Harder/easier than you expected?

[SDWife]

I just wanted to ask all of the spouses/partners out there...

Is living a medical lifestyle harder than you expected? Easier? Or neither?

Right now my husband is finishing up his 2nd year of medical school. Overall I'd say that the process has been much "easier" (relative term) than what I was preparing myself to have to deal with. I know that residency and attendinghood are entirely different ballgames and would love for you to weigh in on that, too.

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[Velocity]

My wife is finishing up her second year of medical school, too. I'd also say that it's been easier than I've heard others say. Third year, and later on, residency, will prove challenging in a different way. Perhaps we're just lower maintenance than the people who encounter difficulties.

Granted, I am looking forward to when this process is over and my wife will go back to being lower-stress and more willing to do fun things. But overall, I'd say that first year was worse than second-year - she was way more stressed at that point. That was probably because she had the stresses of coursework in addition to the stresses of getting used to how things were run.

Well, I guess you and I can compare notes along the way!

 

[dotdash]

This week, harder. Med school was not too bad, good even. Residency swings madly from having-a-hard-time-handling-this-all-on-my-own to okay. Maybe a few days a month of hey-this-isn't-too-bad. A few days, not many.

 

[Rising Stars]

definitely harder, in my opinion ...

 

[Eta Carinae]

much, much easier than people had made it out to be before I started med school.

Also, if you resist the temptation to compare yourself to non-med couples, you'll likely do just fine.

Once in medicine, you're not a civilian anymore.