That’s right! My dream has come true! All of the hard work has finally paid off. I have matched into a categorical pediatric position at Geisinger Health in Danville, PA!!! I know I have been on a bit of a hiatus from posting about my journey, but the match process is a lengthy one and I wanted to ensure that things turned out well before I shared information about process. I have lots of great posts planned such as tips for matching into a pediatrics program, components of the ERAS application, interview tips, and more!
First, a little about this wonderful program that I matched to! Geisinger is an enormous health care system in central Pennsylvania. They’ve got 27 residency programs and 21 fellowship programs making it a real hub for tertiary care. The hospital is just shy of 600 beds, has a 5 helicopter emergency trauma program, and contains my new home - the Janet Weiss Children’s Hospital! The children’s hospital has every subspecialty for pediatrics you can think of! From pediatric trauma to pediatric neurosurgery to a dedicated child abuse unit, there isn’t much that can’t be handled at the hospital. Though the hospital is in the small town of Danville, it has a catchment area of over 3 million people as it’s the only facility of it’s type in the area.
I will be spending my next three years there at minimum completing my training in pediatrics. I am super excited for the awesome education that I know I will receive there! I fell in love with Danville on my interview day. It was the first interview I went on and it was in the middle of October. I drove there from Chicago and was so enchanted by the rolling hills and beautiful colors of the changing leaves! The fresh air and small friendly feel was such a welcomed change from Chicago. It really reminded me of home, more than any place in the US I have been thus far. Patrick and I love to mountain bike and hike and there will be lots for us to do there! I am taking a trip there next week with my mom and my mother in law to look for apartments since Patrick is really busy with rotations right now and can’t get away. We’ll be moving at the end of May and I’ll be starting up shortly after that! For my colleagues, please stay tuned for lots more posts about the match process, and if you have questions or suggestions for blog topics feel free to email me as always at drnicolefox@gmail.com
Thanks for reading and congratulations to all of my friends who had a successful match season! This year was one of the best for our school and I am proud to be a part of it!
