Okay, I realize that's a weird intro for any blog about vet school, but hear me out.
In sixth grade (Or was it seventh? Maybe eighth? I forget. Sometime around there) we had a course called home economics. I think most schools had it. It was supposed to be life skills. What it was in actuality was baking and sewing. I loved the baking part of it. I'd been baking and cooking with my parents since I was old enough to hold a spoon. I was decidedly not good at sewing. (You're starting to see where this is going, huh?) We had to sew a stuffed animal by hand and make a pair of boxer shorts on a sewing machine. I could stitch by hand, but it wasn't all that neat, mostly I think because I didn't care. Sewing machines were a weapon of mass destruction in my hands. I can vividly remember this conversation between the teacher and me when she saw how far behind I was.
Her: "You have to know how to sew."
Me: "No I don't."
Her: "Well what about when your husband needs his pants hemmed?"
Me: "Why can't he do it himself? Or use a tailor? Or buy pants that fit in the first place? And who says I'm getting married?"
I don't remember how it went from there. I think she decided I was a lost cause on the path to Stepford Wife-dom and walked away in disgust. I passed the class, mostly on my efforts in the kitchen. Neither the stuffed animal or the boxer shorts ever got finished. Luckily, my geek-tastic love of cosplay forced me to learn to stitch acceptably by hand, because little did I know, I'd end up stitching skin one day. On Tuesday during a lab, I had my first attempt at sutures. It wasn't particularly neat, or fast, but the end product wasn't horrible. Of course, all those years ago, when my teacher had told me I'd need to sew, she probably should have left my hypothetical idiot husband's pants out of it and used something more relevant like stopping the post-surgery evisceration of a patient. And then she should have ditched the sewing machine and given me forceps and needle drivers.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Jello flavours that didn't make the cut
Grape and beef liver and cherry and beef kidney. Yum.
No, these were not for eating (to state the obvious). We were using them to practice biopsies and fine needle aspirates using ultrasound. I may have mentioned before that I'm terrified of ultrasound. Like, it might as well be alien technology (hm, maybe I should have stayed in my costume...). But that's no reason to avoid it. If anything that's more reason to work with it as much as possible.
I was lucky to get my name drawn to do the biopsy/FNA wetlab this afternoon. Of course, it's Halloween, so that meant quickly changing out of my 11th Doctor costume before running down to the radiology department. After a brief introduction to the equipment, the vet guided us one on one in taking a biopsy of a bovine kidney buried in grape jello. It was dark enough that you couldn't cheat by looking for the kidney, and I actually surprised myself with how kidney-ish the kidney looked on the screen. Granted, jello is an almost perfect medium for conducting ultrasound because there's nothing in it, and it's uniform densitty and it conducts the sound waves really well. But I could see the needle on the screen going into it and felt the "pop" when I hit the capsule, and managed to get a sample. Very cool. The vet compared it to playing video games. Always knew my Final Fantasy obsession would pay off. See, you're watching the screen. Your non-dominant hand (left for me) is holding the ultrasound probe, your dominant hand is holding the biopsy gun. (You could do it the other way, but I agreed with the vet when she said, "If I'm going to be stabbing an animal, I'd rather do it with the hand I have the most control with." Wise words.) Is it easy? Oh lord no. I found out my left hand likes to think for itself, because it kept wanting to drift around. Next thing I know, I can't find my needle on the screen because the probe is now an inch away from it. Stupid left hand.
Then it was on my own for fine needle aspirate. You're taking a smaller sample, so you just use a normal needle with a syringe. I'd been practicing pulling back a plunger with one hand, and figured I was getting pretty good at it. So I poke into the cherry jello, down into the kidney, and flick my thumb to pull back the plunger and take a sample. Yeah, you didn't really believe that, did you? The bloody plunger wouldn't budge. After trying it one handed (the correct way) for a few minutes, and therefore, looking like an idiot for a few minutes (luckily, just in front of my peers, not in front of the vet), I finally had to give up and adjust my grip to get a sample. Lesson learned, I have weak puny thumbs.
As a bonus, the vet told us we were welcome to use the jello for a few weeks while it was still good and we could come down after hours to use the portable ultrasound machine to practice. I plan on doing this. I also plan on embarking on an intense strength training program for my thumb.
No, these were not for eating (to state the obvious). We were using them to practice biopsies and fine needle aspirates using ultrasound. I may have mentioned before that I'm terrified of ultrasound. Like, it might as well be alien technology (hm, maybe I should have stayed in my costume...). But that's no reason to avoid it. If anything that's more reason to work with it as much as possible.
I was lucky to get my name drawn to do the biopsy/FNA wetlab this afternoon. Of course, it's Halloween, so that meant quickly changing out of my 11th Doctor costume before running down to the radiology department. After a brief introduction to the equipment, the vet guided us one on one in taking a biopsy of a bovine kidney buried in grape jello. It was dark enough that you couldn't cheat by looking for the kidney, and I actually surprised myself with how kidney-ish the kidney looked on the screen. Granted, jello is an almost perfect medium for conducting ultrasound because there's nothing in it, and it's uniform densitty and it conducts the sound waves really well. But I could see the needle on the screen going into it and felt the "pop" when I hit the capsule, and managed to get a sample. Very cool. The vet compared it to playing video games. Always knew my Final Fantasy obsession would pay off. See, you're watching the screen. Your non-dominant hand (left for me) is holding the ultrasound probe, your dominant hand is holding the biopsy gun. (You could do it the other way, but I agreed with the vet when she said, "If I'm going to be stabbing an animal, I'd rather do it with the hand I have the most control with." Wise words.) Is it easy? Oh lord no. I found out my left hand likes to think for itself, because it kept wanting to drift around. Next thing I know, I can't find my needle on the screen because the probe is now an inch away from it. Stupid left hand.
Then it was on my own for fine needle aspirate. You're taking a smaller sample, so you just use a normal needle with a syringe. I'd been practicing pulling back a plunger with one hand, and figured I was getting pretty good at it. So I poke into the cherry jello, down into the kidney, and flick my thumb to pull back the plunger and take a sample. Yeah, you didn't really believe that, did you? The bloody plunger wouldn't budge. After trying it one handed (the correct way) for a few minutes, and therefore, looking like an idiot for a few minutes (luckily, just in front of my peers, not in front of the vet), I finally had to give up and adjust my grip to get a sample. Lesson learned, I have weak puny thumbs.
As a bonus, the vet told us we were welcome to use the jello for a few weeks while it was still good and we could come down after hours to use the portable ultrasound machine to practice. I plan on doing this. I also plan on embarking on an intense strength training program for my thumb.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Of course, that was completely intentional
Today we did physical exams of lab animals. Mostly mice and rats. More rats than mice, actually. Lab mice are hateful little buggers and will try to bite you at every available opportunity. Right up there with budgies. Rats are adorable little cuddle monsters though. At least the ones at school are. There isn't a lot to a physical exam on a rat. Temperature, respiration and heart rate are all pretty much impossible to take. A lot of it is palpation and visual inspection.
The rat pooped on my classmate who went first. It landed on the table, luckily. No big deal, it comes with the territory! But that doesn't mean it was fun, so I was glad the rat got it out of his system, litterally. I took my turn, scooping him up and talking baby talk to him while I looked at his eyes, nose, ears... "Oh you are so COOOT! Look at your little nose, I could just cuddle you all day!" I plunk his butt on the table so I can hold him under the front legs with one hand and palpate his abdomen with the other. My hands are small, and I can't quite do it without using the table as a stabilizer. This turned out to be lucky.
Thirty second later, I noticed a puddle on the table.
As I'm finishing up my exam, the vet/professor comes over to see how we're doing and if we have any questions. "Wow, you got a urine sample, that's awesome!" He's kind of dead pan at the best of times, so I'm not sure if he's mocking me, so I laugh it off and hand the rat off to another classmate and go to wash my hands. The vet comes rushing back with a syringe to draw up the urine off the table, and asks us if we think it's normal looking. After a little session of Rat Pee for Dummies, he says, "Good job on the urine." Again, not sure if he's kidding, I replied "Oh, yeah, I totally meant to do that" in my best sarcastic voice to show I'm completely joking. "No, really, it's good. Usually they just pee on you. Well done for not getting wet!"
Yep. Today I got an A+ in Not Getting Peed On 101. It's a required course in vet school. It's 5% reflexes, 10% knowing animal body language, and 85% luck.
The rat pooped on my classmate who went first. It landed on the table, luckily. No big deal, it comes with the territory! But that doesn't mean it was fun, so I was glad the rat got it out of his system, litterally. I took my turn, scooping him up and talking baby talk to him while I looked at his eyes, nose, ears... "Oh you are so COOOT! Look at your little nose, I could just cuddle you all day!" I plunk his butt on the table so I can hold him under the front legs with one hand and palpate his abdomen with the other. My hands are small, and I can't quite do it without using the table as a stabilizer. This turned out to be lucky.
Thirty second later, I noticed a puddle on the table.
As I'm finishing up my exam, the vet/professor comes over to see how we're doing and if we have any questions. "Wow, you got a urine sample, that's awesome!" He's kind of dead pan at the best of times, so I'm not sure if he's mocking me, so I laugh it off and hand the rat off to another classmate and go to wash my hands. The vet comes rushing back with a syringe to draw up the urine off the table, and asks us if we think it's normal looking. After a little session of Rat Pee for Dummies, he says, "Good job on the urine." Again, not sure if he's kidding, I replied "Oh, yeah, I totally meant to do that" in my best sarcastic voice to show I'm completely joking. "No, really, it's good. Usually they just pee on you. Well done for not getting wet!"
Yep. Today I got an A+ in Not Getting Peed On 101. It's a required course in vet school. It's 5% reflexes, 10% knowing animal body language, and 85% luck.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
WTF Moments and Mental Black Holes
It's guaranteed that at least once during an exam, I will have one of the above. There's an important difference between the two, but they're equally frustrating.
A "WTF moment" happens when you encounter a question about something you're positive you've never seen in your life. Maybe you zoned out in class, or maybe it was at the bottom of a page and you skipped over it, maybe your cat fell off a table and distracted you while you were reading it. In any case, it's there on the exam and it may as well be written in Ancient North Martian. WTF Moments require you to do nothing but full on guess. Maybe you can extrapolate an answer based on something else you know, but sometimes you just circle C. Yesterday, it was Diagnostic Imaging. I was flying through it confidently until I hit a brick wall. That wall had a sign on it that said: "At what point in gestation does fetal ossification happen in the dog?"
I think I actually heard crickets in my own head when I read that. My brain looked at it and said, "Okay hand, you're on your own. Just pick something." It was in our notes, I later found out. We have Powerpoints and Word documents, and usually they're pretty similar. Unfortunately, the Powerpoints totally failed to mention fetal ossification and I hadn't read the Word documents.... My bad. I picked C. It was wrong.
Mental Black Holes are a totally non-understood phenomenon. You read something. You reread something. You reread it a third, then a fourth time. Thirty seconds later, and... it's gone. It doesn't matter how many times you try to memorize some trivial little detail, you can't. There's no rhyme or reason to why it happens. This cropped up on Bacteriology last week. It was a matching question. I had it down to Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudomallei. One causes glanders in horses, one causes melioidosis in humans. I'd like to point out this is the second time I've learned these. I had them on another exam for a Medical Bacteriology course a few years ago. You'd think after getting it wrong back then, I'd get it right this time. No such luck. My brain refuses to accept that B. mallei causes glanders. "I reject your reality and substitute my own". In my brain's version of reality, B. mallei causes melioidosis, because M goes with M and that's nice and easy to remember. I even tried during the exam to say, "Okay, so it's the opposite of what I think it is." But then I managed to talk myself into thinking that I thought that B. mallei caused glanders, so therefore, it causes melioidosis.
I looked it up when I finished the exam. I won't pretend I didn't bang my head against my locker door a few times.
A "WTF moment" happens when you encounter a question about something you're positive you've never seen in your life. Maybe you zoned out in class, or maybe it was at the bottom of a page and you skipped over it, maybe your cat fell off a table and distracted you while you were reading it. In any case, it's there on the exam and it may as well be written in Ancient North Martian. WTF Moments require you to do nothing but full on guess. Maybe you can extrapolate an answer based on something else you know, but sometimes you just circle C. Yesterday, it was Diagnostic Imaging. I was flying through it confidently until I hit a brick wall. That wall had a sign on it that said: "At what point in gestation does fetal ossification happen in the dog?"
I think I actually heard crickets in my own head when I read that. My brain looked at it and said, "Okay hand, you're on your own. Just pick something." It was in our notes, I later found out. We have Powerpoints and Word documents, and usually they're pretty similar. Unfortunately, the Powerpoints totally failed to mention fetal ossification and I hadn't read the Word documents.... My bad. I picked C. It was wrong.
Mental Black Holes are a totally non-understood phenomenon. You read something. You reread something. You reread it a third, then a fourth time. Thirty seconds later, and... it's gone. It doesn't matter how many times you try to memorize some trivial little detail, you can't. There's no rhyme or reason to why it happens. This cropped up on Bacteriology last week. It was a matching question. I had it down to Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudomallei. One causes glanders in horses, one causes melioidosis in humans. I'd like to point out this is the second time I've learned these. I had them on another exam for a Medical Bacteriology course a few years ago. You'd think after getting it wrong back then, I'd get it right this time. No such luck. My brain refuses to accept that B. mallei causes glanders. "I reject your reality and substitute my own". In my brain's version of reality, B. mallei causes melioidosis, because M goes with M and that's nice and easy to remember. I even tried during the exam to say, "Okay, so it's the opposite of what I think it is." But then I managed to talk myself into thinking that I thought that B. mallei caused glanders, so therefore, it causes melioidosis.
I looked it up when I finished the exam. I won't pretend I didn't bang my head against my locker door a few times.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Stream of consciousness
With two midterms this week, one last week and two more next week, we're all just a little out to lunch lately. We're all sleep deprived and giddy. Here are just a few of the thoughts streaming through my head.
Why do we have this giant list of antiviral drugs, when they're barely used in vet med?
E coli is hot stripper pink on MacConkey agar.
Citrobacter rodentium causes EPEC like disease in mice and gerbils. Like laboratory mice. Their genes have been spliced. They're Pinky, they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain....
Why is my cat on my shoulder?
Everything causes mastitis. Never look at a cow funny, it'll get mastitis.
Everything causes cancer. Or diarrhea. Those are the options.
So, equine papillomavirus causes papillomas in horses. But equine papillomatosus is caused by bovine papillomavirus. But it's also caused equine sarcoids. Shouldn't equine papillomavirus cause equine papillomatosis? Who names these things?!
PWMS, PRRSV, FeLV, FeSV, CPV-1, CAV-2, ICH, ICTB, E-I-E-I-O....
HERPES! Thank god it's herpes! (This wasn't me, it was a classmate rejoicing at finally getting through the retrovirus section.)
Greasy pig disease... Sounds kinda tasty, actually. Like bacon.
Yersinia pestis is carried by- KUROMI! YOU ARE BLOCKING MY VIEW! GET BACK ON MY SHOULDER!
I'm starting to see a pattern in treatment... 99% of the time, you're either going to give it penicillin or kill it.
----
Why in the hell do oysters need a whole virus family all to themselves?! Damn greedy oysters. Why do we have this giant list of antiviral drugs, when they're barely used in vet med?
E coli is hot stripper pink on MacConkey agar.
Citrobacter rodentium causes EPEC like disease in mice and gerbils. Like laboratory mice. Their genes have been spliced. They're Pinky, they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain....
Why is my cat on my shoulder?
Everything causes mastitis. Never look at a cow funny, it'll get mastitis.
Everything causes cancer. Or diarrhea. Those are the options.
So, equine papillomavirus causes papillomas in horses. But equine papillomatosus is caused by bovine papillomavirus. But it's also caused equine sarcoids. Shouldn't equine papillomavirus cause equine papillomatosis? Who names these things?!
PWMS, PRRSV, FeLV, FeSV, CPV-1, CAV-2, ICH, ICTB, E-I-E-I-O....
HERPES! Thank god it's herpes! (This wasn't me, it was a classmate rejoicing at finally getting through the retrovirus section.)
Greasy pig disease... Sounds kinda tasty, actually. Like bacon.
Yersinia pestis is carried by- KUROMI! YOU ARE BLOCKING MY VIEW! GET BACK ON MY SHOULDER!
I'm starting to see a pattern in treatment... 99% of the time, you're either going to give it penicillin or kill it.
----
....So that pretty much sums up where I am these days. Of course, sometimes, if you're lucky, you find out your professors are more or less on the same page. Today, it was our bacteriology professor. I'll leave you with this gem: "Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae... It really does just roll off the tongue. It's very calming to say, it's like bacterial valium. I can almost picture a yogi, sitting on a mountaintop, chanting it....and levitating."Friday, October 12, 2012
Sometimes it's easier to just let them do what they want
Midterms have more or less consumed my life right now, so forgive me dear readers, if I'm a bit quiet. We wrote Diagnostic Imaging last week, Public Health this week, Virology and Bacteriology next week and Diagnostic Imaging and Systemic Pathology the week after that. October basically just sucks.
There's still bright spots though. Fridays are pretty relaxed for us right now. It starts with Diagnostic Imaging lab. We tried to radiograph a classmate's dog today. I was supposed to be holding her back legs so we could do a right lateral thoracic view. I make no bones about the fact that I'm, er, petite as my mother likes to say. "Good things come in small packages!" she used to tell me. For the most part, this isn't an issue except in trying to find extra small gloves and extra small coveralls. Every now and then though... I have tiny little hands with short little fingers to begin with, so getting my hands around legs for restraint is already a challenge. Then with the lead gloves on (which aren't so much gloves as oven mitt shaped) and a dog who'd already laid there for one round of radiographs... Yeah, the rads didn't actually get done. It wasn't just me losing grip though, the other guy was having a rough time too, and the dog just wasn't having any of it.
Then we have Systemic Pathology and Virology, then lunch. No biggie, though Virology is often right up there with watching paint dry. ("Go blue! Go! Dry! Dry like you mean it!" - Decline of Video Gaming)
After lunch, we have Clinical Orientation II. Playing with animals, yay! Today it was birds. Tiny birds. Tiny not-well-handled-before birds from a pet store. Budgies to be specific, and juvenile at that! Never one to back down from a challenge though, I dove in and grabbed a bird. First thing you need to know about not-well-handled-before budgies: They bite. A lot. They have very movable heads that they can get into all sorts of bizarre positions and if anything comes even vaguely within striking distance, they will bite it. It doesn't really hurt though. You're definitely aware they're biting you, don't get me wrong. But it doesn't hurt enough to cause any sort of screaming or blood loss. I think in the span of a 5 minute or so exam, I must have been bitten a good 23 times. If you can deal with the pain, it's actually a reasonably good distraction method. At one point I had to switch him from one hand to the other to check his wings. He happily clamped down on my finger, but hey, it was keeping him calm so he didn't fly off! And now I can add "budgie" to the long list of animals that have made me a chew toy.
There's still bright spots though. Fridays are pretty relaxed for us right now. It starts with Diagnostic Imaging lab. We tried to radiograph a classmate's dog today. I was supposed to be holding her back legs so we could do a right lateral thoracic view. I make no bones about the fact that I'm, er, petite as my mother likes to say. "Good things come in small packages!" she used to tell me. For the most part, this isn't an issue except in trying to find extra small gloves and extra small coveralls. Every now and then though... I have tiny little hands with short little fingers to begin with, so getting my hands around legs for restraint is already a challenge. Then with the lead gloves on (which aren't so much gloves as oven mitt shaped) and a dog who'd already laid there for one round of radiographs... Yeah, the rads didn't actually get done. It wasn't just me losing grip though, the other guy was having a rough time too, and the dog just wasn't having any of it.
Then we have Systemic Pathology and Virology, then lunch. No biggie, though Virology is often right up there with watching paint dry. ("Go blue! Go! Dry! Dry like you mean it!" - Decline of Video Gaming)
After lunch, we have Clinical Orientation II. Playing with animals, yay! Today it was birds. Tiny birds. Tiny not-well-handled-before birds from a pet store. Budgies to be specific, and juvenile at that! Never one to back down from a challenge though, I dove in and grabbed a bird. First thing you need to know about not-well-handled-before budgies: They bite. A lot. They have very movable heads that they can get into all sorts of bizarre positions and if anything comes even vaguely within striking distance, they will bite it. It doesn't really hurt though. You're definitely aware they're biting you, don't get me wrong. But it doesn't hurt enough to cause any sort of screaming or blood loss. I think in the span of a 5 minute or so exam, I must have been bitten a good 23 times. If you can deal with the pain, it's actually a reasonably good distraction method. At one point I had to switch him from one hand to the other to check his wings. He happily clamped down on my finger, but hey, it was keeping him calm so he didn't fly off! And now I can add "budgie" to the long list of animals that have made me a chew toy.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
On being a soother
Friday was another physical exam lab. In two hours, we did swine, sheep and neonatal calf. Sheep and swine were about what I expected. Swine is mostly about observation. Body condition, behaviour, mentation, discharge, cleanliness, things like that. There isn't a lot of hands on. Sheep are fairly similar to other species, with a couple of key sheep specific things to look for, like anemia and checking feet.
Then there were the calves. One was two weeks old, one was three weeks old.
I really can't put into words how freaking adorable these little guys were. Big wet noses, long lovely eyelashes, big floppy ears... Ooh, it's enough to melt your heart.
So two of my classmates and I set to work examining this little bull calf. I'd been a bit nervous about doing this. Baby animals can be extremely unpredictable. Kittens are tiny balls of love, fluff, claws and teeth. Puppies are love, fluff, teeth and urine. Foals are tornadoes of flying feet when you try to restrain them at that age. I find adult cattle hard enough to work with sometimes, let alone three week old babies,
It quickly became obvious there was a foolproof way to restrain this little guy - just let him suck on you. Oh it didn't really matter what. A hand, a boot, a knee... As long as he could try to suckle something, he didn't really care what was happening to him. We checked his sclera, felt his joints, checked his umbilicus, felt for a pulse, took a heart rate and lung sounds, with him clamped on someone's hand the whole time. He had no teeth, so it didn't hurt. Mostly it was weird. He kept at if for the whole 20 or minutes we were working with him, just alternating between the three of us. Part of me wonders how long he would have kept trying before he realized there was no food. If nothing else, his persistence was admiral!
My coveralls went prompty into the laundry. Mostly for biosecurity and hygiene. But also just to get the calf slobber off.
Then there were the calves. One was two weeks old, one was three weeks old.
I really can't put into words how freaking adorable these little guys were. Big wet noses, long lovely eyelashes, big floppy ears... Ooh, it's enough to melt your heart.
So two of my classmates and I set to work examining this little bull calf. I'd been a bit nervous about doing this. Baby animals can be extremely unpredictable. Kittens are tiny balls of love, fluff, claws and teeth. Puppies are love, fluff, teeth and urine. Foals are tornadoes of flying feet when you try to restrain them at that age. I find adult cattle hard enough to work with sometimes, let alone three week old babies,
It quickly became obvious there was a foolproof way to restrain this little guy - just let him suck on you. Oh it didn't really matter what. A hand, a boot, a knee... As long as he could try to suckle something, he didn't really care what was happening to him. We checked his sclera, felt his joints, checked his umbilicus, felt for a pulse, took a heart rate and lung sounds, with him clamped on someone's hand the whole time. He had no teeth, so it didn't hurt. Mostly it was weird. He kept at if for the whole 20 or minutes we were working with him, just alternating between the three of us. Part of me wonders how long he would have kept trying before he realized there was no food. If nothing else, his persistence was admiral!
My coveralls went prompty into the laundry. Mostly for biosecurity and hygiene. But also just to get the calf slobber off.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Validation!
Vet students are, on the whole, neurotic. More than one of us admitted to getting a little giddy the first time we saw ourselves in our coats or coveralls with our stethoscopes around our necks. I don't understand much about traditionally girly things, but I'm guessing that's sort of what a bride feels like the first time she tries on her wedding dress.
I have been obsessing over coveralls lately. I own two pairs. One is actually a youth pair. Have I mentioned previously that I'm only 5'0" tall? Unfortunately, the youth pair has long sleeves (not great for rectal palpations!) and it's slightly too short in the torso meaning I get a slight wedgie when I wear them and bending at the waist isn't really an option. When I bought them, I didn't realize exactly how full a range of motion I'd need to do a physical exam on a cow or horse. It also lacks enough pockets. A fourth year on clinics recently came in to the laundry office to buy a new lab coat and proclaimed: "Remember this when you get to clinics. You will need a lab coat that's two sizes too big because it's got to fit you, and all the stuff you have to carry." For labs right now, I'm carrying a pen, a penlight, a thermometer, a pair of gloves, and a tube of handsantizer. Pockets are essential.
The other pair is short sleeved and has lots of pockets! It even has the slits on the sides so you can reach into your pants pockets underneath. Yes, they are proper coveralls. They're also men's, like just about every set of coveralls I've ever seen. They fit in the chest, and are a little big in the waist, fine in the hips... but the crotch comes halfway down my thighs. Oh good lord, I look like I'm off the set of MC Hammer Goes To Vet School (note: not a real movie).
I'm no idiot, I know that when I start rotations in fourth year, farmers probably won't take me seriously. I'm 5'0", 120 lbs, and I'm so baby faced that I look like I'm 12. Oh, and there's the almost inevitable sexism, but that's another post. In some attempt to look credible, I've been toying with shelling out the $77 to get women's coveralls from a Canadian company online. It's a ridiculous price, given that men's are usually about half that and can be bought in several different stores around here. Then I tried to convince myself I was just being stupid and shallow. Who cares what I looked like? I know my stuff, I'll prove myself that way! When did I get all conformist??
Then today, another fourth year stopped in to buy coveralls. Sifting through the racks, trying to find a pair that fit her, she said, "I'm just trying not to look like an idiot when my external rotation starts next week." Hallelujah! Sweet validation! It's not just me!
I have been obsessing over coveralls lately. I own two pairs. One is actually a youth pair. Have I mentioned previously that I'm only 5'0" tall? Unfortunately, the youth pair has long sleeves (not great for rectal palpations!) and it's slightly too short in the torso meaning I get a slight wedgie when I wear them and bending at the waist isn't really an option. When I bought them, I didn't realize exactly how full a range of motion I'd need to do a physical exam on a cow or horse. It also lacks enough pockets. A fourth year on clinics recently came in to the laundry office to buy a new lab coat and proclaimed: "Remember this when you get to clinics. You will need a lab coat that's two sizes too big because it's got to fit you, and all the stuff you have to carry." For labs right now, I'm carrying a pen, a penlight, a thermometer, a pair of gloves, and a tube of handsantizer. Pockets are essential.
The other pair is short sleeved and has lots of pockets! It even has the slits on the sides so you can reach into your pants pockets underneath. Yes, they are proper coveralls. They're also men's, like just about every set of coveralls I've ever seen. They fit in the chest, and are a little big in the waist, fine in the hips... but the crotch comes halfway down my thighs. Oh good lord, I look like I'm off the set of MC Hammer Goes To Vet School (note: not a real movie).
I'm no idiot, I know that when I start rotations in fourth year, farmers probably won't take me seriously. I'm 5'0", 120 lbs, and I'm so baby faced that I look like I'm 12. Oh, and there's the almost inevitable sexism, but that's another post. In some attempt to look credible, I've been toying with shelling out the $77 to get women's coveralls from a Canadian company online. It's a ridiculous price, given that men's are usually about half that and can be bought in several different stores around here. Then I tried to convince myself I was just being stupid and shallow. Who cares what I looked like? I know my stuff, I'll prove myself that way! When did I get all conformist??
Then today, another fourth year stopped in to buy coveralls. Sifting through the racks, trying to find a pair that fit her, she said, "I'm just trying not to look like an idiot when my external rotation starts next week." Hallelujah! Sweet validation! It's not just me!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Unorthodox study methods
Let's face it - this path comes with a ton of information. I try really hard not to cram and then forget everything the day after the exam (or as a pharm professor put it: "purge and regurge"). I try to focus more on concepts and what's going to be useful for the NAVLE and for clinical rotations. But sometimes, you do what you have to.
This has led me to some interesting study habits. Oh, there's the usual stuff like flashcards, endless rewriting and rereading of notes and drawing diagrams. Study groups quickly got crossed off the list when I realized that my friends and I never seemed to get a ton of actual studying done. We get distracted by each other too easily and we end up spending most of the time joking and demonstrating physiological principles with candy from the Bulk Barn (yes, that did happen, I think a strawberry gummy became a heart, right up until someone ate it).
Then there's the more creative methods. In pharm tutorials, the prof had us play charades with pharmacokinetics terminology. My group is sure to get an Academy Award for our moving depiction of "ion trapping".
Then there's the time-honoured method of "Explaining things to your cat/dog/horse/cow/fish/rat/bird/etc". See, the rest of the population doesn't understand and, more importantly, probably really doesn't want to hear about the virulence factors of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Or the difference and the pathological significance of a firm lung versus a hard lung. But your pets? Well, they'll generally hang around as long as you're either petting them or feeding them and they don't talk back (unless you've got a bird or a Siamese cat) so they can't complain and tell you to shut up.If they do actually ever tell you to shut up, that's probably a sign you need to put down the book and go to bed.
Finally, there's methods you develop on the fly. A notable example: a not insignificant percentage of my class (yours truly included) spent some time on Sunday with a flashlight making shadow puppets. Why? Trying to understand magnification, subject film distance and focal film distance for our diagnostic imaging midterm on Monday. I used a shadow snake for mine.
This has led me to some interesting study habits. Oh, there's the usual stuff like flashcards, endless rewriting and rereading of notes and drawing diagrams. Study groups quickly got crossed off the list when I realized that my friends and I never seemed to get a ton of actual studying done. We get distracted by each other too easily and we end up spending most of the time joking and demonstrating physiological principles with candy from the Bulk Barn (yes, that did happen, I think a strawberry gummy became a heart, right up until someone ate it).
Then there's the more creative methods. In pharm tutorials, the prof had us play charades with pharmacokinetics terminology. My group is sure to get an Academy Award for our moving depiction of "ion trapping".
Then there's the time-honoured method of "Explaining things to your cat/dog/horse/cow/fish/rat/bird/etc". See, the rest of the population doesn't understand and, more importantly, probably really doesn't want to hear about the virulence factors of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Or the difference and the pathological significance of a firm lung versus a hard lung. But your pets? Well, they'll generally hang around as long as you're either petting them or feeding them and they don't talk back (unless you've got a bird or a Siamese cat) so they can't complain and tell you to shut up.If they do actually ever tell you to shut up, that's probably a sign you need to put down the book and go to bed.
Finally, there's methods you develop on the fly. A notable example: a not insignificant percentage of my class (yours truly included) spent some time on Sunday with a flashlight making shadow puppets. Why? Trying to understand magnification, subject film distance and focal film distance for our diagnostic imaging midterm on Monday. I used a shadow snake for mine.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
They ate what?!
I'm sharing this here because I'm using it to study for Diagnostic Imaging. Really. What, you don't believe me? It's not like I'm just giggling over the descriptions.
They Ate What? Pet X-Ray Contest 2012 Winners
I do love radiographs. Even when they don't have bizarre foreign bodies in them. We covered ultrasound, MRI, CT and nuclear scintigraphy on Monday in Diagnostic Imaging. I love this stuff. I get right giggly over it. I know I won't get to use it much in my career, unless I end up in a specialty practice, so I'm enjoying it while I can. But I will get to use radiographs and ultrasound, and even those are awesome. We take them for granted every day, but really stop and think about what they are. They are pictures of what is inside you.
Let me state that again, because I don't think it can be overstated: THEY ARE PICTURES OF THINGS INSIDE YOU. THINGS YOU CAN'T SEE. THEY LET YOU LOOK AT YOUR OWN ORGANS AND BONES.
Yes, I meant for that to be in caps. It's just that freaking cool.
We had a Pharmacology quiz today, in preparation for the midterm next week. I love Pharm. If you've ever watched a drug ad on television and heard them rattle off lists of side effects, seemingly completely unrelated to the drug itself, well, pharmacology explains that stuff. I aced the quiz, so I'm feeling pretty good about the test. To think - Pharmacology was the course I was most worried about coming into this year, and now it's easily my favourite. What a difference an awesome professor can make!
They Ate What? Pet X-Ray Contest 2012 Winners
I do love radiographs. Even when they don't have bizarre foreign bodies in them. We covered ultrasound, MRI, CT and nuclear scintigraphy on Monday in Diagnostic Imaging. I love this stuff. I get right giggly over it. I know I won't get to use it much in my career, unless I end up in a specialty practice, so I'm enjoying it while I can. But I will get to use radiographs and ultrasound, and even those are awesome. We take them for granted every day, but really stop and think about what they are. They are pictures of what is inside you.
Let me state that again, because I don't think it can be overstated: THEY ARE PICTURES OF THINGS INSIDE YOU. THINGS YOU CAN'T SEE. THEY LET YOU LOOK AT YOUR OWN ORGANS AND BONES.
Yes, I meant for that to be in caps. It's just that freaking cool.
We had a Pharmacology quiz today, in preparation for the midterm next week. I love Pharm. If you've ever watched a drug ad on television and heard them rattle off lists of side effects, seemingly completely unrelated to the drug itself, well, pharmacology explains that stuff. I aced the quiz, so I'm feeling pretty good about the test. To think - Pharmacology was the course I was most worried about coming into this year, and now it's easily my favourite. What a difference an awesome professor can make!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Lurking outside the door
Vet students are scientists by nature. We have an innate and deeply ingrained curiousity about the world around us. Some people say we're nosy. They're right.
After our physical exam lab today, a few classmates and I were in the hallway getting ready to go home. To follow the ensuing conversation, there's two pieces of information you need. 1) Dr D is the wildlife specialist at AVC and 2) GDV (gastric dilatation and volvulus) is usually a dog thing. The poster child for is the Great Dane. Oh, and Lecture C is usually the first year lecture theatre. The following conversation took place around 3:15 pm, and in a stage whisper.
J: *happens to look into Lecture C* What's Dr D doing lecturing on GDV?
Me: *peeks in* GDV? Really? Dr D is wildlife, isn't she? Like I'm not crazy, right?
J: No, you're not crazy. The slide is talking about GDV.
Me: In what species??
J: I don't know. Hurry up, change the slide! We didn't get a lecture on GDV from Dr D. I'm jealous!
Me: *checks the schedule* It's the third years, it's an exotics lecture.
T: Why are you peeking through the window?
Me: Dr D is talking about GDV, and we can't figure out why.
J: Oh she changed it!
Me: I can't see, there's a post in my way. Does it say what the animal was?
J: No... But there's a crazy bunny on it.
Me:...What?
J: A crazy bunny. Like a cartoon bunny.
Me: Do bunnies get GDV??
T: Crazy bunny! Oh, there's an xray!
J: What species is that?? Does it look like a bunny?
Me: It's kind of hunched over, it looks like a bunny. I think I see an ear tip.
J: Is that its stomach!?
By now, the class is wrapping up and the third years are coming out and wondering what we're doing lurking outside their classroom. And yes, it was a rabbit with GDV. Awesome.
After our physical exam lab today, a few classmates and I were in the hallway getting ready to go home. To follow the ensuing conversation, there's two pieces of information you need. 1) Dr D is the wildlife specialist at AVC and 2) GDV (gastric dilatation and volvulus) is usually a dog thing. The poster child for is the Great Dane. Oh, and Lecture C is usually the first year lecture theatre. The following conversation took place around 3:15 pm, and in a stage whisper.
J: *happens to look into Lecture C* What's Dr D doing lecturing on GDV?
Me: *peeks in* GDV? Really? Dr D is wildlife, isn't she? Like I'm not crazy, right?
J: No, you're not crazy. The slide is talking about GDV.
Me: In what species??
J: I don't know. Hurry up, change the slide! We didn't get a lecture on GDV from Dr D. I'm jealous!
Me: *checks the schedule* It's the third years, it's an exotics lecture.
T: Why are you peeking through the window?
Me: Dr D is talking about GDV, and we can't figure out why.
J: Oh she changed it!
Me: I can't see, there's a post in my way. Does it say what the animal was?
J: No... But there's a crazy bunny on it.
Me:...What?
J: A crazy bunny. Like a cartoon bunny.
Me: Do bunnies get GDV??
T: Crazy bunny! Oh, there's an xray!
J: What species is that?? Does it look like a bunny?
Me: It's kind of hunched over, it looks like a bunny. I think I see an ear tip.
J: Is that its stomach!?
By now, the class is wrapping up and the third years are coming out and wondering what we're doing lurking outside their classroom. And yes, it was a rabbit with GDV. Awesome.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Free to good home
My animals will probably soon be looking to give me away sometime in the future. They'd like you to know that I'm house-trained, quiet and I don't shed, but I do having some food guarding issues. Two Domestic Shorthair cats, one Quarter Horse mare and one geriatric Valley Bulldog will probably pay someone to get rid of me! Why? Because, as I've said before, we're learning physical exams this semester.
As the pet of a vet student, you receive the best of care. Top of the line foods (since we get it discounted), fantastic medical care (since we have specialists and state-of-the-art equipment at our beck and credit card's call) and more playmates and toys than you can imagine.
In exchange, we practice on you. Yeah, sucks to be you.
Before I go palpating and auscultating and sticking things up the arse of animals I don't know, naturally, I'm going to start with the ones I do know. Physical exams are actually quite daunting to me. There's so much to remember and it's the basis for the rest of your diagnostics. I've always been in awe of my veterinary mentors and just how much information they can get using their four senses (taste should probably never be a part of the physical exam) and a stethoscope. The aforementioned bulldog is a horrible little psycho (affectionately known as a "caution dog" by her veterinarian) but she's stupidly tolerant of anything I try to do to her. The mare is the same way. She's actually given me some bad horse handling habits because she's just so chilled out that I forget that not all horses are the same way. Plus, it gives me a chance to spend as much time as I want to try to find a horse's heart sounds without being laughed it.
Except possibly by my riding coach.
Scratch that, definitely by my riding coach.
Don't you laugh either! It's harder than it seems. They have big hearts, but there's just so much horse between you and the heart that hearing it isn't always easy. And they're completely uncooperative about it, since the best place to hear the heart sounds is more or less directly where their leg is, and do you think they'll remove it for me? So inconsiderate!
As the pet of a vet student, you receive the best of care. Top of the line foods (since we get it discounted), fantastic medical care (since we have specialists and state-of-the-art equipment at our beck and credit card's call) and more playmates and toys than you can imagine.
In exchange, we practice on you. Yeah, sucks to be you.
Before I go palpating and auscultating and sticking things up the arse of animals I don't know, naturally, I'm going to start with the ones I do know. Physical exams are actually quite daunting to me. There's so much to remember and it's the basis for the rest of your diagnostics. I've always been in awe of my veterinary mentors and just how much information they can get using their four senses (taste should probably never be a part of the physical exam) and a stethoscope. The aforementioned bulldog is a horrible little psycho (affectionately known as a "caution dog" by her veterinarian) but she's stupidly tolerant of anything I try to do to her. The mare is the same way. She's actually given me some bad horse handling habits because she's just so chilled out that I forget that not all horses are the same way. Plus, it gives me a chance to spend as much time as I want to try to find a horse's heart sounds without being laughed it.
Except possibly by my riding coach.
Scratch that, definitely by my riding coach.
Don't you laugh either! It's harder than it seems. They have big hearts, but there's just so much horse between you and the heart that hearing it isn't always easy. And they're completely uncooperative about it, since the best place to hear the heart sounds is more or less directly where their leg is, and do you think they'll remove it for me? So inconsiderate!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Past, present and future
I won't waffle on too much about the present. It's what I live every day, obviously. From staring blankly at a histopathology slide of a kidney, to throwing out project suggestions on totally obscure viruses to a classmate ("Really, you HAVE to do rinderpest! It's an awesome name! Ooh, or how about bovine lumpy skin disease? It's officially got "lumpy" in it's name, how great is that?"), that's my day in a nut shell. And oh yes, giant kidney worms made another appearance. *shudder*
I had a past moment and a future moment though. I run the student laundry service at the AVC, and today was the first day open for the year. A fourth year bustles in just before I close the morning shift before my first class.
Her: "Oh good, you have coveralls! I don't know if I'll need them, but it never hurts to have an extra set, right? Wait, do I need them today? What day is it? Is it a weekday?"
Me: "Um, it's Tuesday."
Her: "Are you open at lunch?"
Me: "Yep, 12:30-1:20."
Her: "I'll be back at lunch then!"
She was good to her word and grabbed a pair of coveralls. I saw her later with the rest of her group as they started their diagnostics rotation. They're so close to being doctors, but they still look nervous. I'm convinced I'll never make it as a fourth year. I can't figure out a kidney histopath slide, for crying out loud. I look at them and I realize just how far I have left to go.
And then I got smacked in the face with my past. As we were sitting in the cafeteria during a break (having the aforementioned obscure viruses conversation), a group of first years filed in, pouring over laptops with histology slides on them. Oh boy. Was that really only last year? Yes, first years, histology is all pink and purple splotches and lines. I promise it gets better when you get to organs. Tissues suck. You have my deepest sympathies as someone who's been there, done that, and sadly, there wasn't even a bloody t-shirt.
I had a past moment and a future moment though. I run the student laundry service at the AVC, and today was the first day open for the year. A fourth year bustles in just before I close the morning shift before my first class.
Her: "Oh good, you have coveralls! I don't know if I'll need them, but it never hurts to have an extra set, right? Wait, do I need them today? What day is it? Is it a weekday?"
Me: "Um, it's Tuesday."
Her: "Are you open at lunch?"
Me: "Yep, 12:30-1:20."
Her: "I'll be back at lunch then!"
She was good to her word and grabbed a pair of coveralls. I saw her later with the rest of her group as they started their diagnostics rotation. They're so close to being doctors, but they still look nervous. I'm convinced I'll never make it as a fourth year. I can't figure out a kidney histopath slide, for crying out loud. I look at them and I realize just how far I have left to go.
And then I got smacked in the face with my past. As we were sitting in the cafeteria during a break (having the aforementioned obscure viruses conversation), a group of first years filed in, pouring over laptops with histology slides on them. Oh boy. Was that really only last year? Yes, first years, histology is all pink and purple splotches and lines. I promise it gets better when you get to organs. Tissues suck. You have my deepest sympathies as someone who's been there, done that, and sadly, there wasn't even a bloody t-shirt.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Cows don't care if it's cute
With Clinical Orientation II and physical examinations looming in my future, I went to buy a digital thermometer today. First off, I couldn't figure out why all the stores were so busy at 1:30 on a Tuesday. Oh, right, the normal students haven't gone back to school yet and are still buying supplies. Bugger 'em.
Anyway, back to the health and pharmacy section I go. Now, digital thermometers are generally marketed to parents with young children. So there's a lot that come in cute designs like frogs and koalas. Last I checked, cows don't generally care that the thermometer is adorable, they just want you to put their tail down and stop poking them there. Being on a budget, I grabbed the cheapest one I could find. Then I noticed it said "30 second read time". Wait, they come in different times?? So I looked at the others. "15 seconds", "10 seconds", "7 seconds". Hm. If I'm sticking this into the business end of a green horse, or a cat having a bad day, or a goat with an attitude problem, shorter is probably better. The 7 second one would have been the best option, but I didn't want to spend $40 on something that could very well end up entirely inside where-the-sun-don't-shine, or dropped into a pile of the byproducts of where-the-sun-don't-shine. I ended up with the 15 second one. It beeps when there's a fever. Or at least, a fever by human standards. Oh, and it's waterproof. So it can be washed for when I invariably drop it in poo.
I also had to grab a cheap watch, because like all normal people, I just use my phone these days, but I can't hold my phone and a stethoscope too while taking HR and RR. The watch is also able to be washed. Or at least rinsed. Hopefully though, stuck to my wrist, it won't end up in poo.
So I'm all set for labs now. I have my stethoscope, my watch with a second hand, and my thermometer.
Wait.
Bugger.
Pen light. Knew I forgot something.
*sigh*
Anyway, back to the health and pharmacy section I go. Now, digital thermometers are generally marketed to parents with young children. So there's a lot that come in cute designs like frogs and koalas. Last I checked, cows don't generally care that the thermometer is adorable, they just want you to put their tail down and stop poking them there. Being on a budget, I grabbed the cheapest one I could find. Then I noticed it said "30 second read time". Wait, they come in different times?? So I looked at the others. "15 seconds", "10 seconds", "7 seconds". Hm. If I'm sticking this into the business end of a green horse, or a cat having a bad day, or a goat with an attitude problem, shorter is probably better. The 7 second one would have been the best option, but I didn't want to spend $40 on something that could very well end up entirely inside where-the-sun-don't-shine, or dropped into a pile of the byproducts of where-the-sun-don't-shine. I ended up with the 15 second one. It beeps when there's a fever. Or at least, a fever by human standards. Oh, and it's waterproof. So it can be washed for when I invariably drop it in poo.
I also had to grab a cheap watch, because like all normal people, I just use my phone these days, but I can't hold my phone and a stethoscope too while taking HR and RR. The watch is also able to be washed. Or at least rinsed. Hopefully though, stuck to my wrist, it won't end up in poo.
So I'm all set for labs now. I have my stethoscope, my watch with a second hand, and my thermometer.
Wait.
Bugger.
Pen light. Knew I forgot something.
*sigh*
Saturday, August 25, 2012
But I can't be stressed now - classes haven't even started yet!
*whine*
Yes, it's your favourite semi-neurotic AVCer, back from a summer filled with cat feces, llama feces, goat feces, sheep feces, blood, tears, sunshine and shrieking and laughing children (amazingly, shrieking and laughing seem to sound awfully similar in human juveniles...).
Second year will officially kick off at 8:30 AST on August 27. That is, the day after tomorrow and with any lucky, it won't be like the movie of the same name. First year orientation was yesterday, and sadly, I was working so was unable to attend it. But a huge congratulations to all the AVC 2016ers. Wear those blue coats with pride! At least until you wear them to anatomy and get cadaver juice on them.*
On what should be a celebratory weekend to kick back and enjoy the last days of freedom, I'm actually a basket case. I'm moving next weekend. My dear, loving, amazing mother and step-father are driving from Nova Scotia and they'll be loading the trailer while I'm in class on Friday. So today and tomorrow, I'm mostly packing, trying to find stuff for school on Monday, picking up things I need for the apartment (those minor but important things you don't think about until you don't have them, like a dish pan).
In all of this, I get a message in my UPEI mail account on Friday informing me that our first lecture for Diagnostic Imaging has been posted online and we're to review it for Monday. It's huge. And it's on ultrasound. I was super excited about Diagnostic Imaging. I love radiographs and MRI and scintigraphy, plus two of my favourite professors would be back. Then I remembered ultrasound and I was suddenly a lot less excited and a lot more freaked out. Given enough time, I can usually find the bladder on an ultrasound, because it's a giant black circle. Everything else, and I might as well be looking at snow on a TV screen. Yikes.
While I'm on the website, I decide to see what else is up already. Clinical Orientation II has a few things posted. Yay for learning physical exams this semester! Then I see that our first week, we start talking about stethoscopes. Oh shit. Mine's in a box somewhere. Which box? Bloody hell, I don't want to have to rip them all open again! Luckily, it was the second one I looked in.
There you have it then. Haven't even started yet, and I'm already behind the 8 ball. Go me.
*Mine never did. I only ever used it in the anatomy lab on exam days, and it was thoroughly washed each time. I'm a bit obsessive about it.
Yes, it's your favourite semi-neurotic AVCer, back from a summer filled with cat feces, llama feces, goat feces, sheep feces, blood, tears, sunshine and shrieking and laughing children (amazingly, shrieking and laughing seem to sound awfully similar in human juveniles...).
Second year will officially kick off at 8:30 AST on August 27. That is, the day after tomorrow and with any lucky, it won't be like the movie of the same name. First year orientation was yesterday, and sadly, I was working so was unable to attend it. But a huge congratulations to all the AVC 2016ers. Wear those blue coats with pride! At least until you wear them to anatomy and get cadaver juice on them.*
On what should be a celebratory weekend to kick back and enjoy the last days of freedom, I'm actually a basket case. I'm moving next weekend. My dear, loving, amazing mother and step-father are driving from Nova Scotia and they'll be loading the trailer while I'm in class on Friday. So today and tomorrow, I'm mostly packing, trying to find stuff for school on Monday, picking up things I need for the apartment (those minor but important things you don't think about until you don't have them, like a dish pan).
In all of this, I get a message in my UPEI mail account on Friday informing me that our first lecture for Diagnostic Imaging has been posted online and we're to review it for Monday. It's huge. And it's on ultrasound. I was super excited about Diagnostic Imaging. I love radiographs and MRI and scintigraphy, plus two of my favourite professors would be back. Then I remembered ultrasound and I was suddenly a lot less excited and a lot more freaked out. Given enough time, I can usually find the bladder on an ultrasound, because it's a giant black circle. Everything else, and I might as well be looking at snow on a TV screen. Yikes.
While I'm on the website, I decide to see what else is up already. Clinical Orientation II has a few things posted. Yay for learning physical exams this semester! Then I see that our first week, we start talking about stethoscopes. Oh shit. Mine's in a box somewhere. Which box? Bloody hell, I don't want to have to rip them all open again! Luckily, it was the second one I looked in.
There you have it then. Haven't even started yet, and I'm already behind the 8 ball. Go me.
*Mine never did. I only ever used it in the anatomy lab on exam days, and it was thoroughly washed each time. I'm a bit obsessive about it.
Monday, July 9, 2012
A Midsummer Night's Check-In
Yes, just poking my head in here. Expect more regular updates after August 27 when second year officially starts.
Until then, I just want to touch on the physical aspect of this career path. You will get injured. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Animals are unpredictable. In addition to that, most medical procedures are at least partially uncomfortable. Your patients don't understand that you need that blood sample to diagnose them to make them feel better. They just know that you're holding them down and something just stabbed them. Sometimes, the blood drawn isn't theirs, it's yours.
Which brings me to my latest scar in the making. A run in with a goat at work resulted in my glasses frame being pushed into my right eyebrow. Result? A 4cm-ish long gash, needing five stitches and a broken lens.
Being the vet student that I am, I was mostly peeved that I couldn't watch the emergency doctor doing the sutures. No worse for wear though! I may have a scar, I may not, that remains to be seen. Luckily, vet med is the one industry where "I got this scar being in the face by a goat" is considered impressive. To the rest of the world, it's just weird.
Until then, I just want to touch on the physical aspect of this career path. You will get injured. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Animals are unpredictable. In addition to that, most medical procedures are at least partially uncomfortable. Your patients don't understand that you need that blood sample to diagnose them to make them feel better. They just know that you're holding them down and something just stabbed them. Sometimes, the blood drawn isn't theirs, it's yours.
Which brings me to my latest scar in the making. A run in with a goat at work resulted in my glasses frame being pushed into my right eyebrow. Result? A 4cm-ish long gash, needing five stitches and a broken lens.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
On hiatus!
*blows cobwebs away*
Just so you don't stumble on to this blog and think it's been abandoned. My Four Years and Counting will be on hiatus until sometime in mid-August as I'm getting ready for second year. After all, it's a bit hard to blog about vet school when you're not in vet school. To all the accepted internationals in the Class of 2016, I can't wait to meet you! And Canadians, stalk your mail carrier because letters are going out this week!
So I'll leave you with some interesting lobster colour genetics, and in the words of Tigger: "TTFN! Ta ta for now!"
Will rare blue lobster give birth to blue babies?
Just so you don't stumble on to this blog and think it's been abandoned. My Four Years and Counting will be on hiatus until sometime in mid-August as I'm getting ready for second year. After all, it's a bit hard to blog about vet school when you're not in vet school. To all the accepted internationals in the Class of 2016, I can't wait to meet you! And Canadians, stalk your mail carrier because letters are going out this week!
So I'll leave you with some interesting lobster colour genetics, and in the words of Tigger: "TTFN! Ta ta for now!"
Will rare blue lobster give birth to blue babies?
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Epilogue to Year 1
So, I've survived - yes, I'm sure my absence indicated exams had driven me to run off and join the circus; they did, but I'm a lousy acrobat, so I came home.
I got through exams and came out the other side relatively unscathed, if tired. Marks came in a week or so ago and it's all good news, so I can't complain there!
I had almost two weeks off, and I started my first of two summer jobs today. I'm running some lab work for a PhD student at school. Nothing glamorous, but it's much needed paid lab experience that I'm more than grateful to have. I'll be with her until the end of June, then I'm acting as a camp counsellor at some animal themed day camps for July and August.
Today, I had sort of a weird revelation. I was following the PhD candidate around, observing how she went about her research, asking lots of questions (she's very patient with me, luckily). It struck me - I was a minarai.
I've long been entranced by the karyukai - the flower and willow world of geisha. There's sort of four stages to a geisha's training. Shikomi, minarai, maiko and geisha.
Shikomi (仕込み) are the errand runners. They don't entertain, they don't get dressed up. They learn, they clean, they cook, they practice. Shikomi are pre-vets. The word "shikomi" translates as "preparation".
Minarai (見習い) are first stage apprentices. They atten parties, but they don't do much. Their goal is to watch and learn. Vet students in years 1-3 are minarai. We pay attention and if we're really lucky, we learn something.
Maiko (舞妓) literally translates as "dancing child". These are the fourth years. They're starting to entertain (see clients, treat patients), but they're nervous, they're inexperienced. Real maiko wear bright, almost garish kimono and hair ornaments to cover up the fact that they might be a bit clumsy. Senior vet students hide behind their lab coats, their stethoscopes, and will happily talk your ear off about what they do know in hopes that it covers up what they don't know*. I could probably lump new graduates and interns in here too.
Geiko (芸子）is the veterinarian with a few years under their belt. The geiko is refined, elegant. They don't need the flashy clothes and jargon. They may wear a white coat, or scrubs, or jeans. It doesn't matter, they know what they're talking about. They just go about their business, confident in their abilities.
So there you have it. That's what exams does to you. It makes you draw really weird comparisons. Someone reset my brain please?
*Okay, to be fair, all vet students sort of do that. Including yours truly. "Well I don't know much about x, but here's everything I know that's even vaguely related to x!" It's a bad exam habit I have.
I got through exams and came out the other side relatively unscathed, if tired. Marks came in a week or so ago and it's all good news, so I can't complain there!
I had almost two weeks off, and I started my first of two summer jobs today. I'm running some lab work for a PhD student at school. Nothing glamorous, but it's much needed paid lab experience that I'm more than grateful to have. I'll be with her until the end of June, then I'm acting as a camp counsellor at some animal themed day camps for July and August.
Today, I had sort of a weird revelation. I was following the PhD candidate around, observing how she went about her research, asking lots of questions (she's very patient with me, luckily). It struck me - I was a minarai.
I've long been entranced by the karyukai - the flower and willow world of geisha. There's sort of four stages to a geisha's training. Shikomi, minarai, maiko and geisha.
Shikomi (仕込み) are the errand runners. They don't entertain, they don't get dressed up. They learn, they clean, they cook, they practice. Shikomi are pre-vets. The word "shikomi" translates as "preparation".
Minarai (見習い) are first stage apprentices. They atten parties, but they don't do much. Their goal is to watch and learn. Vet students in years 1-3 are minarai. We pay attention and if we're really lucky, we learn something.
Maiko (舞妓) literally translates as "dancing child". These are the fourth years. They're starting to entertain (see clients, treat patients), but they're nervous, they're inexperienced. Real maiko wear bright, almost garish kimono and hair ornaments to cover up the fact that they might be a bit clumsy. Senior vet students hide behind their lab coats, their stethoscopes, and will happily talk your ear off about what they do know in hopes that it covers up what they don't know*. I could probably lump new graduates and interns in here too.
Geiko (芸子）is the veterinarian with a few years under their belt. The geiko is refined, elegant. They don't need the flashy clothes and jargon. They may wear a white coat, or scrubs, or jeans. It doesn't matter, they know what they're talking about. They just go about their business, confident in their abilities.
So there you have it. That's what exams does to you. It makes you draw really weird comparisons. Someone reset my brain please?
*Okay, to be fair, all vet students sort of do that. Including yours truly. "Well I don't know much about x, but here's everything I know that's even vaguely related to x!" It's a bad exam habit I have.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...
Okay, so I'm putting off studying for my FINAL EXAM OF FIRST YEAR (yeah, I needed to write that in capitals). I ordered a hoodie, since my class was selling printed and embroidered clothes as a fundraiser. After all, only natural to want to show off your school and what you do, right? Especially when you worked this hard to get it.
I ordered a red hoodie, with the veterinary medicine logo on the front, and "Real doctors treat more than one species" on the back. Logos on the front of things typically go on the left chest, right? So I figured all I needed to write on the order form was "front".
I was mistaken.
I got exactly what I ordered.
Oh well. I kind of like the superhero-esque effect.
I ordered a red hoodie, with the veterinary medicine logo on the front, and "Real doctors treat more than one species" on the back. Logos on the front of things typically go on the left chest, right? So I figured all I needed to write on the order form was "front".
I was mistaken.
I got exactly what I ordered.
Oh well. I kind of like the superhero-esque effect.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
No middle ground
That basically describes how I feel while studying. All day, I've been reviewing off and on for my anatomy final (!!!) on Monday. My confidence level in the material seems to pendulum. I vary between "Hey, I got this! External iliac, semitendinosus, hyopharyngeus! Yessiree-bob (okay, no I don't say "yessiree-bob") I'm gonna ace this!" and "OMGWTFBBQ!! What is this stuff?!?! "Femoropatellar joint pouch"?! What the hell is that!? No one's ever mentioned that before!! WAHHHH! I'M GONNA FAIL AND HAVE TO WORK RETAIL FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!"
Okay, that last part is kind of hyperbole, but you get the picture. I have no "Yeah, I'll be okay" setting. I mean, I do. I know logically if I'm swinging wildly between those two settings, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Past experience has shown me that if I put in the time (which I have) I'll be all right.
It doesn't help that I've got a nagging headache. I'm heading to bed early tonight (as soon as the Sens/Rangers game is over) in the hopes of making it go away. In my headache/tired/drug induced brain fog, I misread my notes today, and the cranial nerves of "sensation" suddenly became the cranial nerves that were "sensational". I don't remember which nerves those are now, but they must be marvelous! (I have a mental block with the cranial nerves in that I have to go down the various dirty mnemonic devices to figure out which is which and what they do.)
Just 13 more days!
Okay, that last part is kind of hyperbole, but you get the picture. I have no "Yeah, I'll be okay" setting. I mean, I do. I know logically if I'm swinging wildly between those two settings, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Past experience has shown me that if I put in the time (which I have) I'll be all right.
It doesn't help that I've got a nagging headache. I'm heading to bed early tonight (as soon as the Sens/Rangers game is over) in the hopes of making it go away. In my headache/tired/drug induced brain fog, I misread my notes today, and the cranial nerves of "sensation" suddenly became the cranial nerves that were "sensational". I don't remember which nerves those are now, but they must be marvelous! (I have a mental block with the cranial nerves in that I have to go down the various dirty mnemonic devices to figure out which is which and what they do.)
Just 13 more days!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Verified: Competent
Today I had the first of nine exams that I'll write over the next 17 days. It was for Clinical Orientation - we have to show what we know so they call it a verification of competence. How to use various pieces of equipment, how to restrain animals for different procedures, identification of ages, breeds, sexes, etc. I breezed through the large animal written section and bovine handling and restraint (including getting one hand full of you-know-what while demonstrating a tail jack). And then I came to small ruminant and swine. I did okay with the sheep. They mostly just stood in a corner and were more or less cooperative.
But swine... Oh dear. I'm not comfortable with pigs. I respect them as highly intelligent animals and they're cute as hell as babies. But I'm really only comfortable with swine when they're on my plate. So I put on my big girl rubber boots and in I go with the two 3 month old pigs as the doctor watches me. First, I almost left the gate open, because it looked like the doctor was going to close it (she was reaching for it), but she didn't, and pointed it out to me. I grab the pig board and guide the smaller pig into a corner to show I know how to use it. She asks me where to make an IM injection and I show her. She hands me a hog snare and asks me how to use it (I don't actually have to demonstrate on the pig). Meanwhile, the big pig is CHEWING ON MY LAB COAT. And my boots. And at one point, my legs. Do you have any idea how hard it is to seem composed and intelligent while you're being chewed on by a pig?? I swear that was the longest 3 minutes of my life. I was ecstatic to finally get to the equine station.It was like being rescued by my comrades after being stuck behind enemy lines.
We did small animal next. I came across like an idiot for lab animal. I know the material for lab animal, I can perform the skills, but she mostly wanted me to explain it, and I'm not so good at verbalizing this stuff. Everything else went smoothly. I passed small animal, and as far as I know, I passed large animal. So I'm officially verified as competent. Woo. Just eight more exams to go!
But swine... Oh dear. I'm not comfortable with pigs. I respect them as highly intelligent animals and they're cute as hell as babies. But I'm really only comfortable with swine when they're on my plate. So I put on my big girl rubber boots and in I go with the two 3 month old pigs as the doctor watches me. First, I almost left the gate open, because it looked like the doctor was going to close it (she was reaching for it), but she didn't, and pointed it out to me. I grab the pig board and guide the smaller pig into a corner to show I know how to use it. She asks me where to make an IM injection and I show her. She hands me a hog snare and asks me how to use it (I don't actually have to demonstrate on the pig). Meanwhile, the big pig is CHEWING ON MY LAB COAT. And my boots. And at one point, my legs. Do you have any idea how hard it is to seem composed and intelligent while you're being chewed on by a pig?? I swear that was the longest 3 minutes of my life. I was ecstatic to finally get to the equine station.It was like being rescued by my comrades after being stuck behind enemy lines.
We did small animal next. I came across like an idiot for lab animal. I know the material for lab animal, I can perform the skills, but she mostly wanted me to explain it, and I'm not so good at verbalizing this stuff. Everything else went smoothly. I passed small animal, and as far as I know, I passed large animal. So I'm officially verified as competent. Woo. Just eight more exams to go!
Monday, March 26, 2012
People always complain about anatomy
First year students seem to ubiquitously complain about anatomy. I don't get it, personally. It's just a bunch of names, but there's nothing tricky about anatomy. It's a lot of material, but it's basically straight memorization. If you know any Latin and Greek word roots, you can usually make some sense of the names too. Plus there's all the dirty acronyms for nerves and blood vessels. And dissection is just, well, it's fun. For a given value of fun, mind you. I kind of like it. I have a solid group to work with and we laugh and joke (especially when we're doing the reproductive system....). Anyway, my point is that the people that complain about anatomy have it all wrong. They're wasting their time.
What they need to be complaining about is embryology.
Good lord. All I can say is that I've never had a class suck the life out of me the way embryology does. We had the midterm today, and we're all just praying we passed. I don't know, maybe at other vet schools, embryology isn't as bad. I swear if everyone had to pass an embryology class before being allowed to procreate, we'd have world overpopulation solved. After the test, you could look at my class and truthfully wonder if you'd stumbled onto the set of some zombie movie. Angry zombies ranting about "Who cares where the thyroid cells originate from!?" mind you, but zombies nonetheless.
I've mostly gotten through first year thinking, "Well this isn't too bad..." But embryology? Woo, boy, they saved the best for last, obviously. Just in case you get cocky thinking you can cruise your way into second year. To reference hockey, I feel like I almost had a win, then the other team tied it up late in the third and now we have to go to overtime.
What they need to be complaining about is embryology.
Good lord. All I can say is that I've never had a class suck the life out of me the way embryology does. We had the midterm today, and we're all just praying we passed. I don't know, maybe at other vet schools, embryology isn't as bad. I swear if everyone had to pass an embryology class before being allowed to procreate, we'd have world overpopulation solved. After the test, you could look at my class and truthfully wonder if you'd stumbled onto the set of some zombie movie. Angry zombies ranting about "Who cares where the thyroid cells originate from!?" mind you, but zombies nonetheless.
I've mostly gotten through first year thinking, "Well this isn't too bad..." But embryology? Woo, boy, they saved the best for last, obviously. Just in case you get cocky thinking you can cruise your way into second year. To reference hockey, I feel like I almost had a win, then the other team tied it up late in the third and now we have to go to overtime.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
About halfway through
Not the semester - we passed the halfway mark there awhile ago. No, I mean in tests. Between quizzes, midterms and exams, we write 20 of the buggers this semester. This week when we write our third Parasitology test, we'll have written 10 so far. Which means that we have another 10 crammed into the next six weeks. This is both not as bad and worse than it sounds. Seven of those are in the last two weeks during finals (four during the first week, three during the second). The other three are between now and then, so a little more manageable. Our Parasitology professor put it best - studying in vet school is triage. You deal with whatever is on the horizon next. When that's done, you move on to the next thing.
I wrote my make-up/post-poned anatomy midterm yesterday. Some of those specimens aren't holding up very well. There was a rotting horse gastrointestinal tract we had to identify parts of. (Note: This actually was the best specimen possible that they had to use for that particular part of the body.) And a rotting horse gastrointestinal tract smells more or less exactly what you think it smells like. I will swear up and down that vet students have some of the strongest stomachs (or worst senses of smell) you find anywhere. A word of advice to future vet students: Learn the gastrointestinal tract really well so that you don't have to spend a lot of time poking it in anatomy lab.
We're also creative writers. We don't mean to be, we just forget things. I have a friend (an online friend, but a friend nonetheless) who when faced with an anatomy specimen he couldn't identify, wrote down "os penis of the stegosaurus". I wasn't that creative, but I tend to make up names based on what I see. Sometimes I'm sort of right. Another note to future vet students: Take up etymology as a hobby (that's etymology, not entomology, though the latter might help you with parasitology). Knowing some Greek and Latin root words is hugely helpful, both in taking the GRE to get into vet school, and in learning anatomy and pathology. "Omohyoideus" makes a lot more sense when you know that "omo" means "shoulder" and "hyoid" refers to the hyoid bone of the skull.
The midterm was pretty good overall. I took it with another girl who missed it and it was pretty relaxed. And the professor gave us each a couple Hershey's kisses. Can't complain about that!
I wrote my make-up/post-poned anatomy midterm yesterday. Some of those specimens aren't holding up very well. There was a rotting horse gastrointestinal tract we had to identify parts of. (Note: This actually was the best specimen possible that they had to use for that particular part of the body.) And a rotting horse gastrointestinal tract smells more or less exactly what you think it smells like. I will swear up and down that vet students have some of the strongest stomachs (or worst senses of smell) you find anywhere. A word of advice to future vet students: Learn the gastrointestinal tract really well so that you don't have to spend a lot of time poking it in anatomy lab.
We're also creative writers. We don't mean to be, we just forget things. I have a friend (an online friend, but a friend nonetheless) who when faced with an anatomy specimen he couldn't identify, wrote down "os penis of the stegosaurus". I wasn't that creative, but I tend to make up names based on what I see. Sometimes I'm sort of right. Another note to future vet students: Take up etymology as a hobby (that's etymology, not entomology, though the latter might help you with parasitology). Knowing some Greek and Latin root words is hugely helpful, both in taking the GRE to get into vet school, and in learning anatomy and pathology. "Omohyoideus" makes a lot more sense when you know that "omo" means "shoulder" and "hyoid" refers to the hyoid bone of the skull.
The midterm was pretty good overall. I took it with another girl who missed it and it was pretty relaxed. And the professor gave us each a couple Hershey's kisses. Can't complain about that!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Hazards of the job
Okay, there's really no denying that vet med is a high risk field (depending on what you're doing, of course - epidemiologists only problem is possible carpal tunnel and pathologists biggest risk is accidentally cutting themselves while gleefully hacking at a post mortem). Your patients will bite you, scratch you, step on you, shove you into walls...
Today, I have a sore neck. Did I strain something picking up a Saint Bernard? Did a cow hit me in the head? Maybe a python tried to choke me?
No, no, and no.
I got a cramp while studying for my histology final. I was typing up notes and going back and forth between the paper notes and online images. The book is to my left. So I spent a large amount of time yesterday looking down and to the left. Hence, the left side of my neck now hurts.
Worst. Injury. Ever.
(Before I get hate mail, I love epidemiologists and pathologists. I kid because I love.)
Today, I have a sore neck. Did I strain something picking up a Saint Bernard? Did a cow hit me in the head? Maybe a python tried to choke me?
No, no, and no.
I got a cramp while studying for my histology final. I was typing up notes and going back and forth between the paper notes and online images. The book is to my left. So I spent a large amount of time yesterday looking down and to the left. Hence, the left side of my neck now hurts.
Worst. Injury. Ever.
(Before I get hate mail, I love epidemiologists and pathologists. I kid because I love.)
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Treading water
It's a reality of any demanding academic program. Med school, dentistry, vet school, law... There will be times when you feel like "Oh, I just want to pass!" Admittedly, this is a major psychological shift for most people in these programs. If you're in vet school, it's because your academics were good enough that you rarely "just passed" in undergrad. But when you put all those high achievers in one room, the average goes up.
Admittedly, I've been doing very well. I've learned how much I need to study to keep me in the 80s and above the average, and sometimes I get a pleasant surprise in the form of a 90+. But we all falter. I've got four exams right now that I really just want to pass. Anything above a 50 is icing on the cake. Now I didn't miss much time for my father's death - I was only out 3 days. But in those 3 days, I missed two exams, and lost a lot of study time, so I opted to reschedule another one. This means I have 3 exams to write in 3 days. This is not going to be my best work. Hence the title of this post. If I keep my head above water, that's good enough right now. Hopefully, I get back on track by the end of next week. On the bright side, these are only midterms, and I have room to redeem my grade (and myself) at the end of the semester.
Which reminds me: End of first year is just 8 long/short weeks away. Six more weeks of classes, two weeks of exams and we're out. Yes! Hard to believe. I got a job interview working with the Department of Health Management studying disease in dairy cattle. Really hoping to land that, or to work in the teaching hospital over the summer.
*looks outside at the snow drifts*
*sighs*
Yeah, summer. I think it still exists. Although right now I'm convinced that if all the snow melts, Charlottetown will become the new Atlantis and disappear under the water.
Admittedly, I've been doing very well. I've learned how much I need to study to keep me in the 80s and above the average, and sometimes I get a pleasant surprise in the form of a 90+. But we all falter. I've got four exams right now that I really just want to pass. Anything above a 50 is icing on the cake. Now I didn't miss much time for my father's death - I was only out 3 days. But in those 3 days, I missed two exams, and lost a lot of study time, so I opted to reschedule another one. This means I have 3 exams to write in 3 days. This is not going to be my best work. Hence the title of this post. If I keep my head above water, that's good enough right now. Hopefully, I get back on track by the end of next week. On the bright side, these are only midterms, and I have room to redeem my grade (and myself) at the end of the semester.
Which reminds me: End of first year is just 8 long/short weeks away. Six more weeks of classes, two weeks of exams and we're out. Yes! Hard to believe. I got a job interview working with the Department of Health Management studying disease in dairy cattle. Really hoping to land that, or to work in the teaching hospital over the summer.
*looks outside at the snow drifts*
*sighs*
Yeah, summer. I think it still exists. Although right now I'm convinced that if all the snow melts, Charlottetown will become the new Atlantis and disappear under the water.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Explanation of my absence
My father passed away on February 22. I was actually planning an update that day (I have no excuse for where I vanished to between the 7th and the 21st).
The reception after the funeral actually sparked the idea for this post. See, I saw a lot of relatives that I haven't seen in a really long time. They know I'm in vet school. They don't seem to know anything about vet school beyond that. I can't blame them. I mean, I don't know anything about law school.
Common questions I got:
- So, how many years is that? (I've heard that some people think it's a two year community college thing. Luckily none of my friends and relations fell into that category and most thought it was around four years.)
- Small animal or large animal? (There's only two kinds of vets to the general public.)
- My dog needs to go to the vet college. Can I ask for you? (Um... I'm a first year. I only get to deal with dead things.)
- How many in your class? Really, 60? That's a lot! (This was especially funny to me, because AVC has one of the smallest classes in North America, and my cell biology undergraduate class was 500+)
Fortunately, no one asked me to diagnose anything.
I'd like to deviate a moment to give a shout-out to all the faculty at AVC. They have been amazing to me, helping me to reschedule tests and get back on track. My classmates have been equally as fantastic. I will say that for anyone with an acceptance to AVC who is considering the school, the community within the school is so close knit and helpful.
The reception after the funeral actually sparked the idea for this post. See, I saw a lot of relatives that I haven't seen in a really long time. They know I'm in vet school. They don't seem to know anything about vet school beyond that. I can't blame them. I mean, I don't know anything about law school.
Common questions I got:
- So, how many years is that? (I've heard that some people think it's a two year community college thing. Luckily none of my friends and relations fell into that category and most thought it was around four years.)
- Small animal or large animal? (There's only two kinds of vets to the general public.)
- My dog needs to go to the vet college. Can I ask for you? (Um... I'm a first year. I only get to deal with dead things.)
- How many in your class? Really, 60? That's a lot! (This was especially funny to me, because AVC has one of the smallest classes in North America, and my cell biology undergraduate class was 500+)
Fortunately, no one asked me to diagnose anything.
I'd like to deviate a moment to give a shout-out to all the faculty at AVC. They have been amazing to me, helping me to reschedule tests and get back on track. My classmates have been equally as fantastic. I will say that for anyone with an acceptance to AVC who is considering the school, the community within the school is so close knit and helpful.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
A note during interview season
So, first off, I'm not doing this to be patronising. And I know that some of you will ignore it, and I don't really blame you, I would have too. But I thought I'd put it out there anyway. If nothing else, it's a brief distraction from studying about heartworm and the eight million things that all look the same and can appear in poo.
The Class of 2016 hopefuls are starting to appear at AVC for their interviews. For now it's the internationals, but in a bit, the Atlantic Canadians will show up (PS - if you're an Atlantic Canadian with an interview, let me know. I love to meet people!) My classmates and I have been talking a lot about what it was like for us to be in those shoes. Those god awful uncomfortable shoes, if I remember correctly (both metaphorically uncomfortable, and literally uncomfortable because I hate high heels as I hate Hell, all Montagues and thee).
I'm going to start by being a massive downer. Not all of you will get in. Depending on where you're applying from, the odds are better or worse, but the cold hard truth is that there's way more applications than seats. On our first day, we were told that there were 360 applications for 60 seats. Some of you will get rejection letters right out of the gate. Some of you will get them after interviews. Some of you will get waitlisted and then never hear anything. Now, an addendum to my previous statement - Not all of you will get in this year. I really can't stress that enough. Yes, it will probably be shattering when you get rejected. But there's always next year. I threw a god forsaken fit when I got rejected post-interview in 2010 the first time around. I sobbed and moaned about how it's just not fair. Eventually, I picked myself up, did a post-mortem review and set a plan into action to spit and polish next year's application. Amazingly, that first fit was really nothing compared with the fit I had in 2011 when I was waitlisted. For crying out loud, what else could I do?! "I'm never getting in!" I mournfully remarked to my mother. (My poor mother...) Lo and behold though, a week later, that waitlist moved and here I am.
Even if you're flat out rejected, there is hope. Chances are, you can improve in some way to boost your chances. And if you're rejected, please remember, it is not a reflection of you as a person. Everyone comes into this with a different background. Different skills, different opportunities, different talents. It may be easier for A to get experience than it is for B. C may be better at science courses than D. Maybe E would have had better marks, but she was working a full time job while going to school, so couldn't devote as much time to physics as F. Everyone's circumstances are different. When you get into vet school, you will be over the moon that everyone is so diverse. I can't tell you how often I go see a classmate because they know cows. Or ferrets. Or physiology. Meanwhile, people come to me because I know histology, and horses, and etymology (you laugh, but it's amazingly helpful in anatomy). My long-winded point is, be the best applicant you can be. Don't complain about how so-and-so had it easier. It won't get you anywhere.
While you're touring the school, take a look at the students around you. They were you. Hell, some of us were you two or three times in a row. We got in. It wasn't easy, it may not have been immediate, but we got in. We're not superheroes. If we got in, so can you. Throw your all at it, have some confidence and persistence, and you'll be in. Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but you will be in. And then it'll be you blogging at 10:30 at night to avoid studying for a parasitology test.
The Class of 2016 hopefuls are starting to appear at AVC for their interviews. For now it's the internationals, but in a bit, the Atlantic Canadians will show up (PS - if you're an Atlantic Canadian with an interview, let me know. I love to meet people!) My classmates and I have been talking a lot about what it was like for us to be in those shoes. Those god awful uncomfortable shoes, if I remember correctly (both metaphorically uncomfortable, and literally uncomfortable because I hate high heels as I hate Hell, all Montagues and thee).
I'm going to start by being a massive downer. Not all of you will get in. Depending on where you're applying from, the odds are better or worse, but the cold hard truth is that there's way more applications than seats. On our first day, we were told that there were 360 applications for 60 seats. Some of you will get rejection letters right out of the gate. Some of you will get them after interviews. Some of you will get waitlisted and then never hear anything. Now, an addendum to my previous statement - Not all of you will get in this year. I really can't stress that enough. Yes, it will probably be shattering when you get rejected. But there's always next year. I threw a god forsaken fit when I got rejected post-interview in 2010 the first time around. I sobbed and moaned about how it's just not fair. Eventually, I picked myself up, did a post-mortem review and set a plan into action to spit and polish next year's application. Amazingly, that first fit was really nothing compared with the fit I had in 2011 when I was waitlisted. For crying out loud, what else could I do?! "I'm never getting in!" I mournfully remarked to my mother. (My poor mother...) Lo and behold though, a week later, that waitlist moved and here I am.
Even if you're flat out rejected, there is hope. Chances are, you can improve in some way to boost your chances. And if you're rejected, please remember, it is not a reflection of you as a person. Everyone comes into this with a different background. Different skills, different opportunities, different talents. It may be easier for A to get experience than it is for B. C may be better at science courses than D. Maybe E would have had better marks, but she was working a full time job while going to school, so couldn't devote as much time to physics as F. Everyone's circumstances are different. When you get into vet school, you will be over the moon that everyone is so diverse. I can't tell you how often I go see a classmate because they know cows. Or ferrets. Or physiology. Meanwhile, people come to me because I know histology, and horses, and etymology (you laugh, but it's amazingly helpful in anatomy). My long-winded point is, be the best applicant you can be. Don't complain about how so-and-so had it easier. It won't get you anywhere.
While you're touring the school, take a look at the students around you. They were you. Hell, some of us were you two or three times in a row. We got in. It wasn't easy, it may not have been immediate, but we got in. We're not superheroes. If we got in, so can you. Throw your all at it, have some confidence and persistence, and you'll be in. Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but you will be in. And then it'll be you blogging at 10:30 at night to avoid studying for a parasitology test.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
One month in and back in the swing
Yes, we're pretty much back in full swing. We've written two tests since my last post, with a quiz tomorrow, and another test next Thursday. We seem to have a never-ending stream of tests this semester, due to some courses having more than 1 midterm. For example - for histology, we have a midterm and a final. But histology only officially goes until March 5. So we just wrote the midterm for it on Monday. The final is March 5. Then we switch to embryology. And that has a midterm and a final. Anatomy has quizzes this semester. Parasitology has 3 tests and a final. You get the picture. I counted the other day - this semester, by April 27 when we write our last final exam, we'll have written 19 tests/exams this semester. There's only 17 weeks in the semester. Meaning we have a minimum of one test every single week. Yikes.
On the whole though, I am enjoying the semester. Anatomy is a bit tedious this semester. It's both the pain of learning new stuff, and the pain of trying to remember old stuff. I'm enjoying epidemiology, more or less. I like the concepts, I just haven't really liked any of the lecturers at this point.
My structure and function group is doing our presentation this Friday. That will be nice to have out of the way. At least we're doing it on a week when we don't have much else to worry about. Last week's group had the parasitology test on Thursday and then had to present on Friday. Our presentation is on the function of the udder. My section is on the milk ejection reflex so I'm mostly talking about hormones and neural pathways. Nothing too hard, though I'm hoping I can manage to say "magnocellular neurosecretory cell" without stumbling. While researching "milk ejection reflex", I remembered a rule I should know by now: Always specify the species. I got a bazillion results on breastfeeding. As in, human breastfeeding. (Not that I'm against breastfeeding, I'm all for it in both humans and non-human animals. It just wasn't what I wanted!)
So there's January gone already. Three months to summer break. Bring it on! To my pre-vet readers from Atlantic Canada - I know that time may be flying for me, but I know it's dragging for you. Hang in there, those interview invites WILL come. I look forward to meeting you!
(And my foot has more or less healed up. Never got a big impressive bruise, unfortunately. Boo. And she was very good this week, no fuss with her feet at all.)
On the whole though, I am enjoying the semester. Anatomy is a bit tedious this semester. It's both the pain of learning new stuff, and the pain of trying to remember old stuff. I'm enjoying epidemiology, more or less. I like the concepts, I just haven't really liked any of the lecturers at this point.
My structure and function group is doing our presentation this Friday. That will be nice to have out of the way. At least we're doing it on a week when we don't have much else to worry about. Last week's group had the parasitology test on Thursday and then had to present on Friday. Our presentation is on the function of the udder. My section is on the milk ejection reflex so I'm mostly talking about hormones and neural pathways. Nothing too hard, though I'm hoping I can manage to say "magnocellular neurosecretory cell" without stumbling. While researching "milk ejection reflex", I remembered a rule I should know by now: Always specify the species. I got a bazillion results on breastfeeding. As in, human breastfeeding. (Not that I'm against breastfeeding, I'm all for it in both humans and non-human animals. It just wasn't what I wanted!)
So there's January gone already. Three months to summer break. Bring it on! To my pre-vet readers from Atlantic Canada - I know that time may be flying for me, but I know it's dragging for you. Hang in there, those interview invites WILL come. I look forward to meeting you!
(And my foot has more or less healed up. Never got a big impressive bruise, unfortunately. Boo. And she was very good this week, no fuss with her feet at all.)
Monday, January 23, 2012
Ending with a bang
Unfortunately, that "bang" was the sound of our assigned horse stepping on my foot. Ow. She's usually a doll. This is sort of how it went.
Me: *picks up her hind foot*
Horse: Nooo. I'm a mare, and I'm cranky because the dumb horse keeps making faces at me and kicking the wall. *pulls foot away*
Me: *holds on to it* Nope, mine, not done picking this out yet.
Horse: Nooo! *yank*
Me: *loses grip on the hoof*
Horse: *puts foot down toe first on to my foot*
Luckily, she spared my toes and got me higher up on the foot. Still hurt like a bugger though. I'm hypotensive though, and had a vasovagal (re: dizzy) spell and had to lean against a wall in the barn with my head between my knees for awhile. Thank you to my concerned classmates who asked if I was okay. It passed though, and back I went to finish what I started. Then I walked the Beagles again. Then I went home and I've been icing it on and off ever since, keeping it propped up on the bed. There's a mild purple tinge to the skin but nothing worth writing home about. Harrumph. If I'm going to get stepped on, I'd at least like something impressive! Maybe tomorrow my immune's system artistic side will have come out.
Me: *picks up her hind foot*
Horse: Nooo. I'm a mare, and I'm cranky because the dumb horse keeps making faces at me and kicking the wall. *pulls foot away*
Me: *holds on to it* Nope, mine, not done picking this out yet.
Horse: Nooo! *yank*
Me: *loses grip on the hoof*
Horse: *puts foot down toe first on to my foot*
Luckily, she spared my toes and got me higher up on the foot. Still hurt like a bugger though. I'm hypotensive though, and had a vasovagal (re: dizzy) spell and had to lean against a wall in the barn with my head between my knees for awhile. Thank you to my concerned classmates who asked if I was okay. It passed though, and back I went to finish what I started. Then I walked the Beagles again. Then I went home and I've been icing it on and off ever since, keeping it propped up on the bed. There's a mild purple tinge to the skin but nothing worth writing home about. Harrumph. If I'm going to get stepped on, I'd at least like something impressive! Maybe tomorrow my immune's system artistic side will have come out.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Beagle Day!
Yes, Mondays are a little better this semester for me. Even though it's a Monday and I have to be up earlier than any other day. Classes start at 8:30 as usual, but I run the student laundry office from 8-8:30, so I'm there a half hour earlier. But I do that on Tuesdays too. So what's special about Mondays?
Mondays are the day I walk my group's Beagles. Yes it's stupidly cold out and I get to school before the sun even comes up (lazy sun, loafing around...), but what can I say? I love to watch them play. They skid around on the ice and run along the fence line with each passing car and then I call them and they zoom back to me, usually ducking between my legs at the last second. I'm dog deprived these days. My girl was put to sleep November 2010, so she didn't make the trek to PEI with me. I have housemates now, so not really in a position to get another dog. I plan on getting my own place next year, but still don't think I'll be able to get a new dog. I'm just gone too much, it wouldn't be fair to the dog. I think it's one thing to do that to a dog you've had for years, but not one you've just gotten. I may become a cat person. There's lots of humane society cats that need adopting. I don't dislike cats. I just find them a little odd. But they can be loveable. And I'm loveable and a little odd, so maybe we'll go very well together.
Speaking of the future, it's summer job application time. Yes, already! The positions don't start until May, obviously, but they're starting to post ads now. AVC hires students in various positions every summer. I'm hoping to get something with them, and to be honest, I don't really care what it is. I have preferences, but there's not a lot that I'd really hate doing. Maybe basic small animal care would be a no-go, but even something like ICU would be cool. I put in one application already for a position that closes on Jan 26. We will see!
Mondays are the day I walk my group's Beagles. Yes it's stupidly cold out and I get to school before the sun even comes up (lazy sun, loafing around...), but what can I say? I love to watch them play. They skid around on the ice and run along the fence line with each passing car and then I call them and they zoom back to me, usually ducking between my legs at the last second. I'm dog deprived these days. My girl was put to sleep November 2010, so she didn't make the trek to PEI with me. I have housemates now, so not really in a position to get another dog. I plan on getting my own place next year, but still don't think I'll be able to get a new dog. I'm just gone too much, it wouldn't be fair to the dog. I think it's one thing to do that to a dog you've had for years, but not one you've just gotten. I may become a cat person. There's lots of humane society cats that need adopting. I don't dislike cats. I just find them a little odd. But they can be loveable. And I'm loveable and a little odd, so maybe we'll go very well together.
Speaking of the future, it's summer job application time. Yes, already! The positions don't start until May, obviously, but they're starting to post ads now. AVC hires students in various positions every summer. I'm hoping to get something with them, and to be honest, I don't really care what it is. I have preferences, but there's not a lot that I'd really hate doing. Maybe basic small animal care would be a no-go, but even something like ICU would be cool. I put in one application already for a position that closes on Jan 26. We will see!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Oh glorious Wednesday!
We have some scheduling issues this semester. Mostly the issue is asking ourselves "Who came up with this??" Case in point - Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Wednesdays are wonderful (if you'll pardon the alliteration).We start at 9:30, an hour later than usual. We have an hour of Physiology, and then an hour of Structure and Function and since it's a discussion based class, it's a nice break from the usual lecturing. Then we have a two hour (!) lunch. Finally, we have an hour of Epidemiology* and then we may or may not have an Epidemiology lab.
*And today was a bonus because one of my favourite professors was guest lecturing.
Then there's through-the-wringer Thursdays (okay, that alliteration was just bad, and I apologize). Four straight hours of lecture in the morning. Four different subjects, none of them particularly easy. After lunch, it's three hours of Anatomy lab. Not to mention that it's Thursday, so you're just generally tired all ready anyway.
We had our first Parasitology lab on Monday. Fecal samples! Huzzah! We were eagerly awaiting our samples to come out of the centrifuge the way that other people might await cookies from the oven (well, okay, not quite THAT eager). I was largely unsuccessful in finding anything in my chosen sample of foal poo. I had to get one of the faculty over to locate something for me. Just not used to looking for the eggs yet. I know what they should look like, I just don't know what they should look like in relation to everything else on a microscope slide.
They also had some preserved specimens in jars of formalin. People always compare intestinal worms to spaghetti or rice. Poppycock, I say! They look like bean sprouts. At least Ascaris suum does.
Wednesdays are wonderful (if you'll pardon the alliteration).We start at 9:30, an hour later than usual. We have an hour of Physiology, and then an hour of Structure and Function and since it's a discussion based class, it's a nice break from the usual lecturing. Then we have a two hour (!) lunch. Finally, we have an hour of Epidemiology* and then we may or may not have an Epidemiology lab.
*And today was a bonus because one of my favourite professors was guest lecturing.
Then there's through-the-wringer Thursdays (okay, that alliteration was just bad, and I apologize). Four straight hours of lecture in the morning. Four different subjects, none of them particularly easy. After lunch, it's three hours of Anatomy lab. Not to mention that it's Thursday, so you're just generally tired all ready anyway.
We had our first Parasitology lab on Monday. Fecal samples! Huzzah! We were eagerly awaiting our samples to come out of the centrifuge the way that other people might await cookies from the oven (well, okay, not quite THAT eager). I was largely unsuccessful in finding anything in my chosen sample of foal poo. I had to get one of the faculty over to locate something for me. Just not used to looking for the eggs yet. I know what they should look like, I just don't know what they should look like in relation to everything else on a microscope slide.
They also had some preserved specimens in jars of formalin. People always compare intestinal worms to spaghetti or rice. Poppycock, I say! They look like bean sprouts. At least Ascaris suum does.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Two weeks already?
Once again, we're moving right along. Most of our classes are pretty good. Clinical Orientation is presenting some challenges for some people though. Not all the horses are good to work with, especially for those in our class who have no prior horse experience. And even though I have experience, I don't know what to do with them, because I don't know how the college wants us to discipline their horses. On the bright side, my friends and I got a little giddy when one of the professors informed us we'd be learning blood draws later this semester. Our first really procedure! We may still have training wheels, but we are pedalling on our own!
I signed up for the Large Animal Intensive Care team today. It used to be mostly just sleeping in the barn and assisting with foalings, but they're expanding it this year to all large animal cases. They're going to organize it so no one is in the barn overnight before they have a test. We'll be in teams, checking on the animals, helping where we can, and probably mostly being "gophers" for the residents/interns/doctors. But it's a great way to get experience, build relationships with clinicians and build up my resume! Plus maybe make a difference to some fretting owner and their beloved ponies. (And I can relate to that. Even in cases that don't end well, people are usually just glad to know that someone cared.)
Histology is a bit "meh". I don't worry about it too much (I do worry about it's horrific cousin Embryology though...). I do better with histological tissue sections of organs, which is mostly what we're doing this semester.
I keep falling a little more in love with Pathology. (Except the rotting chickens today...) It's just so COOL. The faculty that teach it are so great. They do a fantastic job of encouraging us to guess at what something is.
Anatomy is like learning to walk again. You think you know the movements, but your feet don't know what to do. My group got smart this time though. We're making videos at the end of each sessions, rather than waiting to make them at the end before the midterm/exam. But like learning to walk again, it IS coming back. Slowly but surely we're getting more in the hang of it.
I know all you AVC 2016 hopefuls are (im)patiently waiting for invites now. I wish you the best of luck and I hope to see you on campus for interviews in a few months!
Finally, a quick shout out to all the AVCers (and everyone else, really) at the SCVMA Symposium at OVC this year. I hope you're having a ball and wishing I could have scrounged the cash to join you! The wetlabs looked really cool, especially the ones on equine joint injections and forensic pathology. Oh, and alpacas too! Oh well, next year AVC is playing host to the Symposium, and I'm sure we'll blow it out of the water.
I signed up for the Large Animal Intensive Care team today. It used to be mostly just sleeping in the barn and assisting with foalings, but they're expanding it this year to all large animal cases. They're going to organize it so no one is in the barn overnight before they have a test. We'll be in teams, checking on the animals, helping where we can, and probably mostly being "gophers" for the residents/interns/doctors. But it's a great way to get experience, build relationships with clinicians and build up my resume! Plus maybe make a difference to some fretting owner and their beloved ponies. (And I can relate to that. Even in cases that don't end well, people are usually just glad to know that someone cared.)
Histology is a bit "meh". I don't worry about it too much (I do worry about it's horrific cousin Embryology though...). I do better with histological tissue sections of organs, which is mostly what we're doing this semester.
I keep falling a little more in love with Pathology. (Except the rotting chickens today...) It's just so COOL. The faculty that teach it are so great. They do a fantastic job of encouraging us to guess at what something is.
Anatomy is like learning to walk again. You think you know the movements, but your feet don't know what to do. My group got smart this time though. We're making videos at the end of each sessions, rather than waiting to make them at the end before the midterm/exam. But like learning to walk again, it IS coming back. Slowly but surely we're getting more in the hang of it.
I know all you AVC 2016 hopefuls are (im)patiently waiting for invites now. I wish you the best of luck and I hope to see you on campus for interviews in a few months!
Finally, a quick shout out to all the AVCers (and everyone else, really) at the SCVMA Symposium at OVC this year. I hope you're having a ball and wishing I could have scrounged the cash to join you! The wetlabs looked really cool, especially the ones on equine joint injections and forensic pathology. Oh, and alpacas too! Oh well, next year AVC is playing host to the Symposium, and I'm sure we'll blow it out of the water.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
"I hate funny robots"
Well, sort of. Replace "robots" with "anatomy dissection guides". I picked up the guide for this semester and I'm reading through it in preparation for tomorrow's lab (one of my New Year's resolutions was to be more on top of things...).
The author's a comedian, in his own special vet anatomy way.
Example: "In fact, prior to the publication of the second edition of the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (NAV) in 1973, this muscle in the horse was referred to as the cleidotranservarius." A footnote below that reads: "NAV - This is the little book that veterinary anatomists use to look up the correct names of things (in those rare instances when they don't remember."
On the next page, it continues: "Accidential injection of certain drugs such as tranquilizers into the common carotid artery (direct route to brain) rather than the external jugular vein could be fatal to the patient." Again, a footnote reads: "Such accidents in no way foster positive client relations and could well result in an increase in your malpractice insurance premiums."
At the least, it makes reading it more interesting!
As an aside, 10 points* to whoever can name the show and episode the title of this post is from.
*Points are totally useless and only metaphorical in nature and cannot be redeemed for anything, except maybe bragging rights.
The author's a comedian, in his own special vet anatomy way.
Example: "In fact, prior to the publication of the second edition of the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (NAV) in 1973, this muscle in the horse was referred to as the cleidotranservarius." A footnote below that reads: "NAV - This is the little book that veterinary anatomists use to look up the correct names of things (in those rare instances when they don't remember."
On the next page, it continues: "Accidential injection of certain drugs such as tranquilizers into the common carotid artery (direct route to brain) rather than the external jugular vein could be fatal to the patient." Again, a footnote reads: "Such accidents in no way foster positive client relations and could well result in an increase in your malpractice insurance premiums."
At the least, it makes reading it more interesting!
As an aside, 10 points* to whoever can name the show and episode the title of this post is from.
*Points are totally useless and only metaphorical in nature and cannot be redeemed for anything, except maybe bragging rights.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Once more unto the breach!
Yes, if you saw a steady stream of packed up cars heading across the Confederation Bridge today, that would be my classmates and me. We start back at class bright at early at 8:30 AM tomorrow morning. And they've decided to ease us in... not. General Pathology, followed by 3 hours of Anatomy.
I'm kind of excited about our classes this semester. My old friend Anatomy is back for another go, this time with ponies and goats in lab, and chickens and fish in lecture too. We're back to Physiology again, and one of my resolutions is to stay on top of it daily. That goes for Parasitology too! I have an irrational fear of Parasitology. So many names and life cycles...
Histology is still with us, and invited its terrifying friend Embyology. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I have yet to meet anyone that liked Embryology. Most of them are just really glad it's over.
Then there's General Pathology. I like Pathology. Hell, I'm in the Pathology club. So I have high hopes for this class. I don't know how well I'll do, but I am kind of excited about it.
Another newbie is Veterinary Epidemiology. I don't know how I feel about it. I've considered epidemiology as a career path, because in theory it sounds cool, but honestly, I have very limited experience with it. So it's very possible that I'll totally hate it. Hopefully not, but it's possible.
Structure and Function is staying. I like S&F. Fingers are crossed that I'll like my new assigned group. My last group gelled really well (enough so that we more or less begged the professors to let us stay together, but no dice). They haven't posted groups for that yet, so I won't find out until Friday.
Last (but not least) is Clinical Orientation. Also know as the first official time we get to deal with living breathing animals. Namely, Beagles, cows, horses and goats. We have assigned animals to walk and groom, plus we learn things like restraint and handling. And knot-tying. I like knot-tying. Maybe I'll finally figure out how to tie a damn quick release knot...
So once again, in the words of the Doctor: "Allons-y!"
(Sorry. I spent a lot of break watching Doctor Who. In fact, I just got done rewatching Voyage of the Damned...)
I'm kind of excited about our classes this semester. My old friend Anatomy is back for another go, this time with ponies and goats in lab, and chickens and fish in lecture too. We're back to Physiology again, and one of my resolutions is to stay on top of it daily. That goes for Parasitology too! I have an irrational fear of Parasitology. So many names and life cycles...
Histology is still with us, and invited its terrifying friend Embyology. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I have yet to meet anyone that liked Embryology. Most of them are just really glad it's over.
Then there's General Pathology. I like Pathology. Hell, I'm in the Pathology club. So I have high hopes for this class. I don't know how well I'll do, but I am kind of excited about it.
Another newbie is Veterinary Epidemiology. I don't know how I feel about it. I've considered epidemiology as a career path, because in theory it sounds cool, but honestly, I have very limited experience with it. So it's very possible that I'll totally hate it. Hopefully not, but it's possible.
Structure and Function is staying. I like S&F. Fingers are crossed that I'll like my new assigned group. My last group gelled really well (enough so that we more or less begged the professors to let us stay together, but no dice). They haven't posted groups for that yet, so I won't find out until Friday.
Last (but not least) is Clinical Orientation. Also know as the first official time we get to deal with living breathing animals. Namely, Beagles, cows, horses and goats. We have assigned animals to walk and groom, plus we learn things like restraint and handling. And knot-tying. I like knot-tying. Maybe I'll finally figure out how to tie a damn quick release knot...
So once again, in the words of the Doctor: "Allons-y!"
(Sorry. I spent a lot of break watching Doctor Who. In fact, I just got done rewatching Voyage of the Damned...)
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