mrstodoc.com

So I first found out about RIMSAP through a past photography client of mine who had gone through the program.  I don’t think I would’ve had a chance of getting in had it not been for this program.  RIMSAP stands for Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program.  This program, a result of efforts from the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Medical Society, assists pre-med students that desire to practice in rural areas after training in gaining admission to medical school with a heavily weighted recommendation.  I grew up in rural Illinois, currently raising my kids in rural Illinois, I couldn’t imagine living and working anywhere but a rural community. …

I really truly intended to post on a somewhat regular basis and the last few months went by in a blur. One of the things I have yet to mention is that my acceptance to medical school was conditional in that I was required to take (and pass) a summer prematriculation program.  A med school boot camp if you will.  The program I completed was a 6 week hell in Zoom format on Earth.  I will say that I was super thankful that it took place on Zoom (so that’s the one thank you you get, COVID) as it made planning care for my children and actually attending the classes…

I’ve been trying to find blogs and other evidence of current medical students’ day to day and week to week lives as they navigate medical school and while I’ve managed to find some anecdotes, there’s not much out there that really paints a good picture of what I’m in for.  Especially in my situation.  And by situation I mean a full time job, husband, and three kids. What I did find is these exact words SEVERAL times; “it’s like drinking from a firehouse.”  Okay I get it- it’s information overload.  I knew this when I signed up.   I’ve searched through forums looking for evidence of people working while attending medical…

I’m still trying to figure that out myself.  I mean, I certainly didn’t have any kind of fairytale vision of my life when I was younger, but I never thought I’d get married…. And have three kids… THREE.  I love them dearly but if you have multiple young children, you also understand how much they suck the life out of you, as much as they smother you with their love and energy.   My kids are 9, 7, and 1.5.  Nine and seven were very much planned.  And when I say planned, I mean we didn’t plan on having kids when my husband and I got married but about five years…

This week was hard.  It always is.  It was this week six years ago that the course of my life took a 180 swing from the photography business I owned for ten years to healthcare.   So it is here that I will leave my personal statement, which might be known as the pièce de ré·sis·tance to a medical school application.  It’s an essay that provides your why and how of becoming a physician.  You get 5,300 characters to grab the reader’s attention and make them want to learn more about you and your aspirations.   I spent a LOT of time and did MANY revisions of my personal statement and this…

Accepted…. I think?  I tried to be cautious with my excitement.  Decisions were supposed to be emailed out on Friday, and it was Tuesday.  I had seen several other people sharing their excitement in the SDN forums of their “A”s and the disappointment from those that got the dreaded delayed decision.  Why hadn’t I heard anything?  Crickets.  My online portal showed no changes.  Did I somehow slip through the cracks?  I had mixed feelings about my interviews.  It took everything I had not to email admissions and ask as politely as possible why I didn’t have a decision yet.   Then I checked my mailbox.  A letter from RIMSAP (more on…