It’s Christmas Eve 2008, and I’m spending it on the 10th floor of the Shapiro Center watching over two floors of cardiology patients while looking out at the quiet blanket of snow over Jamaica Plains. It’s not how I would normally envision spending Christmas Eve. But after an entire month of juggling clinical duties in the day with studying for Step III at night, it was a relief that the exam is finally over. The USMLE Step III occurs over two days. Mine took place within the confines of a drab office building just 5 minutes from my apartment. Much of it felt more like a reading test, as each question tries to throw you off with paragraphs of unnecessary information and extraneous red herrings. Sadly, I had little time to celebrate after it was over, as I was back at the hospital for holiday coverage the very next morning. But even as I sit in my call room, answering the string of pages, I feel a sense of relief as I take on my role as a normal intern again.

Despite having 5-days off for Thanksgiving this year, we had little time to enjoy ourselves with Melody’s oral boards and my Step III exam on the horizon. We spent most of Wednesday studying at the NYPL, breaking only briefly for hotdogs from Gray’s Papaya, which sadly, were no longer the deals they used to be. After a big potluck dinner with the extended family on Thanksgiving Day, we drove up to the Woodbury Outlet Mall to battle the crowds. The last time I went there was exactly 8 years ago, when I stocked more than half my wardrobe. This year was no exception, and the hoards of shoppers made it hard to believe that we’re actually in a recession. After more than 10 hours of bargain hunting, we drove home with a trunk full of clothes and an impressive stash of credit card receipts. We concluded the evening with a birthday dinner for my dad, which included a tasty black bass and a platter of walnut shrimps and fried milk. After lugging our heavy bags of goodies back to Boston, we went straight back to work. With little time left to study and no break until March, I anticipate a bleak winter ahead.