Matchiversary!! Our Post-Match Year in Review

It has been ONE WHOLE YEAR since Match Day 2011. This is incredible to me. It feels like both a day and a decade ago Brad and I hovered over that little letter and stared at each other in (unfounded) shock after reading "Johns Hopkins- Pediatrics".

Reflecting on it now there is actually some nice symmetry or similarity to the oddness of how the match results are presented, on a single white piece of paper folded into thirds so you have to clamor for the result with the text laid bare in the center with no cushion or introductory information, and how bar exam results are presented, online in a small chart with your ID number and in tiny subscript at the bottom of the chart "your name appears on the pass list". Small simple presentation of a few words that have a profound and massive impact.

Tangential musings aside, it has been a rough and tumble journey since Brad matched at Hopkins. Our first move was to visit Baltimore and consider buying a place near the hospital. Yes, indeed, Brad and I visited Baltimore in April of 2011 and in one weekend found and made an offer on a place to call our own. We looked at about 15-20 places over the weekend and the place we chose in Canton was the clear favorite. You can check out some info on Baltimore neighborhoods here: http://www.livebaltimore.com/neighborhoods/

We fell in love with our new old rowhouse. The prior owners were also Hopkins folks. They were selling because the husband was moving on to a fellowship in Florida. This was one of the many early indications we got of the very tight and pervasive, in a good way, relationship in Baltimore between the city and Hopkins. Here, Scrubs are like Uggs in L.A.-- ain't no thing to see people wearing them in every and any situation imaginable.

We prepared for the worst case scenario where Brad would move to Baltimore and I would stay behind for a year, take the MD bar and then relocate if I passed. As I mentioned before, with a big dose of luck and a bit of "quit being a chicken and just tell them/ask for a transfer!" I was able to get a position in our DC office. I moved into Project Finance, which deals with the financing of big projects in a way that limits recourse to one company, the project company (are you already bored?) so that innovative or risky projects, such a solar energy or infrastructure in politically unstable countries, can go through. (Very recently I was asked to switch into our Financial Services group. So now I am working on banking regulations, credit card services and other finance or credit related activities companies desire to do.) The first week of June we packed up our Los Feliz abode and ventured on out to the great unknown, with our heavily sedated cats in tow (they did great on the 6 hour flight but it was sad to see them so out of it).
The little guys don't seem to hold a grudge and have adjusted nicely to east coast living. Here they are out and about in our place (some of you may recognize yourselves in the pics on the table--we miss you and need to look at your faces, lest we forget what you look like)

When we first got to Bmore, we got cooked like crabs. It was about 100 degrees and we didn't have any air conditioning going. I think we probably slept an hour each that first night and I'm not sure who had it worse--me on the blazing wood floor or Brad on the sticky leather couch. Either way, we made it to another day and since getting air conditioning, haven't had any complaint with the house (parking is a whole other issue- don'tgetmestarted)

After the sun came the rain! It poured and poured but you know what, we kinda liked it. Here's a view of the rain from our front door:

BEING A RESIDENT-- on to the good stuff!

Brad started his first year of residency, they call them R1s or interns I believe, in late June. From the get go the rotations have been intense. Brad is nearing the end of his intern year and he has rotated through two rounds in the ER (this is when he has 2-4 weeks of nights!), two rounds through the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit ("the NICU" pronounced "the nick-you"), rounds through a local affiliated catholic hospital that is about a ten minute drive away, rounds through the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit ("the PICU" pronounced, you guessed it "the pick-you"), rounds through a clinical setting of care and rounds in general pediatrics.

From my observations of Brad's general mood and excitement over these different areas I can tell you that ER is not in his future. One main part of this is probably that when he is on ER rotations about half of the time he's on nights and during nights rotations he goes to work at 5-7pm and comes home at 8-10am. I leave for work 6-6:45am and come home 8:00-10:00pm. So we do not see each other, not even for a little hug or high five, during the weeks he's on nights. I think it also that in the ER there isn't the continuity of care that Brad really enjoys.

The large majority of the people Brad has worked with are amazing. They are kind, patient and very smart. He has encountered a couple of people who aren't malicious necessarily (no Dr. Houses) but that lack communication skills, bed side manner as it were. I've been really impressed with how Brad has been able to grow from experiences with difficult or anti-social personalities. He's been true to himself and his personality, which as I am sure many of you know is very level-headed and non-judgemental, and he has been able to open up to those "difficult" people. I've very proud.

AMAZING PATIENT CASES

Brad has the opportunity to work on some really interesting cases. He worked with one kid who is 14 and last year he was struck by lightening, directly in the heart, at his grandmother's funeral, while standing over her grave. !!! The kid is from Indiana but is getting care at Hopkins because it is great with the more bizarre or serious cases. He is recovering pretty well but the next few months are crucial. If he is able to show marked improvement with language and motor functioning that holds real promise for a more complete recovery. In any event, I think it is amazing that he survived considering the lightening strike stopped his heart.

In the delivery room Brad has seen some shocking and tragic births. One baby, a twin, was born with his stomach outside of his body. I guess his stomach didn't form completely so there was a whole where his belly skin should be and the intestines were just kinda out. Brad was handed the baby and (I am not kidding) had to put the intestines/stomach in a separate bag and carry the bag and the baby to the operating room. Remarkably, the baby is totally fine. With some surgery and medicine the baby is on its way to a completely normal life. Wow.

Brad had a really tough day recently where towards the end of his shift a baby was born that unexpectedly was showing signs of severe trauma. The baby was not premature or a high risk case and so it was pretty surprising when he was born not responding and then started seizing. I simply can't imagine the kind of anguish the family was going through. The prospects of survival for the little boy were not good and I know Brad must have felt that reality and the overwhelming sadness of the situation. That is a tough day at the office, especially at then end of a ten or eleven hour shift when he was already worn out and a little raw. I am glad though that the good outcomes seem to outweigh the bad outcomes and most of the time Brad is in high (although tired) spirits when he comes home.

NEW INTERNS

Before we knew it, interview season was upon us and a new crop of hopeful Hopkinsons were making the rounds through the Pediatrics department. I accompanied Brad to a few dinners and shared some of our experiences with the city and with moving across the country. I was surprised by how many couples were like us and making (or at least being willing to make) big moves together.

I was REALLY surprised though when one of the interviewees came and stayed with us for the night before his interview and he recognized us FROM THIS BLOG!!! How awesome is that? Basically, I'm famous.
Here is the interviewee with Brad in our living room.

I'm not sure what his rank list looks like but it would be fabulous if he matched here. He was nice and hilarious--he told a great story about Elvis impersonators that I will never forget. He shared that he had similar impressions to the programs as expressed in this blog. I thought that was pretty fascinating. The residency process is a unique and stressful pilgrimage. I hope that reading our experiences helped out our guest, even if just to commiserate. Look at those guys! Good lookin Docs in my opinion.

And so the year continues on.... I'm not going to lie. It has not been an easy year. In fact, I think it's been the most difficult one so far for me personally. But we have had some really great moments

spent with some really great people

and for now we're still standing, we're still strong.

Good Luck Match Day for all the people who will find out their big life adventure destination tomorrow and to all of their loved ones who are in the midst of their own March Madness I am sure.

Until next time, which hopefully will be sooner than six months from now.

Cheers,
Mrs. McMack

Hello friends! It has been several months since my last post. I want to update you all (the three of you who may still take a peek at this blog) and let you know about our lives so far in Baltimore, MD!

MATCH DAY was a whirlwind. We gathered at the campus of USC Keck School of Medicine and sat through two agaonizing speeches and at least three helpful glasses of champagne before they announced that the students could go and pick up their match letters. Brad was off to collect his future while I waited with Brad's Dad, Cindy, Brad's Mom, Don and Nicole (who brilliantly came all the way from Seattle to be there for us during this big event!). It was a surreal and very emotional few minutes, even for spectators. Some people burst into excited laughter and screams when they learned where they had matched. A few were seen sobbing, clearly disappointed by their results. It was heartbreaking to see a couple split up by their match results and knowing that they'd be facing a long distance marriage for at least the next three years. Brad was taking FOREVER to get his letter. Finally, he came down to the table where we were waiting, letter in hand. Brad and I then opened the letter together. Anxiety was high, high, high as we looked down at the folded white pages. Finally, it was revealed-Johns Hopkins Medical Center-Pediatrics!!! Brad and I were stunned. We just stood there for about a minute, looking at each other, looking at the letter-wash, rinse, repeat. Brad shared the news with our little audience. Everyone seemed surprised but happy and congratulatory. I felt zombie-like. I knew we had a great adventure ahead of us. I knew that Brad had matched with his second choice, which was fabulous. But still, I felt shell shocked by the intensity of the day. Even though we knew that an place on his list was a possibility, I think both Brad and I felt that the letter would be San Diego. With a few moments to consider the results, we headed to our Match Day picnic!

  

We had a wonderful time celebrating and visiting with all the people who came out to our Match Day picnic. The Orth family, the Lopez family, the Mack family, my Dad, Jorge, my sister, brother and Mom, Kevin, Roy, Jim and Christine (and of course some blue label Jack) and all the folks who were at the ceremony helped us toast Brad's match. We are very grateful for the support. You make it very difficult to leave California!

However, leave California we did. VERY luckily, I was able to get a transfer with my job to our firm's D.C. office. We made the decision to make our life in Baltimore, where Johns Hopkins is located, legit and buy a rowhouse. It was a big decision, but so far so good, we are loving our new home!

Here is our deck when we first saw it in April. It hasn't gotten too much use, but hopefully this fall we'll fire up the BBQ and have our friends over (all six of them) for some grub!








 This is a view of the front of our house. I don't know what's going on with the blue hue, but I assure you, it is not so melancholy.

We love our little neighborhood, Canton. We also lucked out in a MAJOR way when we selected this place as it is about a five minute walk to our new, dear friends Dov and Laura. Our neighbors across the street are also amazing. They are a family with three kids and they have had really embraced us and helped us out.

We have been here for about four and a half months. It has been challenging and an adventure, as we expected. There have been weeks when we haven't seen each other and there have been weeks when we're cranky and horrible to be around because we haven't had much sleep. But in all, we are happy and we are  glad to be making a home within a unique and colorful community.

We have finally set up our second bedroom and it is ready for guests! So please keep us in mind as you think about what kind of trips you'll be making over the next few years. We'd love to host you in Charm City sometimes soon!

One Week Until Match Day!!!!

With all the great things happening in life right now, Rhianna & Chad's engagement, Jenna & Mike's engagement, work picking up speed in a big way, hanging out with my new friend crush Christine (and her mate Jim), it has been easy to avoid obsessing about the Match. That's not to say that we haven't been planning for it and talking about it, but it is not on our minds constantly. I do get real estate updates everyday from certain cities, but I mean, that's practically my JOB. ;)

As we do more and more planning for our picnic day I am actually thinking almost as much about everyone who is going to be with us celebrating and enjoying the day as I am about that slim, subtle little letter than holds in one little sentence the next three years of our life.

As shocking as it is, here we are, one week away. I am so excited to greet Nicole at the airport and have her in town for a few days, to see family who are coming down from Washington, and to be with all the people who have supported Brad throughout his Dr. in training days. It is going to be a day to remember, so I hope all who are able make it out to our picnic in Griffith Park.


On MATCH DAY, I will post about the result. Until then, this will be my last blog about our road to residency. So, I have some last thoughts:

Thoughts on Living Apart

The other day I had a terrible time at work. All day I was about as useful as a wool shrug on a hot hot day. I was putting in the time, but ending up two steps behind anyway. By the time I hit up the elevator bank at the end of the day I was out of steam and dejected. Then marriage happened.

 Brad picked me up from work and whisked me away to Pasadena for our dance class. Yes, OUR dance class. My man can move! Since I hadn't had a chance to eat we stopped at a La Salsa so I could get my meat free meal, delicious style (I gave up meat for Lent). Probably even more important than the sustenance and sweet rhythms, Brad let me fret about work, feel sad, feel insecure, and get over it. He was there for me.

So, what the heck am I going to do if we have to live apart for six months or more? Hopefully Brad feels the same support from me, so, what the heck is he going to do without his wife for six months or more? As Match Day comes closer and closer and work gets busier and busier, my  feeling of it maybe even being a good thing to be out of each other's hair for the first months of R1 are fading away. Fading fast.

I know that we need to unglue ourselves from the idea of San Diego so we don't feel disappointed, no matter what is in the letter. But man, that San Diego is sticky! Like, Tim the Tool Man Taylor, stupid super super glue. Arg,ar,ar,ar,.ar.

I have decided that, with steel reserve, no matter the result, I am going to see the image of  the young woman in the picture, not the face of the old woman. Forced optimism, even radical delusion, is not always a bad thing. Luckily, even if Brad doesn't get his top choice, or one of his top five choice, all his options are good. Really, I actually believe that. So, even if the result is not San Diego, and is not Johns Hopkins, and is not Denver, and is not Nashville, we will still be smiling, excited, and jazzed. We might even show you some of our new moves.

 If not, if we can't muster past the disappointment, at least we've planned for a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue to make all the discomfort subside.

One more week......

Cheers

Mrs. Mcmack

Last Stop-- Denver, CO

Brad rushed off (thanks to the helping hand, or should I say car, of Adel!) to his final interview on January 27th at the Children's Hospital in Denver. Denver's program is a stand-out, highly sought after residency program. The Children's Hospital takes patients from Wyoming, Utah, Washington and Montana. It is THAT good. Residents have the opportunity to get amazing training in rural and urban medicine. Even with the prestigious reputation, Brad discovered that the people are not snobby or stuffy. In fact, the residents have been known to all chip in to rent a mountain cabin for a season, so they can take their time off enjoying the splendors of the Rockies, together. Yes, even when not working, they are eager to be around each other. Good sign? I think so.

So here we have it Denver, late in the game, facing the buzzer, and we pull you back in! I had taken Denver out of the running in my mind, I think mostly because Brad had encountered so many other great options. But Denver has its own merits. It has a fantastic program, as mentioned above, great cost of living, weather we're down for, and an office for yours truly. The one major, big ol' downside is that we don't know anyone there. When I am considering this, it makes me pause because of the baby train. If we were near family and friends, I think the baby train would pick up passengers pretty soon. If we are not around family or friends, and will not be for at least three years, the baby train might have to go passenger-less for a few more stops. Good or bad, it is a reality we will need to consider.

Denver itself we quite like. We honeymooned in Vail and Denver and had a fantastic time.

My only complaint was that the people were very literal. No one wanted to make jokes, or laugh at any of mine (which, I assure you, were laugh out loud hilarious). Brad had far more luck at the happy hour before his interview. The people he met were interesting AND FUNNY! They laughed at his jokes and he returned the favor. This major concern laid to rest, I think Denver would be a place we would enjoy and like to call home.

The thing is, unlike Washington D.C. or even Nashville, Denver isn't the girl you date, Denver is the girl you marry. I don't know that we could visit for the three years of residency and then move on to another place. I foresee that we would grow very attached to Colorado. I think we'd want to live in a house with a yard. And chickens. We would want to become a part of a community. Then, we would have to face the decision of packing up and leaving, staying long term in a place with no family, or recruiting family and friends to join us. Risk, risk, risk. I am not a huge fan.

Denver is going high on the match list. Very high. I don't doubt that we would love living in Denver and Brad would love his residency there. But I can't help it. The risk I've built up in my mind to be associated with Denver is keeping me from giving it my full endorsement.

What a funny way to end the interview trail........

SO------ THE LIST!!!!

Match Day is coming up so soon! It is on March 17th. Brad will get his envelope, with his matched program, at about 9am. Then, we are going to go to Griffith Park to celebrate with a picnic. We hope to see you there!!!

Rewind to February 23, 2011. This is the deadline for Brad to submit his rank list. After this date, his preferences will be final, certified, and sent. Done and done. After the submission, all he'll have left to do is wait for the day you see above. Give him a shout out during this month. I am sure it will be nice to have some distractions. If you want to play golf with him, here's your perfect time. Roller-blading, also an option.

If you want to know about the process, rules, and dates of Match Day, check this link out.http://www.nrmp.org/

Because of National Residency Program regulations, I don't want to submit his final ranking here. I can, however, tell you if Brad is ranking a program high, middle, or low. So, here is, in particular order, Brad's rank list as of February 7th, 2011. ....

1) Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego
High Group: Children's Hospital of Denver; John's Hopkins; Children's National Medical Center in D.C.
Medium Group: Vanderbilt in Nashville; University of Vermont Children's;Baylor in Houston
Not So High (But still great options =) ) Group: Georgetown in D.C.; Northwestern; Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The great, fantastic, lucky thing about Brad's experience is that ANY, and I truly mean any, of the programs would be wonderful and we would be happy to see on his match paper. But, dang I'm nervous, and it is only February!!


Please friends, COMMENT ON THIS POST and let us know the program YOU think Brad should rank highly or number 1. Go ahead, try to convince us if you disagree with the list above. I'd love to hear what you think.

Much love,

Mrs. Mcmack

Way to Stay Classy- Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego

It may be true that as a couple Brad and I have a lust for adventure. We've traveled to many a foreign land and we try to get out of our comfort zone pretty regularly (except for Brad's resistance to horseback riding which is the activity farthest outside of his comfort zone. Boo! How am I supposed to be a legitimate cowgirl without a cowboy?)

That being said, every time we visit San Diego I feel at home. Frankly that feeling trumps adventure for me most days.  Dawson's Creek's soundtrack song "Feels Like Home to Me" got it right. Yes, I went there.

                            Family bike ride in Mission Beach during one of our recent trips to SD

I have awesome siblings.

                                       Here we are with our high apple pie in the sky hopes for San Diego.

So, I felt quite anxious as Brad headed out for his Rady Children's Hospital (associated with UCSD) interview. I wanted him to love it, but at the same time, if he loved it, did that me we were well on our way to a predictable Southern California future? Is predictable even bad?
Brad went to a happy hour meet n' greet on Thursday night, staid with my Grandma, Mom and lil' Brother and went to the interview Friday morning. I talked to brad Thursday night and he seemed happy with the happy hour. Several residents showed up and all were laid back, friendly, and interesting. He liked the area where the happy hour was held, Hillcrest. I am a big fan of Hillcrest myself. An added plus to the area is my cousin and his lovely bride live close by.
Friday afternoon Brad called me and he sounded like he was 5 and just discovered silly putty, the kid was excited. I couldn't talk long but I could tell he really liked the program. It turns out, he was so jazzed he just had to tell someone all about it. He called my Mom his Mom and his Dad (and probably other) to tell them what a great day he had.

Brad felt like the interview went incredibly well. The program seemed to be geared right towards his personality and goals. It has a mix of learn as you go and structured supportive services, it has access to community outreach programs (one is a juvenile hall health program---my ears perked up big time!), and without even mentioning one of his favorite activities, Brad learned that many residents surf every week.
We're so close to the end of the interview season and it is becoming more and more apparent how much of a priority being near family is becoming. yes, it is only 3 years, but it is 3 whole years. Brad and I have only known each other 3 and a half years. So, many things can happen in that amount of time and I am not sure how I feel about being isolated from many loved ones. Then again, if we were going to select 3 years to go and explore and have some adventures in a new place, these years are quite well suited. Sigh. How shall we choose? Luckily, we don't get to choose! Match Day will take much of the selection process out of our hands.
With all of this life altering quest confusion, I almost forgot about Colorado! An early favorite, Colorado is now the only stop left on Brad's interview circuit. I am sure he is exhausted, but I know he will enjoy his last visit.
In the next post I will give you the scoop on Denver as well as Brad's rank list as of that day. Exciting stuff! Then, we'll be eagerly waiting for Match Day on March 17th (St. Patty's Day) when we will find out where Brad matched.

Stay Classy Bloggerwatchers,

Mrs. Mcmack

Gilmore Girls kind of life--Vermont Interview

Vermont has the fish bowl card. For many people, the fish bowl life is feared and avoided, but I've always rather liked the idea of living a small new engladny town. I blame Gilmore Girls for putting it in my head that such a life is all charm. I blame Jacki for putting Gilmore Girls into my head.

This is where I would hang out everyday, right?

Brad went to Vermont solo to check out the University of Vermont Children's Hospital. Being early January, he expected to freeze. He did not expect the airline to lose his luggage, forcing him to face the freeze in only a sweater. Seriously. Adding insult to injury, he had to check his carry on because the plane was packed. His carry-on was his suit and materials for the interview the next day. So, Brad went with a beachy casual look for his so far north the people say aboot, interview. Regardless, the program didn't lack any charm. The people were very kind and accommodating. Even though the hospital is very small, it boasts a variety of patients and a highly regarded teaching staff.


The hosptial is in Burlington. See it? Right there in the nose bleed section of the U.S.

Charming yes, but as Brad and I are not suburbanites quite yet, I am not sure that the Vermont lifestyle would suit us. Job hunting would be tricky for me and there aren't many commutable locations nearby, unless Montreal decided to honor California bar licensing. I do love Gilmore girls but honestly, I'm not sure I'm ready for so much cute in my life. Also, I worry that so much white (buildings, weather, people) might quiet our spice.

Brad liked the program and the people and didn't mind the cold. He too doesn't feel that it is quite the right fit for right now. I would say, rank wise, Vermont is nestled in the same area as Nashville.

I am very excited for Brad's next interview both because he doesn't have to travel far and because I have an affinity in mi corazon for San Diego. After San Diego, Brad's next and final interview will be in Denver Colorado on January 28. We're almost there! 

Lone Star State of Mind

Brad started the new year off right, with a quick trip to Baylor Children's Hospital in Houston Texas. Here is what a few previous residents had to say about the peds program......
Baylor
"On call, if my pager is silent for more than fifteen minutes -- I check the to make sure it is still functional. I usually do manage to get a couple hours of sleep on call. The schedule allows one day off a week -- there are no 'golden weekends'".


"This program has a ton of scutwork. The majority of attendings who admit to TCH are private and interns act as their personal secretaries." 

(passages are from scutwork.com)

Kind of scary right?! However, these comments are a few years old and other doctors have great things to say about Baylor's program. Brad went into the interview with an open mind.

Brad felt a bit ambivalent about the city of Houston. It reminded him of LA in that it was sprawling with a hefty suburbia surrounding the city. It has a big theater scene and people were friendly. He didn't encounter that many people in the city though, because no one really walks around. A big difference from Los Angeles is the reasonable housing costs in the area. Apparently there is a place called Condotown (either a joke or for serious, we aren't sure) that has great options for new residents.

The program at Baylor is good with a fairly large amount of residents and interesting opportunities. All in all, it was pretty good.

Houston is not central to many things. It is outside of the job range for me and we don't really know anyone in Houston. It doesn't have the amazing city appeal of Austin but the ocean is only a 35 mile drive away.

We would not hate Baylor, but I think it is no match for the likes of John's Hopkins, D.C., and Nashville.

Next Brad head back east to the seriously northern state of Vermont. How aboot that! (it's close to Canada, that far north!)

xo