I previously wrote about coming to a fork in the road during my journey through medical school: do I take one Board exam or two? You can see my pros and cons list here. This was a decision many of my classmates were making this year. Some knew right from the start that they were going to take both the USMLE and the COMLEX. Of course, most of those students were completely confident in what field of medicine they were going to pursue. As for me, I was beginning to consider other residency programs. I have always wanted to go into Pediatrics for a very long time, pretty much when I decided I wanted to be a doctor at the age of ten. But lately, I've been thinking about ObGyn - the recent front runner in mind. And if I'm putting all of my cards on the table, I've also seriously considered Geriatrics. It sounds like I'm all over the place in terms of fields, but I do have my reasons for each one. And after talking to my advisor about this, she said I'm in the right spot for where I am in my medical education. It's still early to commit to one field before I've gone on my rotations and actually experienced what it's like. Who knows, I may end up in Psychiatry. After all, I'm big on the patient narrative...
So, I did some serious thinking, mentally debating between the two options, weighing in all of the factors. And I decided that I will in fact be taking both Board exams. And here's why: it makes the most sense for what I want longterm outside of medicine. I researched the D.O. residency programs that were available in the fields I had been interested in, and in the end I don't want to be geographically restricted. I'm not married, I don't have children, and after my parents retire and move in a few years' time I won't have anyone tying me to this area. And the idea of moving somewhere else with a lot more nature has been driving me through the more challenging times. So, I made the decision and I'm sticking to it.
I've scheduled both exams for June, one week apart. I've been trying to keep up with the suggested 10-12 hour Board study a week on top of the regular studying I do for classes. That schedule will of course be altered when exams crop up, and looking ahead at the schedule - March madness involves exams every week. But there's no looking back. I've paid the hundreds of dollars to register for the exams, I have the updated version of First Aid, and I quietly freak out whenever I see the Kaplan countdown clock (it's evil). To counter all of this, I've put up little reminders of why I signed up for double the trouble - motivational messages on my white board and images of places where I want to move. I think the hardest part of these marathon-like exams is the mental perseverance. Hopefully, my brain will become an academic athlete.
So, I did some serious thinking, mentally debating between the two options, weighing in all of the factors. And I decided that I will in fact be taking both Board exams. And here's why: it makes the most sense for what I want longterm outside of medicine. I researched the D.O. residency programs that were available in the fields I had been interested in, and in the end I don't want to be geographically restricted. I'm not married, I don't have children, and after my parents retire and move in a few years' time I won't have anyone tying me to this area. And the idea of moving somewhere else with a lot more nature has been driving me through the more challenging times. So, I made the decision and I'm sticking to it.
I've scheduled both exams for June, one week apart. I've been trying to keep up with the suggested 10-12 hour Board study a week on top of the regular studying I do for classes. That schedule will of course be altered when exams crop up, and looking ahead at the schedule - March madness involves exams every week. But there's no looking back. I've paid the hundreds of dollars to register for the exams, I have the updated version of First Aid, and I quietly freak out whenever I see the Kaplan countdown clock (it's evil). To counter all of this, I've put up little reminders of why I signed up for double the trouble - motivational messages on my white board and images of places where I want to move. I think the hardest part of these marathon-like exams is the mental perseverance. Hopefully, my brain will become an academic athlete.