The Beginning

September 15 - it is happening!!  Z's application for the National Resident Matching Program, or NRMP, has gone live as of today.  This is quite monumental for him.  After 3 years of medical school and board exams, his 4th year is now in full swing in which will decide his life (and mine and Lilly's) for the next 6 or 7 years.

For those who are not familiar with US medical school system, residency is a graduate medical (supervised) training program which you pursue after receiving your medical degree.  The length of the residency program varies from the specialty one applies to; in Z's case, he has officially decided to pursue plastic surgery, which is generally a 6 year program.  Believe it or not, Z is applying to 60+ programs all across the nation.  In fact, plastic surgery is considered one of the most difficult programs to get accepted to, due to its competitiveness.  There are only 50+ plastic surgery programs in the nation, competing for 100+ opening spots.  Imagine all aspiring plastic surgeons in the US competing for these limited spots!  The thought of it kind of scary.

Interviews will begin in October, so I imagine that I will rarely get to see him until Thanksgiving.  I am hoping to travel with him to a few places to explore the different cities, which may help us when ranking the programs after the interview period is over.  Essentially, both parties, the applicants and the residency programs, submit a list of their preferred choices in a centralized matching service, which then will be announced on "Match Day" sometime in March.

Regardless of the outcome, we expect that next year is going to be a year of huge change just like we experienced in 2012.  Actually in 2012, the majority of the major changes impacted me (engagement, graduation, new job, moving to Houston, new job, etc.), but next year will change our lives as a married couple.

We are excited, nervous, and anxious at the same time.  I have personally lived in Texas for almost 12 years; the thought of potentially moving to another state is thrilling, yet nerve wrecking.  We have already started discussions about the moving timeline, which also may or may not alter my current state of employment, fiances, and most importantly, where we would prefer to go to if we had the mighty power to set our destination.  However, the "where" is going to be in the least of our control, so it doesn't look like we can do much planning until the Match Day.  The planner side of myself is driving me crazy because everything is uncertain, and I would just have to embrace the impending changes upon us.  I cannot imagine the emotions that are going through Z, as being the person that would need to be matched to a certain program.  I am doing my best to be supportive to him and being there for him when he is ready to discuss our future plans.  We are really feeling this marriage thing now!  Whether we end up in Texas again or not, it is no doubt that it will change our lives forever.  It is going to bring us new challenges, but I am excited to see what the future has in store for us (+ Lilly).

If you are the praying type, please pray for us, and especially my husband as he endures all the travels and interviews by himself.  Wishing the best luck to my husband and all of his friends and classmates!

You can do this, class of 2014!