Stripped

Believe it or not, there is one thing about not matching in a fellowship that is almost as bad as not matching in the first place.

As a resident, I am required to be at work a minimum amount of time over the course of a given time period. This sort of goes without making any explanation as to why; it's obvious. That is why even the ladies in the throws of residency have to be careful about their vacation planning when expecting.

I was told initially that we were "allotted" a certain amount of days for interviews and related activities when needed. What was never specified was how much. Apparently it was far less than the number of days I required for interviews. So, at one point, my boss says to me, "What are we going to do about all these interviews and your time off?"

I wanted to say, "I don't know, deal with it I guess." But that wasn't enough. After further discussion with someone higher on the chain, it was decided I needed to go on these interviews but that my remaining vacation time for the year would be used up. There was even speculation that vacation during my chief year would have to be used. Thank God that last part didn't happen.

So the worst part?  I now know I really can't take any vacation until the next interview season. That's near to ten months without any vacation.

Ten, long, months. And interviews are anything but vacation.