I'm a wife, a mom, and a first year medical student at RUSM in Dominica. There are a few moms in my class, mostly to older children, though one has a four and two year old. I did a lot of research prior to starting school, but I could find very little about being a mom in medical school. There are great blogs for Mothers In Medicine, but I only found one, Mrs. Mommy MD, written by a mother going through medical school.
I'm here to lend another voice to the conversation. Moms, I want you to know that your dream is still possible. You can still be the doctor you always dreaming about being. You will get a lot of opinions about going back to school with children. I'm saying you can do it. I'm lucky enough to have the support of my wonderful husband who stays home with our little one, but if you have a support system, anything is possible.
A little bit more about our family. I didn't plan on having a baby prior to medical school. I had applied and was accepted to start medical school in April 2016. Then we found out that I was pregnant. After getting over the shock, I, in my type A personality planned on going ahead and starting despite my pregnancy. My dear husband, in his infinite wisdom, kindly suggested that I defer in order to relax during my pregnancy and for a little while after our pumpkin's birth. His calm head prevailed and our son was born in the fall of last year. Almost four months later, we packed up everything we owned, stored it in my in-laws' basement and with four suitcases and a pack-n-play, moved to the Caribbean.
It was difficult going from being a full-time mama to a full-time student. Up until starting school, I was with him 24/7. I changed most of his diapers, provided all of his meals (hooray for breastfeeding!), and snuggled with him throughout the days. Once school started here, I had to settle him into his daddy's arm, kiss his sweet forehead, say a prayer, then say goodbye. The separation is hard when I have time to stop and think about it. ;) I plan my studying around being home at 5:00 so I can spend a few hours with him until bath time and then bedtime before hitting the books again. Additionally, I'm still breastfeeding, so that means lugging my pump to school and finding time and space to pump throughout the day.
Medical school is hard. Being a mom in medical school is hard. Being away from my precious baby is hard. But when I think about the life that we will have when I am done, I keep pushing. I am showing my son that having a dream means working hard to pursue it and accomplish it.
I am a proud med school mama.
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