This will likely not even be amusing to anyone not in the medical fields, but we got to watch it during cardio physiology the other day and couldn't stop laughing. It's describing a phenomenon called Wenckebach or AV Block Second Degree. Basically what happens is your atria depolarize normally but sometimes the conduction to the ventricles gets skipped and you lose ventricular depolarization for that cardiac cycle.
Cardio is great - I'm really enjoying it overall, and it makes a whole lot of sense (which is a relief since the exam is next week!).
Anatomy is still messy and gushy as always - we're now in the abdominal cavities of our cadavers and are comparing GI tracts which are very different from each other as well as the dog and cat. The ruminants (goats and calves) have huge multi-chambered stomachs and a very looooong jejunum and large intestine. The large intestine even does this awesome coil at one point! The horse is just weird and has an expanded cecum and long, torturous, winding large intestine which makes you realize why they colic so much (10% of horses annually!). Also, our goat is pregnant so we're really excited to start the reproductive tract dissections in a few weeks to see the placentation of the uterus.
The class is chugging along as a whole. The consensus is that immunology isn't the greatest class ever - it's way too condensed and chopped for the density of information. Some things (like biochemistry or immuno) are actually easier to understand if you have to learn and memorize a ton of details. It makes everything clearer in the end. This course is being taught as a very broad overview of a lot of things and it isn't going to have that nice neat moment of clarity at the end. Oh well. Exam also is coming up early next week, so this weekend will involve a lot of book-time.
On a non-class related note, I'm trying to eat a little better this semester and stick with salad every night for dinner when possible. I don't care much for the three or four pounds I've gained since vet school. I wish I had the willpower to give up the lunch meetings but it's one of my favorite things during the day!
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Productivity...?
First week down and it's time to get serious! It was super-difficult to get motivated to study much in the past week - we just started, had a few snow delays, not much coming up exam-wise, boy was here this weekend, etc. Plenty of excuses and justifications for that. Now that the first week is over, I think it's high time to get started with the hard-core studying routine.
So far classes are going great - no major duds or anything thus far!
Physiology - LOVING it! We're doing cardiac physio to start the semester, and I'm actually really liking it so far. The notes are clear and really interesting, so it's the perfect way to start the day at 8 am.
Anatomy - Now that we're in large animal/comparative anatomy, the labs are definitely a LOT messier! We're doing dissections on a calf, pony, and goat in each group and are using pig pro-sections for additional comparison. We are FLYING through material, too. A lot of it sounds at least familiar or similar to last semester but there are also a lot of changes. Not quite sure how to think about or approach the exams yet, so we'll see how this one goes. But the lectures and textbook are very entertaining thanks to the guy teaching!
Virology - Just had one lecture of this so far, and the professors seem really great and enthusiastic. I don't know too much about viruses yet, so I'm excited to learn more.
Immunology - I had a pretty in-depth course in undergrad, so this seems like cake right now. I'm actually really thankful I have a background in what we're doing in the course, because they're flying really quickly through the material. Our labs are going to consist of small group case discussions which will hopefully give some good practical skills to go along with the book learning.
Embryology - Also a new subject to me, but it seems very straight-forward and the teacher is very sweet. Only have this one once a week, so I doubt it'll be too intensive.
Behavior - Eh. Seems pretty basic and simple so far (even though it's not really my cup of tea), but we do have to complete an animal training project. And since I have no animals here to speak of I'll need to attach myself to a friend and their dog to finish it.
Production Medicine - More of the same from last semester. We get an additional lab with each of the major large/food animal species, and it seems like this semester has a slight focus on nutrition for each species.
And that's it! It's been great to get back into a routine and see my classmates after a long hiatus. Winter break was definitely super-long now that I think about it, and I'm ready to start the learning process again. I've also managed to get a lot of my summer research project squared away - I'll (hopefully) be studying epithelial to mesenchymal cell transition in pulmonary tissue. That's a change that occurs frequently in fibrosis disease patterns, and there's a new gene of interest that controls a lot of this process that is actually considered a cancer gene. Should be interesting!
So far classes are going great - no major duds or anything thus far!
Physiology - LOVING it! We're doing cardiac physio to start the semester, and I'm actually really liking it so far. The notes are clear and really interesting, so it's the perfect way to start the day at 8 am.
Anatomy - Now that we're in large animal/comparative anatomy, the labs are definitely a LOT messier! We're doing dissections on a calf, pony, and goat in each group and are using pig pro-sections for additional comparison. We are FLYING through material, too. A lot of it sounds at least familiar or similar to last semester but there are also a lot of changes. Not quite sure how to think about or approach the exams yet, so we'll see how this one goes. But the lectures and textbook are very entertaining thanks to the guy teaching!
Virology - Just had one lecture of this so far, and the professors seem really great and enthusiastic. I don't know too much about viruses yet, so I'm excited to learn more.
Immunology - I had a pretty in-depth course in undergrad, so this seems like cake right now. I'm actually really thankful I have a background in what we're doing in the course, because they're flying really quickly through the material. Our labs are going to consist of small group case discussions which will hopefully give some good practical skills to go along with the book learning.
Embryology - Also a new subject to me, but it seems very straight-forward and the teacher is very sweet. Only have this one once a week, so I doubt it'll be too intensive.
Behavior - Eh. Seems pretty basic and simple so far (even though it's not really my cup of tea), but we do have to complete an animal training project. And since I have no animals here to speak of I'll need to attach myself to a friend and their dog to finish it.
Production Medicine - More of the same from last semester. We get an additional lab with each of the major large/food animal species, and it seems like this semester has a slight focus on nutrition for each species.
And that's it! It's been great to get back into a routine and see my classmates after a long hiatus. Winter break was definitely super-long now that I think about it, and I'm ready to start the learning process again. I've also managed to get a lot of my summer research project squared away - I'll (hopefully) be studying epithelial to mesenchymal cell transition in pulmonary tissue. That's a change that occurs frequently in fibrosis disease patterns, and there's a new gene of interest that controls a lot of this process that is actually considered a cancer gene. Should be interesting!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Semester Two - GO!
We started our second semester bright and early on Monday morning...and then proceeded to have an ice day today and a delayed opening already on the books for tomorrow. The whole doing-nothing thing is great, but at this point I'm just ready to get back to a schedule. We started our anatomy lab dissections yesterday (large animal this time!), and diving into a goat, horse, and cow is much sloppier than with cats and dogs. Definitely wearing my rubber boots to lab this semester! Other than that we had a brief intro to cardiovascular physiology in the morning and embryology in the afternoon - nothing too taxing. Overall the semester looks like a lot of fun with comparative anatomy, physiology (cardio, pulmonary, renal, gastrointestinal), virology, embryology, behavior, immunology, and more production medicine on the docket.
Christmas break was great between seeing family and friends, spending lots of time with the boy, and shadowing back at the home vet hospital for a few days. It was a really weird transition to not be in a classroom each day or be studying in my apartment each night. Vet school goes quickly but you really do feel as though you've been there forever after only a few days.
I also came back to Raleigh in time to work with the neurology department in the teaching hospital for a week. LOVED it! I'm really having the very serious problem of falling in love with some aspect of every new bit of vet med I encounter. It's not helping the whole "figure out what I want to do with my life" issue. Once again, the senior clinicians and residents were amazing and the fourth-year students were so helpful and great to learn from.
Some of the top things I learned in neurology that week?
1) Neurologists get to actually perform surgery in addition to handling non-invasive cases! Totally did not know that those procedures aren't done by the hospital surgeons. I got to scrub in and watch several hemilaminectomies performed by the neuro residents. These involved slowly drilling away the vertebral bone covering the spinal cord and removing the herniated vertebral disc out of a tiny surgical window. Super delicate work!
2) Use of an MRI is commonly used in a full neuro work-up (yes, even in animals). The imagery is absolutely amazing, and the use of different contrasting agents or exposures lets the physician visualize different things on different views. The use of a single contrasting agent allowed us to perfectly see a hemorrhagic brain lesion in a seizing dog!
3) "Grand mal" is kind of an outdated way to describe seizures. Who knew!
4) Phenobarbital and bromide, the two main drugs of choice for a lot of neurological conditions, are both over 100 years old and still going strong.
5) Neuro sees a lot of dachsunds. A loooot. The breed has vertebral discs that actually calcify by a young age, so instead of being springy and jelly-like and normal, they get hard and brittle and kind of unhappy. Then they like to slip out into the vertebral canal and put pressure on the spinal cord rather than staying where they belong. About 25% of the breed actually develops clinical signs from a herniated disc during their lifespan!
6) Orthostatic tremors are tremors that occur only when the patient is standing still and disappear when prone or moving.
7) I actually probably should remember all of those cranial nerves from anatomy - testing their function is one of the first steps of a neurological exam! Poor functioning of a nerve could indicate a brain lesion in a specific location.
8) Both cancer and an infectious process (like meningoencephalitis) can show up on an MRI in a similar way. At that point, performing a spinal tap to remove and then study cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a good diagnostic tool.
9) Loss of deep pain requires a very traumatic and complete lesion or injury and is associated with a much poorer prognosis for the patient.
10) Isolating where a neurological problem is occurring is very much like a puzzle or mystery. Is it peripheral or central? Brain or spinal cord? Complete or unilateral? Which vertebrae? Which part of the brain? Which nerve? You have to use observation, tests, and sometimes a little diagnostic imaging to find the problem and only after it's found can you think about fixing it. Pretty cool!
Tonight my goal is to get some paper reading done and finish my research proposal write-up for my summer work. I've been putting it off out of sheer Christmas laziness, but that is definitely not an excuse anymore!
Christmas break was great between seeing family and friends, spending lots of time with the boy, and shadowing back at the home vet hospital for a few days. It was a really weird transition to not be in a classroom each day or be studying in my apartment each night. Vet school goes quickly but you really do feel as though you've been there forever after only a few days.
I also came back to Raleigh in time to work with the neurology department in the teaching hospital for a week. LOVED it! I'm really having the very serious problem of falling in love with some aspect of every new bit of vet med I encounter. It's not helping the whole "figure out what I want to do with my life" issue. Once again, the senior clinicians and residents were amazing and the fourth-year students were so helpful and great to learn from.
Some of the top things I learned in neurology that week?
1) Neurologists get to actually perform surgery in addition to handling non-invasive cases! Totally did not know that those procedures aren't done by the hospital surgeons. I got to scrub in and watch several hemilaminectomies performed by the neuro residents. These involved slowly drilling away the vertebral bone covering the spinal cord and removing the herniated vertebral disc out of a tiny surgical window. Super delicate work!
2) Use of an MRI is commonly used in a full neuro work-up (yes, even in animals). The imagery is absolutely amazing, and the use of different contrasting agents or exposures lets the physician visualize different things on different views. The use of a single contrasting agent allowed us to perfectly see a hemorrhagic brain lesion in a seizing dog!
3) "Grand mal" is kind of an outdated way to describe seizures. Who knew!
4) Phenobarbital and bromide, the two main drugs of choice for a lot of neurological conditions, are both over 100 years old and still going strong.
5) Neuro sees a lot of dachsunds. A loooot. The breed has vertebral discs that actually calcify by a young age, so instead of being springy and jelly-like and normal, they get hard and brittle and kind of unhappy. Then they like to slip out into the vertebral canal and put pressure on the spinal cord rather than staying where they belong. About 25% of the breed actually develops clinical signs from a herniated disc during their lifespan!
6) Orthostatic tremors are tremors that occur only when the patient is standing still and disappear when prone or moving.
7) I actually probably should remember all of those cranial nerves from anatomy - testing their function is one of the first steps of a neurological exam! Poor functioning of a nerve could indicate a brain lesion in a specific location.
8) Both cancer and an infectious process (like meningoencephalitis) can show up on an MRI in a similar way. At that point, performing a spinal tap to remove and then study cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a good diagnostic tool.
9) Loss of deep pain requires a very traumatic and complete lesion or injury and is associated with a much poorer prognosis for the patient.
10) Isolating where a neurological problem is occurring is very much like a puzzle or mystery. Is it peripheral or central? Brain or spinal cord? Complete or unilateral? Which vertebrae? Which part of the brain? Which nerve? You have to use observation, tests, and sometimes a little diagnostic imaging to find the problem and only after it's found can you think about fixing it. Pretty cool!
Tonight my goal is to get some paper reading done and finish my research proposal write-up for my summer work. I've been putting it off out of sheer Christmas laziness, but that is definitely not an excuse anymore!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
When in doubt, it's diarrhea.
Subject line? That's in reference to the number of times I have read, heard, written, or thought about diarrhea over the past few days in preparation for our bacteriology quiz today. It covered E. coli, Salmonella, and a few other random genera of bacteria. And pretty much all of them cause some sort of diarrheal process. Fun!
Even though it was just a few days ago that we took our anatomy and physiology exams, it feels like weeks have already gone by. And our next round is starting up very soon. The first histology exam is this coming Monday, and our first anatomy quiz is on Thursday. I'm not too worried about histology - everything is pretty straightforward as long as your understand the function and structures of the different tissues and how they will look when stained. It'll be a long test, but hopefully it'll go well.
Anatomy is definitely switching gears. We were just settling into our pattern of memorizing muscles, attachments, innervations, etc. and now we're working on the thoracic and abdominal cavities. We started with the axial muscles attached to the spine, neck, and ribs and took a look at some of the blood vessels and nerves associated with those areas. Today we actually cracked into the thoracic cavity of our group's cat to start with the components of that cavity - the heart, lungs, vessels, etc. It's a very different type of information to learn and absorb, and I think it will require some rethinking of how to get it all in my head. Not to mention that this next exam isn't for practically a month and will cover the spinal muscles, vertebrae, thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic cavities and all of the associated blood supply and innervation. Woof.
And have I mentioned lately how awful dissecting a cat is? Everything is this homogeneous clay-like color, so it's tough to easily differentiate anything. Plus, all of the nerves and vessels are tiny, thread-like, and very friable, so it's a little frustrating. Comparing a cat's thorax to that of a 70 pound dog emphasize how much more challenging the cat insists on being.
Also got my second anatomy exam back today and did exactly the same as I did on the first (to the point), so at least I'm consistent! If I can pull that grade on the third massive one, I'll be super-thrilled. We're supposed to get our physiology exams back tomorrow, so hopefully that'll have some good news attached.
Plus...less than two days until my next visit with my guy! :)
Even though it was just a few days ago that we took our anatomy and physiology exams, it feels like weeks have already gone by. And our next round is starting up very soon. The first histology exam is this coming Monday, and our first anatomy quiz is on Thursday. I'm not too worried about histology - everything is pretty straightforward as long as your understand the function and structures of the different tissues and how they will look when stained. It'll be a long test, but hopefully it'll go well.
Anatomy is definitely switching gears. We were just settling into our pattern of memorizing muscles, attachments, innervations, etc. and now we're working on the thoracic and abdominal cavities. We started with the axial muscles attached to the spine, neck, and ribs and took a look at some of the blood vessels and nerves associated with those areas. Today we actually cracked into the thoracic cavity of our group's cat to start with the components of that cavity - the heart, lungs, vessels, etc. It's a very different type of information to learn and absorb, and I think it will require some rethinking of how to get it all in my head. Not to mention that this next exam isn't for practically a month and will cover the spinal muscles, vertebrae, thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic cavities and all of the associated blood supply and innervation. Woof.
And have I mentioned lately how awful dissecting a cat is? Everything is this homogeneous clay-like color, so it's tough to easily differentiate anything. Plus, all of the nerves and vessels are tiny, thread-like, and very friable, so it's a little frustrating. Comparing a cat's thorax to that of a 70 pound dog emphasize how much more challenging the cat insists on being.
Also got my second anatomy exam back today and did exactly the same as I did on the first (to the point), so at least I'm consistent! If I can pull that grade on the third massive one, I'll be super-thrilled. We're supposed to get our physiology exams back tomorrow, so hopefully that'll have some good news attached.
Plus...less than two days until my next visit with my guy! :)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Done and done.
Finished up my next round of exams this week - anatomy on Wednesday and physiology on Thursday. I know I made some mistakes on the anatomy practical (one or two of which being pretty stupid on my part) but overall, I felt like I did okay on both. It was such a great feeling walking out of school yesterday afternoon knowing that I didn't have anything pressing coming up in the next week or so. There's a bacteriology quiz this coming Tuesday, but that's small potatoes compared to the two evaluations of this week.
Even better than finishing the tests, about half of my class got together for a cookout at the beef educational unit at NC State that night. Sooooo much fun! It was great to be able to hang out with such awesome, fun people without classes or study sessions involved. Conversation naturally turned to vet school - it's kind of hard to avoid talking about tests, classes, teachers, etc. when that's your common thread - but it was still a blast. Plus, it was the best meal I've eaten in quite a long time! Can't really afford to spend the time or money buying and then preparing myself ribeye steak and all of the sides...
Afterwards, a couple of us headed to a classmate's apartment to watch a movie and chill for a few more hours. Again, being able to spend quality time with them outside of school is such a great break and one we all needed.
And today, I had my first lab session of our animal production and maintenance series. Basically, each semester we have a round of species-specific orientations followed up by one lab per species during that term. Totals to six sessions per species in total for years one to three and is meant to give those of us with limited or no experience with certain species at least some hands-on practical knowledge. Today, my group completed our first equine lab, so all of the stuff we did I was pretty comfortable with. Skills we had to practice and perform included haltering, leading, and trotting the horse, grooming, measuring, and cleaning and examining the feet. It was a beautiful day outside, and it felt amazing to be able to be out in the middle of the school day with real, live animals. We all loved it!
Tomorrow morning I get to head into downtown Raleigh to help out the the annual community Dog Olympics, which is sponsored by the school and its chapter of SCAAHA (Student Chapter of the American Animal Hospital Association). I think it'll be a lot of fun spending time with new friends PLUS tons of cute, adorable dogs. Pretty excited! It'll almost be as great as the hours of lounging in pajamas that I accomplished this afternoon. :)
Even better than finishing the tests, about half of my class got together for a cookout at the beef educational unit at NC State that night. Sooooo much fun! It was great to be able to hang out with such awesome, fun people without classes or study sessions involved. Conversation naturally turned to vet school - it's kind of hard to avoid talking about tests, classes, teachers, etc. when that's your common thread - but it was still a blast. Plus, it was the best meal I've eaten in quite a long time! Can't really afford to spend the time or money buying and then preparing myself ribeye steak and all of the sides...
Afterwards, a couple of us headed to a classmate's apartment to watch a movie and chill for a few more hours. Again, being able to spend quality time with them outside of school is such a great break and one we all needed.
And today, I had my first lab session of our animal production and maintenance series. Basically, each semester we have a round of species-specific orientations followed up by one lab per species during that term. Totals to six sessions per species in total for years one to three and is meant to give those of us with limited or no experience with certain species at least some hands-on practical knowledge. Today, my group completed our first equine lab, so all of the stuff we did I was pretty comfortable with. Skills we had to practice and perform included haltering, leading, and trotting the horse, grooming, measuring, and cleaning and examining the feet. It was a beautiful day outside, and it felt amazing to be able to be out in the middle of the school day with real, live animals. We all loved it!
Tomorrow morning I get to head into downtown Raleigh to help out the the annual community Dog Olympics, which is sponsored by the school and its chapter of SCAAHA (Student Chapter of the American Animal Hospital Association). I think it'll be a lot of fun spending time with new friends PLUS tons of cute, adorable dogs. Pretty excited! It'll almost be as great as the hours of lounging in pajamas that I accomplished this afternoon. :)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Sleeeeepy...
Even though we're already two days into the week (seeing as how Monday was a holiday), I'm still already exhausted!
I had a great and pretty unproductive weekend hanging out with the boy. It was definitely worth sacrificing a few points on the upcoming exams to spend time with him, even if we did nothing of consequence. Lots of lazing around in pajamas, cooking some tasty dinners, watching about half a season of "Fringe" (which is freaking fantastic, by the way!), etc. He did have a nasty allergic reaction to something in my apartment where his sclera got all swollen; he actually formed a fluid bubble under the upper layer of his eye. Grooooss, and I don't know what caused it. He swears it must be cat allergens since that's one of the only things that he's allergic to, but my family hasn't had a cat in about eight years, and we've deep-cleaned the couch since then. Oh well. He survived - even though he was out cold after two tabs of Benadryl!
We also took a drive to Greensboro on Saturday to visit his grandmother for lunch. His mom was also in town, so we got to catch up with her as well. They are both incredibly adorable and fun to talk to. And his mom was pretty amazed that he actually ironed his own shirts and helped with the dishes the night before. Like I'd have it any other way!
I got a few hours of studying in while he was here by waking up in the morning while he dozed...wasn't too effective but at least it was something! I also cranked out a really decent morning and afternoon on Saturday before he arrived and two or three hours last night while he caught up on his own work and packed. Despite the lack of quality study time, I feel okay for anatomy after some final reviewing tonight. I might not do as well as the first time, but I think it'll go just fine - and this one isn't cumulative, which is a HUGE help! I also have the first physiology exam on Thursday, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that one. I feel like I know the information in my notes and flashcards, but I mess up some of the sample questions he went over in class. It's the wording that the professor uses to ask the questions that keeps confusing me, so I have some more work to do for that one tomorrow.
The whole class is still wary of each other since the 24 hour plague is still in the air - another few classmates were struck down yesterday night and today. Praying I don't catch it before Thursday afternoon!
Off to bed. Sooooo tired, and I've only been in class a day this week.
I had a great and pretty unproductive weekend hanging out with the boy. It was definitely worth sacrificing a few points on the upcoming exams to spend time with him, even if we did nothing of consequence. Lots of lazing around in pajamas, cooking some tasty dinners, watching about half a season of "Fringe" (which is freaking fantastic, by the way!), etc. He did have a nasty allergic reaction to something in my apartment where his sclera got all swollen; he actually formed a fluid bubble under the upper layer of his eye. Grooooss, and I don't know what caused it. He swears it must be cat allergens since that's one of the only things that he's allergic to, but my family hasn't had a cat in about eight years, and we've deep-cleaned the couch since then. Oh well. He survived - even though he was out cold after two tabs of Benadryl!
We also took a drive to Greensboro on Saturday to visit his grandmother for lunch. His mom was also in town, so we got to catch up with her as well. They are both incredibly adorable and fun to talk to. And his mom was pretty amazed that he actually ironed his own shirts and helped with the dishes the night before. Like I'd have it any other way!
I got a few hours of studying in while he was here by waking up in the morning while he dozed...wasn't too effective but at least it was something! I also cranked out a really decent morning and afternoon on Saturday before he arrived and two or three hours last night while he caught up on his own work and packed. Despite the lack of quality study time, I feel okay for anatomy after some final reviewing tonight. I might not do as well as the first time, but I think it'll go just fine - and this one isn't cumulative, which is a HUGE help! I also have the first physiology exam on Thursday, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that one. I feel like I know the information in my notes and flashcards, but I mess up some of the sample questions he went over in class. It's the wording that the professor uses to ask the questions that keeps confusing me, so I have some more work to do for that one tomorrow.
The whole class is still wary of each other since the 24 hour plague is still in the air - another few classmates were struck down yesterday night and today. Praying I don't catch it before Thursday afternoon!
Off to bed. Sooooo tired, and I've only been in class a day this week.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Long weekend, ahoy!
This week has been a very tiring blur. I thought high school went fast until I got to Penn State. Then I thought undergrad went fast until I worked at my vet hospital last year. That flew by. And now, vet school is going faster than any of those. From the time I wake up on Monday morning to when I walk out of histology lab on Friday afternoon, it's one big, fuzzy, long, hazy period of time. Time kind of loses its conventional meaning and passes in big chunks. From when I wake up to when I leave the apartment. Then from when I get to school to when I leave school. Then from when I get home and study to when I get too tired and go to bed. What the exact hour is doesn't really matter - as long as I'm at school on time, I don't have any other appointments or schedules to keep. It's sad but true that school and the occasional night out with friends are my only commitments.
I love school, and even when I'm stressed, I'm very happy, but it is really, really going by in a blur.
There's an incredibly nasty stomach bug going around school right now. It hit like a freight train yesterday evening and has taken out about ten or twelve students in each class overnight. Really, really hoping I've been spared because getting sick on a intensive studying and boy-visit weekend would be the WORST. I feel okay, but I bought some Saltines and Sprite juuuuust in case.
Studying tomorrow as much as I can before the boy lands at RDU in the afternoon. I'm planning on sleeping in until 7:00 then heading in for a few hours of anatomy lab, short study break and lunch, then to the library to work on physiology for the rest of the time. I think the weekend plan will be to get up at 7:00 on Sunday and Monday and study for a few hours in the morning before waking up the guy to start the day.
Also, you're reading the blog of the new Secretary of the Class of 2014! Woot! Really excited to contribute to this year and get to work more intensively with a lot of different students. Loved my clubs and activities in high school and college, and I'm really pumped to do the same here in vet school.
Time to clean and do some dishes...because it's looking a little cluttered in here...
I love school, and even when I'm stressed, I'm very happy, but it is really, really going by in a blur.
There's an incredibly nasty stomach bug going around school right now. It hit like a freight train yesterday evening and has taken out about ten or twelve students in each class overnight. Really, really hoping I've been spared because getting sick on a intensive studying and boy-visit weekend would be the WORST. I feel okay, but I bought some Saltines and Sprite juuuuust in case.
Studying tomorrow as much as I can before the boy lands at RDU in the afternoon. I'm planning on sleeping in until 7:00 then heading in for a few hours of anatomy lab, short study break and lunch, then to the library to work on physiology for the rest of the time. I think the weekend plan will be to get up at 7:00 on Sunday and Monday and study for a few hours in the morning before waking up the guy to start the day.
Also, you're reading the blog of the new Secretary of the Class of 2014! Woot! Really excited to contribute to this year and get to work more intensively with a lot of different students. Loved my clubs and activities in high school and college, and I'm really pumped to do the same here in vet school.
Time to clean and do some dishes...because it's looking a little cluttered in here...
Monday, August 30, 2010
And back to reality...
Had a fantastic weekend with the boy. We did essentially nothing - slept in, grabbed ice cream, walked around his neighborhood for a few hours, cleaned up his apartment, watched a few movies and episodes of "Fringe", and made a big pasta dinner. I brought along my school stuff and actually got a few hours of reviewing notes, reading, and bone part memorization in during the plane rides. But then proceeded to do nothing during my actual time visiting with him. When we only have two days out of every two or three weeks to spend together, learning the fossae and tuberosities of the os coxae bones or actions of cholinergic receptors during that time does not get a high place on the priority list.
After getting in late last night on my flight, I started my third full week of vet school bright and early this morning. I have quite a bit coming up on my plate but I feel like it'll all work out somehow...
Upcoming Assessments:
Speaking of which, back to studying!
After getting in late last night on my flight, I started my third full week of vet school bright and early this morning. I have quite a bit coming up on my plate but I feel like it'll all work out somehow...
Upcoming Assessments:
- Histology quiz on Friday - basic cell function, connective tissues, epithelial tissues
- Bacteriology quiz next Tuesday - stuff from lab, Enterobacteriaceae family
- Anatomy exam next Wednesday - pelvic limb (bones, muscles, nerves, blood supply)
- Physiology exam next Thursday - genetics, genomics, biomath, excitable tissues/action potential stuff
- Bills are coming up! Ugh...
- Schedule rabies vaccinations
- Research for evidence based medicine course
- Decide which clubs to get more involved with and then do so
- Cleaning at some point? Maybe?
- Meet with legal advisor about residency changes
- Sleep (will NOT sacrifice this!)
Speaking of which, back to studying!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
First Exam
First exam of vet school tomorrow - anatomy of the thoracic limb including bones, muscles, blood supply, and innervation.
My brain is totally full, and I don't think I'm going to study for very much longer. Another quick review of my notes, and off to bed in the next hour or so. Either I know it at this point or I don't...and I really feel confident that I know it. Hopefully it'll come out the right way on the exam and my brain doesn't decide to abandon me halfway through the practical.
Over and out.
My brain is totally full, and I don't think I'm going to study for very much longer. Another quick review of my notes, and off to bed in the next hour or so. Either I know it at this point or I don't...and I really feel confident that I know it. Hopefully it'll come out the right way on the exam and my brain doesn't decide to abandon me halfway through the practical.
Over and out.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Monday, Monday
Another Monday and the start of another week - yay!
More anatomy, such a shocker. A lot of people are freaking about the first exam coming up on Wednesday - it covers the entire thoracic limb and includes both a practical and written portion. After some pretty low-key studying this weekend, a few extra hours in lab on Sunday morning, and another hour of review tonight, I feel pretty good. As in, I think I could take this tomorrow and do okay. It's a really nice feeling so I hope I'm not just underselling the difficulty of the material.
In undergrad, I was a high-stress studier and learner my first two or three semesters. Lots of crying over notes, wringing of hands, anxiety, etc. And I did okay but not great. Something kicked into gear during my second year, and I stopped a lot of that pretty quickly. Maybe it was survival mode for organic chemistry, but I started telling myself to just study until I knew it, stop worrying so much, and take what I could get on the exams without losing sleep or tears. And I did better as a result. I put less work into it and got a ton more out.
I think this mindset and method of studying is going to serve me well in veterinary school. So far, the other classes I have are still in the simple, easy-to-digest stage which is letting me focus on anatomy for the most part. There will come a time this semester when I have too much information to learn and not enough time to do it, and I need to learn to be okay with that. And the way that I've learned to think about my schoolwork and how to approach it and interact with it will - hopefully - let me adopt that mindset fairly easily. As far as anatomy goes, my study habits and the way I digest information has let me reach my personal "saturation level" with the subject a full day before the test.
I know it and I feel comfortable with it. It's a really good feeling. Hopefully it plays out on the test.
Other than that, there's a bacteriology quiz tomorrow that I haven't done too much review for. The professor has released the past quizzes to us, and none of them seemed too tough. His questions also were pretty continuous from year to year, so they should be a good basis from which to study.
And in other news, I've also tentatively submitted my name for class president and secretary runnings. I have to decide if I reeeeally want to go for it and submit a blurb by Friday. Honestly, the classmate also running for prez will have a strong backing, so I'll likely get creamed. But you don't know until you try!
More anatomy, such a shocker. A lot of people are freaking about the first exam coming up on Wednesday - it covers the entire thoracic limb and includes both a practical and written portion. After some pretty low-key studying this weekend, a few extra hours in lab on Sunday morning, and another hour of review tonight, I feel pretty good. As in, I think I could take this tomorrow and do okay. It's a really nice feeling so I hope I'm not just underselling the difficulty of the material.
In undergrad, I was a high-stress studier and learner my first two or three semesters. Lots of crying over notes, wringing of hands, anxiety, etc. And I did okay but not great. Something kicked into gear during my second year, and I stopped a lot of that pretty quickly. Maybe it was survival mode for organic chemistry, but I started telling myself to just study until I knew it, stop worrying so much, and take what I could get on the exams without losing sleep or tears. And I did better as a result. I put less work into it and got a ton more out.
I think this mindset and method of studying is going to serve me well in veterinary school. So far, the other classes I have are still in the simple, easy-to-digest stage which is letting me focus on anatomy for the most part. There will come a time this semester when I have too much information to learn and not enough time to do it, and I need to learn to be okay with that. And the way that I've learned to think about my schoolwork and how to approach it and interact with it will - hopefully - let me adopt that mindset fairly easily. As far as anatomy goes, my study habits and the way I digest information has let me reach my personal "saturation level" with the subject a full day before the test.
I know it and I feel comfortable with it. It's a really good feeling. Hopefully it plays out on the test.
Other than that, there's a bacteriology quiz tomorrow that I haven't done too much review for. The professor has released the past quizzes to us, and none of them seemed too tough. His questions also were pretty continuous from year to year, so they should be a good basis from which to study.
And in other news, I've also tentatively submitted my name for class president and secretary runnings. I have to decide if I reeeeally want to go for it and submit a blurb by Friday. Honestly, the classmate also running for prez will have a strong backing, so I'll likely get creamed. But you don't know until you try!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
The arm bone's connected to the hand bone...
Whew! It was great sleeping in for an hour or two today, but I'm still exhausted!
Was out with a few classmates until about 10:00 last night and had a blast. Six of us met up for dinner and spent the whole time talking about (naturally) vet school. I sometimes wish I had more to discuss or share other than that subject, but school really does consume my whole life from sun-up to sun-down. And so far, I like it that way. :) We were a little gossipy and compared notes on teachers and studying and classmates and who was going to be first in class and who the cliques would be, etc. We all seemed to be having really great experiences with our other classmates and hope that it turns out to be a low-drama class. Med and vet schools have reputations for becoming a little like high school. When you spend every single day with the same 80 people, everyone knows everyone's business sooner or later. And when you add in stress and a lot of type-A personalities, conflict always arises. But so far, so good in our class! *knock on wood*
Today I skipped out on going to lab in favor of staying in the apartment and drilling bones, muscles, nerves, and arteries of the forelimb. I feel pretty good with most of it though there are a few random pieces that my brain can't seem to retain. I think tomorrow I'm setting the alarm to go to lab in the morning and look at the models and cadavers and hopefully cement the studying I did today. Now that I know the paths of the arteries and nerves pretty well, I think it'll be easier to trace them in the cadavers and understand how they work.
I'm also meeting up for lunch tomorrow with a Penn State friend who is starting school at UNC this fall - it'll be great to see a familiar face from closer to home! I have to remember to make a grocery run on my way home - I love cereal for dinner, but I'm even running out of that! My freezer is stocked with tons of individually-boxed dishes I made before school started, but I hate to tap into that so early in the semester. I think I'll also pick up an extra Pyrex measuring cup. At school there are several microwaves in the cafeteria for our use, so I think I'll store the measuring cup along with tea bags and a travel mug in my locker - it'd be nice to have the ability to make some tea for evening or weekend study sessions.
Time to go do my dishes, wait for the boy to call (he's out camping this weekend), then head to bed. Can't believe so much sitting can get you this tired. :)
Was out with a few classmates until about 10:00 last night and had a blast. Six of us met up for dinner and spent the whole time talking about (naturally) vet school. I sometimes wish I had more to discuss or share other than that subject, but school really does consume my whole life from sun-up to sun-down. And so far, I like it that way. :) We were a little gossipy and compared notes on teachers and studying and classmates and who was going to be first in class and who the cliques would be, etc. We all seemed to be having really great experiences with our other classmates and hope that it turns out to be a low-drama class. Med and vet schools have reputations for becoming a little like high school. When you spend every single day with the same 80 people, everyone knows everyone's business sooner or later. And when you add in stress and a lot of type-A personalities, conflict always arises. But so far, so good in our class! *knock on wood*
Today I skipped out on going to lab in favor of staying in the apartment and drilling bones, muscles, nerves, and arteries of the forelimb. I feel pretty good with most of it though there are a few random pieces that my brain can't seem to retain. I think tomorrow I'm setting the alarm to go to lab in the morning and look at the models and cadavers and hopefully cement the studying I did today. Now that I know the paths of the arteries and nerves pretty well, I think it'll be easier to trace them in the cadavers and understand how they work.
I'm also meeting up for lunch tomorrow with a Penn State friend who is starting school at UNC this fall - it'll be great to see a familiar face from closer to home! I have to remember to make a grocery run on my way home - I love cereal for dinner, but I'm even running out of that! My freezer is stocked with tons of individually-boxed dishes I made before school started, but I hate to tap into that so early in the semester. I think I'll also pick up an extra Pyrex measuring cup. At school there are several microwaves in the cafeteria for our use, so I think I'll store the measuring cup along with tea bags and a travel mug in my locker - it'd be nice to have the ability to make some tea for evening or weekend study sessions.
Time to go do my dishes, wait for the boy to call (he's out camping this weekend), then head to bed. Can't believe so much sitting can get you this tired. :)
Friday, August 20, 2010
TGIF!
I meant to post yesterday, but it totally slipped my mind - surprised much?
It's our first Friday after our first full week of classes, and I am freaking exhausted! The days sure are long (7:30 am arrival at school until a 4:30 to 5:30 departure) with an additional few hours of studying to do when I get home at night. Looking forward to being able to study on the couch in my PJs this weekend instead of heading into school all day.
We have our first anatomy exam this coming Wednesday, so all of us will be absorbed in that from sun-up to sun-down for the next few days. My plan is to take off tonight - no or very minimal studying for me (might skim my other classes). A group of us are going out to dinner after our mock practical, and afterwards I definitely need a break to get to bed early and have a full night's rest. Tomorrow I hope to get up early and head in to school at 7:30 or 8 am, pull out a dog and cat cadaver, and start going through identification of the muscles, nerves, and arteries for the forelimb. Head home at lunch and spend the rest of the weekend here with my books and my notes. Fuuuuuun.
So what sorts of things have I learned this first week?
1) Compared to others in my class, I'm positively mellow about my studies at this point. Seriously, it came as a surprise to me too.
2) Professional school is more physically and mentally demanding than any job.
3) Free lunches help me get through the day and will definitely be a favorite part of the week.
4) Everything in the body is way more complicated and has way more parts than I ever thought possible.
5) Free time? Haha.
6) My dreams have become super, super boring. They all have to do with studying and assorted muscle attachments for some reason.
7) I miss having pets here even more than I thought I would! It would be sooooo nice to come home to a little dog or cat to cuddle and study with.
8) Despite all of the work, I'm still having a blast!
It's our first Friday after our first full week of classes, and I am freaking exhausted! The days sure are long (7:30 am arrival at school until a 4:30 to 5:30 departure) with an additional few hours of studying to do when I get home at night. Looking forward to being able to study on the couch in my PJs this weekend instead of heading into school all day.
We have our first anatomy exam this coming Wednesday, so all of us will be absorbed in that from sun-up to sun-down for the next few days. My plan is to take off tonight - no or very minimal studying for me (might skim my other classes). A group of us are going out to dinner after our mock practical, and afterwards I definitely need a break to get to bed early and have a full night's rest. Tomorrow I hope to get up early and head in to school at 7:30 or 8 am, pull out a dog and cat cadaver, and start going through identification of the muscles, nerves, and arteries for the forelimb. Head home at lunch and spend the rest of the weekend here with my books and my notes. Fuuuuuun.
So what sorts of things have I learned this first week?
1) Compared to others in my class, I'm positively mellow about my studies at this point. Seriously, it came as a surprise to me too.
2) Professional school is more physically and mentally demanding than any job.
3) Free lunches help me get through the day and will definitely be a favorite part of the week.
4) Everything in the body is way more complicated and has way more parts than I ever thought possible.
5) Free time? Haha.
6) My dreams have become super, super boring. They all have to do with studying and assorted muscle attachments for some reason.
7) I miss having pets here even more than I thought I would! It would be sooooo nice to come home to a little dog or cat to cuddle and study with.
8) Despite all of the work, I'm still having a blast!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Omotransversarius = Gay Dinosaur
The title of the post is from one of the lab group's way of remembering one of the muscles in the neck. It's not a mnemonic I use to remember the muscle, but it sure is funny! And indicative of how demented we already are as a group.
Bacteriology today was incredibly boring. I looooved my undergrad micro class and lab, but the professor we have this semester teaching us is...not so great. The upper classes warned us that he would be the "dud" of the semester, and so far I have to agree. He's very nice but extremely disorganized and inefficient in class. He skimmed through a whole section about environmental requirements for bacteria by dismissing it as "boring", which doesn't really help me on an exam or later in clinics. Lab was also kind of a waste. We had a twenty minute talk on how to do a gram stain and streak a plate (headdesk) and THEN had to watch him complete one of each in front of us - another ten minutes. Again, he's a super nice, sweet guy but just not the best teacher. And this is only our third class with him? Eeep.
Our lab groups in anatomy switched it up today. Unfortunately. My group very reluctantly gave up our pit gal Maude for one of the nasty rotting cats. And let me just say that while I didn't envy the people dissecting cats for the musculoskeletal system of the forelimb, I feel even worse for us that are now stuck dissecting them for the veins, arteries, and nerves! Holy crap, they're tiny! It's like trying to dig out these little blue, white, and pink threads from a mass of congealing, cottony playdoh. Oh, and the whole thing is so incredibly friable that the muscles are falling apart and shredding left and right. Identifying stuff for the next week is going to be a nightmare.
But we did get to practice live palpation on dogs today! We are using the dogs from the animal research lab on campus - today we had two incredibly sweet shepherd mixes named Chloe and Libra assisting us. And boy did it feel great to snuggle with a real live animal during class and also learn skills that will, you know, be practical in the field. I can now locate superficial cervical lymph nodes, the spine and acromion of the scapula, and most of the major bones in the brachium, antebrachium, and carpus. Saweet! Too bad I don't have a dog of my own here with me to practice.
Definitely miss Jesse and Ginger. I know that they're not getting nearly as much love and attention without me around. My dad loves them but he's so busy and not even home half the time. My mom could hardly care less about them. Wish I could bring them here to live with me but my apartment's so small and very few places allow GSDs, so Jesse's out. And I'm really reluctant to separate them or move Ginger now that she's pushing twelve years old. She's so used to going outside whenever she wants, strolling around the yard, and having a big house to explore and call her own. *sad face*
Oh, and it's T-minus seven days until our first anatomy exam. Already feeling slightly nauseous...
Bacteriology today was incredibly boring. I looooved my undergrad micro class and lab, but the professor we have this semester teaching us is...not so great. The upper classes warned us that he would be the "dud" of the semester, and so far I have to agree. He's very nice but extremely disorganized and inefficient in class. He skimmed through a whole section about environmental requirements for bacteria by dismissing it as "boring", which doesn't really help me on an exam or later in clinics. Lab was also kind of a waste. We had a twenty minute talk on how to do a gram stain and streak a plate (headdesk) and THEN had to watch him complete one of each in front of us - another ten minutes. Again, he's a super nice, sweet guy but just not the best teacher. And this is only our third class with him? Eeep.
Our lab groups in anatomy switched it up today. Unfortunately. My group very reluctantly gave up our pit gal Maude for one of the nasty rotting cats. And let me just say that while I didn't envy the people dissecting cats for the musculoskeletal system of the forelimb, I feel even worse for us that are now stuck dissecting them for the veins, arteries, and nerves! Holy crap, they're tiny! It's like trying to dig out these little blue, white, and pink threads from a mass of congealing, cottony playdoh. Oh, and the whole thing is so incredibly friable that the muscles are falling apart and shredding left and right. Identifying stuff for the next week is going to be a nightmare.
But we did get to practice live palpation on dogs today! We are using the dogs from the animal research lab on campus - today we had two incredibly sweet shepherd mixes named Chloe and Libra assisting us. And boy did it feel great to snuggle with a real live animal during class and also learn skills that will, you know, be practical in the field. I can now locate superficial cervical lymph nodes, the spine and acromion of the scapula, and most of the major bones in the brachium, antebrachium, and carpus. Saweet! Too bad I don't have a dog of my own here with me to practice.
Definitely miss Jesse and Ginger. I know that they're not getting nearly as much love and attention without me around. My dad loves them but he's so busy and not even home half the time. My mom could hardly care less about them. Wish I could bring them here to live with me but my apartment's so small and very few places allow GSDs, so Jesse's out. And I'm really reluctant to separate them or move Ginger now that she's pushing twelve years old. She's so used to going outside whenever she wants, strolling around the yard, and having a big house to explore and call her own. *sad face*
Oh, and it's T-minus seven days until our first anatomy exam. Already feeling slightly nauseous...
Monday, August 16, 2010
"When you touch yourself, you are soft and pliable..."
Words straight from our histology/cytology professor today. He was trying to explain the flexibility of the microtubules and filaments in the skin, and it came out a little awkwardly. But he also made a "Seinfeld" reference and had "Calvin and Hobbes" comics throughout his Powerpoint, so I was totally okay with it.
First Monday of the first full week of school, and I feel surprisingly rested and awake and ready to conquer my classes. Good thing since we learned about a dozen new muscles in anatomy and start blood vessels and nerves tomorrow! I feel like anatomy is the ONLY class I talk about, but it's only because the others are still review at this point - thank goodness! Gives me plenty of time to figure out how best to study for the class and absorb all of the information. My lab group has done a freaking beautiful job of the dissection so far (if I do say so myself). Our pit bull specimen, Maude, is looking great despite the skin being missing and numerous muscle transections on her left shoulder, chest, and forelimb. This week we're also starting some other anatomy aspects in lab including radiology (x-ray) interpretation and live palpation skills...meaning we actually get to touch a dog that isn't soaked in formalin!
Histology is actually a lot of fun, too. The professor (see above) is very sweet, energetic, and thorough. I've looked at cells under the microscope dozens upon dozens of times, but he's amazing at explaining exactly what we're seeing. Lab is a good mix of turning us loose with our partners and slide boxes and getting plenty of helpful feedback and hints on how to interpret the slide fields. It's really the way a class like that needs to be taught.
Okay, and there is a huuuge perk to vet school. We get butt-tons of free stuff thrown at us. Including meals! Almost every single day there's a lunch meeting you can choose to attend during lunch hour, usually put on by different clubs featuring a speaker or presentation. All you have to do is RSVP, show up, and chow down while learning lots of awesome stuff. Today the VMBA (Veterinary Medical Business Association) invited a local mobile surgery vet to speak with us about starting her practice.
Mobile care is nothing that I've really thought about before, but she was really, really interesting. She's a board-certified surgeon (4 years vet school + 1 year internship + 3 year residency + 2 year fellowship!) and has a mobile practice where she travels to about thirty to forty local hospitals to perform the surgeries that the general practitioners don't feel comfortable doing. A lot of cruciate repairs (TPLO) and other orthopedic surgeries with some additional soft tissue and critical care surgeries thrown in. Really cool idea for a practice without worrying about the "running a huge business with overhead, dozens of employees, etc." model. Something I've never thought about before, but it's really fascinating.
That's the blessing and the curse of veterinary medicine. The variety of things you can do with your degree is ENDLESS. General practice or specialization. Rural or urban. Large or small animal. Zoo medicine or pocket pet exotics. Academia or research. Conservation medicine or pharmaceuticals. Industry or public health. There's no excuse to be bored - I mean, you can do anything with that degree!
And that's the downside as well. I'm fairly undecided about what I want to do, and every speaker or lecturer gets me excited about the possibility of yet another asset to the field. Unfortunately, you have to decide what to do when you grow up at some point. :(
First Monday of the first full week of school, and I feel surprisingly rested and awake and ready to conquer my classes. Good thing since we learned about a dozen new muscles in anatomy and start blood vessels and nerves tomorrow! I feel like anatomy is the ONLY class I talk about, but it's only because the others are still review at this point - thank goodness! Gives me plenty of time to figure out how best to study for the class and absorb all of the information. My lab group has done a freaking beautiful job of the dissection so far (if I do say so myself). Our pit bull specimen, Maude, is looking great despite the skin being missing and numerous muscle transections on her left shoulder, chest, and forelimb. This week we're also starting some other anatomy aspects in lab including radiology (x-ray) interpretation and live palpation skills...meaning we actually get to touch a dog that isn't soaked in formalin!
Histology is actually a lot of fun, too. The professor (see above) is very sweet, energetic, and thorough. I've looked at cells under the microscope dozens upon dozens of times, but he's amazing at explaining exactly what we're seeing. Lab is a good mix of turning us loose with our partners and slide boxes and getting plenty of helpful feedback and hints on how to interpret the slide fields. It's really the way a class like that needs to be taught.
Okay, and there is a huuuge perk to vet school. We get butt-tons of free stuff thrown at us. Including meals! Almost every single day there's a lunch meeting you can choose to attend during lunch hour, usually put on by different clubs featuring a speaker or presentation. All you have to do is RSVP, show up, and chow down while learning lots of awesome stuff. Today the VMBA (Veterinary Medical Business Association) invited a local mobile surgery vet to speak with us about starting her practice.
Mobile care is nothing that I've really thought about before, but she was really, really interesting. She's a board-certified surgeon (4 years vet school + 1 year internship + 3 year residency + 2 year fellowship!) and has a mobile practice where she travels to about thirty to forty local hospitals to perform the surgeries that the general practitioners don't feel comfortable doing. A lot of cruciate repairs (TPLO) and other orthopedic surgeries with some additional soft tissue and critical care surgeries thrown in. Really cool idea for a practice without worrying about the "running a huge business with overhead, dozens of employees, etc." model. Something I've never thought about before, but it's really fascinating.
That's the blessing and the curse of veterinary medicine. The variety of things you can do with your degree is ENDLESS. General practice or specialization. Rural or urban. Large or small animal. Zoo medicine or pocket pet exotics. Academia or research. Conservation medicine or pharmaceuticals. Industry or public health. There's no excuse to be bored - I mean, you can do anything with that degree!
And that's the downside as well. I'm fairly undecided about what I want to do, and every speaker or lecturer gets me excited about the possibility of yet another asset to the field. Unfortunately, you have to decide what to do when you grow up at some point. :(
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Vegging...
So I wasn't nearly as productive today as I wanted to or thought I was going to be, but I feel pretty okay with it. I'm comfortable enough with the material that stress or panic are the last things I'm feeling. But who knows, maybe I'm utterly fooling myself.
Yesterday was a pretty quiet study day. First weekend of vet school, and I found myself studying on a Saturday. Which will probably become fairly typical. I spent several hours in the afternoon reading through the bones and muscles of the thoracic limb, quizzing myself on bone parts, and memorizing muscle insertions, origins, and actions. Honestly, while a few bits and pieces weren't quite in my head yet, I felt confident in my level of understanding thus far.
Treated myself to an Arby's dinner (yum!) before going into the anatomy lab to study. Yup. Saturday night in lab. BUT I wasn't alone! There were a half dozen other students there, and we had a lot of fun poking through one of the cadavers, coming up with mnemonic devices - some of them are remembering the omotransversarius muscle as "the gay dinosaur" if that gives you any indication - and laughing quite a bit. Studying in groups is something that, while fun, I don't get a ton of benefit from. I need to really study stuff on my own to get it to stick. I do a lot of talking myself through material, repetition, and sketching to understand it, and it just doesn't tend to work for me in groups. Also, I'm not a crazy-competitive person or anything, but when others I'm studying with are a bit faster at naming a fact or a bit more specific in their answers, I start to get worried that I don't know my stuff nearly as well as I should. It's usually a morale killer for me. However, I like reviewing with others once I'm sure I understand and know my material; it's a good affirmation that I'm in an okay spot for the test but I'm not actively learning new things by that point.
Anyway, we quit studying by 9:30 and went to see "Prince of Persia" at the dollar theater. Which was appropriately brainless fun with some great cheesy moments. Recommended if you don't want to think too hard. Or remember the freaking awesome computer game from when you were in second grade!
Got up early this morning and headed into lab at 9:00. I was crossing my fingers that I'd be by myself - and I was! Had the whole place to me, myself, and I! Dragged out one of the cadavers and one of the sample bone sets and quizzed myself for two whole hours before the next students came in to practice. It was great to go at my own pace, focus on the things I needed to review, and nail down some more specific facts I was missing. A bunch of us then went to the welcome picnic put on by SCAVMA (Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association) this afternoon. The best part? There was an open dog invitation so there were about two dozen dogs of all shapes and sizes running around, playing, begging for food, and waiting to be cuddled. Such great therapy when I would kill to have a dog of my own here with me.
I should have studied more when I got home today. But I didn't. I vegged all night and don't even know what I spent most of my time on. Oh well! Tomorrow morning is my first Monday of my first full week of vet school! I have a feeling I'll be pooped by Friday afternoon.
Yesterday was a pretty quiet study day. First weekend of vet school, and I found myself studying on a Saturday. Which will probably become fairly typical. I spent several hours in the afternoon reading through the bones and muscles of the thoracic limb, quizzing myself on bone parts, and memorizing muscle insertions, origins, and actions. Honestly, while a few bits and pieces weren't quite in my head yet, I felt confident in my level of understanding thus far.
Treated myself to an Arby's dinner (yum!) before going into the anatomy lab to study. Yup. Saturday night in lab. BUT I wasn't alone! There were a half dozen other students there, and we had a lot of fun poking through one of the cadavers, coming up with mnemonic devices - some of them are remembering the omotransversarius muscle as "the gay dinosaur" if that gives you any indication - and laughing quite a bit. Studying in groups is something that, while fun, I don't get a ton of benefit from. I need to really study stuff on my own to get it to stick. I do a lot of talking myself through material, repetition, and sketching to understand it, and it just doesn't tend to work for me in groups. Also, I'm not a crazy-competitive person or anything, but when others I'm studying with are a bit faster at naming a fact or a bit more specific in their answers, I start to get worried that I don't know my stuff nearly as well as I should. It's usually a morale killer for me. However, I like reviewing with others once I'm sure I understand and know my material; it's a good affirmation that I'm in an okay spot for the test but I'm not actively learning new things by that point.
Anyway, we quit studying by 9:30 and went to see "Prince of Persia" at the dollar theater. Which was appropriately brainless fun with some great cheesy moments. Recommended if you don't want to think too hard. Or remember the freaking awesome computer game from when you were in second grade!
Got up early this morning and headed into lab at 9:00. I was crossing my fingers that I'd be by myself - and I was! Had the whole place to me, myself, and I! Dragged out one of the cadavers and one of the sample bone sets and quizzed myself for two whole hours before the next students came in to practice. It was great to go at my own pace, focus on the things I needed to review, and nail down some more specific facts I was missing. A bunch of us then went to the welcome picnic put on by SCAVMA (Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association) this afternoon. The best part? There was an open dog invitation so there were about two dozen dogs of all shapes and sizes running around, playing, begging for food, and waiting to be cuddled. Such great therapy when I would kill to have a dog of my own here with me.
I should have studied more when I got home today. But I didn't. I vegged all night and don't even know what I spent most of my time on. Oh well! Tomorrow morning is my first Monday of my first full week of vet school! I have a feeling I'll be pooped by Friday afternoon.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Who knew?
Having never taken an anatomy course before now, I had no idea that every single bone isn't just a single bone. They each have about two dozen crests and fossae and processes that comprise it and allow it to perform its function. And just learning the parts of the bones of the forelimb is keeping me majorly busy! It's only the second day of anatomy lab (again, totally foreign material for the most part) and dissecting our cadaver and then comparing it with models and readings at night really is helping everything come together. I definitely understand now what we were warned about - it's not the innate difficulty of the material but the sheer volume we have to learn.
Each bone has multiple parts. Each part attaches to one or multiple muscles or articulates with another bone in a joint. Each muscle attaches to another bone and performs a certain function in a certain location. Each of these muscles corresponds to a nerve and blood supply. And each of these components have long Latin or Greek names that must be spelled correctly.
Oy.
So far, challenging and a little overwhelming but fun. Our other classes - bacteriology, histology, and physiology - are still in review stage for me, so it's giving me a little break to ease into the groove (intertubercular groove?) of anatomy.
I'm also thinking about what clubs and activities I would like to join. I'll apply for small animal treatment crew, which is a paid commitment of 2 shifts of 2 hours per month - it's competitive, so I'm not sure I'll even get it. Club-wise I'll be joining PathHeads (pathology), the small ruminant club, internal medicine club, and critical care club; club members get preference for wet labs but the time commitment outside of that isn't huge. SCAVMA, of course, will be getting my money so I can join said organizations. And I'm also thinking about running for some sort of SCAVMA or student government position...but we'll see.
Also, I felt like utter crap today. Sore, tired, achy, even some tummy-ache this morning. Hoping that this means that I'll be skipping the next bug to go around closer to exam time! Tomorrow we get an intro to our evidence-based medicine class where we break into small groups and discuss, research, and analyze individual cases. I'm hoping that it helps lots of different concepts "gel" into a concrete example that's easy to remember and understand. I don't think I could handle a whole curriculum of it, but a small amount might help more difficult concepts come into focus.
Each bone has multiple parts. Each part attaches to one or multiple muscles or articulates with another bone in a joint. Each muscle attaches to another bone and performs a certain function in a certain location. Each of these muscles corresponds to a nerve and blood supply. And each of these components have long Latin or Greek names that must be spelled correctly.
Oy.
So far, challenging and a little overwhelming but fun. Our other classes - bacteriology, histology, and physiology - are still in review stage for me, so it's giving me a little break to ease into the groove (intertubercular groove?) of anatomy.
I'm also thinking about what clubs and activities I would like to join. I'll apply for small animal treatment crew, which is a paid commitment of 2 shifts of 2 hours per month - it's competitive, so I'm not sure I'll even get it. Club-wise I'll be joining PathHeads (pathology), the small ruminant club, internal medicine club, and critical care club; club members get preference for wet labs but the time commitment outside of that isn't huge. SCAVMA, of course, will be getting my money so I can join said organizations. And I'm also thinking about running for some sort of SCAVMA or student government position...but we'll see.
Also, I felt like utter crap today. Sore, tired, achy, even some tummy-ache this morning. Hoping that this means that I'll be skipping the next bug to go around closer to exam time! Tomorrow we get an intro to our evidence-based medicine class where we break into small groups and discuss, research, and analyze individual cases. I'm hoping that it helps lots of different concepts "gel" into a concrete example that's easy to remember and understand. I don't think I could handle a whole curriculum of it, but a small amount might help more difficult concepts come into focus.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
First Day...done!
It's only the end of our first day, and I'm already exhausted! But I do think I'm coming down with a cold, so I'll write it off as one of the side effects of that.
Today was kind of a blur - physiology lecture (NOT on the exam!) about the rapid pace of biotechnology evolution, histology/cytology lecture (starting in with basic cell bio review), histology lab, anatomy lecture (thoracic limb), and anatomy lab.
The only one that concerns me right now is anatomy. We've kind of been thrown into it without an idea of what to do. The depth of the notes versus the dissection guide is pretty inconsistent...so I'm not quite sure just how many of those tubercles, fossae, and edges I should really worry about. I'm guessing all of them (or at least as many as will fit into my head). Our first exam is in two weeks and will cover bones and muscles of the limb. It's a bit smaller just to ease us into testing.
Our group has two dogs (male and female) and a cat. We started today with just removing the skin from the left cranial sides of the animals, extending from the mandible down to the umbilicus. Tomorrow we'll get more into identifying actual muscles, insertions and origins, actions, etc.
Going off now to study a bit more of the forelimb bones before I get too far behind! And then...glorious sleep! :)
Today was kind of a blur - physiology lecture (NOT on the exam!) about the rapid pace of biotechnology evolution, histology/cytology lecture (starting in with basic cell bio review), histology lab, anatomy lecture (thoracic limb), and anatomy lab.
The only one that concerns me right now is anatomy. We've kind of been thrown into it without an idea of what to do. The depth of the notes versus the dissection guide is pretty inconsistent...so I'm not quite sure just how many of those tubercles, fossae, and edges I should really worry about. I'm guessing all of them (or at least as many as will fit into my head). Our first exam is in two weeks and will cover bones and muscles of the limb. It's a bit smaller just to ease us into testing.
Our group has two dogs (male and female) and a cat. We started today with just removing the skin from the left cranial sides of the animals, extending from the mandible down to the umbilicus. Tomorrow we'll get more into identifying actual muscles, insertions and origins, actions, etc.
Going off now to study a bit more of the forelimb bones before I get too far behind! And then...glorious sleep! :)
Sunday, August 8, 2010
White coats are rather spiffy.
After picking up the boy at the airport late on Thursday night (lovely stormy weather kept him delayed in Philly), I had another full day of orientation on Friday. We got a pretty comprehensive tour of the school and hospital, and it really helped us get excited after a long day of sitting and being talked at/to on Thursday. Some corny team building activities followed and then we had a few more talks about personality types, studying, and diversity. And apparently my Myers-Briggs personality type is ISTJ, for those who were wondering. :)
Mom arrived late afternoon on Friday, and we packed up to go back to the school for some tasty Carolina BBQ. Gotta say that even though I will definitely miss Pennsylvania stuff like scrapple, easily available water ice, and cheesesteaks, southern food makes up for it with BBQ, sweet tea, and biscuits. I fully expect to be gaining some weight this year...
Boy and I saw "The Other Guys" that night, and it is seriously the best "stupid guy-humor" movie I've seen since "Anchorman". HILARIOUS. Definitely go see it! Just to pique your curiosity, there is a two minute discussion on how tuna would annihilate lions in a battle. Awesome.
And yesterday was my white coat ceremony! After hitting the farmer's market that morning for some fresh bread, fruit, and veggies, we got all dressed up for my official induction into the field of veterinary medicine. Each of us went up on stage and were presented and gowned with our white doctor's coats by a person of our choosing. A lot of us had chosen parents (like I did) or doctors that were instrumental in gaining interest and experience in the field. Really nice ceremony, and it definitely solidified the fact that, yes, we're here and this is really, really happening. We're actually starting our training this week and in four years we'll be doctors.
During the ceremony we recited the modified Oath of Geneva, which really sums up why we're here. It was a perfect way to close such as signficant day:
I solemnly pledge myself to dedicate my life to the relief of pain and suffering and to sound veterinary practice.
I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due.
I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity.
The health of my patient will be my first consideration.
I will use discretion in discussing the veterinary medical concerns of my patients.
I will maintain by all means in my power the honor and noble traditions of the veterinary medical profession.
I will respect the opinion of my colleagues.
I make these promises solemnly, freely, and upon my honor.
Mom arrived late afternoon on Friday, and we packed up to go back to the school for some tasty Carolina BBQ. Gotta say that even though I will definitely miss Pennsylvania stuff like scrapple, easily available water ice, and cheesesteaks, southern food makes up for it with BBQ, sweet tea, and biscuits. I fully expect to be gaining some weight this year...
Boy and I saw "The Other Guys" that night, and it is seriously the best "stupid guy-humor" movie I've seen since "Anchorman". HILARIOUS. Definitely go see it! Just to pique your curiosity, there is a two minute discussion on how tuna would annihilate lions in a battle. Awesome.
And yesterday was my white coat ceremony! After hitting the farmer's market that morning for some fresh bread, fruit, and veggies, we got all dressed up for my official induction into the field of veterinary medicine. Each of us went up on stage and were presented and gowned with our white doctor's coats by a person of our choosing. A lot of us had chosen parents (like I did) or doctors that were instrumental in gaining interest and experience in the field. Really nice ceremony, and it definitely solidified the fact that, yes, we're here and this is really, really happening. We're actually starting our training this week and in four years we'll be doctors.
During the ceremony we recited the modified Oath of Geneva, which really sums up why we're here. It was a perfect way to close such as signficant day:
I solemnly pledge myself to dedicate my life to the relief of pain and suffering and to sound veterinary practice.
I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due.
I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity.
The health of my patient will be my first consideration.
I will use discretion in discussing the veterinary medical concerns of my patients.
I will maintain by all means in my power the honor and noble traditions of the veterinary medical profession.
I will respect the opinion of my colleagues.
I make these promises solemnly, freely, and upon my honor.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Day 1 - Completed!
Out the door at 7:30 this morning for my first official day of vet school (even though I don't think it REALLY counts since it was just orientation and not classes, but let's not be picky)! Nervous at first but when I got there with 79 other friendly, happy first-years and tasty food was provided, I felt much better.
I met up with the group of six or seven other girls that I've been hanging out with and getting to know these past few weeks and also talked a lot with a few other students. Unfortunately, it wasn't the most exciting day since it was a lot of faculty introductions and mini-lectures about studying, financial aid (blergh), student services, etc. Etc. Etc...Etc. I mean, it was incredible actually being there and starting but by 4:00 pm, nearly all of us were getting super-antsy. I felt bad for the last guy who was talking about loans, but I just didn't care by that point. Also, we had a few icebreakers and they weren't too painful - even for someone like me who usually hates them.
Take away points from the day?
I met up with the group of six or seven other girls that I've been hanging out with and getting to know these past few weeks and also talked a lot with a few other students. Unfortunately, it wasn't the most exciting day since it was a lot of faculty introductions and mini-lectures about studying, financial aid (blergh), student services, etc. Etc. Etc...Etc. I mean, it was incredible actually being there and starting but by 4:00 pm, nearly all of us were getting super-antsy. I felt bad for the last guy who was talking about loans, but I just didn't care by that point. Also, we had a few icebreakers and they weren't too painful - even for someone like me who usually hates them.
Take away points from the day?
- I found my locker and mailbox and they've already started in with the SWAG! Walked away today with several notepads and pens and a nice, pretty diagnostic imaging book from Purina. Cannot wait for the free stuff and food over the next few years.
- The boy/girl ratio is definitely as drastic as we were always told. Total of 8 or 9 guys out of 80. Weird to sit in a class and see alllllll females.
- Noticed a few loners today but nearly everyone was super-friendly and excited and talkative, which was great.
- There were FIVE people from Pennsylvania in the class (out of, I think 18 out-of-state students)!!! Four of whom are from Eastern PA!
- After our financial aid talks, I realized I want to talk and think about loans even less than I did before school started. Seeing those numbers and figures in print while actually sitting at the school was painful.
- We were given the statistic that we cover as much material in a day of school as in 2 weeks of undergrad. Eeeeeek.
- We have a ton of very adorable old and British (not always mutually exclusive, either) faculty members - super cute!
- So excited to actually get started!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tomorrow!
This whole summer I was really doing a fairly good job not thinking about what was right around the corner. But it's the night of Wednesday, August 4th...and in less than 12 hours I will be sitting in the classrooms of NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine beginning orientation. Holy crap!
Probably not a surprise to say that I'm getting excited and nervous and antsy and scared all at once - wish it was here right now because sleep won't be coming tonight!
Getting to this point, where I've moved, signed my life away in loans, and am ready for another four years (and then some?) years of education has been lifelong. For those of you who know me, you know that this has been either at the forefront of my brain or percolating on some back burner for a long, long, long time. For those of you who don't, becoming a veterinarian, and completing the schooling to get there, has been more than a dream, more than a goal, and more than an ambition.
It has completely defined my life.
And when it wasn't a certainty that I was going to be accepted - back in calculus or organic chemistry or even this past November when I was waiting for word on my applications - I tried to ignore the fact that literally everything I did was with the intention and hope of becoming a veterinarian. My first (and only) high school job was at a veterinary clinic to gain experience. I went to the Pennsylvania Governor's School for Agricultural Sciences to gain experience and insight. I attended Penn State for both a broad and thorough agriculture education. I crammed classes for two majors into four years and finished a thesis, joined clubs, and took leadership opportunities because of the benefits they would bring to my application and understanding of the field. Summers were spent working to gain experience, and I took a year break from school to work in clinical medicine. This was done with the hope that my application would then be strong enough to allow me to attend a more affordable out-of-state school.
Talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket. I had a vague back-up plan of taking the MCAT and applying to medical school or maybe getting a master's in public health, but neither were very well thought-out. Vet school was the goal, and my academic, professional, and extracurricular experiences were all tailored with that in mind. So I guess it's a good thing I made it here!
Anyway, knowing that nearly every conscious choice and decision I've made has finally, finally paid off and that I'm finally, finally starting this all-important chapter of my life is so exciting. And so terrifying. I've wanted this for as long as I can remember, and now, about to begin this journey tomorrow morning, I am taking a deep breath and hoping that it's the right choice for me after all.
Our schedule for tomorrow runs from 8 am until 5 pm and includes lots of talks from academic affairs, professors, counseling, etc. along with some financial aid stuff and photo-taking. There are also a few blocks of "large and small group activities" in the mix; I'm suspicious they might be ice-breakers, which I mostly hate. But hopefully it'll be a good chance to meet the other 79 students in my class. We continue orientation again on Friday, have our White Coat Ceremony on Saturday, and finish up on Monday. Classes start in a week on next Wednesday!
In other news, my apartment is neat and clean and ready for two visitors this weekend. The fantastic guy in my life is flying here tomorrow evening, and my mom is arriving sometime on Friday; mom is my coat presenter for the ceremony. My apartment is kinda teeny (1 bedroom with no defined dining room), so it'll be close quarters for a couple of days. I'm so excited to be able to relax and enjoy some company before the chaos really starts.
Think I'm going to curl up with a book and cup of tea and try to relax tonight. 10 hours until I climb in the car and start my first drive to school! :)
Probably not a surprise to say that I'm getting excited and nervous and antsy and scared all at once - wish it was here right now because sleep won't be coming tonight!
Getting to this point, where I've moved, signed my life away in loans, and am ready for another four years (and then some?) years of education has been lifelong. For those of you who know me, you know that this has been either at the forefront of my brain or percolating on some back burner for a long, long, long time. For those of you who don't, becoming a veterinarian, and completing the schooling to get there, has been more than a dream, more than a goal, and more than an ambition.
It has completely defined my life.
And when it wasn't a certainty that I was going to be accepted - back in calculus or organic chemistry or even this past November when I was waiting for word on my applications - I tried to ignore the fact that literally everything I did was with the intention and hope of becoming a veterinarian. My first (and only) high school job was at a veterinary clinic to gain experience. I went to the Pennsylvania Governor's School for Agricultural Sciences to gain experience and insight. I attended Penn State for both a broad and thorough agriculture education. I crammed classes for two majors into four years and finished a thesis, joined clubs, and took leadership opportunities because of the benefits they would bring to my application and understanding of the field. Summers were spent working to gain experience, and I took a year break from school to work in clinical medicine. This was done with the hope that my application would then be strong enough to allow me to attend a more affordable out-of-state school.
Talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket. I had a vague back-up plan of taking the MCAT and applying to medical school or maybe getting a master's in public health, but neither were very well thought-out. Vet school was the goal, and my academic, professional, and extracurricular experiences were all tailored with that in mind. So I guess it's a good thing I made it here!
Anyway, knowing that nearly every conscious choice and decision I've made has finally, finally paid off and that I'm finally, finally starting this all-important chapter of my life is so exciting. And so terrifying. I've wanted this for as long as I can remember, and now, about to begin this journey tomorrow morning, I am taking a deep breath and hoping that it's the right choice for me after all.
Our schedule for tomorrow runs from 8 am until 5 pm and includes lots of talks from academic affairs, professors, counseling, etc. along with some financial aid stuff and photo-taking. There are also a few blocks of "large and small group activities" in the mix; I'm suspicious they might be ice-breakers, which I mostly hate. But hopefully it'll be a good chance to meet the other 79 students in my class. We continue orientation again on Friday, have our White Coat Ceremony on Saturday, and finish up on Monday. Classes start in a week on next Wednesday!
In other news, my apartment is neat and clean and ready for two visitors this weekend. The fantastic guy in my life is flying here tomorrow evening, and my mom is arriving sometime on Friday; mom is my coat presenter for the ceremony. My apartment is kinda teeny (1 bedroom with no defined dining room), so it'll be close quarters for a couple of days. I'm so excited to be able to relax and enjoy some company before the chaos really starts.
Think I'm going to curl up with a book and cup of tea and try to relax tonight. 10 hours until I climb in the car and start my first drive to school! :)
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