So, I know I introduced myself but since this will be a blog about my life as a PGY1 resident, I feel like it is important to discuss how I got to this point...
For the first 4 years of pharmacy school I was prepping to become the owner of an independent pharmacy. One summer as part of my IPPE hours I worked in a small community hospital and my plans shifted... it wasn't that I didn't like independent retail pharmacy anymore, I just wanted something else more... my pharmacist talked to me about a residency and I began thinking about this path...
I had one more year of classes and I went back and forth pretty much weekly about what I wanted to do... during that year I broke up with my boyfriend of almost 2 years and was single for awhile and during that time, when I was totally focused on me, I decided that I was definitely going to pursue a residency... in the spring I met and got to know B and we hit it off. I wasn't really expecting another relationship at that point but after I started getting to know B I just knew I didn't want to be without him. In May of 2010 I started rotations and after the first one I knew that my decision to pursue a residency was the right one.
The application process began in the fall of 2010 and by that time I had decided to apply to 5 places. I received interviews with 4 of those places and ranked all 4. The interviews were long events most taking 5-7 hours total... During the interviews I found things about each program that I liked and the ranking was difficult but by the time interviews were over I had a clear favorite and two that would have been fine matches and one that would have been a pretty good match but would have required me to move away from B. The match process was terrifying just because once you rank the places you really have no control over what happens. I was so nervous for that 3 weeks I could hardly stand it...
So, match day came and the next year of my life was hanging in the balance -- at about 9:15am I got an email and -- who would have thought -- I matched with my first choice!!! I was so happy that I could have screamed, but unfortunately I was on a rotation so that was not really an option... instead I text'd rapidly to my friends and family and gave them the good news.
The entire process was stress filled because with the increasing number of applicants the process is getting really competitive but throughout it I just had a feeling that things would work out. Still, the realization took awhile to sink in after finding out.
So, now I have submitted a formal application and am awaiting an official offer. I think at that point it will all be real. I am so happy that I chose this path even though it will mean making a lot less money initially. I know that ultimately this will help me get a job that I am really happy in for the long run.
Probably most people that will read this blog will already know all this stuff but for anyone else, here it is, part of the story of how I got here :-)
goodnight
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