Clerkship Survival Tips

Hi, my name is Eva! My husband is in the army and will graduate in 2015. As he starts his "fourth" year (from January of MSIII to graduation), we are really enjoying the post-clerkship period. Third-year rotations were challenging for both of us. He was gone for 4 rotations (or 20 weeks), and even when he was around, he needed to devote most of his non-hospital time to studying for shelf exams and Step 1. Fourth-year rotations have (so far!) been much lighter in terms of hours at work as well as the amount of studying that needs to be done in the evenings.

As I look back over the last year of rotations, I thought it might be helpful to give some tips about how to survive the clerkship year:

Plan! Picking rotations as part of the lottery is challenging. I work full-time and was only able to do short visits for any away rotations, so my husband and I wanted to maximize his local rotations. We factored in what times of year he wanted to be local (summer more than winter!), what other people in his class wanted to do (to avoid wasting points trying to get "expensive" rotations), in what order he wanted to do his rotations (he wanted to do the rotations he was most interested in last), and which bases/programs he wanted to see because he was thinking about them for residency. 
I also highly recommend having both of you attend the lottery info session that the SSC will host. There's a LOT of good information that the SSC has put together over the years.
 
Stay on top of paperwork. My husband did all the travel paperwork himself, but I made sure to send him any government credit card bills immediately so we always paid off the card. The government card is in the student's name so you need to be prepared to pay this off (and it can get expensive if you're gone for multiple rotations) even if there are delays in getting reimbursed. Also, you are eligible for Family Separation Allowance if you are apart for more than 30 days, but you have to file manually for this.
 
Visiting: If you visit, be prepared to entertain yourself. I visited for my husband's rotations in Tacoma, Hawaii, and San Diego (I skipped Fort Hood). These were all great, really fun places to visit, but I was usually only around for a weekend so we were able to see the cities together. When I was there on a weekday, my husband's schedule was not conducive to spending much time together. He had to go to bed fairly early to be ready to go to the hospital in the morning, then he worked all day, and then he had to study at night. 
If you are going to be visiting during the week, make sure you have a plan for how you'll spend your time. Also, most of the hotels he stayed at were on bases and there wasn't much to do within walking distance. You're not allowed to use the students' rental cars, so you also need a plan for how to get to all the fun activities you have planned for yourself to do!
 
Be flexible. This really applies in multiple ways. First, rotations are never final until you're actually doing them! My husband had one additional rotation in San Antonio that was cancelled and moved to Walter Reed. This worked fine for us, but some of the other people who needed to move back had issues with housing in Bethesda or personal commitments in San Antonio. You need to be prepared for a rotation to get moved/cancelled/etc. 

Also, be prepared to be flexible about what specialty your student chooses. My husband had a general interest when he started, then he switched to something else, then back again, then onto a new specialty, and now I think he's finally decided (in March of the next year!) It can be a little frustrating and nerve-wracking, but just remember that they will choose a specialty eventually and that almost everyone goes through this.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask me or anyone else in the SSC - the SSC is an invaluable resource! 

Eva has been elected as Treasurer for the 2014-2015 term. 

Tips for flying Space A

Hi All! My name is Eva Burns. I'm the president of the SCC. This photo is of my husband Sam (MS2, Army, no prior) and me in front of the Louvre in Paris on Christmas Eve.
Have you ever wanted to fly Space-A, but were too nervous to try it? Here are some tips and tricks I just learned.
Over the holiday break Sam and I flew Space-A from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) to Ramstein AFB (RMS), and then trained into Paris for our vacation. For those of you who don't know, the term "Space-A" refers to the open seats on military flights that aren't being occupied by military personnel on duty. The "A" stands for available. Essentially you are able to fly for free using these open seats. However there are a few rules, and there are never any guarantees. Here's a break down of what I learned...
Locations:
The first thing you want to do is figure out where you want to go, and if there is a base nearby that will fly to that particular location.

Timing:
Once you know where you want to go, you've got to figure out when the flights are. Duh. Easier said than done though. Flights are not posted publicly until 72 hours prior to take off. However, you can go in person to the check in counter, show your military ID, and get a flight schedule. Schedules for the following month become available on the 15th of every month. (For example, February's flight schedule will be available January 15th.) The Air Mobility Command (AMC) you visit in person will only have the departures and arrivals for their base. (For example, BWI schedule only showed when and where flights were leaving, and when and where they were returning.) When I visited BWI I could not get a schedule for returning flights from Ramstein. There were arrival times for Ramstein, and with a little math I could guess as to when flights were leaving Ramstein. To get exact times though I called Ramstein a few days prior to the days I wanted to fly home to get exact times. The flight schedules indicate the time you have to be marked present at the airport (I'll get more into that under logistics), not when the plane actually takes off. Departure time is about two to three hours later. At the time you call to confirm flight times (remember that can only be done 72 hours in advance), the number of seats available for Space-A travel will also be indicated. I think each AMC has it's own Facebook page that updates flight times and Space-A, but for me it was just easier to call. Contact info can be found on the map link above by clicking on a specific AMC.
Flexibility:
The hard thing about Space-A is that although it's free, you cannot reserve your seats on the flight. I can't stress enough how important it is to be flexible with your travel dates. For our trip, Sam signed up for two weeks of leave. Our plan was to only be in Europe for about a week, but we wanted to have a cushion on either side so incase we didn't get on our first choice of flights, we had back up flights we could still take. And just incase you get stuck at your destination, it's a good idea to make sure you have enough money in the bank to buy a plane ticket home. Another point on being flexible, is hotel reservations. I booked our hotel for the two weeks we could be in Paris, but I made sure I knew what their cancellation policy was. I was pretty sure we were going to get on our first choice flight, but just incase we didn't I had the hotel's info handy so I could email them right away to delay our check in date. Then once we got to the hotel, I amended our check out date to an earlier day. Other than reserving our hotel, we didn't make any other reservations or concrete plans. We tried to approach the whole vacation with an easy going attitude. We kept telling ourselves if we make it over there, great! If not, then that's ok too. The only time being flexible really cost us was with train tickets. When I had done my initial research about training into Paris (via Stuttgart, Germany) from Ramstein, I had looked up ticket prices a few months in advance. The total cost was about 240 euros for the both of us round trip. However I couldn't buy the tickets at the time because, of course, I had no idea if we were actually going to make it over there at all. All of our train tickets were bought the day of or the night before and totaled, for the both of us round trip, about 660 euros. This was an unexpected cost. I had assumed the ticket prices would go up, but I was not expecting them to be that high. With that said though, had I known the train tickets were going to be that high in advance, I still would have done the trip. That is still half the amount of one plane ticket to Europe. To me it was worth it. When I got home I looked into Eurail Passes, but we wouldn't have saved any moola with one. Just be aware that flexibility can sometimes cost more.
Logistics:
The way you get a seat on Space-A all depends on your priority level. Your priority is determined by two factors, Category Level and when your spouse submits their leave form. If you are traveling with your spouse on vacation, you guys will be Category III. For a list of all 6 categories, go here. The sooner the leave form is in, the higher priority you will be within your category. Once your spouse is on leave, they can submit their leave form via e-mail, fax, snail mail, or sign up on line. We submitted via email. That seemed like the most reliable way. (Contact info can be accessed via the map link above.) Three important things: 1. Submit the leave form as soon as leave starts, i.e.12:01 am that day. 2. Submit the leave form to both AMC's at that time, so in our case Sam emailed BWI and RMS at the same time. 3. In the email indicate all travelers and passport numbers (if flying internationally) and that you plan to fly round trip. If you only send your sponsor's leave form then only one seat will be indicated for them.
It is crucial that you are present and accounted for by check in time (the time indicated on all the flight schedules). I was universally told to allow about an hour to check in. You don't need to get to the airport super early to check in thinking that will give you a higher priority. Remember, your priority within your category was already determined when your sponsor submitted their leave form. Checking in just lets them know that you are there and that you want to be on the next flight if there is room. At both airports it only took 5 minutes to check in, but I would much rather have a cushion of time than miss the check in time. At check in you need to present military IDs, leave form, and passport (for international travel). If you are not accounted for before check in time, you move to the bottom of the list for that flight. About a half hour after check in time roll call is taken. This is when you find out if you've made the flight or not. If you are not present when they call your name at roll call, you move to the bottom of the list. At BWI we were told that we made the flight as soon as we were marked present, and didn't have to wait around for roll call. At RMS Sam was number 34 out of 98 sponsors. (There were over 200 passengers though because almost all sponsors had dependents with them.) Once you are cleared to get on the flight things proceed much like normal air travel. You check your bags (here's a link on baggage requirements) and get paper tickets at the check in counter, then you go through TSA security (just like normal airport stuff - pull out your laptops, body scanners, shoes off, 3oz liquids, etc.), then you wait at the gate.
Planes:
We are really lucky to have BWI as our closest AMC because they only use commercial planes there. (I think the only other AMC that exclusively uses commercial planes in the US is Travis AFB in California.) Our flight over was on a plush plane chartered by Delta. Everyone had their own TV with a billion TV shows and movies to choose from. The flight back was chartered by World airlines. The plane was so old it still had ashtrays. There were movies playing on monitors mounted throughout the cabin. Each flight provided two hot meals and lots of snacks and beverages. If you choose to fly out of another base you could be on any sort of military plane. Cargo planes included. If that's the case, I've heard a space blanket is must to have in your carryon luggage because it gets cold! Here's a link to AMC Space-A. If you look on the lower righthand side you'll see a list of common planes flown for Space-A.
Other Tidbits:
Long term parking is only $8 at BWI. On actual AFB though I think it's free.
International flights aren't exactly free. You do have to pay a tax. $16 each for both us going over, and $32 each for each of us on the way back.
I heard that you had to wear closed toe and closed healed shoes on all flights. This wasn't a problem because we travelled during winter.
One of the reasons our trip was a success was because we were flying into Europe when most people stationed in Germany were trying to fly into the States. And vice-versa on our return trip. (We traveled December 22 and 29.) If you travel at all during the summer, I've been told to expect delays. On both flights everyone who checked in made the flight. Each flight had about 230 spots available, and were full. We also chose to fly on the weekend because there are always more spots available Saturday and Sunday.

For the most part, you can't fly without your sponsor. So if you're thinking of jetting off to Tokyo while they are on rotations, sorry to break it to you, but you can't. (Can you tell I thought about this?) The only time a dependent can fly without their sponsor is when the their sponsor is stationed overseas, and the dependent is flying back to the States.
I just wanted to let all of you with children know that their were lots and lots of kids on each flight. So this can definitely be done with little ones in tow.
Our hotel in St. Augustine neighborhood in Paris was owned by the French military and can only be used be officers of Allied Forces. It was a pretty good deal. We had a view of the Eiffel Tower and a balcony, and it was in a great location, but the room itself was dingy. It was probably really nice about 20 years ago. I mention it though because they have locations all over the world, and might be good options when traveling. However, if I could do it over, I would have rented an apartment off craiglist. Lots of great deals there, just something to consider.
Last, but certainly not least, make copies! Bring copies of your sponsor's leave form and of your military ID's and passports. But most importantly, bring copies of the email sent to the AMC you plan on traveling to and from. Just in case your email doesn't go through, or gets lost in the shuffle, or deleted, or whatever, you want to have a copy of the time stamp of when your email was sent as that is how you get your priority level.
Well, that's about all I can think of for Space-A travel. I hope this inspires you to take advantage of this amazing (free!) opportunity and see the world! I'm by no means an expert on this, as I've only done it once, so I encourage you to call the AMC you plan on flying out of if you have specific questions. (I would sometimes call several times and ask the same question to different people until I actually got a clear answer.) I'm happy to answer questions too. Just email me at ususscpresident@gmail.com.
Happy travels!

Making Time for Family

By far one of the hardest things for students to do is balancing school and family. My husband Eamon is now in his fourth year here at USU, and every year our plan for “making family time” has changed. When he started med school, we had our oldest daughter was just six months old. Our second daughter was born over Winter Break of his second year. We have had to work out how to get time with each other as a couple as well as making sure he gets time with the girls.

We have found three things really help us: communication, scheduling, and “date night.” We started talking about how Eamon was going to schedule his week before classes even started his first year. I am a planner, and I like to know what’s coming up. Even if you are not usually a planner, I cannot stress how important communicating about your schedules is! I could share some of what worked for our schedule, but you have to find what works for you and your student. Discuss what your expectations are and what your student’s study needs are... and keep open lines of communication for when these expectations and needs change throughout the year. We came up with a general outline of what the week would look like, and then each week we talked about if something might be different (an exam maybe). In general, Eamon started his day EARLY (he has ALWAYS been an early bird), studied before class, came home in time for dinner with us, and studied more after dinner (sometimes at home, sometimes not). Then, he would take one full weekend day “off” for family time (except sometimes around exams).  Again, this is what worked for us. Some of our friends have flexible schedules that change every day, and some have little or no family time during the week in favor of more weekend time. Most importantly, we always have “date night” on Friday nights (usually entails sitting on our couch chatting or watching a movie because we don’t have/want to pay a babysitter). “Date night” is BY FAR one of the things that has really helped us stay connected and get through these years as a team.  Whether your dates are going out or staying in, whether they are a whole day or just an hour, try to get at least one in a month.

So, this was all a great system for us... then Eamon started rotations. O, boy, was that a tough transition! The hours are crazy and can change every day. Sometimes they think they will be home “for sure” for dinner... only to text at dinner saying they don’t know when they will be done. It is really tough to “schedule” this. Because we now have two kids, evenings get pretty hectic. We decided on a “cut-off” time for keeping the girls up at night. If I haven’t gotten a call/text from him by 6:15 saying he is on his way home (we only live two miles from school), I put them to bed at the normal time. So, there are now days when Eamon doesn’t see them, which he definitely does not like. BUT, we have come up with other ways to keep him and the girls “connected.” If he knows that he won’t see them on a day, he will make a short video to say hi to them and email it to me. He will also try to call around bedtime if he can... or even better Skype/FaceTime. I also send him pictures or short videos of them throughout the week. We also do these tech-y things a lot when he is on an away rotation. As for us as a couple, we definitely do not get as many “date nights” now, but we still try for one every week. Last year, Eamon still had to study a lot on the weekends and at nights, but we tried for at least a half day on the weekend as a family.
If what you are doing doesn’t seem to be working or are just starting out, ask around for what works for other people. I have gotten some great suggestions and advice from my fellow spouses in the SSC. Their experiences are invaluable, and they are always willing to share! See you all at the September meeting!

Written by: Sara Keleher

First Year Spouses - What to Expect

Firstly, Welcome to USUHS…

It’s important to remember that every student and every partner or spouse will have a different experience at USUHS and whatever you feel is normal and ok. Here are just a few thoughts from my experience so far…

For most people, whether new to the military or not, starting medical school and moving to a new city will be a big life change. However there are some major advantages to studying medicine at USUHS rather than other medical schools… for one, the salary! OK it’s not going to make you rich but it is pretty amazing to be paid to study to have a basic housing allowance and living expenses covered, and to finish medical school debt free! ( For my husband and I it was a life saver. I moved to DC from Ireland and was waiting for my visa so I couldn’t work here, but him being paid meant that I could stay here with him instead of having to stay in Ireland and work for the year! So we are very grateful for this.)

As well as the salary, free medical care from Tricare for student and dependents is great! Also prescriptions are filled for free. The USUHS Family Health Clinic on base is convenient and the staff are very efficient. Dental costs a little extra for dependents but it’s worth it. There is a great gym on base with an Olympic size pool and lots of classes - and the best bit is it’s free! So no excuses guys! Other advantages are the military and student discounts! Look out for a full feature on these discounts in later blogs. Movie theaters and restaurants often offer discounts, so don’t forget to ask wherever you go! The movies at Montgomery Mall offer free entry with your military ID and lots of retail shops eg: footlocker, pottery barn also offer discount. And don’t forget shopping on the bases at the Commissary and the Exchange and gas stations are tax free.

You may need to make some adjustments in your routines in order to accommodate the busy schedule your student will have. First year is demanding on them physically and emotionally. There are long hours - the early mornings were the hardest for me. But I know lots of people like getting up and at it with the sunrise so maybe it’s not so bad. The students will have regular exams - it works out about a week of exams every 4 weeks or so, be prepared to have some times when you won’t see much of your student! There may be times of stress and anxiety for the student because of school or for you because you feel a bit neglected or isolated but remember to keep talking to each other - keep the lines of communication open and make time for your relationship even if it’s just getting a coffee at Starbucks or going for a walk. We made a deal that my husband would try to keep one weekend day free so that I could plan something fun and go somewhere - (there are tones of fun things to do in DC and the surroundings for free!). Honestly it didn’t always work out, sometimes - especially weekends before exams - our date day would have to be postponed, but I probably got 2-3 a month which isn’t bad! I think as long as you are flexible and tolerant and keep talking to each other - then you can make it work and have your needs met.

Students sometimes find it difficult to adjust to the workload and the expectations on them. For example, they are usually used to being the top of their class in whatever their previous studies were and now they are in a class full of exceptional people. However the school is very supportive of it’s students (because it has such high standards for entry) and will do whatever it takes to support them to get through their education.

Don’t forget the Student Spouses Club! It’s a wonderful resource for you because it gives you instant access to friends and other people who understand what is going on for you.

So in conclusion, it’s going to be a year of highs and lows and BIG change for you and your partner but hopefully it will also be a really positive experience. Just remember that you are not alone and there is always somebody else feeling similar things to you, so get involved and make the most of your USUHS experience.

Written by: Emma Matthews