Our First Year in Ohio

I can’t believe we’ve been in Columbus for one whole year. The time has flown by and so much has happened! Shawn absolutely blew his first year away with a combined average test score of 94% and got HONORS which only 22 of 212 first-year medical students received. I can’t even explain how proud I am of him. He worked harder and shoved more into his brain this past year than he has ever done in his entire life…combined! He had to learn so much, study so hard, and make a whole new group of friends. I think this year has shown the both of us what he is made of, and confirmed that this is exactly what he is being called to do. He was voted in as the Vice President of the American Medical Association, Vice President of the Christian Medical & Dental Association, he is the Chair of the Other Half, volunteered in an ultra sound research group, a youth mentor for a 5th grade child at an underserved elementary school, he volunteered at three different free clinics throughout Columbus and in the coming months he’ll start working on the admissions committee for the OSU College of Medicine (he will be interviewing applicants), will be a leader for the incoming student orientation this next year, and he is the president elect of Project Professionalism (a grouping of student-run volunteer organizations within the college). Needless to say, he’s been busy. :o)

I have finally found a job that I absolutely love! I absolutely LOVE my boss, the residents, and the faculty that I work with. I am in charge of recruitment, meaning that I select the applicants that we interview to fill our resident spots for the next year. I set up their interview day, and interview them myself as well. I credential them and make sure they are given privileges to practice at the OSU Medical Center. I plan our annual meeting where several hundred doctors around Columbus meet for lunch and listen to speakers. I coordinate the resident Graduation, resident activities, and keep them up to date with their State Medical Board licenses, evaluations, rotation & precepting schedules, GME (graduate medical education) requirements as well as following the guidelines created for residency programs by the RRC (Residency Review Committee). One of the biggest projects I worked on this year was our Site Review. We had a site visitor from the RRC come to our program and basically dissect it, reviewing every detail and making sure that we are following the RRC guidelines. I sat in a room with the site reviewer and my boss for hours going over every piece of documentation (several binders and folders) that we had accumulated, proving that we are following their guidelines (I’ve never been so nervous in my life) and deserved continued accreditation. It went really well and we were thrilled to have that behind us! I also went on my first (all expenses-paid) business trip to Kansas City for the AAFP (American Academy of Family Physicians) Residency Program Solutions Conference (one that will happen every spring) and met several coordinators from around the country. This year has helped me grow professionally and has shown me that I am capable of way more than I though I was. I went into this job almost thinking it was more than I could handle, and now I feel confident that I can pretty much take anything they throw at me ;o)

We have made some seriously awesome friends out here and find ourselves doing something at all times. We spend every Friday night with our good friends Andrew & Vanessa Shaw and never seem to run out of things to do or talk about. We have also met several couples at church and seem to always have something going on with them on Saturdays and Sundays. Our friends Brady & Laura introduced us to the Nintendo Wii, and we loved it so much that Shawn asked for his own as an early birthday present from his parents. So we now have the Nintendo Wii & a new 47” LCD flat screen TV to play it on. We also hang out with Shawn’s friends from school, and the residents that I work with. Our good friend Nathan is moving here at the end of this month so we’ll have him here as well. Basically, we’re never bored or lonely ;o)

This year has been unbelievable and God has taken such good care of us. Shawn has survived his first year in med school, I’m loving my new career, and are surrounded by amazing friends. I think we are very blessed to be able to look back at our first year away from our “home” and our family and feel like we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.