interview wrap up

November 13

We embarked on a month-long interview road trip in November. We were excited and nervous. Mitch's first few interviews went really well, but we didn't know what to expect with the rest of them. The interview trail went as follows:

Wichita, KS (OB/GYN) - Nov. 14
Denver, CO (Family) - Nov. 15
Denver, CO (OB/GYN) - Nov. 16
Pocatello, ID (Family) - Nov. 19
Ogden, UT (Family) - Nov. 21
Reno, NV (Family) - Nov. 30
Provo, UT (Family) - Dec. 3
Salt Lake City, UT (Family) - Dec. 11
Cheyenne, WY (Family) - Dec. 13

Each of the programs had a social dinner as part of their interview. I was able to go with Mitch to most of the dinners and a few of the interviews. The girls were even able to come to a couple of the dinners with us. It was great that I was able to see the different programs and the potential areas we may live.

The first couple of interviews we were definitely stressed with timing. We drove from Louisville to Wichita and got there shortly before the dinner. We had some delicious bar-b-q and met a resident that reminded us of Mitch's sister, Elyse. The next day Mitch had his interview until about noon. I had the van all ready to go and when he was done we immediately headed to Denver. We made it to the dinner in Dener, but were about 20 or so minutes late. The next day the girls and I hung out in the hotel while Mitch was at his interview and his dinner for the interview on the following day. The second day in Denver the girls and I ventured out and were able to go to the Hammond's Candies factory. After Mitch finished up his interview, we picked him up and headed to Utah.

A couple of days after arriving in Utah, Mitch and I headed to Idaho for another interview. We decided to leave the girls with Mitch's parents. It was our first night kid-free since having kids! During Mitch's interview I had some me time (which is also quite rare). I read for a while, went to lunch by myself and explored a little bit of Pocatello.

A day later Mitch and I stayed in Ogden for the night for his interview there. This time we left the girls with my mom. We were taken to a nice dinner. Really nice dinner. $25 a plate dinner. And it was delicious! We stayed in a nice hotel close to the restaurant and a movie theater. After dinner Mitch and I saw the last Twilight movie. The next day we went to his interview (I was actually able to be a part of the interview day). When Mitch had his actual interviews I went on a tour of Ogden with one of the resident's wives and then went to lunch.

 

Crazy huge bathtub in our Pocatello room.

 

 

 

 

Mitch and I walking to dinner in Ogden.

(Not the greatest picture, but we never take pictures of the two of us)

 

My AMAZING salmon.

The watermelon avocado salad was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

 

 

Mitch's steak.

It looks so pretty!

 

 

That was a crazy stretch of interviews! Mitch had a week off from interviews, which he was grateful for. The interviews took a lot out of him. Next up was Reno. Mitch turned this into a guy's trip so he could spend some time with his friends. They all drove to Reno together and the guys hung out while Mitch was at his interview stuff. After the interview they had a day to play.

 

Following Reno, was Utah Valley in Provo. This was my last interview to go to. I was a part of the whole interview day and actually sat in on a couple of the interviews. During lunch, I went out with a couple of the resident's wives and one of the residency assistants. We went to another great restaurant. That night we were able to go to dinner with a couple of resident's, their wives, and the other applicants. During the couple of hours between the interview and dinner we headed to the BYU bookstore. Nothing like college students looking young to you to make you feel old!

Mitch's last interview before leaving Utah was at St. Mark's hospital in Salt Lake. It was the day before we were leaving, so I spent the day getting us ready to go. Mitch interviewed the first half of the day, then the residency took the applicants snowboarding/skiing, followed by dinner.

On our drive back to Kentucky we had one interview stop and that was Cheyenne. Mitch went to the dinner and the interview while the girls and I hung out at the hotel. The girls and I did go to lunch before picking up Mitch.

After the first spurt of interviews, I think we were thinking that he would be doing OB/GYN. The first two family medicine programs really didn't have what Mitch was looking for. We really liked the program and the people in Wichita! But, then we went to Pocatello. And we were blown away. It's a family medicine program with fantastic OB experience. Then we went to Ogden. And we had low expectations, but were pleasantly surprised. More than pleasantly surprised. It was a total game changer. Like Pocatello, it has great OB experience. After these two interviews, we changed from OB/GYN to family medicine specializing in OB. These programs offer exactly what Mitch had been wanting. The remaining interviews went just as well and left Mitch with a lot of options, with some definite stand outs.

Since being home, we have been in contact with some of the programs asking questions and letting them know we're definitely interested.

Overall, the interview process has been full of ups and downs. We have been so excited, but also stressed and full of anxiety. But in the end, I think it has been a good experience. We were able to find programs that fit Mitch perfectly. We were able to eat a lot of great food, meet wonderful people and given so many gifts from the programs!

The next step is submitting his rank list. It's basically set, but we have a few tweeks to still do. The rank list needs to be submitted by February 20th. Then we just wait. We wait for match day (March 15), which is the day we find out which program Mitch matches to. And match day can't come soon enough!