Totally Off Topic BRAG!

[Janknitz]

I joined this group when my eldest was a teenager and an indifferent high school student. When she finally got to university and got to dive deep into the subjects she loved (biology and chemistry) she thrived academically. Initially she wanted to become a clinical laboratory scientist but an internship in a lab convinced her that while she liked the work, she didn't want to be tied down to bench work 40 hours a week for the rest of her life. She was getting better grades than her friends who were pre-meds, so she set her sights on medical school.

Today she learned that she (along with most other graduating medical students in the US) got a residency--in pediatrics for her. She won't find out WHERE until Friday (and I will probably asking lots of questions if anyone lives where she will end up). It could be anywhere from NY to Honolulu. We are so excited to find out.

This was a very stressful thing--half a million dollars in student debt and not getting a residency would have been a disaster. But she matched. We are proud and thrilled.

In May I get to start calling her "my daughter the doctor" (every Jewish mom's dream ) and in July she'll be launched into residency.

[Deborah K.]

Congratulations to both you and your daughter! That's a wonderful accomplishment.

[Megs78]

Congratulations! What a great outcome for your daughter!

[Architect]

Congratulations to daughter/family. Cerainly remarkable achievement

[chunkyfrog]

Congratulations!
Now, even more than ever, we need new doctors.

[kaiasgram]

Aw, big Congratulations Jan!

[Okie bipap]

Congratulations to both of you. You have a right to be proud of her. More women are starting to go into medicine, which I see as a plus. Over the years, my wife and I have both seen several woman doctors, and have really liked all of them. I can't say the same for some of the male doctors we have seen.

[booksfan]

Congratulations! What a wonderful accomplishment! A very happy moment for your entire family

[HoseCrusher]

Excellent news!!!

[RogerSC]

Congratulations...fun to see the kids getting along so well with their lives. Well done to all!

[Janknitz]

Thank you all! We are so excited for Friday to find out where she will be. Every medical student in the country finds out at 9 a.m. EST via email. Wherever that is my "vacation" this year will be helping her move. I'll be asking for recommendations for anyone who lives in her mystery location.

[Janknitz]

My daughter matched with UNM Albuquerque School of Medicine's pediatric residency. We are over the moon with excitement, it was one of her top choices.

I was last in Albuquerque (I had to learn to spell it) when I was about 10 years old. I remember it as a suburban town much like the one we live in now (Santa Rosa, CA), just a bit far away from major metropolitan areas. Her biggest worry about it--no Ikea there--but offset by the fact that there are TWO Trader Joe's.

So if anyone in that area wants to pm me and tell me about life in Albuquerque, I'm all ears. I will probably go with her for rental hunting in late may or early June (sure hope I'm fully vaccinated by then). She is hoping for a rental where she might be able to have a dog, if she can find a good doggy day care or dog walker to help her with crazy hours medical residents have. She has been assured that the residency program values work-life balance and that she will have predictable hours which are now limited by law so that medical residents are not working 100 hour shifts anymore.

We are excited to have a free place to stay to see the balloon festival!

[chunkyfrog]

That is wonderful!
The insane hours no doubt kept a lot of really qualified people out of the profession.

[jdm5]

Mazel Tov!!!!

[Janknitz]

That is wonderful!
The insane hours no doubt kept a lot of really qualified people out of the profession.

There are now laws about how many hours in a row a medical resident can be "on duty". I think it's 80 hours per week, and no more than 1 24 hour shift in that week with a certain number of hours off before the next shift. When she was applying for residencies, some of them had a reputation for being "toxic" residencies. Those are residencies where they typically expect the residents to work longer shifts than the law permits because they depend on residents to do more work than is proper. This is an unsafe situation for residents and most especially for patients. There were plenty of red flags about which residencies may be toxic, and she either did not put them on her ranked list or they were on the rock bottom.

One of the reasons this residency was on the top of her list is they expressed a commitment to work life balance and predictable shifts. It's a small program and the residents and faculty all seemed to be very close-knit, positive and happy. 80 hours a week is still a lot, but it's much more doable than the old days where residents would sometimes do back to back shifts for days at a time.

She worked graveyard shift in a medical lab during her gap year, so she's been there done that. It was miserable but part of it was a horrible work environment. I'm hoping this will be much better.