Interview Update

I'm currently laying in bed, vegging on a Big Bang Theory marathon. I have been in this same position for about 20 hours, because lets face it..interview season is exhausting!! I am so thankful to be on a vacation month, so that I can simply focus on my interviews without really having to worry about also making sure I am working hard on a rotation. While I have had such a great time, going to new places, seeing lots and lots of beautiful hospitals, and meeting a lot of really great pediatrics residents/faculty, but its already starting to wear me down. I am just over 25% done with my interview trail and I am already recognizing the great importance of down time/relaxation.

The good news is that I am basically done with far away travel. I have one more east coast program in a month, but every other interview is west coast...so yay being able to finally drive to my interviews!!

Overall, its been a good experience so far. I totally understand why its so difficult to make a match list, because everywhere has been fantastic!

I will (unfortunately) not be blogging about specifics of programs, as I feel that this should be kept off the internet, but I will share some pictures of my non-residency focused adventures so far on my interview trail! Enjoy! :)

First stop: Washington DC! 

Hecka fancy hotel suite!

Halloween. Day outfit = Pediatrics Applicant

Halloween at night: "Boo" Cruise! 

Such a fun cruise with my mama!

Stop #2: Phoenix 

Delicious brucetta in Phoenix

And even got to meet up with a Phoenix friend!

Phoenix Botanical Gardens! 

Stop #3: Orange County!! Where I was sick as a dog :(

But, I was able to have one date night out! 

Hellllllllo Interview Season

I'm currently sitting in a hotel room in DC. Why? Because interview season has officially begun!!!

I have survived my month of MICU (which, ugh, I am so so so glad that is over). Now, I have the next TWO MONTHS off to go all over the country doing my pediatrics interviews. Right now, I am scheduled to do 18 interviews, which is TOTALLLYYYY overkill, but I can't decide which ones to cancel, so that might just end up being what I do.

My schedule over the next two months is going to be insane in the membrane. Over the next three weeks alone, I go: Washington DC --> Phoenix --> Orange County --> Michigan --> Oregon --> San Francisco/Oakland--> Davis...Then, I get thanksgiving break - which means I can change my clothes, take a few days off and regroup. Its. Going. To. Be. Crazy.

So, here is interviews by the numbers so far:

30 programs applied to
24 interviews offered
18 interviews accepted
6 programs still to here from
0 rejections (so far, those 6 will probably turn into rejections soon lol)

I have been very encouraged so far! I know the interview is the most important part of the ranking process, so wish me luck that I can impress at least one of my favorites!!! :)

Where have I been the last two months?!?!

Hellllloooooooo blog readers! As I sit down to write a blog for the first time in MONTHS, I realize I don't even know where to start, because SOOOO much has happened since my last entry. So, here is my last 2.5 months, in very abreviated form:

1) I FINISHED THIRD YEAR!! My last two clerkships of the year, Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry, were finished in May and June, respectively. I really really loved Emergency Medicine, especially the crazy cases of foreign objects being found in ears or hands being chopped up with lawn mowers, but ultimately I realized the cases I loved the most were the Peds cases, thus confirming my choice of going into Pediatrics! :)  ...Psych, on the other hand, was ...ok. The hours were amazing, but I didn't love the rotation. I just couldn't see myself interacting in that way with patients for the rest of my life. So, it was a great way to end, 'cuz the rotation was so chill, but I was happy it was over at the end!

2) I MOVED TO ORANGE COUNTY - After third year was over, I stuck around Michigan for a week, packing up and moving and celebrating one of my best friends from med school's weddings !! After that, I headed on the plane, on moved in with S for two months! It was so fun. I love Orange County (and Southern California in general) SO much. 

3) I TOOK AND KICKED BUTT ON STEP 2 CK - I studied for step 2 for a grand total of 2 weeks in the OC and I was TERRIFIED of how I would do. Walking out of the exam, I thought I failed for sure. It was so long and I ran out of time, barely reading through questions on 3/8 of the sections. So, I thought I was doomed. Well, after a LONNNGGG 3.5 weeks of waiting, I finally got my score...and I was SOOO happy! I scored higher than I ever even thought possible - a whole 10 points higher than my highest practice test, and 17 points higher than step 1 (wahoo!)

4) I TOOK (and am still waiting on my score) STEP 2 CS - I was scheduled to take CS in Chicago, but when I got an email with an opening in Los Angeles only two days from the email, I jumped on it! Thus, this test came and went before I could even blink. Step 2 CS is a clinical based test, with 12 fake patients that grade you on 1) if you can speak english clearly, 2) if you can be sympathetic to patients, and 3) if you can interview and write competent notes. So, who knows how I did, but hopefully I was nice and well spoken enough to pass...CROSS YOUR FINGERS! 

5) I COMPLETED AN AMAZING PEDIATRICS SUB-I - I had a fantastic month doing an away rotation at a hospital I really love. If you follow me on facebook, you know which one, but I am going to try to keep things more ambiguous on here for privacy! :) But, basically, this hospital was everything I could want for in a residency program. There was incredible teachers, a huge variety of competent specialists in so many different fields, and really amazing residents that I could totally see myself working well with. It was crazy long hours and I had very very few days off, but I never complained, because of how happy I was there and with the field of Pediatrics. Again, I definitely know I made the right career choice! :) 

6) I MOVED BACK HOME TO ELK GROVE - Two days ago, after the completion of my sub-I and my exams, I headed up north to my parents house for one more month away! This month, I will be doing a Pediatrics Cardiology elective. It should be really great and I should learn a lot, but I am kind of nervous because a) I am terrrrribllleeee at hearing murmurs, and 2) I have zero exposure to the field, so I might look incredibly incompetent. Hopefully not! 

Well thats all for now! I will try to be better at blogging! Goodnight! :) 

Spring Break Part 2 - Katie's Bachelorette Party!!!

The second weekend of Spring Break, I got the opportunity to celebrate the beautiful Katie Oliver (now Katie Chapman)'s bachelorette party! We booked an absolutely GORGEOUS beach house for the weekend in Santa Cruz. A weekend with my high school BFFs, beautiful beaches, yummy drinks AND a sunset sail - what could be better? 

Morgan, Melissa and I headed up a little early on Friday to get things started! Kelsey (who drove up from LA) was able to meet us to get the party started and make sure the place looked absolutely perfect for our bachelorette!

Morgan and I driving to Santa Cruz!

The view from one of our patios

Door decorations

Kelsey decorating our sign

In case you havent figured it out, we had a sailing
theme for the bachelorette party!

Presents! 

Katie's hat and sash

Nichole's yummy cake!

Our bachelorette has arrived!!!!!

K, M, N

That night, we hung out at the house, had some drinks, chatted, went down to the beach for a little while, and decorated sailor hats with sayings like "Bridesmate" and "Mate of Honor". They were adorable. 

Day 2: We woke up, got ready, and headed to the Santa Cruz pier for some rides, beach time, sea food, and (more) drinks, because - duh, its a bachelorette party! 

<3

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk!

The terrifying wooden roller coaster!

Line selfie!

After we got done at the boardwalk, we headed back to the house and got changed and ready for our nighttime activities - Sunset sail! 

Our booze cruise boat!

Our captain - KELSEY!

It was SUCH a fun weekend! Every time I am with these girls, I realize how lucky I am to have such beautiful, smart, and fun best friends! :)

Spring Break Part 1

One month ago, I lived out my LAST Spring Break...EVER!  And boy, did I do it right! In just 9 days of Spring Break, I went to Detroit to celebrate one of my med school BFFs bachelorette party, flew to LA/OC for a few days with the boyfriend, flew home for a day with my parents, and then drove up to Santa Cruz to celebrate of my high school BFF's bachelorette parties! Yes, it was as amazing as it sounds.

Part 1: Michelle's Bachelorette party

For Michelle's last fling before the ring, we headed to Detroit! We met up at our hotel room at Greek Town (this huge and amazing hotel/casino in the heart of downtown Detroit). Her maid of honor made adorable Disney-themed T-shirts for all of M's bridal party. We hung out in the room for a while, playing bachelorette party games, drinking yummy drinks and giving M bachelorette presents. After a bit, we head out for some pizza an drinks at M's favorite Detroit hotspot, the Old Shillelagh! Later, we ventured to a nightclub in the MGM hotel where Brody Jenner was DJ-ing. Lastly, we ended the night by going back on the town, eating some Fried Cheese at a little restaurant called Pegasus, and then headed back to our hotel room! It was such a fun night and I loved being able to celebrate my beautiful friend's last fling as a single lady! 

Photo we sent M's fiance (sadly, he
didn't fall for our joke)

Casino games

Night club: can you spot Brody Jenner?

Part 2: The OC

After our fabulous night in Detroit, I headed back to the OC to hang out with S for a few days. Since S dint have any days off, I had a lot of time to sit by the pool and read. It. was. perfect. In the 3 days that I was hanging around in Orange, I read 2.5 books (Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, and Bad Science). In addition to my many hours of laying by the pool and reading, S and I went out on the town by heading to Westwood (our old UCLA home) to eat at the restaurant of our first date, had ice cream at Diddy Reise and drive around our old neighborhood! It was so fun and made me miss Westwood like crazy! We also had time to go to Seal Beach and eat the world's best Mexican food.