Old Exams vs Morals

Puppy class observers: Done
Summer research: Done

Bacteriology final exam is on Tuesday, then there will be neither Bacteriology nor 8am classes MWF. I made it through last week, only have several small breakdowns, which were usually resolved by remembering the importance of deep breaths.

Things that have got me thinking recently include Old Exams: when, why and how to use them.

This stems from the fact that our professors allow the vet bookstore to give out old exams. They also don't really change their exams from year to year. As a result, I find myself studying all the information in sort of a general way, but then going through the old exams and highlighting the infromation that I really "need to know".

Arguably, I need to know it all. There is little that we are being taught that we won't use or see again in some way, shape or form. Knowing the mechanisms will help us understand new therapies or emerging diseases. Knowing the information in detail will give us the knowledge that we need to explain to our clients the processes going on inside of their animals, the treatment options and what to expect. It will also help us predict and understand side effects of everything from drugs to tumors.

But is that all really information that I should be able to have on the tip of my tongue right now? I won't see clients for another year and a half, and even if I can spout it off now, what are the chances that it'll stick. I'll also need it for boards, which are about 2 years from now. I think that simply being familiar with the information, and being able to apply it when the situation arises (using at textbook, of course!) is really the important part of my education. And for now, I'll use the old exams to keep my stress level reasonable and make sure that I GET to the point where this information will become pertinant.

Next post: Mini-rotations, hanging around in the hospital, and getting to know people who may someday write me good letters of recommendation.

Saturday nights

It's Saturday night, and I'm supposed to be studying. I had a friend here from out of town for most of the week, so it definatly stifled my studying ability. In a perfect world, I'd be ready to go and super productive, but instead I'm exhausted and unmotivated. We finally got our Path exams back on Thursday - I thoroughally passed, though I didn't quite hit my target grade. We took Bacteriology on Tuesday, and I felt pretty prepared for that one. Though I know I got at least one definately wrong! It was a 25 question, 100 point exam based very heavily on the old exams.

In other news, Parasitology is going to hurt very much. This coming week is very stressful, in that the combination of work (2 "jobs" right now), volunteering, electives and exams appears to all be centered in this coming week. To boot, my boyfriend's parents are coming this weekend to visit. Hopefully I'll make it to the Pathology exam next Tuesday, and then things should get a little easier (both jobs end, no more visiters).

The stuff I'm doing right now is:

• Finishing up summer research things. This coming week that means that I need to be at school Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 7-8am. (Oh oops, I was supposed to go do the dogs today... good thing that's only a paperwork thing, not a real thing.)
• Puppy Class aide. The behavior club is paying me to shuttle freshmen taking the "preparing and teaching puppy classes" class around during the actual puppy classes. They'll be starting to teach them come next session (or maybe the one after that), and get to observe in groups of 5 for a class. It's 1 1/2 hours of talking/describing everything and giving a tour, and 1 1/2 hours of sitting cross legged on a linoleum floor watching other people teach. The good news is that we don't actually have to help with setup or cleanup. Woohoo!
• Mini vet school volunteer. This is a pretty cool thing put on by the vet school for the public. For about $100 (don't quote me on that), they get 7 sessions from various clinicians and staff members on all sorts of fun vet type stuff. They learn to give their pets basic physical exams, how cancer works, how opthamology works, how radiology works and other fun stuff. My job is to check people in, answer questions about everything under the sun, and make sure that the Jans (there are 2 organizing it) are happy. I really like interacting with people in this setting, plus this semester I get Professional Skills credit for it!

That's really about it for me. I should go to bed, 'cause I gotta get up pretttty early tomorrow in order to get in all the studying I'm not doing, 'cause I'm blogging. And playing World of Warcraft.

Yeah, I'm a bad person.
You know you're a vet student when...
... You have high ambition and low motivation
... You are thoroughally sick of the 90 people that you see 40 hours a week, yet you get together with them on the weekends anyways, to do the SAME THINGS.
... Things that most people respond to with "Ew Gross", you tend to hear yourself saying, "hey cool, how does that work?"
... Getting up at 5 or 6 and going to bed at 11 or 12 doesn't seem so bad anymore. Though you'll sleep to noon on vacations!
... You've contemplated skipping class to study.
There are more out there, I just can't think of them right now.