Hey friends! Med school is back in session for us, and it’s reminding me of when we first moved to the east coast for Matt’s master’s program and eventually med school. There were so many unknowns, and I was desperate for resources and connections with others who were on this med school journey with me, so I scoured the internet. I found some blogs written by those both in the medical field and those #marriedtomedicine, and in the past few years have found some other great resources as well. Today I’m sharing some of favorite resources for those of you with a spouse or family member in medicine. I hope they are encouraging and helpful to you, and I would love to know if you have any other resources I should know about!

Disclaimer: I do not necessarily agree with all perspectives in these blogs/resources, but have generally found them to be helpful and encouraging!

Blogs

Surgeon Wife Life – I found Ann Marie’s blog last year and she is definitely one of my favorite bloggers! Her hubby is an orthopedic surgeon and she lives in the PNW (lucky duck!). She blogs about everything from momhood to home do-overs and the ups and downs of being a doc wife, and I love that she doesn’t sugarcoat anything. I have chatted with her many times on social media and she is SUCH a sweetheart. Be sure to follow her on instagram for pics of her cute kiddos.

DocWife – Theresa has SO many helpful tips for medical spouses. She blogs a lot about finances, but really is a wealth of information about a lot of things. I liked her post “15 non-rosy realities about being married to a doctor” because it’s a healthy dose of reality for people who are just starting out on the journey or who don’t know much about it.

Balance and Beauty – I don’t know how Allison has such a cute blog while she’s an anesthesiology intern, but it’s adorable. She has everything from “a day in the life” of different rotations, to travel and fashion tips. Check out her instagram too!

The Mrs Behind the MD –  This blog hasn’t been updated recently, but it still has really good info about protecting your marriage in medical school and beyond! I loved this post called “Choose love” because it’s a great reminder of how we are called to love our spouse even when it’s hard and we don’t feel like it.

The White Coat Wife – I really enjoy Kristen’s honest, faith-based perspective on being a spouse to a medical student and parenting during this season. Her latest post, “Defining the ‘hard’ of Medical School” was challenging because it opened my eyes to some not-so-fun things in the medical journey, but was also encouraging because I know that there are others out there who are going through the same thing!

Dating a DO: Explaining Osteopathy – I’ve found this blog post to be super helpful as my husband is a DO student rather than an MD student and it can be difficult to explain the difference. If you’re curious about the differences, please check out this post, it’s very educational!

Podcasts/Vlogs

Married to Doctors – The Married to Doctors podcast was one of the first resources I found online, and it has been a huge blessing to me and many other medical spouses I know. Lara covers so many different topics with the guest she invites on the show, from finding your voice as a doctor’s wife, to feeling rooted in a temporary home, to waiting for Match Day. I love Lara’s humility and how she invites people with many different perspectives and from different stages of the medical journey. Next month I will be a guest writer on Lara’s blog, so make sure to follow her!

Student Doctor Thompson – My husband actually showed me this vlogger towards the beginning of our marriage when I was stressed about the time commitment that medical school requires and how he would manage his priorities. Student doctor Thompson’s video Married with children in med school gave me so much hope, because he talked about how he maintains his priorities of being a husband first, dad second, and student third even though the time he spends on each of them isn’t always proportionate. He has a lot of great videos and sometimes brings in his sassy wife Carlie too, which I love.

Books/Publications

Prescription for the Doctor’s Wife – I really appreciated this devotional-style book by Debby Read, who is the co-director of the Christian Medical and Dental Association ministry. I reviewed the book in this blog, and would recommend checking it out if you’re looking for some encouragement from a faith-based perspective.

Physician Family Magazine – This is a great resource for people at any stage of the medical journey, and it’s free! It has quarterly publications in addition to blog posts throughout the year on a variety of topics. And yours truly has an article in the Fall 2019 issue!

Love in the Time of Medical School – While I haven’t read this book yet, it’s definitely on my list as several other bloggers have recommended it. It has nearly all 5 star reviews on Amazon and looks like it’s a great resource for those with SOs in medical school! Several readers said it was a great book for any couple to read.

Groups

Side by Side – Side by Side is a ministry of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) and has chapters across the nation. It is a bible study for female significant others of those in medicine and dentistry at any stage. I have been so blessed to be part of this group and have made some great friends in my local chapter! Check out the facebook page to see if there is a chapter near you.

Student Doctor Network Spouse Group – This group is a subgroup of the Student Doctor Network, which pretty much every medical student I know has looked at for one thing or another. The spouse group is a forum to research what the journey is like as well and ask questions and get advice from other spouses.

Lives of Doctors Wives Facebook group – This facebook group has wives from all stages of medicine. There is everything from pictures of doctor spouses collapsed in weird places after their shift, to advice for buying a house for residency, to ideas for gifts for graduation. There are a lot of perspectives on here so you may not agree with everything, but for some things it can be helpful and provide some humor.

If you’re in this crazy journey of medical school with a spouse or family member, I hope this resource list was helpful for you! I would love to hear about your medical journey or any questions you have, so please shoot me a message if you want to connect!