One Down...

One to go. I found out when I got home from class last night that Narasimha passed the first step of his Psychiatry Boards! Woohoo! This is the test he took in June. All that work finally paid off. It is a two-step process, so sometime next spring he will have to take the other step, which I believe is in an interview rather than computer-generated format. I think for that one he won't be able to just go to Des Moines - there's a chance he'll have to go all the way to Philadelphia. We still don't know when or where - as more details emerge I will try to keep this updated. So tonight, get ready to par-taaayyyy! Ok, we're really just planning on going out for Mexican food with my dad this afternoon, but who's keeping track of our crazy-exciting life :)

Back to School

For all the kiddos out there, and for ME! That's right, I went back to school this week. It is something I have been considering doing for a long time, and last week, I decided to take the plunge and go for it. I am enrolled at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, IA. I am taking 1 course this fall - Master's level - called Introduction to Biblical Counseling. It is in "Module" format, which means it only actually meets for a week in the classroom, for 5 hours a day, and then I have a few months to finish the required work. The goal is to eventually finish my Master's degree in Biblical Counseling (or Nouthetic Counseling - I think that's how it's spelled), which will take many more classes than just this one. It will actually take several years to accomplish this because the classes are offered on a very limited basis, and class times overlap, so I will have to wait until I can fit them all in. And, they don't offer all of them in Ankeny, so I will have to go to Indiana once I have 3-5 of the classes completed here in Iowa. I am staying at my parents a few nights this week so I don't have to commute so far every day.

Last night was the first night of class. And, it is pretty much what I expected. Theologically speaking, some of the material will probably test me and my current Biblical knowledge and understanding (which is a great thing - I'm excited). But the general principles are logical, and for someone like me, a Christian who has worked in secular psychology/psychiatry for so long, a breath of fresh air and so very encouraging. I have come to trust and rely on some of what I have learned in my secular studies, as I have tried to filter the information through the Word of God and find what could be applicable/useful for Christians in our society and culture. I am not sure how all of that will fall together. There is so much information between these sometimes seemingly overlapping and sometimes obviously polar-opposite schools of thought - I have a lot of work to do.

May God give me discernment as only He can as I attempt to navigate this flood of information that I feel He has called me to use to change myself, and by His grace alone, be able to one day effectively disciple His own with His Word as my guide.

Test Tomorrow

Narasimha takes his Psychiatry Boards tomorrow. He has been studying for a while now (I'll be happy when this is over to reclaim our evenings together). We won't know for a while how he did - for a computerized test it sure takes a long time to "grade." And, Psych Boards are a multi-test process, so he won't even be done when this is over. Then he has to start studying for the oral exam. And, for the rest of his career, he will have to do re-cert boards every 10 years (in both Psych and Internal Medicine - which he passed last fall sometime).

He doesn't need to take these to practice as a Psychiatrist - he has actually been practicing since we moved here last July. Before you pass they call you "board eligible" - once he passes he will be "board certified." Basically I think the only thing that changes is that more insurance companies will allow their people to see you. He was board eligible (and able to see patients on his own) when he graduated residency last June.

So please pray for him tomorrow - that he will be well-rested and able to recall the information he's studied. It's an 8-hour test, all on the computer, so also that he would have a good attention span. I hope to be posting the good news that he's passed in the next few months :)

My Hubby, My Hero :)

Narasimha found out this morning that he passed his Internal Medicine boards that he took at the end of August - yeah! He studied a lot and looks like it was enough. So he is done with that until his next test in 2017 (10 years) but he does have his Psych boards coming up in November 07 and then again sometime in March 08, so please pray for his perseverance and my patience with his schedule. These tests sort-of signify the end of residency - when you graduate (he did in June) you are board eligible - now he is board certified, which is as good as it gets in any one specialty.