4th Year!

The last few posts have been updating you about fun activities and new milestones Kyper has reached. However, I almost forget to tell you about a milestone for Joel. He is done with his third year of medical school and is now in his last year of medical school! There is a light at the end of the tunnel. (Then we enter another one called Residency.)

Joel has actually been a fourth year for almost two months now. He did a two week rotation in Opthomology. He then had a two week break, in which, he studied, studied, and studied. He took his Step 2 written board on August 17. He feels like he did well and is confident he passed, although we won't know the scores until at least 6 weeks later.

He is now doing an audition rotation for neurology at Botsford Hospital, which is in Detroit Metro. That is medical school lingo for doing a rotation where you hope to get an interview for residency. He actually did one last winter/spring as well. I'll tell you more about residency in a bit. But here is his schedule for the year:

1. Two two-week rotations in Traverse City. (Occupational Medicine and Rehabilition) Kyper and I are tentatively planning on joining him if we can get housing figured out.
2. A week vacation--we are headed to North Carolina and then up to Philadelphia, PA, for Joel to take his practical Step 2 exam.
3. Audition Rotation--Neuro at Garden City (Detroit Metro)
4. Family Medicine in Detroit area
5. Osteopathic Manual Medicine in Detroit area
6. A week vacation for Christmas
7. January--he needs to fill this month yet
8. ICU in Detroit metro
9. Cardiology in Detroit metro
10. April--he needs to fill this month yet
11. A four week vacation
12. Graduation May 28, 2011!!!!


Within this schedule, Joel will be busy getting ready for residency. Currently, he is working on submitting his application(s) to all the places he wants to apply. During Nov, Dec, and Jan he will have to take time off from rotations to go an interview. Then comes Match Day. Joel will rank his choices and the programs rank the students. If Joel gets matched, which I am fairly confident he will, we should know on Feb. 14 where we are headed for the next four years. (Whoohoo, we are leaving the ever two year plan.) I'll try to explain this a little better when it gets closer to the date.

So really the four week vacation Joel gets before graduation will probably include moving--hopefully a within the city move, but it could be out of state. We also hope to take a family vacation to the East coast during that time as well as visit Milwaukee on our way to graduation to spend some time with Aren and Leah.

There you have it. I am married to a fourth year medical student and really the way time flies by, soon I will be married to a doctor! May 28, 2011 isn't that far away. I am so proud of Joel and the accomplishments he has made thus far in his education and career path. He is doing great and I know he will do great in his future!