, etc. may come our way. I think I have found comfort knowing that even the worst rotation never stayed constant, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel (not always so bright, but better).

We have two precious little girls. Ella is 3 1/2 and is just like her daddy. Chloe is 17 months and is quite the momma's girl. Both have learned to adjust to daddy's "work" schedule/lifestyle. I am currently a stay @ home mom with them. Ella was born during internship year which forced me to become more independent and learn that I had to do it (all the things that come with being a mom and running a household) by myself, or it just simply would not get done. I can appreciate that now, but at the time it was extremely frustrating! It still is a learning process every single day for both me and my girls, but we make it work thanks to our Faith in God and our incredible family and friends!!

My husband will be completing his residency in July of 2010 and will go on to do a one year fellowship in upper extremity/hand at USC.
I am looking forward to sharing this journey with you all and excited to see where it will take us!

Daphne

Please Welcome Katie!!

Hi y'all!
I'll keep it short in sweet. My name is Katie and I am a newbie to this whole blog world. I just moved to the gulf coast of Florida with my boyfriend, of over two and a half years, while he begins his first year of osteopathic medical school. I am very excited for this new adventure in our lives, and am grateful for a site like this! I've been reading a lot of the posts, and appreciate everyone's experiences and advice. I created a blog of my own to keep my friends and family up to speed with our new life. I hope some of you will pop in from time to time, as I am always open to new ideas and suggestions. Thank you and talk soon!

Howdy Beth!

I am so excited a friend introduced me to this blog! It is so refreshing to have a place where everyone understands what you are going through. My name is Beth and my husband, Matt, is a PGY2 in Orthopedic Surgery. He was a physical therapist for 5 years before entering medical school, so we are a bit older than the "traditional" resident and wife. We are in Greenville, South Carolina (moved from Kansas) in a community-based program that has also recently been university affiliated. It is a very busy hospital that serves a large region. We are blessed to be in such a beautiful location in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, and be in a program that is very social, supportive and family friendly. Speaking of family, we have two boys...a 3 1/2 year old and a 21 month old. My oldest son was born MSII, and suprised us with Down Syndrome. He needed a lot of medical care including open heart surgery, but now is doing fantastic and in school! He was born just a few months before Step 1, so it was a very stressful time for us. My youngest was born fall of MSIV just in time for my husband to be gone all of the time traveling for interviews! Again, it was stressful and busy, but I think all of it prepared us well for juggling residency.

I practiced as a pediatric occupational therapist for almost 10 years before deciding to stay home once residency began. It was a HUGE adjustment for me, but after about a year I am finally adjusted and enjoy staying home. We have four more years to go, plus fellowship, but we are truly enjoying our time in South Carolina and have met so many wonderful people in residency that are and will always be dear friends. I am excited to read and learn more on this blog, and get to know all of you!

Beth Hollenbeck

Welcom Sharon!

Hi My name is Sharon Robinson.

My husband is a family medicine physician in Lubbock, Texas. He started med school in 1990 at the age of 41 at Texas Tech School of Medicine. At that time, our oldest daughter was a freshman at Texas Tech, our youngest daughter was in the 5th grade and I was a first year PhD student in Experimental Psychology.

Oh, how I wish there were blogs such as this back then. My husband is a solo FP in Lubbock. He is also does emergency medicine, is on adjunct faculty at TTUHSC, is medical director of a school local school district, is president elect of the medical society and is medical director of a small rural EMS. I am an experimental psychologist who does not practice anymore. I also have a degree in Finance and I run his medical practice. I spent several years as a hospital accountant for Parkland Hospital and Harris Methodist Hospital in Dallas and Fort Worth, respectively. I am a very active member of the medical alliance locally and at the state level. I serve on the TMA Council on Practice Manangement and on the TMA ad-hoc HIT Committee.

As if I did not have enough to do, I decided to return to school (for the upteenth time) and pursue a second degree BSN at TTU School of Nursing. This is a sixty hour course cirriculum completed in 12 months. After I finish the 2degree BSN, I will start in the Nurse Practitioner Masters Program and should complete that in 36 hours. I might also add that the 41 year old medical student is now a 61 year old solo FP and the "wife" is 56 years old. We run rings and circles around not only our age peers, but those much older. My husband is a faculty mentor to MSI at TTUHSC. Needless to say, they send us the "old ones" to nurture.

I would love to be a contributor to your blog. Let me know if I can be of help. I am on Twitter as Greendaisygirl, Facebook, LinkedIn and Plaxo if you want to check me out.

Sharon Robinson, BBA, MALubbock, Texas

Introducing: Sara C

I've been reading all the posting on this blog all weekend and am astonished by all of the wonderful information and support you all have given so many through this blog.

My name is Sara and I'm dating an MSIII in Arizona. We've been together for 3 1/2 years - through the MCAT, applications, boards, and now moving on to third year rotations - he's thinking emergency will be his field. I have a master's in university administration and work at the public university in town. With so much time spent at the University, I'm now headed back for my PhD this fall. With both of us needing support and lacking time, I'm excited to keep up with all the wonderful insights posted here. I've already put some of your dinner time suggestions into practice.

Sincerely, Sara Cate