13 Dec 2008 Long stretch--done.

Whew. Well, the fifth semester is finished. And none too soon. This semester has been quite interesting. My clinical partner ended up having to withdraw from the semester due to some health circumstances. I feel bad for her.

Because of that, I used Becky as a clinical partner for a couple of things. This provided Becky with some extra insight into the Ross process, and I am pretty sure that she has a better feeling of my frustration.

Here is an example: I used Becky as my patient for a physical exam practical examination. On my regularly scheduled time, both of us think I did a good, worthwhile exam. There wasn't anything major I missed. A couple of things could have been more polished. But, it was a good exam.

For reasons neither of us know, I didn't pass. And, I didn't pass because of things that the examiner said happened that didn't happen as the examiner said. So, got to stay an extra week. Take some remedial lessons in physical exams. And, redo the practical.

Becky was there with me at the redo practical. And, to say I didn't do my best is an understatement. I got off on a tangent at one point, and nearly forgot to do a significant part of the exam. It was a far worse exam than my initial one that I didn't pass. And, instead of losing 30 points this time, I lost 8. I guess it goes to show the differences an examiner can make.

Besides that, most things seem to be going well. We are less than a week away from moving out of Miami. We have a place leased in Torrington, Wyoming. I have a date for the USMLE Step 1--Jan 15. I have a location to do my core clinical rotations at--Scottsbluff, Nebraska. I cannot express how reassuring all of this is at this point. It feels that for the first time in about two years, we have some control over the direction in our lives.

Of course, saying we have direction and a place to live is no small task. As of now, we are 4 months shy of having everything packed up for 2 years. We are driving back to Nebraska over the course of 3 days or so with 3 dogs, packing up a trailer, and high-tailing it to Wyoming so I can continue to study for Step 1.

Big changes are ahead.