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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