Guess who's back?

Firstly, pardon the radio silence for the last 5 years. It's been a doozy and, for the most part, a really shitty experience, which is why I've kept silent on here because I didn't only want to write about doom and gloom.

But now, the light at the end of the tunnel is so freaking bright and I'm less than three months away from being completely done with training.

Most importantly, I'M AN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON!

Graduating residency last summer was so surreal. So many people told me it was never going to happen and the crap I went through in residency made it feel like I wouldn't make it to the end. But I did. And I have the diploma to prove it. It's by far my greatest accomplishment and some days I still can't believe it's true. But it is!

Although I'm technically a full fledged attending with an independent medical license, I'm still not entirely done because I'm in my last year of training finishing up a one-year fellowship. Even though fellowship is so much better than residency, I'm not fully in control of my schedule so I still feel like a trainee. Regardless, it's so incredibly freeing to know that this extra year is totally optional and that I can quit at any point and still have a career as an orthopaedic surgeon. And that freedom makes everything so much better.

So what's next? After I graduate in July, I'm headed back to my hometown to live my best life. I still don't have a job because the job market is super tight in my subspecialty, especially in my hometown, and I've chosen to self-limit my job hunt to that particular area. So after all of this blood, sweat, and tears, I've added on a little bit more anxiety 

Why add the extra stress of joblessness and not expand my job search? Frankly, I'm tired of moving and want to settle down for good. I want to be able to grab dinner with my parents on a Wednesday night instead having to fly to see them. I know that I want to end up in my hometown long-term, so it doesn't make sense to go somewhere else for a couple of years while I keep looking for a job back home. I'd rather stress now and work at Starbucks (as one of my mentors said), than live anywhere else after finishing training.

I have some ideas for Plans B, C, D, and E if the job thing still doesn't work out anytime soon, and will try to share them with y'all. But for now, know that I haven't forgotten about this blog, and that things are really freaking good right now.