Tags
Biochemistry, Crunch Month, Exams, Genitalia, Grades, Scores, USMLE, USMLE Step 1
Suffice it to say, I’m extremely proud of The Husband. He did very well, even if his test didn’t have any Biochem or pictures of genitalia.
09 Wednesday Jul 2014
Posted Med School
inTags
Biochemistry, Crunch Month, Exams, Genitalia, Grades, Scores, USMLE, USMLE Step 1
Suffice it to say, I’m extremely proud of The Husband. He did very well, even if his test didn’t have any Biochem or pictures of genitalia.
08 Thursday May 2014
Posted Air Force, Med School
inTags
Crunch Month, Exams, Free Weekend, HPSP, Linda Costanzo, M2, M3, MCV, Neurology, Orientation, Physiology, Studying, USMLE, USMLE Step 1
Yesterday The Husband listened to his final classroom lecture of Med School. Tomorrow he will take his last M2 exam (Neuro). Whoo!
We will enjoy a lovely free weekend with friends.
Then on Monday, Crunch Month begins. Boo!
The first day will be Dr. Costanzo doing a Physiology Review. (Yes, that Dr. Costanzo. She literally wrote the books.)* Then the next 29 straight days look like this:
Every day, 7 days a week, 8 in the morning to 10:30 at night, with a break for dinner. Step 1 is June 11. M3 Orientation starts June 30, so there will be a glorious 18 days of freedom!
* True story from one of the other HPSP students who went to officer training last summer:
Med Student/Officer not from MCV: I love Costanzo’s books! I don’t bother going to the lecture, I just read her book.
Med Student/Officer from MCV: I don’t. I just go to her lectures.
Even Harvard digs on her (Shout out at 0:58).
She’s also really approachable. One of The Husband’s classmates found an error/vagueness in her book regarding the morning-after pill and brought it to her attention. She is correcting it in the next edition.
14 Friday Feb 2014
Posted Med School, Regular Life
inTags
Costumes, Exams, Free Weekend, Gastrointestinal, Hollywood, House of Cards, M2, Netflix, VCU, VCU School of Medicine, VMFA
Thankfully VCU only had a delay today and the test was not postponed, meaning this is a Free Weekend!
Plans include the VMFA’s Hollywood costume exhibit and House of Cards. It’s going to be awesome.
06 Friday Sep 2013
Posted In the News, Med School
inTags
Archaeology, Biology, Conversations, Exams, History, M2, Microbiology, Parasites, Richard III, Viruses
I am a history and archaeology person, so it’s really interesting for me when these things collide with medicine. I feel like The Husband and I can finally have a conversation that isn’t completely one-sided!
Big in archaeology news this year was the discovery of the grave of Richard III, but they just announced this week that among his many medical ailments (hunchback, general trauma to the head) was he was infested with parasites, namely roundworms. Let me tell you from Bio II that I took with The Husband, those things are gross.
You can read more here.
On a related note, The Husband starts Parasites on Tuesday after the Virus test.
28 Wednesday Aug 2013
Posted Med School
inTags
Anatomy, Bad Wife, Broken Clock, Exams, M2, Microbiology, No Sympathy, Scrubs, Videos
About three days before his Microbiology exam (which was yesterday), The Husband made a confession. “This is the least prepared I’ve ever been for an exam. I’m going to fail.”
And I am a terrible wife, because I have absolutely no sympathy. I would have more sympathy if a) he had ever come close to failing any of his exams, or 2) I hadn’t heard this exact same “confession” a few days before every. single. exam. for the past year+ (perhaps with the exception of the first one).
And I tell him that he’s said this every time. And every time he gets his normal score. He is amazingly consistent. All of his exams, except for Anatomy,* are within about a three point spread.
So yesterday when I went to pick him up from the exam I was a little worried because he looked pretty glum. Maybe this was the time that a stopped clock was actually correct and he failed (or at least didn’t do as well as normal).
He got in the car, and ready to swallow my pride I asked him how it went. He did better than normal! He was bummed because I was right (again)!
And so I leave him with this:
* Anatomy is different from other classes because it’s rote memorization, not problem solving (which The Husband is good at). Also, he’s not as good at 3-D spacial visualization which also made it tougher. He still did better than average though!
31 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted Med School, Practical Concerns, Regular Life
inTags
Alone, Anniversary, Attachment Parenting, Babysitting, BMF, Breaks, Budgeting, Coffee Shop, College, Confederacy, COT, Crunchy, Errands, Evangelicals, Exams, Facebook, Family, Fellow Med Students, Friends, Jesus, Library, Lonely, M1, M2, Me Time, Med School, MOPS, Museums, Natural Disasters, New Hampshire, Outsider Status, Parks, Real Estate, Richmond, Single Parenthood, Storytime, Summer, Tax Refund, Weather, Weekend
Yesterday marked one year in Richmond. I’ve liked it more than I thought I would. There’s a lot more stuff (parks, libraries, museums, funky shops, etc.) close by than there is in New Hampshire. We’ve met some nice people and reconnected with others from college.
Still, I miss things like snow and mountains and not-I-want-to-die-heat-and-humidity (doing better than last summer though). I miss our friends.
I still feel like a bit of an outsider. Mention on your Facebook that you think modern military bases shouldn’t be named after Confederate generals and you hear about it from a parent at the park. I don’t think I fit in with the other stay-at-home parents here. It seems there are two groups: the MOPS type (too Jesus-y*) and the organic, all-natural, attachment parenting type (too crunchy). Staying at home didn’t seem so political in New Hampshire. Maybe I just didn’t get out enough. I don’t know. I have found a BMF (Best Mom Friend, not to be confused with BAMF) who is neither so we go to the coffee shop together once a week after storytime at the library.
Medical school is both easier and harder than I thought it would be. I don’t get breaks until The Husband gets breaks, so I feel like a single parent at times. Weekends are not guaranteed. Often Saturdays become another weekday in terms of schedule. The Husband leaves for the library or school that morning (usually an hour or two later than real weekdays) and then I see him again around dinnertime. Sundays can be the same, although not as often. He’s pretty burned out by then.
Most of our friends are fellow med students, so potential babysitters are busy at the same time I’d want them the most. Not many errands get done the week before a test. This summer–well, the two weeks after COT and before classes–I worked hard to get a little “me” time in. I hope it can continue a little bit into the school year now that we have a year’s perspective on scheduling demands, but we’ll see.
The New Hampshire house is back on the market. I don’t have faith it will sell, so it will probably be rented out again. I hope people like moving in October. No? Bummer.
Our savings account is about the same as last year, so that’s good. We did have a big tax refund thanks(?) to a drastically reduced salary for the second half of the 2012, but we also had a tree hit the house, so I’m not sure where exactly that puts us in terms of successful budgeting.
In the past year, The Baby has become The Toddler. He has gradually dropped from two long naps a day to one not-so-long nap (hence the reduced frequency of blog posts). He’s very mellow and easy-going, but fiercely independent. He’s not into talking very much and would rather observe people and situations than participate. So, pretty much the same personality as last year, except for the independence. It’s hard to know if it was always there but we couldn’t tell because he wasn’t as mobile. His interests include tractors, planes, trucks, and cars. This has manifested into very distinct preferences for which shirts he wears. If he can see into the drawer, he wants the clothing with the motor vehicle on it.
The Husband has been back at school for 2.5 weeks and has had his first test already, so we’re 26% done!
*And seems to prey on vulnerabilities to covertly evangelize. Not cool, MOPS!
22 Wednesday May 2013
Posted Regular Life
inTags
Last Thursday (the night before the final exam) a tree hit our house and took out the power. Power is finally back as of yesterday, but the computer was blown out in the surge.
So there are many updates, but they will have to wait a little while longer!
07 Thursday Mar 2013
Posted Med School, Regular Life
inTags
Baking, Beer, Dinner, Domesticity, Exams, Fellow Med Students, Histology, M1, Recipes
Or strata, because that sounds healthier. Also, it’s made with homemade bread. I’m very domestic.
The Husband is out having a beer with some friends after today’s “rough” Histology test,* so The Toddler and I are going with a lazy dinner. Yum!
* Even Lu. got one wrong! Horrors!
02 Saturday Mar 2013
Posted Med School, Regular Life
inTags
Beer, Birthday, Books, Exams, Fellow Med Students, Free Weekend, Party, Rock Climbing, Spring Break, Tie dye
Miracle of Miracles! This weekend was the first in six weeks that there was no new material to study. (There is another test this upcoming Thursday, but the material for that doesn’t start until Monday.)
So free weekend, combined with The Husband’s birthday earlier this week meant I planned a surprise party. It was 50% successful. He was not surprised (he never is) but there was a party. A big one. I always, ALWAYS make way too much food for parties and we always have tons of beer left over. Not this time. Pretty much all of our med school friends showed up and stayed a long time. All of the food and most of the beer is gone.
We tie-dyed shirts and now our hands look like we’re jaundiced, bruised serial killers, but the shirts look cool!
Today The Husband is enjoying a book that’s not a textbook and tomorrow he’s going rock climbing.
The grind starts again on Monday, but it’s only a week until Spring Break!
11 Monday Feb 2013
Posted Med School, Regular Life
inTags
Behavioral Science, Exams, Family, Fredericksburg, Friends, Histology, M1, M2, Physiology, Problem Solving, Review
After three weeks of no tests (a record!), The Husband is slammed with four in a week. Behavioral Science was on Friday and he did really well. He’s hoping he got the highest grade in the class because then he would get some award.
Today is a problem-solving/review day for the other three tests. There’s the Histology Practical tomorrow and the Histology Written and Physiology tests on Wednesday. An M2 The Husband talked to said just to focus on passing because those are so hard. Blerg.
But after the last two tests, we’re heading up to Fredericksburg to visit some cousins and meet a New Hampshire friend for dinner. Yay!