A Curriculum Run-down

So they went over with us in a little more detail about exactly what the next four years will look like for us at AVC. Each vet school in North America produces competent grads, but the individual paths vary a little. I'm here to elucidate what an education at AVC is like.

The first two years are what they call "foundation years". A lot of Semester 1 is spent getting everyone on the same page. We all have the same 20 pre-requisites, but those can vary within them. Plus most of us are coming in with more than those 20 courses, so we have extra background knowledge. So some of us are breezing through Physiology, while others are falling asleep in Immunology. Some people have zero experience with farm animals, while others come from a farming and 4-H background (the question "What's a feedlot?" came up at one point; I will emphatically state that it wasn't me who asked it!). We're all trying to fill in the gaps in our own knowledge. I have more of a cell biology/microbiology background, so Immunology and Histology are no big deal. I am pouring a lot of time into Physiology and Anatomy though. My housemate has more of a background in Physiology though, but less knowledge on Immunology. To future first year vet students: Don't panic. We all struggle with something, we're all strong in somethings.

Semester 2 continues more normal Physiology, Anatomy and Histology, while starting to introduce some diseases - Parasitology and General Pathology. We also get into some hands-on stuff in Semester 2 with Clinical Orientation I where we learn restraint and physical exams. In other words, Semester 1 and 2 are mostly about learning what's normal. Semesters 3 and 4 get into more diseases - in other words, learning what's not normal and what causes it. These are also the two semesters of "ologies" - Virology, Bacteriology, Systemic Pathology, Pharmacology. Semesters 5 and 6 are in year three. I'm told this is a seriously intense year. You start surgeries, you're finally learning the medicine, and you're *gulp* planning your fourth year rotations. Rotations are very important. There's a core of certain rotations you have to take, but the majority are up to you. Obviously it's very important to your future career which ones you pick. We were told today that most third years freak out about picking their rotations. We were also told that they worry needlessly and most people get what they want.

So you jump right from third year into fourth year rotations - no summer off that year! In November/December of your fourth year, you take the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam. You have 2 tries to pass and get your license (the Americans get 5 tries - unfair!). If you fail both, you have to take the Part C which is a hands on practical, but there's a huge waiting list to take it, and it costs upwards of $6000. The good news is that AVC has a 2 time pass rate of 98% on the NAVLE.

I plan on passing it the first time around.

In lighter news, tomorrow is our first field trip. Yay! We're going to a combined sheep/cow/poultry farm. And there's a conference on welfare in dairy cattle coming up at the end of the month (free for students). Dr Singh, the Super Smart Former Histology Professor (and current admissions committee guy) is doing tutorials in Histology on Saturday mornings. I will say this for AVC - the opportunities to learn are there if you want them! Histology is a funny subject for me. I get the theory, I've done it a few times before now. I second guess myself a lot when I'm actually at the microscope though. So guess where I'll be Saturday morning?? Definitely at the tutorial. I just need someone with me at the scope for awhile to point everything out ("That's a Perkinje fibre, that's a nerve bundle, that's a blood vessel, that's an intercalated disc") and I'll be fine after that. A lot of my classmates feel the same way though. A typical conversation in Histology lab goes like this:

Classmate A: Are you guys looking at the guinea pig skeletal sample?
Me: Yep.
Classmate A: What's the blue stuff?
Me: Which blue stuff? The blue stuff next to the blotchy red and purple stuff?
Classmate A: No, the other blue stuff.
Classmate B: I think it's.. collagen? Didn't he say collagen stains blue?
Me: Yeah, but only with certain stains, right? What's the blotchy stuff?
Classmate C: Muscle fibres... in cross section?

That's about it. We speak in vague colour and texture descriptions. We're really happy when we figure it out. Today, there were three "quiz" slides set up at the front. Not really quizzes, just for fun - fake case descriptions alongside the slides and we got to "diagnose" them. Which led to this scenario:
Me: The second one about the cow... We're just supposed to notice the huge increase in white cells, right?
Prof: Exactly.
Me: *feeling a tad smug* And they're monocytes, right?
Prof: No, lymphocytes, actually.
Me: *no longer feeling smug* Oh. So, is it an infection of some sort? The description said swollen lymph nodes, tired, inappetance...
Prof: They're lymphocytes. Bessie has leukemia.
Me:...