When Am I Going To Study For The Boards???

I graduated from residency in 2005, and took the boards. I did a Med/Peds combined program, so I took both the pediatric and medicine boards back-to-back. Somehow, I managed to pass both.

But. It’s now fast approaching 2015, and board re-certification looms. Granted, this time around it’s “only” the Medicine boards. But.

Given how much I already have to cram into a day, when the hell am I going to study???

I had this plan that I would purchase the most popular board review materials in the online as well as print versions, and work in about a chapter a week, which would bring me to completion around March, with the boards being in April.

And I had definitely planned to take a whole week off from work in March, and attend an in-person boards review course, to freshen up.

Well, it took me several months to simply find the time to get online and order the damn review materials in the first place. I blew almost 1000$ on those. They arrived, a box of books weighing about fifty pounds, that sits, unopened, on my floor.

I managed to sign up for the refresher course. I hit click and spent 1500$ just like that.

At least these expenses are tax-deductible…

So far, I have found ZERO minutes to pull out the books or log in online to start studying. Where does my time go?

I work four half-days a week. or, more accurately, I see patients four half days a week. Then I spend several hours documenting/ billing/ reviewing and reporting results/ calling patients/ visiting inpatients. I’m usually running to get home at a decent hour by the end of the day.

I know my priorities differ from most. I put eating and sleeping well and exercise at the waaaaay top of the list, well behind cleaning house, running errands… studying for the boards.

And we try, really try, to prioritize our family and community involvement.

This past two weeks, we’ve been invited to or hosted several events; family, church, community. Warm, healthy, fun events. Nurturing our connections to our extended family, our church, and our community, is as important to us as nurturing our children. After all, regardless of your politics, it does take a village. We try to give, and we hope to get back. Our children will benefit.

But we often miss events. A few weeks ago, I absolutely killed myself to rush out of work a few hours earlier than usual and high-tail it over to my daughter’s school for a Parent- Teacher Organization Meeting. Then, the whole meeting was about setting up more meetings, in order to plan a whole series of school events. I realized, as I sat there cry, very quietly, that I would never be able to make it to even half of the events, never mind the meetings to plan the events. I bowed out of that committee.

So, we pick and choose. Or, take turns. Hubby goes to some school things, Nana others, and I step in when I can. I was the one who made it to our son’s Parent-Teacher Conference night last week. But for the most part, I think we aren’t going to be the parents that get all involved with the schools.

We try to make it to church things and family things… We try.

So already we can’t manage to be fully engaged. How do I fit in boards study?

How, indeed… Most nights, realistically, I have about twenty to thirty minutes of down-time after the kids go to sleep, before I am totally incoherent. That’s usually the time I reserve to write a quick blog post, or read a Parent’s magazine article or leaf through Cook’s Illustrated. My brain is usually a bit fried by that hour.

But I think that’s going to have to become Boards Study time. I’ll pile all the magazines in the bathroom, and set those books right up here on the bedside table.

Occasionally, I get in a blog post at work. I feel terribly guilty when colleagues walk by my workstation and see NOT the electronic medical record, but rather, WordPress or Blogger, and me typing away like my life depended on it, because I know I’ve got exactly twenty minutes before I have to run out the door.

Blogging may have to take a backseat for awhile. Of course, there is the consideration that blogging is somewhat therapeutic for me. And, very good suggestions come my way through this blog.

I guess we’ll have to see what works… And pray that I pass the boards, because it cost a pretty penny to register for the test, as well….