2 weeks to go. Man. How I despise waiting. The fact that I am almost an MD is pretty surreal, both super exciting and rather terrifying. I feel proud of myself, and nervous about what is to come, looking forward to new challenges and adventures, but with so many questions about how this is all gonna work out (ie, if we end up moving, finding a new daycare!). Granted, most of my medical school adventure has been full of the unknown. From finding out during my very first week of medical school that I was pregnant, to one of the early preclinical blocks that I didn’t pass (and then another), to struggling through having to take step 1 twice, to then finally starting to find my footing during the clinical years, having a great recent experience with interviews, and now having the courage to be excited about Match day, it really has been a crazy ride.
No one likes to wait, but it feels like just yesterday I was starting the interview process, and now, here we are, 2 weeks away. I just want to say for those who might be having similar struggles as me…your worth is not determined by what is in that envelope. So many of us have very real anxiety because we believe that our entire career will be shaped by where we do or don’t end up for residency. Or simply because of our universal fear of not matching. But let’s take a moment to think about what is actually true:
- You got through just about 4 years of medical school. That in itself is AMAZING!! You are so much smarter than you give yourself credit for.
- PLENTY of very competent, intelligent, EXCELLENT future doctors end up taking a year off and matching in a subsequent year and doing just fine.
- You will be a caring, competent, successful physician not based on the program where you end up, but based on whether those are your goals, and whether that is what internally motivates you.
Please, I encourage you, be kind to yourself as the day approaches, and especially afterwards if your envelope doesn’t deliver the information that you are hoping for. Try to be positive and show yourself a little compassion. Give yourself permission to rest and relax while you wait. Meditate. Do something you love that you haven’t done in awhile. The fact that we have come this far is a big deal friends. We are already rockstars.
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**For those of you who are unaware, Match day is the day that occurs in March every year when most of the 4th year medical students in the US find out where they will be going for residency. We will be given an envelope at noon on March 15th which holds the name of the program we will attend. No takesy backsies, no swapparoos. It is definitely as stressful as it sounds.
JLDM 