Showing posts with label Viva Las Vegas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Viva Las Vegas. Show all posts
Friday, May 4, 2012
More Paperwork
I received a package from the state medical licensing office and I have a couple more forms to fill out. It isn't hard paperwork to fill out, but there is a lot to do and I just want to make sure that I do it correctly so that I get my license on schedule. I can't figure out how people pretend to be doctor's and get a license. There is so much that you need to provide from your medical school, board exams and etc. that I have no idea how these people fraudulently get a medical license. It seems to me that they must spend hours making up fake documents and I think it would be easier to just go to medical school! Anyway, back to the paperwork--I am almost done!!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
New beginning
Starting residency, I'm back to being single. It has been a few months, so I have had time to get used to the idea of being a single gal again and I am excited about my future. I have found an apartment in Las Vegas and have started coming up with my plans for moving. We (Mom, Dad and I) decided that it is best to just buy furniture once I move rather than taking the few pieces that I have and renting a truck or trailer and driving it down. I am not excited about having to buy all of this stuff, but I am excited about setting up my little home exactly how I want it.
One of the other great things is that being in Las Vegas, I will have lots of visitors. Even if they don't stay with me, having friends who come down to the strip means that I will be (hopefully) be able to see them, even if it is only for a meal. I loved living on the east coast, but it will be great to be closer to home and to be able to see family more than once per year. I am also excited for the warm weather, but I doubt that I will be saying that in July or August! I already know my schedule for the year (well the basic: which blocks do I have each month and when is my vacation). I have so much to be grateful for, even if the year hasn't worked out the way that I had planned. I am nervous to be moving to a new city without knowing a soul, but I know that everything will work out well because I've done it before.
I have really enjoyed being home with my family. I love sleeping in, reading books for fun, cooking, knitting and spending time with family and friends. I tired to get a job for the spring, but between my limited time in town and the economy, I wasn't able to find anything. I think that probably is for the best because I have had time to study and relax.
My residency is really going to be a new beginning for me.
One of the other great things is that being in Las Vegas, I will have lots of visitors. Even if they don't stay with me, having friends who come down to the strip means that I will be (hopefully) be able to see them, even if it is only for a meal. I loved living on the east coast, but it will be great to be closer to home and to be able to see family more than once per year. I am also excited for the warm weather, but I doubt that I will be saying that in July or August! I already know my schedule for the year (well the basic: which blocks do I have each month and when is my vacation). I have so much to be grateful for, even if the year hasn't worked out the way that I had planned. I am nervous to be moving to a new city without knowing a soul, but I know that everything will work out well because I've done it before.
I have really enjoyed being home with my family. I love sleeping in, reading books for fun, cooking, knitting and spending time with family and friends. I tired to get a job for the spring, but between my limited time in town and the economy, I wasn't able to find anything. I think that probably is for the best because I have had time to study and relax.
My residency is really going to be a new beginning for me.
Where to start...
I moved home from New York City in mid-December and I've been running ever since. There were so many relatives that I have not seen (some since before I started medical school) and I still had to go to more residency interviews in January. I have learned that I hate traveling but I like vacationing---I don't like taking driving trip, flying or basically any means of transportation that lasts more than a few hours, but I do like exploring a new corner of the world once I get there!
Well, lets just jump to the exciting parts. At the end of the interviewing process, I had to make a "rank list" of all of the programs that I interviewed at--from my top choice down. At the same time, the programs were making a rank list of their applicants. Then a computer does some magic and "matches" me with the highest ranked program on my list that ranked me highly enough on their list so that I match into their program. I submitted my rank list in early February and had to wait until March 12th to find out if I had matched. An email was sent at 12:00pm EST on Monday, March 12th, but it only told you if you matched or if you did not. Here is a copy of mine:
"Congratulations, you have matched!"
I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I would be a pediatrician. It was such a relief to know that I had a job. I had been offered a position outside of the match (meaning that I would have signed the contract and cancelled my other interviews), which I turned down so I was anxious that I made the wrong decision until I found out that I got a job in the match. The first couple days I was so excited that I got a job and I was dreaming of where it could be. By Thursday, I was ready to know where I would be living for the next three years, but I wouldn't find out until Friday at 1:00 EST. I was almost certain that I would be headed back to the Northeast, most likely New York City, so I was surprised to find out that I matched in the west: Viva Las Vegas!
I believe that applicants (and programs) do not find out where they matched until Friday because they do the SOAP (supplemental offers and acceptance program, which was formally the 'scramble'). The SOAP is like a mini application season--resubmit applications, offer of phone interview, rank list and offers--that occurs every few hours from Tuesday until Wednesday (or Thursday) afternoon. It sounded like a horrible process and I am so grateful that I didn't have to go through it. I believe the information of where people matched is withheld until Friday because many medical schools have "match day" parties and they want to give everyone a chance to go through the SOAP before the party. I might not be right about that, but it makes sense to me.
As you can probably tell, this process is extremely stressful and you can be a great applicant, but still not match. Since this is a once a year job application process, if you don't get hired, you wait until next year and do the whole process again. They say that every year further from graduation you are, the harder it gets to match. I cannot find the statistics from the 2012 match yet, but in 2011 30,589 applicants vied for 23,421 available first year and 2,737 second-year residency position (some residencies have you do one year in a general specialty like internal medicine or surgery then you move into your very specialized field like radiology or ophthalmology). From the information I can find, there were even more applicants this year and I don't think that the total number of residency positions changed much. I am so lucky and grateful to have a residency spot for next year.
After learning that I matched, I had paperwork to get started. I had to sign an agreement saying that I would be going to Nevada (part of going into the match is signing legally binding documents that state you will go wherever you match, if you don't you are in huge trouble--there are a few rare situations where you can apply for an exception, like if you get extremely ill and cannot start residency). Next, I had to start filling out my medical license application information. It was so strange to fill in the line that says "physician's name" with mine. It was surreal. Also, much of the information sent to me was addressed to Dr. Nicole or Nicole, M.D., which still makes me smile to see. I have dreamed of being a doctor since I was five years old and I have been working for years, but it still doesn't seem real yet. I expect that after the first few months or year of residency, I'll be more comfortable being called doctor. I have been advised by several nurse friends and other doctors that I must start residency by being called "Doctor" to make sure that I set myself up as a physician (rather than just someone else in the hospital) and then continue my hard work to earn my co-workers and patient's respect. I have worked hard to earn my doctorate and now I need to live up to the title of doctor!
Well, lets just jump to the exciting parts. At the end of the interviewing process, I had to make a "rank list" of all of the programs that I interviewed at--from my top choice down. At the same time, the programs were making a rank list of their applicants. Then a computer does some magic and "matches" me with the highest ranked program on my list that ranked me highly enough on their list so that I match into their program. I submitted my rank list in early February and had to wait until March 12th to find out if I had matched. An email was sent at 12:00pm EST on Monday, March 12th, but it only told you if you matched or if you did not. Here is a copy of mine:
"Congratulations, you have matched!"
I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I would be a pediatrician. It was such a relief to know that I had a job. I had been offered a position outside of the match (meaning that I would have signed the contract and cancelled my other interviews), which I turned down so I was anxious that I made the wrong decision until I found out that I got a job in the match. The first couple days I was so excited that I got a job and I was dreaming of where it could be. By Thursday, I was ready to know where I would be living for the next three years, but I wouldn't find out until Friday at 1:00 EST. I was almost certain that I would be headed back to the Northeast, most likely New York City, so I was surprised to find out that I matched in the west: Viva Las Vegas!
I believe that applicants (and programs) do not find out where they matched until Friday because they do the SOAP (supplemental offers and acceptance program, which was formally the 'scramble'). The SOAP is like a mini application season--resubmit applications, offer of phone interview, rank list and offers--that occurs every few hours from Tuesday until Wednesday (or Thursday) afternoon. It sounded like a horrible process and I am so grateful that I didn't have to go through it. I believe the information of where people matched is withheld until Friday because many medical schools have "match day" parties and they want to give everyone a chance to go through the SOAP before the party. I might not be right about that, but it makes sense to me.
As you can probably tell, this process is extremely stressful and you can be a great applicant, but still not match. Since this is a once a year job application process, if you don't get hired, you wait until next year and do the whole process again. They say that every year further from graduation you are, the harder it gets to match. I cannot find the statistics from the 2012 match yet, but in 2011 30,589 applicants vied for 23,421 available first year and 2,737 second-year residency position (some residencies have you do one year in a general specialty like internal medicine or surgery then you move into your very specialized field like radiology or ophthalmology). From the information I can find, there were even more applicants this year and I don't think that the total number of residency positions changed much. I am so lucky and grateful to have a residency spot for next year.
After learning that I matched, I had paperwork to get started. I had to sign an agreement saying that I would be going to Nevada (part of going into the match is signing legally binding documents that state you will go wherever you match, if you don't you are in huge trouble--there are a few rare situations where you can apply for an exception, like if you get extremely ill and cannot start residency). Next, I had to start filling out my medical license application information. It was so strange to fill in the line that says "physician's name" with mine. It was surreal. Also, much of the information sent to me was addressed to Dr. Nicole or Nicole, M.D., which still makes me smile to see. I have dreamed of being a doctor since I was five years old and I have been working for years, but it still doesn't seem real yet. I expect that after the first few months or year of residency, I'll be more comfortable being called doctor. I have been advised by several nurse friends and other doctors that I must start residency by being called "Doctor" to make sure that I set myself up as a physician (rather than just someone else in the hospital) and then continue my hard work to earn my co-workers and patient's respect. I have worked hard to earn my doctorate and now I need to live up to the title of doctor!
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