Moving to 'hot'lanta. . .

Wow!! I love to write and to share information with you all. Sometimes, I have to write after the fact; that is the case with tonight's post. I have already moved to Atlanta for my medical rotations. In fact, I have been here two weeks. There was so much going on while I was moving that I didn't have time to write, but don't lose heart, I took notes--mental and written- on what I thought was most pertinent to share.

RENTING IN ATLANTA-

What a major headache!!

I have five children and I knew that they would be going to school here so my situation is a little different from most students. So while I have a little different perspective, I'll try to address both situations adequately.

• With Children-

I researched the location of most of my rotations with my university and found that mostly they are located in close proximity to Decatur, Ga. (An awesome suburb just on the outskirts of Atlanta metro.)

The best school districts based on my criteria- free, diverse, free, good test scores, free, myriad of activities- were Decatur High School, Lakeside High School, Grady High School. 

Further research and with much help from my realtor Sandra Durham and Frank Golley at Golley Realty revealed that Decatur High School and Grady High School districts had very little for rent and the homes were either too small or too, too, too expensive. 

Sandra was a huge help with the logistics of where the best neighborhoods were and where we could get the best place for our budget. She has kept in touch and is just fantastic! I have linked there website above and I was not paid for my review, but I so apreciated all that they did for me.

Basically you can expect to shell out about 1500-2000 per month for a three to four bedroom home that is in a nice suburban style neighborhood. If you want to live closer in the city prices increase considerably and the size of the apartment decreases.

At the final moment I found an a apartment at Embry Hills. It has been a headache and I am suffering through some growing pains, but it is large (2200 sq ft) and it has a pool and my apartment that I will be living in has new flooring and will be basically a brand new interior, but not without much ado and considerable amount of time in negotiation.

If you choose to look here make sure you ask to see the apartment that you are renting. Long story short- the model homes in apartments look amazing, the apartment that you will be renting . . . eh, not so much. Save yourself a headache and look at the exact apartment. The price is about 1200 per month and the layout is great and the area is nice. It would  also be a good choice for roommates due to the spacious rooms and the number of bathrooms. There are two and half bathrooms and four bedrooms. I am close to I-85 and I-285 (both major routes aorund the city) but I am also in an area that has multiple other ways to get around the city which is nice because Atlanta traffic is horrendous!!  

• Without children-

This is much easier. Pretty much there are many nice neighborhoods in Decatur, Ga. You can live anywhere near Emory, CDC, Midtown, Oak Grove. If you look in the same high school districts listed above you can find many places with one bedroom reasonable. You will be close to town and in a good location.

One thing to consider.  TRAFFIC

If you can find a place that will allow you to be traveling away from the city in the morning and toward the city in the afternoons then you can save yourself a lot of time. 

I have more to add but for now this will have to suffice. It is late and I finally have a sleeping baby and family medicine rotation in the morning.

All the best,
Amy Jones

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Whats Next? ? ?

So I have passed my USMLE Step 1. What is next?

The first thing I had to do was send in documents to the clinical department.

Things like :

• TB test results current for this year
• physical current for this year
• Proof of Vaccinations 
• National Background Check
• ACLS certification
• Drug Screen

Once all of the documents are in and after my tuition is paid; the clinical placement director/team will assign me to a location to begin rotations. -

---> For a complete list of the required rotations you can visit the UMHS website. <--- p="">
I will spend roughly 18 months in rotations during which time I will also take the USMLE Step 2 CK & CS (it is a two part exam).

Normally it works out that the student is studying and doing rotations the same time, and then towards the end of the year they begin the Match process.

My understanding of the Match process-

Match consists of applying to residency-post graduate education- through a website much like you use to apply to medical school in the states. Every residency program that uses ERAS is in the system and available for you to send your credentials. They select the best candidates from their applicants for interviews. Then the applicants and the residency program create a list of their favorites. This is the "rank order list". Each student ranks the programs that have interviewed them in order from most desirable to least desirable and the residency programs do the same. If the students and the programs "match" their rank then the residency program extends an offer to the applicant. You can read more details about Match on the NRMP website.

How UMHS helps us become good match candidates-

I spoke with our clinical department and from my conversation with them they will help us to find programs they think we have a good chance of matching with in our chosen field. They also help us to plan out what electives we will need to make us good candidates. Of course the preparation is upon the individual student, but it helps to have someone who can help guide us into our chosen field. Good scores and letters of recommendation will only come from hard work.

I hope that this will help you all understand the process of what happens after USMLE Step 1.

Until next time,
Amy Jones

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FINALLY!!! I DID IT!

Well, here it is February almost, and I have just finally taken and recieved my USMLE Step 1 Scores.







PASSED!!!!!!!!!



Unfortunately, I didn't score as high as I wanted, but in the end passing was my ultimate goal.

Other News

 I have had an addition to my family!!!! Lilly "Kate" Katherine Andrews was born on August 13, 2013.

But what you really want to know about ---> THE TEST. 

I stayed at a very nice hotel (thanks MOM) the night before my exam. I couldn't sleep very well. So I read first aid and did some Uworld questions until I fell asleep.

I arrived at the testing center early only to be met by a very rude attendant. I had to keep my infant daughter close to nurse her on breaks but I was rudely informed that no one can wait in the office, they have to wait outside.

There was no microwave or refrigerator. I was only allowed to stuff everything into one locker. If I had needed to pump milk it would have been terribly inadequate.

Luckily, I didn't let her attitude get me down and laughed with the other employees about her rudeness.

I took a short break after every block and had a snack and went to the bathroom. Every second block I had to nurse Lilly Kate. My mom came to help me out with her and they went back to the hotel which was only a minute away to wait for me.

I was so nervous at the conclusion of each block, I had almost no time left and was nervous to move on.

The end of the final block was the worst. It comes up with a disclaimer that ending the exam doesn't mean that you have answered all of the questions or completed the exam. (I double checked to be sure).

I couldn't even remember many of the questions. I didn't know if I had passed or failed when I left the testing center. I just wasn't sure.

THE AFTERMATH

The first day I spent thinking about questions and I was really upset because I had watched some study videos and was told some specific information that was incorrect. I missed one question due to listening to that advice.

Bad advice. See this post for more information on advice.

Waiting was the hardest part. I really felt like I was going nuts just waiting to know what I had made. I really just prayed and had others praying and everytime I let the "what if I failed" thought creep in I just redirected myself to thinking about how many people were praying and let my faith carry me.

Honestly, I do not know how people relax without faith.

So this is what my days looked like in the waiting period.

• check my email at 9 am on a Wednesday. 
• check forums for other peoples exam experiences
• check my email
• text a friend and tell them I am so nervous and ask a million annoying questions- thanks for still being my friends, CT and HK. 
• check my email. 
• check the ECFMG website. 
• finally realize that I am going to have to wait another week.
• eat lots of junk food

I really did do other things because I have a five month old daughter and four other children but for the most part this was my thought process. On days that weren't wednesdays I tried to find crafts that I wanted to make and watched tv. I also tried to have a plan B and tell myself that failing wasn't the worst that could happen.

I did use "the trick" and it indicated that I had passed. I didn't trust it.

My advice (REALLY? If you haven't learned that lesson yet)

I felt like some things that I studied in depth were tested very broadly and some things were tested broadly that I had studied in depth and mostly it seemed to be the easier concepts were tested in minutiae.  That was just my perception.

(Please don't trust my judgment and study everything.)

I didn't feel like First Aid was enough, but that doesn't mean don't use it. Many people like it and I just am not like many people. I think I do better when I make my own study guides and notes. I am pretty sure that I will do that for the step 2. I will use the study guides but Ill rewrite even though it is time consuming, I think I would do better if I did. 

I recieved my results on a Wednesday. It was about 1pm. I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to time but the day is almost always according to all of the people I know -Wednesday. So you can use the 28 day formula and Wednesday for knowing when to expect your results.

Whats Next?

I have to get my student loan paperwork filed and I have get my ACLS, TB test, and health form completed. Send in all the paperwork and get my placement. I hope to begin rotations by the end of February!!!

Thanks for following on my long journey. It has been longer than expected with bumps along the way, but I am so happy and glad to say that I haven't given up and I am still getting there.

Never ever quit.


Until next time,
Amy Jones

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