Welcome to Spring Semester

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this thing. There’s just so much to say that I feel I can’t do it justice unless I sit down and write a super long thoughtful post. Like I have time for that.

We’re done with the first three weeks of the semester. We’ve already taken three exams – two of them were finals. It’s kind of weird to get used to classes rolling on and off the schedule, but at the same time it’s kinda nice to have (and much easier to study for) short classes.

We’re all done with Obstetrics (unless you chose to take the lab – I didn’t) and Neuropharmacology. Obstetrics was pretty, dare I say, basic. I remembered most of it from my large animal work in undergrad. Neuropharm was difficult, but extremely cool. And it’s been very nice to pick up Anesthesia where Neuropharm left off, as I actually have a grasp on most of the drugs and understand why they’re making the choices they do about using what when.

I’m supposed to be studying for reproduction biology right now. I’m sitting in the library, munching on cookies, and contemplating the wonders of X-inactivation. While I understand why it might be good to know in general, I mostly think that it’s cool how tri-colored cats are made. I had an excellent repro class in undergrad, and it’s been a relief to find that this class is primarily review (Thank you Dr Kerr!). Look through the old exams, it was reassuring to know that most of the multiple choice I could do with a combination of having taken it before and having gone to class. The short-answer/diagram questions are going to take a little more work to make sure that I have everything straight though. Fortunately, the exam isn’t until Tuesday.

I’m also taking Social and Behavioral Science for public health this semester. I’m not sure yet how I feel about having ANOTHER class on top of the vet school stuff, especially one that isn’t on our master blue schedule of doom. I’m a little worried about the 4 3-5 page papers, but really, how bad could they be? ;-)

I’ll try to be better about updating, but really, there never seems like much to say. I got to scrub in on a cleft palate surgery last semester during my surgery mini-rotation. That was really neat. I did suction because there weren’t enough students scheduled during that rotation. I’ve e-mailed the local humane society about doing an externship there… it was very very very odd to be scheduling a two week period of time to do something in 2008. Two years from next week. Weird. I’m starting to look for places that I might wanna work when I graduate, I’d really love to do an externship with them so that I know that it’s compatible with me and that I’m going to be comfortable there.

I’ve applied for Minnesota residency. I’m excited about staying in Minnesota after I graduate right now. I’m sure that I can find a good job that I’ll like. I know that the boy has a good job that he’ll be thrilled in for years to come. And someday I’ll find an apartment that lets me get cats, and then I’ll be one happy camper.

Only one week left!

5 more days left in the semester, and I'm almost looking forward to them. I have my parasitology final on Tuesday, and the parasitology lab exam (which needs to be taken at my leisure between Monday and Friday), as well as a written final for my Epidemiology of Zoonoses elective followed by an oral exam with a partner. Parasitology isn't too overwhelming to me, because I know that there isn't any other subject that I need to be staying caught up with. Also, we're out of classes to be taking on Monday, so there's nothing but study-time between me and the exam.

Zoonoses final should be really cool, strangely. I'm looking forward to having a conversation with our prof and my partner for half an hour (let's be honest, it's gonna take longer than that). The prof for this class is *hopefully* going to be my master's advisor for next summer.

I got to tag along with the public health senior rotation yesterday to visit the local Eden Alternative Long-term care facility. 13 cats, 3 dogs, 30+ birds. Planters in the halls. Plenty of natural light. 108 beds. Everybody was happy, and wanted to tell me about the animals, and show me things. I'd love to live there if someday I can no longer take care of myself or live on my own. It seemed like... home. This is the facility that *hopefully* my master's proj will be on.

Aside from that, all I have is 20 hours of swine core. This is a class that we know nothing about, so I've been a little apprehensive of it all semester. But talking to people it seems like it's pretty interesting (in some ways, mammals are mammals!), that we get out early, and that the assessments (take home exam(s)) are pretty reasonable. We rescheduled one of the lecture blocks (4 hours each) from Monday the 19th to Thursday the 15th. So instead of having the semester hanging out through next weekend, we should be totally done on Friday at noon.

God I love my life sometimes.

Oh! And I have THREE cookie-making parties to go to in the next 2 weeks. I win.

I need more time in my day

Somehow that final that was 2 weeks away is suddenly on Tuesday. We had our antimicrobials/anthelmentics/chemotherapy final yesterday - and I think I did well on it. Time will obviously tell on that one.

I've spent 8+ hours studying daily, plus between 1 and 4 hours of class a day (I love the end of the semester for the latter reason, not the former). I woke up this morning with an excruciating backache, which make the 4 hours of Clinical Epidemiology in my immediate future not so awesome. The redeeming factor is that I love the prof... which is good, 'cause maybe I can not throw up from pain if I'm interested.

Random calculation that we did yesterday:
26 credit hours = ~40 hours in class a week (it works out strangely)
8 hours of sleep a night (I can dream!) = 56 hours of sleep a week
2 hours of work/studying for each credit hour we take a week = 80 hours
Not included sleeping, showering, blogging, traveling etc, number of hours a week I'm occupied: 176
Number of actual hours in a week: 160

Excuse me, but I'd like another day or two per week to simply stay caught up with the world.

Next semester I'm taking 36.5 credits of vet stuff, plus a public health class or two (an additional 2-5 credits).

End of the semester lull

This semester is... going. I love that it's finally wrapping up, I love that I'm finally beginning to have some free time in which to do things. I hate that my computer (that I love, adore, and have gambled all my notes on) broke last week and had to be sent to Texas. She got shipped back yesterday, and I think it's 2day shipping, so she should be back either today (if I'm very very very lucky) or Friday. Which is very good. I did get all my notes off of it before it left, so it wasn't going to be the end of the universe if it wasn't back by finals.

Pathology lectures and labs are over for the semester, and our final isn't for another two weeks. This is much appreciated by those of me who love having that extra time to study (but don't use it). I'm hoping to get a lot done before this Thanksgiving break is over in terms of being prepared for finals. We're super lucky this semester, and our finals are a week apart.

We had an "extra credit" laboratory exam in Pathology yesterday. It was worth up to 30 extra credit points, but no penalties for incorrect answers or even not taking it! I think that I got about 25 points on it, which should more and make up for the 15 point question on our last path exam of: "You are in a capsule that has just been orally admistered to a horse, name every structure and junction you pass through before being deposited on the barn floor." I filled in every spot, but I definatly did the large colon counterclockwise and starting at 6 o'clock, instead of beginning at 12 and going clockwise. Some of those flectures (it's diaphragmatic and sternal, not ventral and dorsal, for the record) also gave me a run for my money.

We're learning about flies and myiasis in parasitology now, with a foray into filth flies today. I can't decide whether they're better or worse because I can see them.

Pharmacology is wrapping up after the Thanksgiving break with chemotherapy, and since I adore the professor teaching it, it should be wonderfully fun.

This lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas I think is to simply make sure we don't run away and never come back after seeing next semester's schedule. But that's probably gonna be another post, because there's SO MUCH! Ooh... I should call health services and get that hold lifted from my record before signing up for classes...

Ugggh.

Everything hurts. My brain, my body, and my apartment.

My brain hurts because I'm running on waaay too little sleep. I had a fun and exciting weekend with the DNR here in Minnesota. I spent 2 days cutting lymph nodes out of hunter-killed deer (parotid, submandibular and retropharyngeal for those of you who care) looking for tuberculosis lesions (pyogranulomatous lymphadenitis, of the sort NOT caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, again for those of you who have a clue what I'm talking about). Some stations saw upwards of 50 deer per day, we saw 24 deer in 2 days. That's 24 hours at the registration station, and 24 deer. Boy were we bored. I got a little bit of studying done, but mostly I just didn't did anything. We have a parasitology exam on Tuesday, and I think I'm gonna need a nap before I study tonight, but it's looking good for not getting much sleep again tonight.

My body hurts due to an 16 hours on a bus (8 on Friday, 8 on Sunday night). Sleeping on a bus is a good way to irk every muscle you know about in your neck and back. We got home at 2am, I made it to class at 9. Go me.

At least Dr Plumb (THE Dr Plumb of pharmacology fame - he's actually a pretty damn good lecturer) was pretty fun. He gave away three pocket-manuels at the end of class just for showing up. Considering that we had only about 2/3 of the class there, it was pretty awesome. I bought the book at the beginning of the semester, so I wasn't too disappointed that I didn't win.

My apartment hurts because I haven't been home since 630am Friday morning for more than an hour (awake). Also, all of the clothes that came home from Roseau with me last night desperately need to be washed (mayhaps with H2O2...). We have no real food. And I still have that pesky exam tomorrow. ::sigh::

At least I have a buffer in this class already.

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.

One down, too many to go...

The exam went well enough - we were supposed to get them back today, but the last time I checked my mailbox was at 2pm, and they weren't there yet. I have to go in on Sunday, so I'll check then. Most people are pretty panicky about the exam, for any number of reasons. Some include the fact that these two profs have never taught the course before, so we had no old exams, and that many people didn't feel that the profs emphasized important over unimportant material clearly.

I found that while studying, I picked out a ton of the test questions. While taking the exam, I could hear myself asking those questions to my friends, while very few of them were asked at me. I clearly have some sort of clue as to what of this information is pertinant. A couple things that were amusing stuck in my head during lively discussions, and some of those ended up on the exam too.

Hopefully, everyone did well. We should get stats for the exam back at some point too.

Bacteriology on Tuesday - 2 exams in this class. I'm a little stressed about it - but tonight is for relaxing so that this weekend can be for studying. We have a ton of gram negative rods on the exam, and only the stuff we learned today is gram positive. This at least makes one question on the exam easy!

Hopefully I'll feel confident about this exam by Tuesday, 'cause right now I'd cry if they made me take it. I have a friend coming on Monday night and staying through the weekend, so I need to be thoroughally studied before I go to pick her up at the airport.

In which I stress before the first exam of the semester

First exam, in Pathology, is on Tuesday morning. I think that I can honestly say that I want nothing to do with it. Studying is a pain in the neck, and while I'm no longer sick, my energy and enthusiasm levels still aren't quite back to 100%. Come to think of it, perhaps it's just about studying that I'm unenthusiastic.

Of course, the less I study, the more stressed I get. And the more stressed I get, the less able I am to study.

In other news, for Clinical Skills we were assigned preceptors last year. I spent 4 hours at my preceptor's clinic yesterday shadowing, and I am reminded why I swore I would never work at that practice, as a tech or a vet. The various reasons why are perhaps fodder for another post, but the fact that I was bored out of my skull weighs in heavily.

I should tell the internets that don't read this about the mini-rotations that we do for Clinical Skills too, also, about Clerk Duty. That way, maybe when I have readers someday, they'll have a clue what I'm referring to.

But for now, it's back to studying Pathology: Alterations in Cell Metabolism, Inflammation, and Amyloids. And whining. We can't forget the whining.

Plans: tonight, meeting with a friend to study old exams; tomorrow night, meeting with a group of friends to do some last minute studying (aka panic).

Fall Semester 2005 Overview

This semester I'm taking:

• Infective Agents: Bacteriology and Mycology (3.5)
  
• Infective Agents: Parasitology (4)
  
• Pharmacology: Anti-Infective Agents (1.5)
  
• Pathology (7)
  
• Clinical Skills (1)
  
• Professional Skills (2)
  
• Advanced Clinical Epidemiology (2)
  
• Epidemiology of Zoonoses Common to People and Animals (3)
• Swine Core (2)
  

For a total of 26 credits. Which actually doesn't sound too bad to me right now.

I'm halfway through week three right now, the first test (Pathology) is next Tuesday. I've been studying by butt off, and hopefully it will pay off. Panic set in sometime yesterday afternoon, as I realized the magnitude of the stresses coming in the next three months. Stress relief is going to be my number one need very soon.

As soon as this cold goes away though, I will be a much much happier person, and a much more enthusiastic student.