Hello again! Since I last wrote, summer has turned into beautiful fall here in Ann Arbor. The leaves have turned to vibrant shades of red and orange, the temperature is still in the 70s, and best of all Michigan football is off to a 5-0 start for the season. It doesn't get much better than this!

I finished my otolaryngology sub-I in late August and then submitted my residency application two weeks later. It was both a relief to submit it (one can only proofread something so many times before going a little crazy) and also an excitingly nerve-wracking feeling, as this marked the official start to the application process and the beginning of the waiting game for residency interviews. ENT holds most of its interviews on the later end of the schedule (December and January) so I am just now starting to hear back from programs. I've definitely been checking my email a little more than usual lately!

In September, I rotated on the outpatient orthopaedic surgery rotation. This was a great month, with a lot of flexibility, as we got to pick the clinics that were most interesting to us to attend. In the middle of this rotation, I was able to carve out a few days for a trip up North with my family. We drove to Traverse City where we toured several beautiful wineries for the day, and then headed to Mackinac Island, one of my all-time favorite vacation spots since I was a child. There are no cars allowed on the island, and in lieu, there are many horse-drawn carriages and bikes, both of which we took advantage of to tour the island. We stayed at the Grand Hotel, which is a beautiful hotel that feels to be perpetually set in the early 1900s.

This month, I am on emergency medicine. So far, the rotation has been great. This is one of the first times as a student that I've gotten to see patients *before* they receive a diagnosis (unlike patients admitted to the floor who usually already have some sort of idea as to what the problem is) and it's been a really helpful experience to be the first to see a patient. The field is also very procedurally-oriented, which I enjoy, and I've gotten lots of practice with IVs and suturing. I have just over two weeks left of emergency medicine and will then enter fifteen weeks off of clinical rotations for interviews and vacation time. So far, M4 year is definitely living up to its reputation as the best year of medical school!

I'll check back in next time from the interview trail!