Staying in Dominica!

A couple of days ago we found out some exciting news about our next step in our med school journey with Ross: we'll be staying here in Dominica for fifth (next) semester!

Charlie and I have loved living here since day one and have always talked about staying here for fifth semester.  The options were to move to Saginaw, Michigan, or Miramar, Florida for three months, or to stay in Dominica.  Because of all the moving we will have to do in the future depending on our placements for rotations and residency, we thought an extra semester here in Dominica sounded ideal - we could stay settled, enjoy an extra few months in beautiful Dominica, and Charlie will gain some extra hands on experience in the hospital here.  

During fifth semester, Charlie will go to Princess Margaret Hospital in Roseau three to four days a week and work with the doctors there.  He will also be studying for the Step 1 USMLE (U.S. Medical Licensing Exam) during fifth semester, which he will hopefully take before mid-November.  This test is a big deal because it's what will be used to compare Charlie to U.S. medical students.

So here's what the next few months looks like for us:

• May to August: Fifth Semester in Dominica

• Mid-May: Take the COMP (huge test that's Ross's version of that USMLE)

• August to mid-November: Move back to the U.S. and study for the USMLE Step 1 

• Mid-November: take the Step 1

• Mid-November - ? : Wait for Step 1 scores and rotation placements

• After that: 2 years of rotation will begin.  We can apply to different programs and ideally, we would be able to stay in one area for most of those two years, but there could also be some moving involved.  We could really end up anywhere!

And that is as far into the future as we can see for now!