Hello again,

Just wanted to give some background on this forum. This forum is just about a week old and replaces several of our old forums where we had several thousand messages. It should get going and be totally excellent. We've had over 3000 of you coming through this forum but only 70 join. Consider joining us and making for great chat and learning.

Please all introduce yourselves so we can become one big happy family!!

Sethina
MomMD Founder

Hi. Just a quick intro. My name is Susan, I just graduated from UCSF medical school and am about to start my pediatric residency at Mt. Sinai in NYC. I'm both excited and scared! I don't know what to expect from residency but if the rumors are true...I'll stop by when I can!

Hi everyone!

Sethina, I was just now able to log in and I say the new site looks great! For those of you who've been at MomMD for the past few years, you know how great this is...the membership has grown to the point of needing this new site. It's the result of Sethina's efforts. (Thanks!)

I'm in the process of applying to med school now. I've designed my own post-bacc program at a satellite of Penn State (with a terrific pre-med advisor) and have previous degrees in fine arts (BFA, MFA). There are several women on Mom MD with arts backgrounds, so please reintroduce yourselves if you haven't already. Anyhow, I've gotten to do some clinical research, shadow, tutor, and volunteer. It's quite a process, but something I've always wanted to do.

We also have 2 sons (ages 12 & 9). My husband is a programmer and we plan to sell our house, hopefully buy a house, and move when I get into med school. We've also done a lot of family camping trips...for the past 2 years, that's included "drop me off at the closest med school" for a few hours (while my husband takes the children on a different adventure). I've gotten to look around, tour informally, and sometimes had an appointment with another older student at a med school. Now that I'm applying, I wish I could have seen even more schools! Who else here is applying this year? Good luck eveyone!

Mary
:p

Hi everyone-

I hope we'll get to engage in some great conversation in these forums. I'm about to turn 25 and am applying to medical school next yr for fall 2004. I graduated from Barnard College in 199 with a degree in biochemistry. Been working fulltime for a wall street firm in a completely different field but medicine was always my dream. Took the april 2002 mcat and am planning on doing additional coursework this fall/next spring before applying. I live in NYC.

-bonnie

Hi y'all-

I'm a 4th med student at University of Vermont with 2 kids. My daughter is 27 months and my son is 7 months old. My husband is an internist looking to retire from medicine after I finish my training, which will hopefully be done before I reach retirement age myself;) Just kidding...actually, both my husband & I are in our early 30's, but he's interested in going into business or law.

I introduced myself below in the parenting forum, but I'll bite again.

I'm 32 and am the sahm to three children (7,6 and 3). I recently finished my MS in mol biology and have been taking time off to spend with the kids. My husband also recently finished a rather malignant ID fellowship and we are all trying to recover from that as well!

I look forward to getting to know everyone.

What would you think about having a forum just for introductions? These intros tend to get lost in the posts..........

just a thought...

Kris

Hi,
I am a first year medical student in Australia and Mum to two girls, who have just turned 6 and 4. I found mommd last year, when I finally had the chance to pursue my dream of being a doctor again after putting it on hold/ trying to ignore it for 16 years or so (my, how the time flies!!!).It really encouraged me to persevere, and now here I am - a medical student!!! We started in Feb over here, and these last few months have been fantastic!!! I think that by being older I really appreciate the privilige (sorry about the spelling!)of going to med school. Anyway, to those of you still trying to get in, don't give up if this is what you really want! After not getting in from high school, I thought I had no chance, but I was wrong!!!
All the best to those of you starting med school soon! I'll look forward to hearing of your experiences.

Hi,
I am a mom of an almost 2 year-old boy and I have two step children, a 10 yo girl and a 13 yo boy. I had completed my general psychiatry training at Brown and just graduated from the fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Brown too.
I have a brand new job where I'm working in Women's mental health. I am lucky to be working with amazing women at a day hospital for post-partum depression and I'm in the process of building up my outpatient practice for Women either pregnant or postpartum or with various Gyn conditions.
It feels like I've been training forever but the day finally came and now I'm in "the real world".
I'd be happy to share some of my experiences applying to residency programs and while in residency as a mom. Can't say much about med school since I'm an FMG.
I have supportive ex-husband and I'm still now having to juggle call and life as a mom.
To all the young moms and med students I can only say: Yes, we can do it all and still be good at it.

Hello everyone. I'm pushing 40 and applying to the 2003 class. Like the lady in Aus, I too put things on hold because when I graduated from HS in Australia way back in 1981 I didn't get in to med school. I came to the US as a pre-med student but didn't do as well as I hoped and so chose other paths. Now I am ready to finish what I began and pursue my dreams. I

'm the mother of 5 children -- ranging in age from 24 yrs to 3 yrs. Yes, I was a teen mom but a teen who was determined to make a life for myself and not be dependent on others. Parenting has been difficult as 2 of my girls are deaf and today I learned that another daughter is most likely suffering from bi-polar disorder. She is currently medicated for absence seizures and migraines (age 6). But nevertheless I believe my experiences and my ability to continue with life and school and raising/nurturing children with disabilities will make me a compassionate and empathic doctor one day.

The road has been tough. Sitting the MCAT after being out of school for 15 yrs was difficult and I didn't do as well as I wanted so I will retake it in August. Now it is back to the books. My application is in to AMCAS and I have taken time to visit one medical school several times and have been pleased with the welcome response and assistance the admissions counselor has provided.

Unfortunately my husband does not want to move so I am limited to applying to 3 schools where I can commute or have an appartment close to home. And that's ok.

I'm excited and pray that my dreams will come true.

Hey everyone, i'm a 32 year old mother of a beautiful and rambunctious (SP?) 22 month old and my life dream is to become a doctor. i posted for a while on the previous mommd dicussion board and i was so excited to find it. i had applied to CSU Hayward and had planned to begin taking my prereq to begin this journey, but once the time to actually go came, i just couldn't seem to figure out how to make it happen without taking away too much from my job, which is already done part time in the office and part time at home, and then my fiance, while supportive, has shown that he is simply not prepared to watch the baby even more than he already does (he watches him during the day). so with the class falling in the middle of the day, i just couldn't take it and i have put the whole thing off indefinitely because it seems that reality is way more powerful than my dreams. i try not to think about it too much and figure that things may change after a couple of years, once he is in school and financial concerns aren't so pressing...and then again i think that maybe i'll just go get an MBA and dive fully into this business with my father, who has been so kind since i've had the baby, letting my schedule be super flexible. if anyone remembers me from the other board, then u know i tend to ramble on so i'll stop soon...i'm gonna keep hanging around these boards though, i think everone here is sooo amazing and maybe one day...

Sethina, I love the new site!

Reading posts from MomMD is always a great way to start my day! You are all inspiring! I've been a member of MomMD for a year or more. I'm 45 and mom to a 24 year old boy (man) who lives fairly close by, in the city (Boston). I also have a 6 year old son whom I adopted at birth. He's lovely as all get out, and struggles with neuro issues related to his birth mother's alcoholism. I'm not sure what type of practice I'd like to have, but the issues around fetal alcohol are of great interest to me.

I was dreaming yesterday of a pill that we could give to alcoholic women, whether they cease drinking or not, that prevents absorbtion by the fetus. I can't imagine making the strides we need to make in prevention of ARBD by just trying to treat the alcoholism of the mother. Because of the complexity of the disease and the difficulty of getting many adicted women to seek medical care during pregnancy in the first place - we have to be creative. This thought in itself is simplistic, but I hope that someday it will be one piece of the approach to reducing these preventable birth defects.

I'm spending my summer at the YMCA, the park, and the library to keep my son entertained and to prepare my body and brain for school in the fall. I'm beginning my pre-meds at a local college (Bridgewater State) in Sept. with Chem, Bio, and physics. I'm really happy to be starting, and to begin the process immersed in the sciences.

Oh, my previous experience is in software development, the last position being in clinical applications for a large medical center.

Have a wonderful day!

I'm 37 years old, mother of 4 under 7, busy surgeon. Blessed with great career and better family. Would be happy to talk with anyone about how to make it happen.

Howdy!
I am a 36 year old divorced mother of three beautiful girls ages 16,12, and soon to be 9. I have had to put my medical career dreams on hold to support a family. However, as my girls are growing rather quickly, I have decided to move forward with my dreams. I know that it will be a challenge, but I am hoping for the support of this forum family. I do not have the support of my family which is fine,as I do not care for any negative, or discouraging comments. I realize that this will be a tough academic path. However, I am determined to achieve my goals and be an example for my girls.
I look forward to hearing and sharing with you all.

Hi everyone!

My name is Ray and I'm 27 years old and about I'm going to apply for med school in 2004. I have a Bachelors in Biology from Spelman College and a Masters in Environmental Science from UT. I have been married for 6 years and have two great kids (1 and 3). I'm so excited and scared about going through this. I applied to Podiatry School in 1996 and was accepted but did not go because of marriage and fear. Now, I feel more mature and ready. I posted earlier on the premed site but I'm so glad to have found this site.

Hello!

My name is Rivka and I'm a peds resident in Brooklyn as well as the mom to 3 great kids ages 5, 2.5 and 6 months. I've been following MomMD peripherally since med school (I got it right at the begining and I'm impressed with how it's grown so quickly--great job Sethina!), and decided that now is the time to get more involved.

Hello!
I'm a mother and resident of a 2-yo precious girl. This is my first time at this web site and It Is Great!

My first career was chemical engineering, then I took premed courses and I haven't stopped yet.
I'm looking forward to talking with everyone in the other chat rooms.

Hi, all. I'm 35 and starting med school in August. Just took a pregnancy test and it's positive!!

Hi. I am the mother of a beautiful four and a half year old daughter and hoping to have another child in the near future. I graduated this past May with a Bachelors of Arts in gerontology. I took this route because I am interested in geriatric medicine but wanted to learn about aging from a holistic approach. I am now taking premed courses. I am starting at the community college and then transferring to a bigger univerisity with a good premed program to finish. I have at least six courses to take. I am working in activities in a nursing home right now. I love it but my heart's desire is to be a geriatrician. I have done some shadowing and I just knew that that was what I want. I have a long road but am looking forward to it with the support of my husband.

I guess I should apologize for not introducing myself sooner! I am a brand-new 3rd year medical student at East Tennessee State University's Quillen College of Medicine, will be 27 in October, and married for five years. I am overwhelmed but excited by my clinical rotations; right now I'm on newborn nursery and NICU and it is an amazing experience. Hopefully, my husband and I will have our own kids one of these days, but it hasn't seemed to work for us yet, so we'll be seeing a specialist in the coming weeks and hoping for good news. I do love what I do, even during the worst of times, and I know that medicine and motherhood are a difficult but rewarding combination. It is encouraging to see so many "momMDs" that have made it work and so many that have the goal of medicine in mind.

Whoops! Posted in other discussions before this one!

First... kudos to Sethina, it has been a while since I had checked out MomMD and I am really impressed - it's a beautiful site.

Quick intro (baby stirring from nap!) - I'm 29, married and finishing an internal medicine residency next month (off cycle due to maternity leave). I'm going into practice at a VA clinic locally in September. Have the aforementioned baby who is actually not a baby anymore but a newly *independent* 17-month-old little girl! :p I would be happy to chat with anyone regarding having a baby/motherhood during training (many pros to it!) and career decisions, as we (hubby and I) have made quite a few lately.

Hello, I am a 36 year old Family Practice physician considering opening my own practice. I have an amazing 5 year old son who will start kindergarten this year and my husband stays home.
I almost made the jump to start my own practice this year but decided to take another year for planning. I am very interested in nutrition and fitness, my husband has a Karate school where I teach kickboxing. I'm interested in any information about integrating wellness programs with a practice or in experiences with going "SOLO". Thanks, Angela

HOW-DEE!

My name is Angel, already made a lengthy intro of myself, but, thought I'd make a note here too..

I am 25 and just beginning my pre-med reqs now. I am committed to finding a way to serve the "underserved" in developing places in the world.

Medicine seemed the most practical way to do so, and provides the intellectual/personal challenge that I crave. I am just beginning this journey, and giving myself time to see if I fall in love with it. I am honored to be here and gain wisdom from everyone's combined experiences.

P.S. any docs here who have experience with rural international medical work, I'd love to hear your story...

~Angel

Hi everyone,

I have been reading MomMD for a long time now, but just joined. What a great site!
I'm a third year student at Univ. of Mississippi Med school. My husband and I are trying to decide when to start a family (as if there was a good time).

The main problem is that there are few resources for us to learn about how other women have done it. It is great to hear other people's stories!

Thanks!

Hi! I will be an MS1 at AZCOM this fall. I turn 30 the day before classes start! My husband and I have been married 4 years, we don't have any kids yet. We want to adopt, but I have no idea how difficult it is to do that with one parent in school.
I graduated from Smith College in 1994, and have been going to school pretty much non-stop since then! I have an MBA from U. of Phoenix, and my med. school pre-requisites from colleges in Kansas and in New Orleans.

I am very interested in children's medical issues and would like to do some work with institutionalized kids both domestically and internationally.

I am at my wits end organizing a 5K walk for Kidsave International that is this weekend!

I received a huge packet with information on a bunch of student and professional org's. I am curious which org.'s many of you either belong to now, or belonged to as a medical student.

Thanks

Hello Everyone,

I'm Kim and I'll be applying to combined MD/PhD programs next summer (2003). I am a 35year-old divorced mother of 1 (Bria - 5Y) and currently a Pre-doctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute. I was recently told by one MD/PhD program administrator that I would be 50 years-old before I fully complete my training. My response was that I plan to be 50 anyway so I might as well be an MD/PhD as well!!!

I'd love to hear from others who plan careers in medical research as physicians and Mothers/Physicians with careers in research.

Kim

I just found this great sight! As you can tell from my display name, it's Kate. I'm 30...just crossed into that threshold last week. Married with an 8 year old son. I'm in the military...a flight surgeon in fact. I get to fly in F-16's all the time. It's exciting but not something I want to do for the rest of my life. I originally started out wanting to go into ENT but since being a flight surgeon and getting used to 730 to 5 hours and weekends off I am having trouble deciding what to do with myself now. FP? ENT? Gen Surgery? Who knows. I consider myself still recovering from the sleep deprivation I endured last year as a surgery intern. Plus what about more kids?