My husband is kind of a big deal.

His title, not mine :)  Though I do think he's right!

As I'm sure you remember, there was, of course, a reason for Josh and I to pack up our things, leave our *dream* jobs, and drive out to Music City.  I thought it was high time I highlighted that reason with some blog time.  As it turns out (okay, we really already knew this, we were just good at denying it), embarking on a seven year journey to earn (or support) an MD/PhD from an amazing school like Vanderbilt, is a really big deal.

I mean, we knew we were committed to his education, we knew that Josh would be offered some once in a lifetime educational opportunities here, we knew God was calling, okay, dragging, us out of our comfort zone, but I don't know that either of us really paused to reflect on a) what an honor it would be to join the Vanderbilt family, and b) what a full-time, all the time undertaking earning an MD and a PhD in just seven years would be.  We've now been in Nashville for 16 weeks, and I think we're just barely starting to 'get it.'

Maybe to help commemorate the beginning of Josh's medical career, maybe to honor my husband who has so much to be proud of, maybe just to continue to try to keep you up to date, here's a look into the beginning of medical school!

In light of what a big beginning it was, Vanderbilt, like many other medical schools, hosted a 'White Coat Ceremony' in July, at which point all the medical students are given their fancy 'pre-doctor' doctor coats.  There is something to do with the length of the coat and the importance of the wearer - in general, the longer the coat, the more training they have, I believe.  Josh and I had the privilege of hosting our first Nashville visitors for this important occasion!  Both Josh's parents and grandparents were able to venture to our new city, and we loved having them!  It was so fun to have Josh's grandfather here for the white coat ceremony, as he is also a doctor and shared with us the many things that seem to have changed, but also some of the foundations that will connect Josh with his own Papa's medical training.  When Papa was in medical school, if you were curious, they did not have a white coat ceremony - we decided this was a positive change.

Here is Josh's entire medical school class.  Some would call it the 'Class of 2017', but since Josh will be staying a few extra years for his program in order to earn his PhD, 'Class of 2017' doesn't seem quite right.

Josh officially receiving his white coat!

Here are the eleven students who are a part of the 'MSTP' program like Josh.
They will spend 6-7 years at Vanderbilt earning both MDs and PhDs for medical research.

We are so grateful for this group and the friendships that it has brought.  We have been so encouraged and supported by each of these students.  We cannot wait to see where the next seven years takes each of them and are excited to get to be a part of everyone's journey! 

It was such an honor to be there as Josh's wife, side by side with four of the most influential people in his life.  I can only hope to love and support him as well as you four have for the last twenty-two years!

But medical school isn't all white coats and fancy ceremonies.  We have a comfortable little routine here in our apartment that involves a lot, and I mean a lot, of studying.  There are some nights that I'll crawl into bed around 10pm, he'll sweetly take a break to tuck me in, and when I wake up again at 6am, he'll still be there, studying away.  He tells me he sneaks in beside me and sleeps a few hours before waking up early to get back at it...but I'm such a good sleeper, I'd never know the difference!

Some of my favorite study moments up to this point:

• Josh recently has been learning how to use his ophthalmoscope (aka eye-checker).  We spent an afternoon with the blinds drawn and lights off so that Josh could practice shining a rather bright light in my eyes and adjusting some dial that is supposed to help him focus on the veins in the back of my eye.  No telling what he actually saw, but I don't think I saw right for the rest of the evening.  Turns out, poor Josh's vision is so bad to start with, he seems to be at a disadvantage for checking mine.  We've heard that Belle, Josh's dog left in Denver, makes for a great eye exam...perhaps Josh will learn how to focus his eye-checker over Christmas.
• While preparing for one of his anatomy sessions, Josh kindly took his computer away from the kitchen table so as to spare me from catching a glimpse of the video on his screen.  From my post in the kitchen, all I could see was his face, expressing an unbelievable amount of disgust over whatever it was he happened to be seeing.  I am so thankful he spared me from a chance glance!
• Not too many weeks into his first class block, Josh's coffee mug spilled all over the inside of his backpack.  For days and days afterwards, we had an indescribable amount of pages laid out across our apartment so that his notes wouldn't mold in their little page protectors!  Boy, does this guy take some notes!

 Josh has an exam a week from Thursday, so I will try to snap a few pictures of what it means for this man to actually hunker down and study :)  Think of him and send any spare rest you may be accumulating his way!

Thanks for reading!