As I come up on my last year, inevitably the questions will start coming about what I'm going to do next. I wish there were a simple answer. To review, once you finish your residency, you can be done. You can go out and finally be a practicing physician of your own accord. I could go and be a general Ob/Gyn and practice in a group and earn a real salary (probably 5x what I've been earning for fewer hours of work). The other fork in the road, however, is more training. Because this is a career field where you can keep on being a student in some fashion for many, many, many years.
To cut to the chase, I have decided to apply for fellowship; which is no small decision in a field like Ob/Gyn. The fellowships in our field are all 3-4yrs in length, which is nearly another residency. And the payoff isn't quite the same. you certainly don't make twice as much for doing twice as much training. You don't work half as much for having done more. It just means you get to do something different. And for better or worse, that's what I want to do.
So I am in the process of applying for fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology. This is the field of Gynecology that treats female cancers - cancer of the ovary, endometrium/uterus, and cervix. It includes treatment in the form of surgery and chemotherapy. And, as I said, it is another 3-4 years of training. Two additional years of clinical training and 1-2 years of research experience. It is a very competitive field and the application process mirrors that of applying for residency. It is a centralized application that is sent out to programs with fellowship spots across the country (in this case there are about 40 spots available for July 2016). If they like what they see, you are invited for an interview. Interviews go through the summer. Come September, you submit your rank list, ranking, in order, your preference for the positions you interviewed for. The programs create their rank list, ranking the applicants they interviewed. And a computer algorithm "matches" you to a program (if you're in the lucky 60% who matches). The timeline is a little earlier in the year, so match day will be the 2nd week of October and you in the same moment find out if you matched and if so, where.
It's a time-consuming process. It's an expensive process. And, with a 60% match rate, it's a risky process. But, even though it seems absolutely crazy to me to consider doing 11-12 years of training AFTER college, it seems crazier to stop just short of the thing I really, really, really want to do. And so, thanks to my very supportive husband, family, and friends, I'm applying. What comes of that, only time will tell.
It means the next few months will be crazy. Crazier than our normal crazy. I am just finishing up a crazy 8 weeks. I had 4 weeks of nights, which were the busiest weeks seen by this hospital in a long time. One of the L&D night nurses said it was the busiest she remembered in her 30yrs. That was the most validating thing ever. Then I went to Oncology, and I am finishing my last week on the Gyn Onc service, which hasnt' been as crazy - thank goodness! I leave this Wednesday to go down to Houston, TX for a month for an away rotation. One of the top cancer hospitals in the country is there and I will be doing a rotation on their Gyn Oncology service for a month. I don't know that i've ever been this scared to do anything in my life! But i'm also excited and hoping it will be a good month. I come back and have a conference in June (and hopefully some interviews), and then at the end of June our new interns start. I am the chief resident for next year, so I have been feverishly trying to get out all the schedules for next year before I leave for the month. Phew! Brendan will finish his fellowship at the end of June. His plans for next year are not signed in stone, so I will save that for another post. Suffice it to say, it's gonna be a crazy few months. but then again, that is our norm.
In other (far more important and exciting) news - we have a new niece!!!!! My sister-in-law (brendan's sister) had a baby girl a month ago!! I am going to miss getting to see her this weekend when Brendan and his brother go down to meet her :( but from all the pictures I've seen she's for sure a keeper. I can't wait to meet her and hopefully will have a chance this summer sometime after I am back from my rotation.
Well, I am getting quite tired. it's passed my bedtime for sure. Brendan is in Chicago for a conference so it's just me and Wrigley this week (until I leave Wednesday, then she's on her own! - jk then she goes to hang with her cousin, Fitz). Anyway, more updates to come, but I figured I should get that one out there. I would welcome any thoughts and prayers for the next few months of our lives. It is going to be a stressful few months, but hopefully it will all be for the best in the end.
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