Life Is Happening!

Two weeks left. TWO! Then I am done with my first year of vet school. How crazy is that?! As I am composing this joyful post, I am basking in the sun and listening to Alt-J (∆).  *Seriously. Give them a listen.

In the words of Liz Lemon, "Life IS happening!"

So here's a quick update:

My AHWAFS exam results are in! THUNDERCATS ARE GO! Now I just need to finish 5 weeks of Animal Husbandry EMS by August then that chapter of my life will close. After the farming EMS is complete, I can move onto clinical EMS. That means working in practice! Happy days!

My EMS checklist:
2 weeks with dairy cattle (still on the prowl for this placement)

2 weeks with horses (current plans are at a thoroughbred breeding facility in Germany!)

1 week of poultry (ugh. Do have to?)

As for my final Animal Body Module (AB4) it's been pretty low-key. It's comprised of short, student group tutorial sessions. We are given a problem set examining the effects of an illness or adaptation on various body systems (i.e. Sperm whale adaptation to deep sea diving or the systemic effect of diabetes mellitus). This means more self-directed, at-home learning and less time sitting in class guzzling red bulls in order to get through lecture-laden days. Every once in a while, I get a day off (like today) and tomorrow we're taking a trip to the Edinburgh Zoo. Fingers crossed for some intermittent Scottish sunshine (I know I'm asking a lot here but hey! A girl can dream, right?)!

To Do List:
1) Get through one more week of school

2) Power through exam week

3) Dominate summer

I've got this. x  

 

True Facts About Vet School

Again, I've been bad. Really bad. It's been a very long time since I last wrote but life + vet school = unspeakable horrors. Seriously. Before I started school, I had these lovely ideas of how fabulous vet school was going to be.

I'd be surrounded by animals...                                        

    

And the people that love them.

All of my teachers would be passionate and encouraging.

In actuality, we hardly see animals our first year. Formalin drenched ones don't really count. As far as the people, vet school is a strange microcosm of society. One filled with girls. Crazy, competitive, scary, smart girls. While many of them are truly lovely, some are just downright nasty. It's like a pre-vet club on steroids. Sheesh. Fortunately, the GEP class has now merged with the 2nd years from the 5 year program. I'm happy to say that they (along with some gems from the other years) are diluting the crazy with great success.



While most of my teachers are brilliant and passionate in their area of expertise, some of them are clearly clinicians or researchers at heart. Not teachers. A couple seem more concerned about being addressed by their "appropriate title" than making sure we understand their material. Some make you feel like an inconvenience of the worst kind, despite the horrific amount of money we pay to be "an inconvenience." Fortunately, most of my teachers DO strive to encourage and support students.

Subsequently, there are quite a few days I come home from school feeling like this. Thank goodness for Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough.

But it's not all bad! I promise! I gave in and adopted two kittens from the local shelter. Kitten therapy is always close at hand now. Meet Crazy Cora and Quigley.

I have also passed every exam so far despite some unfortunate setbacks. AB2 and AB3 are finally behind me! I also just finished my last Animal Health, Welfare, and Food Safety (AHWAFS) exam today. Victory dance!!! I had 5 handling exams: cattle, cats/dogs, exotics, sheep, and horses. I am proud to say that I exceeded my expectations and received fantastic scores all around. The exams were certainly flavourful. Do a one-handed pigeon hold? No problem. Catch and age a ewe by its teeth? As you wish. Make that fat horse trot? Let's do it, Chunks. Pill a dog? Resistance is futile, pup. Make your examiner giggle as you bullshit your way through an 8 minute calf monologue? Well it worked didn't it?! Now I just have to wait for today's written exam results (worth 80% of my AHWAFS grade). Fingers are crossed. Anyways, I'm off to celebrate the end of this long, long week with a bit of sunshine; this pasty Voldemort look isn't really working out. Cheers!