Thank you all for your honesty. Most people who know Andrew know that he speaks mostly in hyperbole. Sometimes I like to take advantage of this. I believe his exact words were: There is no one else in the world who doesn’t like Star Wars! You would think a guy with a masters in Statistics would choose his wording a little more carefully. (Andrew, a convenience sample is appropriate when I only need to prove that ONE person in the world agrees with me).
On to more important topics, Andrew finally took his board examinations yesterday. YESSSSSSS!!!! The first 2 years of medical school are an intense “lecture-and-book-style” study of anatomy, molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, embryology, biostatistics, psychology, psychiatry, behavioral science, immunology, pharmacology, biochemistry, histology, cardiology, neurology, pulmonology, oncology, hematopoietic & lymph reticular (are you getting bored yet?), endocrinology, musculo-skeletal, dermatology, rheumatology, gynecology, urology, nephrology, gastrology, hepatology, virology, parasitology, mycology, pathology, reproduction, bacteriology, and orthopedics.
Yesterday, Andrew was tested on all of these things. It is an exam that HEAVILY determines what kind of medicine he can practice. Obviously, it has been a stressful event to prepare for. Particularly, the past two months have been quite intense. Each day he began his study at 8 am, took 2 short breaks for lunch and dinner, and concluded at 10:30 pm. It has been difficult for him not only to isolate himself from family and friends, but also to stay focused for such long periods of time and memorize thousands of new words (most of which I cannot pronounce).
We are so proud of him and appreciate all the sacrifices that he has made so that he can not only provide for our family, but also be a competent physician (not that the test actually has anything to do with being a physician…but we won’t go into that). We also believe strongly that it would not have been possible without the help and strength of the Lord. Trust me, we both know our weaknesses well and can feel when we are being carried well beyond our natural capacities. I know that prayer and reliance on the Savior made it possible for me to be a single parent (everyday except Sunday) and for Andrew (ever the extrovert) to fight distraction and memorize ridiculously minute details about everything even slightly related to medicine and science.
I would like to say that it is all over, but instead its 2 years down, 8 more to go!!!
Next month he will start rotations in the hospital. Congratulations to Andrew and all our other Med 2 friends!
15 comments:
I don't know why but this post made me so happy. nearly brought happy tears. true story. you guys are just wonderful examples of hard work. way to go andrew. star wars make no remarkable impact on my life whatsoever, but great job. kiss your cute baby for me!
Congratulations Andrew!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!! I think this calls for a visit to Utah!! What do you think? Maybe a little hike with the boys? (Dad let the cat out of the bag). Come see us and we'll fix YOU dinner this time!
That's awesome! Congratulations!
WOW. That is definitely something to be proud of! What a gross test! And I thought the GRE was painful.
We are so happy to call you friends.
Congratulations! Andrew, what did you end up picking for your special boards lunch? Dan may want to know when it's his turn to take them...
Andrew Stacey you just finished your boards...what are you going to do now..."GO TO DISNEYLAND! (or Utah) :)
Hi you two... I have been stalking you on your blog for awhile now... come visit us on ours...
You explain things so well! I want to include a link to this post on my blog saying to just go here (link) to read more about what board study/med school is really all about! :) Yay for being done!
I completely agree with Heather - you are a beautiful writer! You say things perfectly and so professionally. I love it! While I don't wish that Andrew and Miche take their boards again, I do wish that we could head to Marcella's for some yummy cheese and olives again! I have been craving it so bad ever since! We loved hanging out with you guys. The conversation is always so great and it is so fun to just be around you. Hope we can do it again soon!
That is awesome. Time for a brain delete, its over man!
Congrats!!!! And don't forget, 8 is your lucky number!
PS I hate Star Wars, that blog post was a waste of space!!...Hope that helps L-Dog.
Congrats Andrew! And mostly congrats to Lauren, cause it is extremely tough to be a single parent and I hate to say it, but you might want to head home when he does his surgery rotation. 6 weeks of torture. I just keep telling myself, "I can do anything for 6 weeks." And then comes the next rotation and you just think again, "I can do anything for __ weeks." And before you know it, we'll be at the end. And then get to do it all over again with residency. ;) I didn't mean to make this a downer of a post, we really are thrilled for you guys. It's a tough, hard road, but you can do hard things. Keep it up!
Congratulations, and by the way, nice writing, Lauren. Maybe it's because I've been reading freshman compositions all morning, but reading this blog felt awesome....so specific, detailed, interesting, clever--no seriously, this is the best thing I've read all morning. Good job. Both of you.
P.S. I can't believe you hate Star Wars.
I have to say, Steve Williams is the coolest person I have ever met.
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