I want to start by apologizing for the delay. Things have been crazy! I finished up my OB/Gyn rotation, studied for and took Step 2 CK, finalized my fourth year schedule, and started working on my application to residency. All in a little over one month! There seems to be so much to do during fourth year but I am sure it will all pay off in the end.
The OB/Gyn was a great experience! I was especially interested during the gynecology portion of the rotation because I got to be first assist on many surgeries (I am interested in surgery after all). I even got to use the laparoscopic instruments for the first time. The staff and residents were all great, but I still think surgery is for me.
I am currently in Indianapolis, Indiana on an away rotation in congenital cardiac surgery. I’m highly interested in cardiothoracic surgery and since Wright State does not have a residency program for this, I will be visiting some other schools and rotating on their service. Away rotations are a great way to learn about other programs at other institutions and get known by some of the faculty there. I am learning a lot and the hours are long, but the days fly by when you are scrubbed into a case. It is so rewarding to see the work that we do for the infants that have life-threatening cardiac anomalies. After Indianapolis I will go to Houston, then Miami, and finally Cincinnati. I am very excited to visit these cities because growing up I did not do much traveling. I have plans to spend my free time exploring the cities. As an example, I visited the Indiana War Memorial today. It is a must see for anyone that passes through and it is free to the public.
The main thing keeping me busy is my application to residency. It’s on a website called ERAS and you basically fill out all your information and then it turns it into a nice CV for you to save. I’m glad it is not like those pesky job application websites that ask you to input your information and then also upload a CV that contains the information you already entered. Why can’t you just upload the CV and be done? I’m still interested in cardiothoracic surgery and plan to apply to integrated programs (which consist of 6 years dedicated to cardiothoracic surgery) and general surgery programs.
Although I was not in Dayton for the arrival of the new class this year (I believe they just started last week) I saw many pictures online and as always it seemed to be a wonderful white coat ceremony. If any of you are reading this I wish you good luck during the next four years and do not blink because you will miss it! Oh, and if you are interested in blogging let me know. We can always use more medical school insights.
That’s all for now. The Indiana State Fair is calling my name. Did you know you can deep-fry a candy bar? Still not sure if I’m adventurous enough to try that. As always, email me with any questions!