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MedFamily

by Eric Acker

Season 1

Pivoting Forward: Residency, Fellowship Setbacks, and Finding the Next Step

In this episode of Med Family, Eric and Karen continue their open discussion about life after an unexpected fellowship match outcome and what it means to pivot when carefully laid plans fall apart. Now in PGY-3 of internal medicine residency, Eric reflects on the professional uncertainty that follows a competitive match cycle. At the same time, Karen offers a perspective on supporting a medical career amid the demands of raising six children. The episode begins with an update on family life, including their return to homeschool co-op, therapy schedules, and the flexibility homeschooling provides for a household shaped by residency hours. Karen shares the curricula and tools they use—ranging from math and reading programs to Khan Academy—highlighting the adaptability required when teaching children with diverse learning needs. Eric then transitions into residency training, describing his current geriatrics rotation and how it contrasts with the ICU-heavy structure of their program. He reflects on the realities of long-term care medicine, end-of-life decision-making, and how these experiences have helped clarify his long-term career goals, even when those goals require reevaluation. A central focus of the episode is fellowship strategy. Eric and Karen discuss the role of away rotations, the advantages of home programs, and the often underappreciated influence of institutional politics, GME funding, and professional connections. They explore how fellowship selection extends beyond board scores and CVs, emphasizing the weight of advocacy, mentorship, and personal reputation within small professional networks. The episode closes with a realistic look at next steps: follow-up emails, outreach to mentors, exploring alternative and non-ACGME opportunities, and using lighter rotations to regroup and plan. Throughout, Eric and Karen maintain a reflective and transparent tone, offering listeners an honest account of medical training, resilience after disappointment, and the necessity of adapting when the path forward is no longer straightforward

A Hard Pivot: Family, Fellowship, and Faith

After a long hiatus, Eric and Karen return to Med Family with a candid New Year check-in. In this episode, they catch up on the past six months of family life, residency, and the realities of parenting through sickness, ER visits, co-op schooling, and sleepless nights. Eric shares an honest reflection on the cardiology fellowship application process, the disappointment of not matching, and the emotional and logistical challenges that followed. Together, they discuss pivoting to non-ACGME cardiology-adjacent opportunities, navigating uncertainty, financial pressure, and faith during a season of transition. It’s an unfiltered conversation about perseverance, recalibrating goals, and taking the next step forward—one decision at a time.

We're Back, CV Stuff, Coop Stuff, Just Minor Updates

We're back after a little break. In this episode, we try to catch you up on the goings-on and the new changes. We talk about how we're going to join a Coop, and Eric is going to CO for an away rotation for fellowship. Also, an update on all the items Eric is doing to improve his CV, including research, and 2 new podcasts: IM basics and Rebel Crit. Please stay tuned for updates on these.

ICU Nights and Fellowship Prep

ICU Nights and Fellowship Prep Long time hiatus, but we’re back on ICU nights. Updates from the prior weeks but the family is good and we’re grinding through the night rotation. Also, looking ahead we have the eye towards fellowship so we’re doing research and trying to set up an away rotation.

Catch Up: Admits and Pulm Rotations

Catch Up: Admits and Pulm Rotations Multiple weeks since our last update. Halloween, election, admissions and pulmonology rotations have occurred. Additionally, we talk about the stress of being a 2nd year resident. We hope to bring these episodes more frequently.

Stepdown to Admissions

Stepdown to Admissions Two weeks of Stepdown are over and now we are back on admissions. Karen joins this week and we discuss being a senior on stepdown, the end of life conversations, and research projects Eric has been working on.

CGMs, Endocrine, and Testosterone

CGMs, Endocrine, and Testosterone Karen is back this week and we discuss the home life, clinical week, and Endocrinology. Lots covered in the topic and possibly some TMI regarding cycle tracking and Eric’s preoccupation with cool graphs.

Mini Upate: GI Bleeds and BiPAP

Mini Update: GI Bleed and BiPAP Mini Update. Night shift is a wrap and we are now in the clinic. For this update we review GI bleed management and BiPAPs. Hopefully, making them less scary.

Mini Update: Night Shift

Mini Update: Night Shift Quick night-time update. We’re on nights and 3 weeks in. Being a “senior” now entails Step down coverage and helping the interns. We cover procedures, ICU consult, and then just a tangent on program drama, sorry. Hopefully we can keep these updates coming

Mini Update: Pericarditis and Afib

Mini Update: Pericarditis and Afib New mini-update experiment, trying something new with semi-weekly updates. This week is on pericarditis and afib. If you guessed Eric’s on a cardiology rotation you would be correct. I’ll try to be more organized next time. Sorry for the mistakes.

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