Married Life and Medical School?

[wsingh]

This is for all those who are in medical school and they are married, with or without children. I will be starting TUCOM next fall, and I have been thinking about this alot. I know that medical school is hard, but I am concerned about not being there for my wife. She is with me 100% all the way, but deep in my heart I think about the times that I won't be there.

How do you folks out there address this issue? I'd appreciate any input.

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[JasonLMusser]

I'm married and a MS2. School is difficult on a marriage but it does not mean the end of the relationship. You just need to put your priorities in order and then put your nose to the grindstone. Remember to have some together time with your significant other and everything will work out. MOST important, don't forget to talk. You'll be stressing out, she'll be stressing out, and the only way to work it out is to talk. I know many of my classmates who are married, some have children, some are single parents, and they all make it work somehow. I'm sure it will work out for you too. Good luck!

 

[wsingh]

Thanks for your insight. I think its going to be hard, but worth it. Thanks again.

 

[rjohns]

I got married last summer between my first and second year of medical school. It was hard, but we will be celebrating our first anniversary in two weeks!

I think getting through medical school and surviving with your marriage intact takes a lot of patience and understanding on both parts. Your spouse has to be understanding about giving you time to study and you have to understand that sometimes, you have to take a few more breaks that you would otherwise take to spend more time with your spouse. My class had a Notepool service that allowed me not to go to class. I spend all day studying so that I could spend more time with my husband when he came home in the evening (you know, 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes!)

My husband was really great. He was the source of my motivation. Whenever I wanted to give up studying and go to bed early, he would always encourage me to study for just a couple more hours. And whenever I needed to study with my study partner (who was male, by the way), he would give us the space we needed and cook us dinner so that we didn't have to take any time out from studying!

Just hang in there and work together!

Some of the spouses of my classmates formed a support group. They would hang out together and talk about how they're going to get through medical school. My husband didn't want to go because he would have been the only man. I'm one of the few married women in my class. But you might want to think about encouraging your spouse to participate in something like that.

Good luck in medical school and good luck to your spouse as well!

 

[Thebeyonder]

Hello,
I am also worried about not being able to
spend time with my wife and child.
I know that residencies can be anywhere from
80-100 hours per week. I am thinking to
myself, am I mad or what?
Anyways how do people in residencies that
have a family deal with this?