Ok, my husband's in. I'm STILL not totally on-board

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MrsLongshanks

MrsLongshanks

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When my husband, EdLongshanks, was accepted at OSU a couple of weeks ago, I was, and remain, more excited and happy than he is and very proud of him.

But... after reading a little bit in another thread about spouses not being on board the pre-med train, I feel like ranting a little bit.

1) When you married me, did you give me a little hint that you were going to turn my life upside down this way?

2) It's no fun being married, having small children, practically being alone all of the time. I don't want to be a single parent. If I'd wanted to be a single parent I'd have called the sperm bank, not the county license department.

3) I've moved 20+ times in my marriage, following your career. My back hurts from carrying furniture around. I've moved on a Friday cleaned up the house and cooked Sunday meals for your political and ministry guests. I've been a super woman, and you'd better appreciate it or I'll give you a super knot on your head to remember me by.

4) My heart does not bleed for these self-centered "I have a dream" people. What about the dream that you used to have about having a sweet home, well-behaved children, and a loving wife. Did your REM sleep suffer an interruption?

I'm a loving wife. I've sacrificed my ideas; I've sacrificed my time; My children have suffered for your constant moving them from school to school, uprooting them over and over, and I have a dream too - that you can just settle down and give me a little peace.
 
MrsLongshanks said:
When my husband, EdLongshanks, was accepted at OSU a couple of weeks ago, I was, and remain, more excited and happy than he is and very proud of him.

But... after reading a little bit in another thread about spouses not being on board the pre-med train, I feel like ranting a little bit.

1) When you married me, did you give me a little hint that you were going to turn my life upside down this way?

2) It's no fun being married, having small children, practically being alone all of the time. I don't want to be a single parent. If I'd wanted to be a single parent I'd have called the sperm bank, not the county license department.

3) I've moved 20+ times in my marriage, following your career. My back hurts from carrying furniture around. I've moved on a Friday cleaned up the house and cooked Sunday meals for your political and ministry guests. I've been a super woman, and you'd better appreciate it or I'll give you a super knot on your head to remember me by.

4) My heart does not bleed for these self-centered "I have a dream" people. What about the dream that you used to have about having a sweet home, well-behaved children, and a loving wife. Did your REM sleep suffer an interruption?

I'm a loving wife. I've sacrificed my ideas; I've sacrificed my time; My children have suffered for your constant moving them from school to school, uprooting them over and over, and I have a dream too - that you can just settle down and give me a little peace.
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Umm...no offense, but shouldn't you talk to him in person about this, rather than ranting on an online forum?

Perhaps after he becomes a physician you too can reap the rewards of his hard work. While he is following his dream, which you consider "self centered," I'm sure part of his motivation is to provide a better life for you and your children. Do you have any dreams for yourself other than him not doing something? I'm sure it's challenging for you and I bet he admires you more than you know. You ARE the reason that he is where he is and you'll be why he gets to where he is going. Maybe some professional counseling would be a more wise idea than ranting at your husband on the internet. Either way good luck. :luck:
 
I'm guessing that she's posting this in response to the other topic, to prove a point.

Psh, just wait 'til those 6 figure salaries come in and the debt is paid off! Bring it on!
 
gunito said:
Umm...no offense, but shouldn't you talk to him in person about this, rather than ranting on an online forum?

Perhaps after he becomes a physician you too can reap the rewards of his hard work. While he is following his dream, which you consider "self centered," I'm sure part of his motivation is to provide a better life for you and your children. Do you have any dreams for yourself other than him not doing something? I'm sure it's challenging for you and I bet he admires you more than you know. You ARE the reason that he is where he is and you'll be why he gets to where he is going. Maybe some professional counseling would be a more wise idea than ranting at your husband on the internet. Either way good luck. :luck:
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Of course she talked to me. I encouraged her to post these feelings in order to remind everyone that our spouses are suffering for our dreams also.

If you want to get the proper tone of my wife's rant, you have to put it to a Rogers and Hammerstein score and have her waving her hands around in the living room and then falling in my arms to tell me how much she wants me to be a doctor.

The purpose of me asking her to post her feelings is not to provide a logical argument, but to remind everyone that there are other people in our lives. Even though most wives will probably never tell their husbands how they really feel (instead they will fall back on 'I'll support you' )that doesn't mean these feelings don't exist.
 
MrsLongshanks said:
When my husband, EdLongshanks, was accepted at OSU a couple of weeks ago, I was, and remain, more excited and happy than he is and very proud of him.

But... after reading a little bit in another thread about spouses not being on board the pre-med train, I feel like ranting a little bit.

1) When you married me, did you give me a little hint that you were going to turn my life upside down this way?

2) It's no fun being married, having small children, practically being alone all of the time. I don't want to be a single parent. If I'd wanted to be a single parent I'd have called the sperm bank, not the county license department.

3) I've moved 20+ times in my marriage, following your career. My back hurts from carrying furniture around. I've moved on a Friday cleaned up the house and cooked Sunday meals for your political and ministry guests. I've been a super woman, and you'd better appreciate it or I'll give you a super knot on your head to remember me by.

4) My heart does not bleed for these self-centered "I have a dream" people. What about the dream that you used to have about having a sweet home, well-behaved children, and a loving wife. Did your REM sleep suffer an interruption?

I'm a loving wife. I've sacrificed my ideas; I've sacrificed my time; My children have suffered for your constant moving them from school to school, uprooting them over and over, and I have a dream too - that you can just settle down and give me a little peace.
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Amen sister! But for those spouses in school and do realize (and acknowledge) to us that we support and our family 110%, it makes all the difference. And I knew what I was getting into in the first place but still can relate as you really can't explain how tough it is until you live through it.

PS ... I'd say OSU is better than other schools in terms of time and other students with family.
 
I am about to graduate from medical school and I am also married with children (4 daughters). Let me tell you that this was just as hard for my wife as it was for me. And sometimes harder.

However, she will be benefitting significantly from this experience and I do not mean just with the salary that should eventually come. But also because I will be so thankful to her that she had supported me and was with me while I pursued a dream. And that I will be in a very happy place emotionally and not living with regret.

If you are near Las Vegas, I would urge you and your husband to come to the non traditional pre meds conference in Las Vegas in early June. There will be a panel discussion by Spouses that should prove to be very informative. In addition, if you would like to ask my wife questions, just PM me and I will send you her e-mail or she can answer your questions via the PM through my account.

Here is the conference flyer: http://www.oldpremeds.org/conference/
 
Scottish Chap said:
This is a very odd thread.
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That's probably true. My wife was on a rant about the other thread, so I suggested that you all might be interested in her feelings. I hope that you all weren't offended. I find her quite fun and entertaining, but I am biased.
 
Well, at first, I was like... umm, I really don't want to be in the middle of these two... ok, game on... When we married folk were wed, we vowed on both sides to love, and respect our spouse. So, while this is an inconvenient path, preventing a spouse from following their dream so you can have something else, is about the best way I can think of to breed resentment short of cheating on them with another person. That said, the med-student's spouse shouldn't be denied their dreams either, but if they have their dream job or situation, or that will come with the med student becoming a doc, it should be supported. We are humans, and that means we're selfish, it's a matter of compromising on our selfishness and making sure we both have our needs met...
 
EdLongshanks, you've been awesome to this board so please don't take this the wrong way...

but I wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish this was on the regular pre-allo board for the flame wars it would start. Oh man.
 
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SBB2016 said:
Well, at first, I was like... umm, I really don't want to be in the middle of these two... ok, game on... When we married folk were wed, we vowed on both sides to love, and respect our spouse. So, while this is an inconvenient path, preventing a spouse from following their dream so you can have something else, is about the best way I can think of to breed resentment short of cheating on them with another person. That said, the med-student's spouse shouldn't be denied their dreams either, but if they have their dream job or situation, or that will come with the med student becoming a doc, it should be supported. We are humans, and that means we're selfish, it's a matter of compromising on our selfishness and making sure we both have our needs met...
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I apologize for the confusion, no Ed & I are not in an augument. I just have realllllly strong feelings, about an attitude of, well if spouse doesn't agree with your dream, it's time to move on... The marriage won't likely work out anyway! The more it's expounded upon that one can just move on with life minus spouse, the more it is believed! It is hateful it has done great harm to our society.
 
Strange..kinda

Also I don't see my spouse into posting here. We'd both smirk at that, but whatever floats it for you.

The woman does make some points though. All the moving around seems a bit odd, unless you're talking military. So at this point, it mat be one too many times. That seems valid.


About the salary bang-up...it will be quite a while, and if fam practice, just about every FM person I know has said DO NOT do it for the money, period.
 
jl lin said:
Strange..kinda

Also I don't see my spouse into posting here. We'd both smirk at that, but whatever floats it for you.

The woman does make some points though. All the moving around seems a bit odd, unless you're talking military. So at this point, it mat be one too many times. That seems valid.


About the salary bang-up...it will be quite a while, and if fam practice, just about every FM person I know has said DO NOT do it for the money, period.
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Oh my, I can't seem to get into your ignore list, no matter what I do.

There may have been a LITTLE bit of exaggeration in the number of moves. The moving thing is a sore point with her, because this last move was into her dream home, and the medical school thing threatened to take it away. She was, ah, quite upset at the possibility.

But, here is a case where bridge crossing should be delayed. It looks like we won't have to move.

In the old pentecostal churches, people used to stand up and testify, "I've got the VICTORY." to which some preachers would respond, "No, you don't. You just have your way." In this case, we both got our way.
 
EdLongshanks said:
Oh my, I can't seem to get into your ignore list, no matter what I do.

There may have been a LITTLE bit of exaggeration in the number of moves. The moving thing is a sore point with her, because this last move was into her dream home, and the medical school thing threatened to take it away. She was, ah, quite upset at the possibility.

But, here is a case where bridge crossing should be delayed. It looks like we won't have to move.

In the old pentecostal churches, people used to stand up and testify, "I've got the VICTORY." to which some preachers would respond, "No, you don't. You just have your way." In this case, we both got our way.
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Dude, why should I ignore her, she wasn't being persistently obtuse?

At any rate, residency may well be an issue...as well as time away for many other things. Hopefully it will work out.

Meanwhile, back to checking that option... Ciao.
 
My God what have I done. I'm sorry Ed.
 
NuttyEngDude said:
i hope this doesnt come across as rude, but i cant stop laughing.
:laugh:
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We may be having a little fun here, ourselves, while trying to make a serious point.

My wife has always had a hot button about the "wind beneath my wings" attitude. As a (extremely) traditional wife, she has followed me through 3 different cities, never held a job, home-schooled our children, and supported me through several avocations like politics. I'm loud, mouthy, opinionated and strong-willed. She is quiet, easily hurt, and often ignored. In short, the perfect picture of the "Wind beneath my wings" song.

Therefore that particular song makes her mad as a hornet. Her name for it is "You just blow honey and let me fly."

Even though she loves to see me succeed. She wants to make sure that I remember that she is still over there in the corner being ignored. We expect our spouses to be glad for us - and they are. But remember, while we are getting to participate in healing bodies - she's at home reading the same "Little Engine that could" book for the 177th time to a set of rambunctious babies. Frankly, she has the harder job.
 
Scottish Chap said:
This is a very odd thread.
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I disagree.

He came to the board to talk about how his wife was not supporting him. She came to the board to defend herself. Pretty simple if you ask me.



That said, my wife & I have had this talk numerous times and she is 100% supportive of my path; but I'm not dumb enough to think it will be easy for her. She is making a sacrifice to support me through medical school because she loves me; and I will never forget that gift because without it I would still be sitting at a desk.
 
To the Mrs, at first I thought this was an argument, if it were, I wouldn't have posted, I would have PMd. That's why I said, game on...

Anyway, like I said, we all have our dreams, if being a traditional wife was your dream, and you have it, and have a successful husband to boot, awesome. If it is not your dream, and you are doing it to fulfill some other expectation, that is a different issue. As I said, you both need to have your dreams and expectations met, not just one person. I personally have never envisioned myself in a 'traditional wife' role, my mom worked, my grandmothers both worked, my stepmother worked. In my childhood, the only people I knew besides my parents who were divorced were families where the mom had been at home (actually at this time, I know more women who divorced their husbands as at-home wives than not). That said, the way I was raised is basically "you don't rely on men to provide for you", so this is a strange thing to me... I apologize if I don't quite get it... If it makes you happy, again, great, but if not, you need to voice that and start working towards your own goals...

Ed, you are right, you have to remember she's there, however, it sounds to me that the major issue is worked out because you said you're in school 20mns away. Also, I wouldn't worry so much about residency, unless you're doing a strange specialty that won't match in your area. I have several friends who went to school in MN, did their residencies in MN, and will never move out of MN... it CAN'T be that hard to find a spot near your house. For the record, as other people on here have said, med school itself isn't the killer, it's residency... Also remember, she still wants to go out to dinner, and have babysitters (not sure how old your kids are), don't forget just 'cause you're in school doesn't mean she should suffer too 😉
 
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Ty for sharing. Its important to know and understand the spouse's side of the story. Sometimes we just take those closest to us for granted.
 
EdLongshanks said:
We may be having a little fun here, ourselves, while trying to make a serious point.

My wife has always had a hot button about the "wind beneath my wings" attitude. As a (extremely) traditional wife, she has followed me through 3 different cities, never held a job, home-schooled our children, and supported me through several avocations like politics. I'm loud, mouthy, opinionated and strong-willed. She is quiet, easily hurt, and often ignored. In short, the perfect picture of the "Wind beneath my wings" song.

Therefore that particular song makes her mad as a hornet. Her name for it is "You just blow honey and let me fly."

Even though she loves to see me succeed. She wants to make sure that I remember that she is still over there in the corner being ignored. We expect our spouses to be glad for us - and they are. But remember, while we are getting to participate in healing bodies - she's at home reading the same "Little Engine that could" book for the 177th time to a set of rambunctious babies. Frankly, she has the harder job.
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I did not know there was a Mrs.EdLongShanks. I am still quite amused about this:laugh::laugh:
 
SBB2016 said:
Also, I wouldn't worry so much about residency, unless you're doing a strange specialty that won't match in your area. I have several friends who went to school in MN, did their residencies in MN, and will never move out of MN... it CAN'T be that hard to find a spot near your house. For the record, as other people on here have said, med school itself isn't the killer, it's residency... Also remember, she still wants to go out to dinner, and have babysitters (not sure how old your kids are), don't forget just 'cause you're in school doesn't mean she should suffer too 😉
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Depends on what you want and match.

Truly, it can be. You get into and through med school, you can't afford to blow it by insisting on a nearby residency. There are some exceptions, and people do get lucky or hooked up with the right networkers. I just wouldn't count on it. You have to stay flexible.
 
jl lin said:
Depends on what you want and match.

Truly, it can be. You get into and through med school, you can't afford to blow it by insisting on a nearby residency. There are some exceptions, and people do get lucky or hooked up with the right networkers. I just wouldn't count on it. You have to stay flexible.
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I agree. I believe that I have proven flexibility time & again.
 
MrsLongshanks said:
I agree. I believe that I have proven flexibility time & again.
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I totally believe that you have. I guess I was referring to the process for med students and moving toward residency programs, travel for oral boards and such for board certification. I mean there is no shortage of times when in the process of becoming a physician (as opposed to simply a graduate of MS Ed), when you have to be flexible and hop on a plane. Some of us are used to that already. Some wives and husbands can't really tolerate their spouses being away--whether by distance or by hours working/learning as a physician. Even with the lessened hours for residency, it's still a lot of time to put in--more by far than the average job. On top of that you have to spend a lot of time studying on your own time during this process. So yea. I think people have to be realistic about their expectations, concerns, what have you.

It's a totally personal thing at the end of the day between you and your spouse.

The other thing though is maybe consider exploring taking some classes yourself--in anything you want--or exploring art or whatever. I mean there comes a time when the kids are off doing a lot of their own thing, and it comes pretty fast. God has a plan for everyone IMHO, and he uses all of us in various ways, beyond our expectations, to our surprise. Volunteering at a peds hospital or in a NICU can be good too. I don't know. Whatever YOU feel like doing. But you have a right to voice your concerns about the whole long process and to be in the know about the kinds of things to expect. I mean you have the right to be heard, really heard re: your feelings.

Some spouses will say that the process of supporting their spouses through the whole med ed process (8 years or more) wasn't so bad, while others will say it stunk, and some will say, "Ey. We made it through."

Maybe now is the time to ask yourself what you see yourself doing for the rest of your life. IDK. Only you can answer that.



At any rate Ms LS, I do wish you the best.
 
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jl lin said:
Depends on what you want and match.

Truly, it can be. You get into and through med school, you can't afford to blow it by insisting on a nearby residency. There are some exceptions, and people do get lucky or hooked up with the right networkers. I just wouldn't count on it. You have to stay flexible.
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jl, in what world would you be more educated about residencies than my wife? Do you know how many OSU grads matched into OSU med ctr residencies? How many radiology spots are available, how many FM?

You know, my wife may not be a career woman, but she recognizes a catty put-down when she gets one. Bless your heart.
 
EdLongshanks said:
jl, in what world would you be more educated about residencies than my wife? Do you know how many OSU grads matched into OSU med ctr residencies? How many radiology spots are available, how many FM?

You know, my wife may not be a career woman, but she recognizes a catty put-down when she gets one. Bless your heart.
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What are you talking about? Are you on something or is this some disorder? Seriously.

And you think you know so much b/c you are now accepted somewhere. No offense, but you don't know even half of what you think you do, and any number of docs I work with can read your rants and such and see it. Now all of a sudden you are the resident expert on getting into med school. Are you serious?


As for Ms. LS, in no way was I doing catty put-downs. Your comment is ridiculous. I am one of those females that detests cattiness and doesn't go for such nonsense or drama. But let it be said that clearly such behavior is not something seen in one gender and not another. Stop starting silly nonsense just b/c you think it's a fun way to kill time. "...'bless your heart." (catty, no?)

Dude I don't want to get into it with you, regardless of how much you think you want to tangle here.

You either clearly misunderstood something and never once sought out clarification so that you don't jump to the wrong conclusion, or you are a person that likes to reach for contentious stuff and loves to walk the line on being false against another. (I have seen that behavior time and time again.) (I have to wonder what is influencing you to consistently jump to false conclusions with me and some other folks for that matter. I'm not in your head and heart. Only in your own quiet, honest time can you get to the bottom of that.)

Ms. LS has nothing negative whatsoever from me.

If you question something, seek clarification. Lord, it's like HS chemistry. The teacher would say, "Seek clarification, b/c you know what happens when you assume. . . you make an a__ out of you and me."


Oh and please don't bother responding to me, b/c I won't be able to see what you say. Sorry but your reactionary stuff among other things is weirding me out.
 
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SBB2016 said:
My story and I'm sticking to it. If you want to stay put you can stay put! 😉
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Basically the general advice is to apply broader, and there are good reasons for that. Also, it is far from unheard of where people go to medical school thinking that they will want to proceed into one area of medicine, but actually decide on another or at least others that are similarly related. That's why it is important to keep an open mind. I think if you don't have A LOT of firsthand experience interacting in certain areas of medicine, you don't necessarily have a clue until clerkships. Plenty of MS thought they would go in one direction and then after clinicals decided to go in another direction. It's a little like trying on wedding gowns. You think you will look good and like a particular style but end up looking and feeling best in something else altogether. An openmind, therefore, IMO, is your friend.

But best to you and hope you get what you want. 🙂
 
jl lin said:
Ms. LS has nothing negative whatsoever from me.
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People like this are really strange. For some reason, after disagreeing with everything I write and correcting my "attitude" for two years, she now thinks my wife is waiting breathlessly for her advice....
 
jl lin said:
I guess I was referring to the process for med students and moving toward residency programs, travel for oral boards and such for board certification. I mean there is no shortage of times when in the process of becoming a physician (as opposed to simply a graduate of MS Ed), when you have to be flexible and hop on a plane. Some of us are used to that already. I think people have to be realistic about their expectations, concerns, what have you.
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My fiance and I have been talking about this extensively lately. B/c I am shooting for a competitive program, we are trying to prepare for anything. I have met people that have gone to undergrad, med, intern, res, fellowship all in the same state but that is the exception not the rule.

For instance, it was advised to one student I know to apply to 60 different radiology residency programs and interview at at least 10. That adds up to many hours away from home traveling, and thousands of dollars in travel costs. Gross I know, but I would hate to be part of the roughly 10% of US radiology applicants that failed to match (2008 data).
 
RFHawks said:
My fiance and I have been talking about this extensively lately. B/c I am shooting for a competitive program, we are trying to prepare for anything. I have met people that have gone to undergrad, med, intern, res, fellowship all in the same state but that is the exception not the rule.

For instance, it was advised to one student I know to apply to 60 different radiology residency programs and interview at at least 10. That adds up to many hours away from home traveling, and thousands of dollars in travel costs. Gross I know, but I would hate to be part of the roughly 10% of US radiology applicants that failed to match (2008 data).
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I completely agree RF. And personally I have some leanings about what direction I want to go, but even with exposure in the field, I am keeping an open mind. One thing is sure, nothing in this whole deal and process is a sure thing.
 
jl lin said:
i completely agree rf. And personally i have some leanings about what direction i want to go, but even with exposure in the field, i am keeping an open mind. One thing is sure, nothing in this whole deal and process is a sure thing.
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this! This! This! This! This! This!
 
At what point does this thread get locked? We can all see where this scooter is headed, and it's not into Productive-ville.
+pity+
 
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lsu hopeful said:
At what point does this thread get locked? We can all see where this scooter is headed, and it's not into Productive-ville.
+pity+
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Can't some threads entertain without producing.... I mean, we let the Kardasian sisters continue don't we?
 
RFHawks said:
My fiance and I have been talking about this extensively lately. B/c I am shooting for a competitive program, we are trying to prepare for anything. I have met people that have gone to undergrad, med, intern, res, fellowship all in the same state but that is the exception not the rule.

For instance, it was advised to one student I know to apply to 60 different radiology residency programs and interview at at least 10. That adds up to many hours away from home traveling, and thousands of dollars in travel costs. Gross I know, but I would hate to be part of the roughly 10% of US radiology applicants that failed to match (2008 data).
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As you say, you are shooting for a competitive residency. You have to rank many competitive programs across the country in order to get into one of them. But, if I understand these things correctly, your fellow students who are more interested in staying local can rank many less selective programs that are local and have reasonable assurance of both matching and remaining close.

Someone said that, as a doctor, you can have either money or choice, but not both - I think I'm mangling that quote.

I don't know what way my wife and I will choose in 4 years. I understand you and your fiance's struggle. Do you want to spend the rest of your life doing what you want or living where you want? Difficult.
 
I admire any woman that stands by her man, and I am not trying to be rude nor insultive. I just can not have that type of faith in someone. In this country almost half of marriages end in divorce. The reality is men like to upgrade, and they forget who was by thier side during the pork and beans time. I just think it is more realistic for a mate to keep this thought in the back of their mind, and always do things for themself as well as their husband. I meet woman all the time that love to say "Not my husband...." then they are upset because they found out their husband was with another man or woman.
 
EdLongshanks said:
As you say, you are shooting for a competitive residency. You have to rank many competitive programs across the country in order to get into one of them. But, if I understand these things correctly, your fellow students who are more interested in staying local can rank many less selective programs that are local and have reasonable assurance of both matching and remaining close.

Someone said that, as a doctor, you can have either money or choice, but not both - I think I'm mangling that quote.

I don't know what way my wife and I will choose in 4 years. I understand you and your fiance's struggle. Do you want to spend the rest of your life doing what you want or living where you want? Difficult.
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This entirely depends on one's location and desired specialty. For me, in MN there are only two radiology programs in the state and only one in the metro area. You are right that my classmates may elect to apply to less competitive programs that are local, but radiology is not one of them. For FM, applying to ~10 programs is probably sufficient to obtain a spot. For something as competitive as rads only a fool would apply to only 10 even if they have 240+ on step 1 and honors in their required clerkships.

I've done extensive research on the subject of matching and it is entirely a numbers game (until you think about ranking).
 
RFHawks said:
This entirely depends on one's location and desired specialty. For me, in MN there are only two radiology programs in the state and only one in the metro area. You are right that my classmates may elect to apply to less competitive programs that are local, but radiology is not one of them. For FM, applying to ~10 programs is probably sufficient to obtain a spot. For something as competitive as rads only a fool would apply to only 10 even if they have 240+ on step 1 and honors in their required clerkships.

I've done extensive research on the subject of matching and it is entirely a numbers game (until you think about ranking).
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This is definitely true. Maybe jlin has an a academic point. But if you endeavor to make strong local connections. Be a nice dude to work with--be an even better dude to have work for them. And then pick a specialty that's not hot. You have a good chance of matching locally. If you go to OSU and go into something with at least several local programs. You can likely stay put.
 
RFHawks said:
This entirely depends on one's location and desired specialty. For me, in MN there are only two radiology programs in the state and only one in the metro area. You are right that my classmates may elect to apply to less competitive programs that are local, but radiology is not one of them. For FM, applying to ~10 programs is probably sufficient to obtain a spot. For something as competitive as rads only a fool would apply to only 10 even if they have 240+ on step 1 and honors in their required clerkships.

I've done extensive research on the subject of matching and it is entirely a numbers game (until you think about ranking).
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You are obviously closer to this than I, so my agreement means nothing, but going ROAD (Radiology, Oncology, Anesthesiology, Dermatology), ER, or a couple of other competitive specialities would be a good way to add uncertainty to one's location. I have no idea if I will want to do this in 4 years - in that amount of time my living situation might be totally different, my children may have moved away from us, for instance. On the other hand, I might have grandchildren in my house regularly and would not move for a Mayo Clinic hand-transplant fellowship. Four years is a long time.
 
I admit that things may change for me too. 4 years is a long time and a lot can change. I may find I love something more than rads. Also, O in ROAD stands for Ophthalmology.
 
RFHawks said:
I admit that things may change for me too. 4 years is a long time and a lot can change. I may find I love something more than rads. Also, O in ROAD stands for Ophthalmology.
Click to expand...

Oops, thanks for the correction. Is oncology competitive also?
 
EdLongshanks said:
Oops, thanks for the correction. Is oncology competitive also?
Click to expand...

Depends. There is Rad onc, surg onc, peds onc, and med onc. With the exception of RadOnc, you would have to do a residency in surg, peds, or IM then fellow in Onc. Rad Onc can be tougher to get into than Derm. It is a heavy research res. It usually has the highest % of matches with students with publications ~90-95%.

There are many competitive fields to go into besides ROAD. ROAD is for specialties that have a.) high compensation and b.) relatively easy lifestyle.
 
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