Chicago

Dave and Tommy on Chicago's Ferris Wheel


Tommy views the city below from the Sears Tower


The Chicago Theater in the background (we did not catch a show unfortunately...)

I just took my oral boards over the weekend in Chicago. Assuming I pass, I will have completed my two step board certification process and will be test free for ten years - yea! Anyway, that is why the posts have been a little scant lately as I have been trying to use every spare second while Tommy sleeps to review antibiotic protocols, the diameter needed for a chest tube (32 French is my generic test- answer- size in case you're wondering) and other such fun odds and ends. There's something sort of daunting about an oral test. One pictures themselves turning red in the face, sputtering about and saying "ummm" a lot as you try to BS some answer you don't know - all this in front of a colleague. And you begin to think that there's something sort of reassuring to a written test as it feels more anonymous.

But that being said, the test wasn't too bad and the format didn't seem as awkward as I had imagined.

The test was in Chicago, and since neither Dave nor I had been there before, we took a family trip out to see the sights. Dave and Tommy had an extra day while I took my test, but the next day we all toured together. We thought Chicago was a great place - fun city, very pretty and clean, and friendly people.

Dave and Tommy went to the museum of natural history on Sunday. On Monday, we took a double decker bus tour around the city and got off to see a few sights like the Navy Pier, ride the ferris wheel, and go up the Sears Tower which is now the tallest building in the US. We also just wandered around downtown for a while and took in the sights. Tommy was a big fan of riding the L- the train system in Chicago.

So we give Chicago the thumbs up, though we just hit the weather right. Our tour bus guide said, "there are 4 seasons in Chicago - winter, winter, winter and construction." We were lucky to see Chicago... just as the hot summer has ended, before the snow and ice.