Currently

Brad has been asking me to write this post for some time now. Sorry it is so long in coming! Our situation right now seems a little odd....a little exciting...and a lot confusing so I'm here to try to sum up a few things.

What stage in school is Brad at right now?

Brad is a 4th year medical student. There are 4 years of undergraduate work (BYU), 4 years of medical school (DMU-Iowa), and 3+ years of residency (upcoming!). So he is in his final year before he officially becomes a physician in May of 2014. As a 4th year medical student he can see his own patients, check in and verify the plan with the attending physician, and perform a wide variety of exams and procedures.

What is a 'rotation'?

A rotation is where Brad goes to a clinic, a hospital, or a practice and learns from the physician(s) working there. It depends on the speciality he is shadowing but they can last anywhere from 2-4 weeks. 

What the heck? WHY are you moving so much?!

haha. Yes we get this one a lot! There are several points to 4th year:

-find the speciality that interests you the most

-Do rotations at potential residency sites so they can get to know you. If you work hard, perform well, and have a mutual liking for each other, your chance of being accepted into that residency program increases. These are called "audition rotations" and are obviously extremely important. Brad has audition rotations in Corvallis (completed Aug 2013) and Klamath Falls (Oct 2013) with potentially one more in Milwaukee (Portland Dec 2013). Audition rotations are NOT necessary to get into a program, but they can help. 

-pass STEP2 boards- D.O.N.E.!!!!!! Way to go Brad!!!!!

-gain experience! Once you enter into your residency you will be in one spot for 3+ years. You want to bring as much with you as possible when you get to that point.

So for us, we felt like the best plan was to leave Iowa. We had rotated a lot in the Des Moines area and wanted to get to know more of the doctors and practices out West. There are also several residency programs we were very interested in out here. So each month, we are moving to a new place to gain the experience Brad needs for residency. Could we stay in one spot and not move? Sure! But what fun would that be? :)

Do all medical students move as much as you?

Nope! Some stay in one place until they graduate. For us, we had been in Iowa a long time (3 years) and had been away from our Southern-Oregon home for 7 years. We wanted to come back West! Now that we have Mia, we wanted her to know her grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, etc, as she's growing up. Family is so important to us.

So...where will you be moving this year?

We just got back from a fabulous August in Corvallis/Philomath. Wow. We loved it there sooooo much. Brad did family medicine and some hospital-based internal medicine. 

In a couple days we will be flying to Pennsylvania for him to study Cardiology under one of the greats- Dr. Jerry Luck. We know the Lucks from when we last lived in PA (07/08) and love them dearly. We are looking forward to an excellent September!

October will be spent doing an audition rotation in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Only 1.5 hours from home- looking forward to spending my birthday with my Dad ( a family tradition ).

November will be in Medford doing Podiatry. Yay for being home for Thanksgiving!

December we may be up near Portland, we aren't 100% sure yet.

And Jan-May we don't yet have concrete plans but we may be coming to a city near you!!! haha. As you can see, the schedule is quite flexible and we are able to move around and have a little adventure while we get ready for residency. Know a great doctor we simply must meet? Let us know! 

How does all this work having a baby?!

Haha! Well if you've ever met Mia, you'd know SHE is the reason we are able to do this at all! She is such a laid back, easy going sweetheart. Oh heavens, we love her so. We have this bed that folds up called a rock and play. She sleeps great in it and we can fold it in half and toss it into the car easily. We bought a bottle warmer and she has adapted well to eating wherever. Luckily we are still able to keep her on a good eating/sleeping schedule which helps. She is such a joy I can't even describe it. She still rarely cries and is such a good baby. I never imagined I could be this blessed. 

Our parents have also been extremely helpful. They are supportive of our decision to be spontaneous and go where we feel we need to be. They have helped us store our belongings and have a 'the door is always open' policy. It's wonderful to be loved and be apart of such an amazing family :)

All in all, we are truly enjoying ourselves. We finally get to see family and friends we haven't seen for a long time. We are getting to explore the US. We get to do it all as a family. Thank you to each of us who have helped us in small or large ways!