Dear MSA Members,                                                                         

At Christmas time one year when I was young, I noticed a card my parents received with a picture of a big family on it about the same age as our family.  I had never seen them and asked my Mom who it was.  She explained to me that when my dad was in medical school at the University of Washington they had become good friends with this family, about 15 years before.  She then showed me other families' cards hanging on our Christmas card tree from friends from that same time in their lives.  They had all become so close during those years that they had basically become friends for life.

Only now can I begin to understand why she was so fond of those people.  I had no idea how much it would mean to me to meet and have close friends who were going through the same medical school experiences.  We have fun together, lean on each other, and keep each other on track.  I feel that MSA can help provide that kind of support and enduring friendships, along with a lot of great opportunities to get involved, learn, serve, and support our spouses.

Once after an exhausting day of taking care of my children and other responsibilities, and not having seen Ben for way too long, and then talking that night with him about something stressful like boards or what kind of doctor to be, I felt like we had it rough.  Surviving together through juggling normal responsibilities with research, studying, constant due-dates, clinicals, extra-curricular activities, and picking a field, seemed like a daily battle that could be overwhelming.  But that night in bed, I started to think about how many people out there have lost their jobs or never made it to college or had a chance to earn an M.D. and I was reminded that we are pretty lucky.  Sometimes we take ourselves, our jobs, too seriously.  It’s good that we have a chance to work hard at something.  I’m grateful that, though it sounds daunting, along with all the work, residency actually brings with it a stable, sure income that’s becoming more and more a luxury in this economy.  It’s okay to laugh sometimes at the crazy things that we do have to face, and to try to make the best of them.  But we can be optimistic about the future and remember the investment of a good education that we are making will be worth it.

These thoughts led me to choosing our theme this year of “Keeping it Light.”  In addition to “not taking ourselves too seriously” as I mentioned above, this theme refers to three other ideas I feel are critical to medical students and their families.  They were mentioned briefly at the opening social.  First, I hope as a group, we can “buoy” each other up and learn to face the challenges of medical school and this profession with optimism and increasingly stronger relationships with our spouses first and foremost, and secondly with our peers.  We can find great friends through the MSA .  We all have good days and bad--times we feel we can do it all, and times we need to lean on others.  We’ll be grateful for the way we strengthen our relationships during these years because it will affect the rest of our lives.  Let’s make it fun together!

Next, the MSA provides a great chance to spread a little “sunshine” through community service opportunities.  This year we have volunteered at the Utah Food Bank and will soon be decorating boxes used to deliver food to people’s homes.  We decorate our own tree for the huge “Festival of Trees” event that raises money for Primary Children’s Hospital.  We also plan to go caroling to patients, and later volunteer at a soup kitchen and put together hygiene kits.  There are also many opportunities to serve within our own numbers.  Illness, death, new babies, away rotations—all of these types of things create the chance to “lighten” someone’s burden or loneliness or whatever it may be just a little.

Finally, the MSA and our national counterparts can help us be involved in and informed about health care legislation.  Through going to the national convention in Washington D.C. and to the meetings at the state level, I have discovered that I have a lot to learn about health care and our future, and that there are no easy solutions to the problems that lie ahead.  I’m grateful for the efforts of many good people to make things they care about happen—whether or not I agree with them.  In health care, we are at a point in time where many reforms are being discussed in Utah and the nation that may begin to take place.  As medical student spouses we are in a unique position, and because there are very few medical student spouse groups in the nation, it is critical that we speak up about the issues we are concerned about for our future.  Marilyn Kezirian from the AMAA who came to our opening social used our University of Utah MSA group and events as an example at the next national conference in her discussion about what student and resident groups can be doing.  Let’s continue to be a part of encouraging the “bright ideas” in health care!

I am grateful for the chance to be involved in the MSA .  I encourage everyone to reach out to others, come to the activities when you can, and get involved as you make the most of these medical school years.  It's going to be an experience we will remember the rest of our lives, and people we will never forget.  As we begin to spread out, I'm planning to send a lot of Christmas cards for many years, along with making phone calls, visiting, and checking blogs.  Year four arrives before you know it.  Good luck to you all!

Best wishes,

Julie Randall