Amy Rakowczyk

Amy Rakowczyk is a medical spouse, mother, writer, singer, and former voice instructor. She currently resides in Galveston, TX with her husband and two young daughters. She enjoys helping other spouses navigate the world of medicine and actively participates in support groups and activities. Her husband is a Family Medicine resident at UTMB Galveston and did his medical training at The Ohio State University. She is an author of a chapter of Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents: The best part of your journey is about to begin (10th Edition)

Medical Families Affected By Hurricane Harvey

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Today I woke up groggy after a night of restless sleep. I tossed and turned thinking about this storm – what has happened and what is yet to come. The devastation is unfathomable and it’s not even over yet.

I live in Galveston, TX and my husband is PGY-2 Family Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). I have grown to absolutely love the people, culture, and the medical community here. Our group of medical families is strong and we have adopted each other like family. I am so incredibly grateful for these friends, especially as we go through this heartbreaking and challenging time together.

Last week when we heard that Hurricane Harvey was coming, it looked like Galveston would be a target. It has been in the past with storms such as Hurricane Ike in 2008. Many people who work in Galveston choose not to live on the island because of the threat of storms. The mainland is supposed to be the safer option. Not this time.

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Division of Labor: How to Keep a Household Running While Your Spouse is In Training

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Medical Spouse

By Amy Rakowczyk, SDN Staff Writer

One of the biggest challenges that arises during medical school is actually all of the non-medical school “stuff”: namely, household duties and chores. How much help can you expect from your spouse in this regard, and how will you divide up the duties?

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How To Make New Friends and Find A Community

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Medical Spouse

If your spouse’s medical studies have recently brought you to a new city, or to a new community within a familiar city, you will need to search for new friends and support groups. Medical school is not about being “strong” and pushing through all the hard stuff. It’s about having people to lean on when the going gets tough.
Building yourself a new community and finding friends, especially those that you hope to be able to share your delightful, as well as dark moments with, is not an easy task. However, it is a necessary one!

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Residency: The Interview and Selection Process

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Medical Spouse

Residency applications! The light at the end of the tunnel, and the process that will chart the course for the next 3+ years of your life and your spouse’s medical career. No big deal, or anything! It is an incredibly exciting time, while also being quite unsettling. Here’s what to expect and how to make it as joyful of a process as possible.

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What to Expect as a Med School Spouse: Years 3 and 4

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Medical Spouse

By Amy Rakowczyk, SDN Staff Writer

With Step 1 completed, and hopefully after a little R&R, your spouse is ready to get out there and try their hard-won knowledge in the clinics! Also coming up, your spouse will be selecting a specialty and starting the process of researching residency programs. They will put their application package together, go through the interview process, rank the programs, and wait for the much anticipated Match Day, then graduation! It will be a lot in a short amount of time, so here’s your breakdown of what to expect!

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What to Expect as a Med School Spouse: Years 1 and 2

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Medical Spouse

By Amy Rakowczyk, SDN Staff Writer

Congratulations! You are now officially a Medical Spouse. This is a highly rewarding, and also a highly challenging role. You’ve undoubtedly heard that “medical school is hard” and that there is a lot of studying and exams ahead. Your spouse is about to embark upon a completely new path, and you as the spouse, are along for the ride. This article is here to help you understand what’s in store so you can prepare yourself for the next two years!

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You and Your Spouse: A Financial Team

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Medical Spouse

Aside from long hours and lots of studying, the other guarantee in medical school is financial stress. Unless you are fortunate enough to have a spouse whose medical education is paid for and you have funds from family or a job that will cover both of your living expenses, you’ll be on a tight budget and accumulating massive amounts of debt. That debt will be large enough to change your financial planning and lifestyle both now and for years to come.

So how do we put ourselves in the best financial position now and plan for the future? And how do we still enjoy life now during these lean years? It’s worth it to start talking about finances now!

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Sustainability: How Your Partnership Can Survive and Flourish During a Medical Education and Career

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Medical Spouse

Happy New Year from Student Doctor Network! I have always loved the beginning of a new year. It’s a time to reflect on the past, look ahead to the future, find a fresh perspective on your life and situation, and create new wishes for yourself and your family going forward. There is an electricity that surrounds us and gives us hope that not only can we achieve what we’re dreaming of, but we can also find more happiness and fun in our lives.

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Not “Ours” Anymore: Sharing Our Doctor Spouses

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Medical Spouse

By Amy Rakowczyk

One thing is certain during medical school: your medical spouse is going to study and work a lot of hours. This is a necessary part of becoming a doctor. They need years of studying, preparing, and training in order to be able to perform the job. The time required means that you, the medical student spouse/partner, will have less time with them. There will be fewer hours when they are available. That is the hard reality.

It’s easy to start thinking about how unfair this is. You are left with gaping holes of time and are by default in charge of all the non-medical school items. You are working harder too, with less support. The unfairness of it can quickly turn into resentment and bitterness.

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How To Start A “Medwives” Support Group

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Medical Spouse

By Amy Rakowczyk, SDN Staff Writer

When my husband and I arrived in our new city of Columbus, Ohio for him to begin his medical training, we didn’t know what to expect, but we knew we wanted one thing for sure: to find other people in our same situation and develop some friendships.
My husband is prior military, so we had grown accustomed to joining “Family Support Groups” at each new military station. It was like a ready-made family, already created for you, all you had to do was show up.

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