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

Another Trip to the Mall--Children's National Medical Center

Happy New Year!! We sauntered into 2011 after a brief but entirely fulfilling trip to the U.S. Virgin Island St. Croix. We figured we hadn't traveled enough in 2010. We were able to visit with Joel, Maggie, Jimmy, Marylou, Diego, and Max. It was wonderful!

My Uncle Joel is such an amazing person. We really enjoyed being able to get a glimpse of what his life is like and has been like on St. Croix.

                                                                         Capitan Ureta

Dr. Brad try to save Diego's finger from the big bad splinter.

                                                         Max, Diego, and Uncle Joel

                                                          It was a bit windy but gorgeous

                                                                 

                                                                    Two pina coladas

                                                                   One for each hand

Although not entirely related to the residency search process, it felt relevant because of the priorities in life that were propped up before us to ponder. Family is key isn't it? Being able to show up for important moments in life, that is something we've though of but perhaps underestimated in the hunt.

Let me backtrack for a moment. Prior to our trip to St. Croix we were able to stop in Washington D.C. for round two of interviews. Brad was really excited about the program at Children's National Medical Center which is associated with George Washington University. The program did not disappoint!

We were able to stay with Kris, Jennie and Brewster in Columbia Heights. Their place happened to be less than a mile from the hospital. What luck! It was snowy when we trained it, but sun was soon upon us and the temperature managed to stay slightly above freezing. We took advantage of the fact we, as an adorable couple, were staying with an equally adorable couple, and we did an adorable double couple activity: ice skating!

Brad's interview was on Friday and we spent the rest of the weekend playing with friends. The interview itself was fantastic. It turns out, the residency has two different tracks. One is a more standard pediatrics program and the other is a community outreach focused track. You can rank each. The community outreach track especially appealed to Brad. Even though Brad currently sees himself working in a hospital, the folks who are trained in the outreach track are not limited to community based (non-hospital) careers. He met many Doctors who decided to do the track because it would make them well rounded, well trained practitioners. Tat is right up Brad's alley. We loves the idea of being uber-well trained. The people in the program were cool and mellow and from diverse backgrounds.

While the program did not eclipse the steadily favored John's Hopkins, it did make a great impression. Making an even better impression was D.C. We had a blast hanging out with Jennie, Kris, and Farah. We got great Ethiopian food and even check out my old haunt, the UCDC building in Dupont.

Our last night in D.C. we took Brewster for a walk and went by a wine shop to get some provisions. The kind shop keeper let us bring adorable and well behaved Brestwer inside. Another shocker occurred when we went in, Dustin was inside the wine shop!! Dustin is a friend of mine from law school. He recently started working as a lawyer with the Department of Justice doing environmental law. What are the chances that we would run into him! Oh hello fate, nice to see you again. .

We invited Dustin to hang out and watch some football the next day which he did. He also, incredibly generously (which is no surprise for those of us who know Dustin) drove us to the airport the next day

Overall, well done Children's National. I think you have secured your spot in the top five of Brad's rank list. Next up....Brad's first 2011 interview in Houston, Texas. Yeehaw!

On the CHOPping Block

Brad and I set out on our east coast jaunt on December 15th. We had a lovely surprise waiting at the airport gate: Kelsey! It was a packed flight to Philadelphia, but having a friend to chat with made it easy breezy. Kelsey is also applying for a pediatric residency and had an interview at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) on the same day as Brad. Fun!

 Kelsey has already interviewed with San Diego and has visited Denver's program. She had good things to say about both, so more good choices likely await Brad in January. Back to Philly....Welcoming us was a big frosty hug to the tune of 32 degrees. Also handy with big hugs were Joanna and Tom. We walked through University City to their place and then scooted out to Banana Leaf, an awesome Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown.

We were regaled with stories of a Baltimore proposal in a museum and an accidnetally offensive headband worn in musical moments. Tom is in a band Via Audio that we learned about and have since listened to. Compelling stuff, ya'll should check them out on Itunes.

We hustled back to Joanna and Tom's, had a night cap of Trader Joe's peppermint cookies, and got some shut eye. Brad awoke less than five hours later and walked the mile or so to CHOP. I explored West Philly a bit. It is lovely! As Joanna pointed out, Philly loves him some Ben Franlkin! In addition, I had the distinct pleasure of being snowed on while walking to UPenns Anthropology museum. Double score!

The First Snow Flakes!

                                                      Adorable West Philly Street

The First, The Best?

I met up with Brad and Kelsey at CHOP after their interview. They agreed that CHOP had a great program with abundant research opportunities and the people seemed pretty cool. Nothing in particular stood out as a must have, but the carol singers were sure nice! Joanna and Tom picked us up and the snow continued to fall.

Sadly, our time with Joanna and Tom had come to an end. Joanna graciously agreed to drive us to the happy hour dinner, which was about a mile away. No joke, it took us over 45 minutes to drive there. I thought we left LA! We made it to the happy hour, unbundled, and hoped for the best.

Unfortunately, hope sometimes sinks. Only four residents showed up the happy hour, which was on the way to where most of them live. 4 of 150, sorry CHOP that statistic is not promising.More importantly than the numbers, the residents who did show up were not warm, friendly or interesting. I think that maybe they felt because CHOP is a highly regarded program the applicants should just feel luck to be in the presence of the residents. I guess they forgot that entitlement isn't attractive on anyone. For me I think the nail in the coffin was when one of the residents, who I had to initiate any and all semblances of conversation with, after having dissed Los Angeles after he huffed and puffed about all the people he know in both law and real estate, informed me with a flip of his fuzzy cap (yes, he kept it on at the bar) that he grew up in Torrey Pines. I had to turn my head so he didn't catch my huge eye roll. We didn't get a chance to talk with the two of the residents, but the other that we did speak with arrived late and left early. She had a very difficult time getting through two sentences without a complaint. On top of that, she was boring. Wow. It was an incredibly stark comparison to the warm, inviting, high-fiving happy hour in Nashville.

We barely got to the coat rack before we were whispering, "Wow, did you think they sucked as much as  think they sucked." By the time we made it to the train station, I had decided, if I were in charge of ranking, CHOP would be dead last. But, Brad was able to meet some great Doctors, and we LOVED hanging out with Joanna and Tom. The city is really amazing and I could even commute to another city for work. Really though, if the ratio of d-baggery to awesomeness in a happy hour setting is nearly 1, my intuition is to head for the sliding door and never look back.

We hopped on the train to D.C., waving at John 's Hopkins as we rode by. We were also able to follow the  Charger game on Brad's phone. Go Bolts!!! Vincent Jackson had an amazing night, securing my fantasy football victory. That, coupled with meeting up with Jennie and Kris at their place in D.C. , made the evening a great one. Brad settled in for a long nap of five hours before he woke up and headed to Children's Memorial.............

xo
Mrs. Mcmack

Double Feature----> Georgetown & John's Hopkins

A Day at the Mall
   
     This week Brad armed himself with all of the fuzzy, cozy, and layerable items he owns and headed to the east coast for a residency interview double header. His first stop: Georgetown.

The home of the up-turned collar--both lop and even sided. Our nation's political pulse and the amazing Smithsonian are both within reach. I feel that this part of the country is calling to us. Row houses and four seasons--major pluses.

Brad went to a dinner at a resident's house with several other residents and interviewees. The dinner was fun and everyone was pleasant. Unfortunately, Brad didn't feel any sparks. The rather blase' experience was repeated during the interview the next day. The program seemed good and Brad liked a few aspects, but it just didn't "fit." Compared to Nashville, Georgetown was a yawn fest.

Even thought the program at Georgetown is not the front runner, the city itself is still very alluring. It has a MoFo office and I wouldn't have to take another bar exam. It is darn difficult to ignore these make life a lot easier facts.

Brad and I are very excited for the George Washington interview next week when D.C. will get another stab. Speaking of stab, Brad's next interview was at John's Hopkins in the charming city of Baltimore....

John's Hopkins--- We've Got a Crush

Before Brad's interview my main source of information about Baltimore came from the critically acclaimed and addicting (although it's no Friday Night Lights) The Wire. I love this show but let's be honest, it isn't a hard sell for Baltimore. The other source is our trip to Washington D.C. over the summer. We were able to check out the area and even visit the repeatedly showcased waterfront area. We were also able to walk around in the sweltering, suffocating heat. Lucky us.

Brad's trip to Baltimore for his interview at John's Hopkins surpassed his expectations, far surpassed. He drove up from D.C. and met up with some residents and interviewees at a resident's house. The drive was mildly trafficy and took about an hour. It was worth the waiting because Brad had a great time at the dinner. Unlike the previous dinner, Brad immediately clicked with all the people and felt a chemistry. He was crushing on John's Hopkins big time! At the dinner, he learned that quite a few people have spouses who commute to D.C. from Baltimore and that John's Hopkins has a unique and thoughtful Chief Residency system. A person is chosen as Chief Resident in the last month of the intern year (the first year, which is more than a year before most programs select a Chief Resident). That person finished their residency and then takes a mandatory year away before returning to be the Chief Resident. Brad is a fabulous leader and would be a great teacher. It is fun to think about the possibilities for him in the future. I think it's a wonderful sign that a program has put a great deal of effort into the learning and teaching process.

The interview the next day went very well. The program carefully considers how best to prepare its residents. Interns focus on learning, third year residents on teaching, and second year residents on autonomy. Again, the preparation! Brad was impressed by the residents and the hospital. The only negative thing about the program is the big question mark that is living in Baltimore.

Since Brad's return from his interview we've researched and considering different living possibilities for John's Hopkins. As we've continued to talk it has become very clear, John's Hopkins has taken the lead.

CHOP, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, is on deck with George Washington rounding out the line-up for 2010. The suits at the cleaners and we're ready to go. More to come.....

xo
Mrs. Mcmack

Seattle Indecision 2010

Dear Ms. Seattle Washington,

     I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for welcoming us to your home. We love what you've done with the place. Those were some splendid autumn colors. We loved the soup parties, the costume events, and the nearby Orths. So, what's the problem? Brad told you how much he wanted to make this relationship monogamous. He put in the effort. The best you could give him was "wait list". Seriously Seattle? Seriously? Then, you give him a shot to come and interview, the day after his birthday, on the most expensive travel weekend of the year, with less than a week's notice, and then you gave it to some other John. Ouch. What GIVES? Should we wear more expensive lipstick?
     Apparently our month of romance means little to you. Fine, we can move on. But just know, even if we answer your call, we will know it is because you are desperate. We're not interested in being your back up, even if we say yes.

Sincerely,

Mcmacks