Hi there; Birdie here!
After Wednesday, I will be DONE with anatomy! School will be so much easier then...I won't even have any afternoon classes until after spring break. I am stressing pretty hardcore about this (even as I type this instead of studying)--since I actually did really well on the last exam, I have a chance of keeping an A in this class, so I really want to. Plus it seems like there's a lot more stuff I don't know at this point for this exam. I spent a couple hours yesterday and pretty much all evening Saturday in the lab and am feeling a lot better about the limb and especially the bones. I started out knowing bones really well so that's always my confidence point, and since we get to pick which question we start on for the practical I like to start with a bone.
Actually, I just ran a grade calculator and if I get an 88 on everything left I'll (barely) keep my A. I think I've done better than that on all my previous anatomy stuff. This might actually be doable...I can't slow down, though, this is anatomy and it's a lot of information. I feel better about it now though.
I did a good amount of non-anatomy over the weekend, too. Saturday morning I went to a raptor workday and did my second ever blood draw--on Sydney, the turkey vulture. She has big veins, and I volunteered first. :) My draw wasn't actually very good--I only managed it with the clinician's help, and I took too long so the blood clotted in the tube. BUT I got blood, so I'm 2 for 2. After that we played Pathfinder, but it seemed really short, especially since we stopped in a place that wasn't really a stopping point in the story (we were chasing the Monk down a hall). It was still fun, but sometimes I really miss my previous DM.
Oh, speaking of tabletop games...there's a kickstarter for basically a Monster Manual of bacteria and antibiotics. It ends today so I doubt anyone will be able to donate from seeing it, but here's the link https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nerdcoremedical/the-bacterionomicon
I backed it and will be getting the hardcover when it comes out. My study buddy and I are trying to convince her boyfriend (who DMs for a party online through Roll20) to DM a game for us using it.
On Sunday I helped out with Spay Day. There was an adorable dilute calico kitten (dilute calicos and tortiseshells are among my favorites) that I wanted to take home. It was a shelter cat, too. Unfortunately, my roommate says I can't have a cat, so that's not happening for another year at least, so I don't get that kitten. I worked prep again this time. There was one cat who looked like she might have had a spay scar, so we were going to run a blood test to check if she'd been spayed (it checks for...lutenizing hormone, IIRC. Some hormone from the ovaries). The test would take 30 minutes (including getting plasma/serum), so we just let the surgeon open her up rather than have her under anasthesia so long. I had heard of the test last time, but this is the first time I heard the details and one of my classmates was hearing it for the first time, so I thought maybe my readers would find it interesting.
Last week I also finally got my car fixed. It was actually minimal trouble--I dropped it off in the morning, got my friend to drive me to school, and we went to pick it up after just a little extra time in anatomy lab. It was a little anxiety-inducing at the end, since apparently they needed my permission to do one part replacement and I missed the call asking for said permission since I was in bacteriology lab and wearing gloves that it took some time to get out of. Luckily they were able to replace it and get me my car back right around closing. And then I got a snowball--it's definitely heading towards summertime, 'cause the snowball stands are opening up. If you're not a Louisianian, you probably don't understand the wonders of snowball. It's like a snow cone, but bigger--in an actual styrofoam cup (or Chinese takeout box, if you're at Plum Street), not a little cone. And there are cream flavors, which are my favorites (they're sweet, with condensed milk mixed into the syrup), and you can get toppings like condensed milk on top. Snowballs are an important part of my summers.
I also did something with Josh Project (for once)--I went to deliver the kits (stuffed dog + book) to children in the hospital, along with a couple of service dogs. We didn't spend much time at all with the kids, and a lot of time standing in hallways because the dogs went first and we came in when they left. It was pretty nice, though--I'm going again on April 22, right after spring break. I was really impressed with the hospital worker and how he talked to the kids.
Other than that, last week was mainly just classes. I got lunch from a club/presentation every single day. I learned about class IV laser therapy, anemia, and some surgery cases. I also sat through a webinar about how to pay off debt that pretty much only applied to federal loans, which mine aren't. At least they gave me pizza.
Well, wish me luck on anatomy...however it turns out, it will all be over soon.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Symposium, etc.
Hi there; Birdie here!
So, what happened last week before symposium? Not too much. I went to the Happy's run on Tuesday, after which there was an extended happy hour special for us vet students. 3 of my Pathfinder group members showed up, too, and I would have loved to stay...but unfortunately since I was leaving Thursday and knew I would be too busy to study over the weekend, I had to go home and study. I also had a bird to feed last week; I had to switch with the undergrad student who was feeding earlier since I was scheduled to feed over the weekend when I was at symposium. So instead, my shift was now Monday through Thursday. My bird this time was Lucy, a Mississippi kite, which is a really pretty blue-gray bird. She was really good, too--very nervous, but she fisted well for me every time. One morning I even had to walk across the room with her on my arm to put her in a travel cage so I could clean her cage, and she was not as bad as I feared. I hope I get to feed her more (and more than Sydney who tried to attack me!).
Symposium itself was pretty good. I'm pretty sure I want to go again next year, although I'll definitely try to register earlier so I can 1) be in the same hotel it's in and 2) get actually wet wetlabs. The only wetlab I got this time was a client communication one that was basically just two lectures that I had to travel to CSU's campus for. It turned out pretty well, though--the vet who gave one of those talks also gave a talk on the last day, and I went up and talked to him afterwards. Gave him my card, said thanks for doing communication stuff, told him how my thesis was on that, and he offered to introduce me to Dr. Shaw, who does a lot of research in this area. Which reminds me, I still need to email him...
Besides that wetlab, I went to a bunch of lectures: business-type things, secure hemostasis, virology, Parvo research... all sorts of stuff. And the nights were for social activities. The first night I intended to get there in time for the opening ceremony, but the shuttle from the airport started later and took longer than I expected. According to my classmates who did go, I didn't miss much. Then there was a bar crawl thing--we each got a "passport to Fort Collins" detailing certain deals that some places downtown had for us as well as a $15 gift card good for most places downtown. First place I went (with a couple of fellow LSU-ers and another SAVMA delegate the two of them knew) was a bar called the Drunken Monkey, which had swings instead of bar stools! It was cool, especially since we went there at like 7 and it wasn't crowded. Then we went to get food, and that was very much no longer the case. The first place we went for a burger deal, there were so many people that we tried somewhere else. Which turned out to be a poor choice; it was just about as crowded AND apparently the workers didn't know there was going to be this symposium. It was CSU's spring break, and they were short-staffed, which was VERY short-staffed with how many people we were (symposium had ~1600 attendees, though I'm not sure how many attended that event). Also, it was an Irish pub, so I was really disappointed when my "What kind of cider do you have?" was answered with "Woodchuck." That's it. In actual Ireland, they had at least 3 varieties of cider that weren't even apple (I got a blackcurrant one for my 21st birthday). We had to wait an hour for food, and eventually it was so crowded and I was so uncomfortable that I just left, leaving my gift card on the table to cover my stuff. I only drank like 3 sips of my Woodchuck, too (not a fan). I wish we'd gone to the Melting Pot for the $15 chocolate, cheese, and drink special instead... I wound up leaving at 9 and just went to bed.
That was Thursday. Friday night was much better. There was a casino night at some theater place. I learned how to play craps, and won 16 imaginary dollars. They gave us each $500 to gamble with so that we didn't have to use our own money. Craps was really fun! Our dealer introduced himself as Bruce, but his nametag said DJ Bruce so we called him DJ all night. He was a lot of fun, teaching us how to play the game and joking with us. I gave him a high five when we cashed out. Saturday night was the closing ceremony, which had really nice food (although I didn't eat much because the beef was really rare for me). Some people went out afterwards, but I wasn't feeling it, especially since I had to wake up for a 6:40 shuttle to the airport.
Oh, btw, I got an email: I didn't get the summer NASA program. I'm pretty much okay with that, though. It was my least favorite since I'd have to find housing in Houston. Plus it has set start and end dates, and now I get to pick my start dates, which means I get to go to Hawaii with my family at the beginning of summer!
So I finally got my car fixed yesterday. The maintainance light was on, so I got an oil change and my tires rotated, and I finally got my cracked windshield replaced. And it didn't lose me my 2-year brake tag that I just got last summer! This week so far I've been studying anatomy really hard, but I really need to work on bacteriology since we have our first exam Friday. We also started Pathology this week. I really liked the first lecture, but today I was having trouble paying attention. How much repetition there was from yesterday didn't really help. I still need to watch a bacteriology lecture and an anatomy lecture that I missed for symposium. Oh, and today I'm finally doing something for Josh Project (despite being a committee member...)--today I'm going to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital to deliver some kits!
By the way, my Pathfinder group did play without me. Apparently it was like a sidequest, and the DM has an idea for what my character was doing during it. I'm still looking forward to this weekend! I might also be doing a scout's day with VOICE (diversity club) on Saturday and Spay Day on Sunday, but since it's the weekend before our anatomy final (Final EVER!) I haven't decided yet.
So, what happened last week before symposium? Not too much. I went to the Happy's run on Tuesday, after which there was an extended happy hour special for us vet students. 3 of my Pathfinder group members showed up, too, and I would have loved to stay...but unfortunately since I was leaving Thursday and knew I would be too busy to study over the weekend, I had to go home and study. I also had a bird to feed last week; I had to switch with the undergrad student who was feeding earlier since I was scheduled to feed over the weekend when I was at symposium. So instead, my shift was now Monday through Thursday. My bird this time was Lucy, a Mississippi kite, which is a really pretty blue-gray bird. She was really good, too--very nervous, but she fisted well for me every time. One morning I even had to walk across the room with her on my arm to put her in a travel cage so I could clean her cage, and she was not as bad as I feared. I hope I get to feed her more (and more than Sydney who tried to attack me!).
Symposium itself was pretty good. I'm pretty sure I want to go again next year, although I'll definitely try to register earlier so I can 1) be in the same hotel it's in and 2) get actually wet wetlabs. The only wetlab I got this time was a client communication one that was basically just two lectures that I had to travel to CSU's campus for. It turned out pretty well, though--the vet who gave one of those talks also gave a talk on the last day, and I went up and talked to him afterwards. Gave him my card, said thanks for doing communication stuff, told him how my thesis was on that, and he offered to introduce me to Dr. Shaw, who does a lot of research in this area. Which reminds me, I still need to email him...
Besides that wetlab, I went to a bunch of lectures: business-type things, secure hemostasis, virology, Parvo research... all sorts of stuff. And the nights were for social activities. The first night I intended to get there in time for the opening ceremony, but the shuttle from the airport started later and took longer than I expected. According to my classmates who did go, I didn't miss much. Then there was a bar crawl thing--we each got a "passport to Fort Collins" detailing certain deals that some places downtown had for us as well as a $15 gift card good for most places downtown. First place I went (with a couple of fellow LSU-ers and another SAVMA delegate the two of them knew) was a bar called the Drunken Monkey, which had swings instead of bar stools! It was cool, especially since we went there at like 7 and it wasn't crowded. Then we went to get food, and that was very much no longer the case. The first place we went for a burger deal, there were so many people that we tried somewhere else. Which turned out to be a poor choice; it was just about as crowded AND apparently the workers didn't know there was going to be this symposium. It was CSU's spring break, and they were short-staffed, which was VERY short-staffed with how many people we were (symposium had ~1600 attendees, though I'm not sure how many attended that event). Also, it was an Irish pub, so I was really disappointed when my "What kind of cider do you have?" was answered with "Woodchuck." That's it. In actual Ireland, they had at least 3 varieties of cider that weren't even apple (I got a blackcurrant one for my 21st birthday). We had to wait an hour for food, and eventually it was so crowded and I was so uncomfortable that I just left, leaving my gift card on the table to cover my stuff. I only drank like 3 sips of my Woodchuck, too (not a fan). I wish we'd gone to the Melting Pot for the $15 chocolate, cheese, and drink special instead... I wound up leaving at 9 and just went to bed.
That was Thursday. Friday night was much better. There was a casino night at some theater place. I learned how to play craps, and won 16 imaginary dollars. They gave us each $500 to gamble with so that we didn't have to use our own money. Craps was really fun! Our dealer introduced himself as Bruce, but his nametag said DJ Bruce so we called him DJ all night. He was a lot of fun, teaching us how to play the game and joking with us. I gave him a high five when we cashed out. Saturday night was the closing ceremony, which had really nice food (although I didn't eat much because the beef was really rare for me). Some people went out afterwards, but I wasn't feeling it, especially since I had to wake up for a 6:40 shuttle to the airport.
Oh, btw, I got an email: I didn't get the summer NASA program. I'm pretty much okay with that, though. It was my least favorite since I'd have to find housing in Houston. Plus it has set start and end dates, and now I get to pick my start dates, which means I get to go to Hawaii with my family at the beginning of summer!
So I finally got my car fixed yesterday. The maintainance light was on, so I got an oil change and my tires rotated, and I finally got my cracked windshield replaced. And it didn't lose me my 2-year brake tag that I just got last summer! This week so far I've been studying anatomy really hard, but I really need to work on bacteriology since we have our first exam Friday. We also started Pathology this week. I really liked the first lecture, but today I was having trouble paying attention. How much repetition there was from yesterday didn't really help. I still need to watch a bacteriology lecture and an anatomy lecture that I missed for symposium. Oh, and today I'm finally doing something for Josh Project (despite being a committee member...)--today I'm going to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital to deliver some kits!
By the way, my Pathfinder group did play without me. Apparently it was like a sidequest, and the DM has an idea for what my character was doing during it. I'm still looking forward to this weekend! I might also be doing a scout's day with VOICE (diversity club) on Saturday and Spay Day on Sunday, but since it's the weekend before our anatomy final (Final EVER!) I haven't decided yet.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Time flies when you're studying like crazy
Hi there; Birdie here!
Once again it's Monday and time for me to blog about last week. Neuro test worked out great, and I made a good grade in diagnostic imaging, too. Next up is our physiology final, focusing on renal phys. I studied a bunch over the weekend but I'm still not sure I'm ready...luckily I still have today to work on it. I had a little more relaxed weekend than the last one and managed to go for a run Sunday morning and watch several episodes of How I Met Your Mother besides my study time. Pathfinder this week was kind of awkward, for in-character reasons...I don't really want to go into it. I'm definitely looking forward to next session, though, and I hope they don't have it without me.
See, this weekend is when I'm going back to Colorado, this time to Fort Collins for SAVMA symposium. I still haven't figured out my shuttle from the airport to the hotel, so I'm planning on doing that this afternoon (or maybe this morning since we don't have class until 10). Luckily it looks like there's a discount code for SAVMA...I'm still annoyed that they didn't do anything to help me out when I'd been led to believe they had a shuttle included with my room rate and it turned out they "never had a shuttle." Symposium should be pretty cool, even if I only get to do one wetlab and afaik it doesn't actually involve live animals or procedures (it's a communication thing). Apparently there's a semi-formal one night so I need to bring a dress...luckily I've got the one I want to bring here in BR with me. A bunch of my classmates are actually leaving for it much earlier than I am...from what I saw, there's an opening reception at 5:30 on Thursday so that's when I tried to be there. I know some people are delegates and have to be there Wednesday for a meeting, but apparently there's also some stuff earlier on Thursday and maybe even before that. I've decided I'm okay with missing that though...if I love symposium and am going to go next year, maybe I can try to go earlier. For now though I'm pretty happy to not be missing any bacteriology lab time (if my calculations are correct). I'll definitely be blogging about the symposium once I've experienced it!
Unfortunately I won't be able to drop off my car at the dealership near the airport like I was planning since I'm getting in on Sunday and they're closed so I couldn't pick it up then. The "maintenance required" light is on, and I was planning to finally get the windshield replaced too (since it still has the crack from when I was driving back from Covington). Since I can't do it then I don't know when I will be able to...
Saturday morning before Pathfinder I also got to do a wetlab. It was with AAHA, and let us practice small animal endoscopy. I've seen a bunch of endoscopy on horses, but now I've actually done one on a dog! They also had a couple of models for us to practice on (which my group did before the live dog): a plastic tubing "colonoscopy" with an apple half in the "ileum" to practice taking biopsies, and a plush tiger with a jar of tootsie rolls in it's "stomach" for foreign body extraction. A couple of the guys in my group wanted to unwrap one of the tootsie rolls with endoscopes, but as far as I know they never did. It was really cool to do the actual dog: I saw its larynx, esophageal mucosa, stomach with rugal folds, pyloric antrum, and even the duodenum! I personally didn't get a good view of the duodenal papilla, but other people did. Getting through the pylorus I was pretty much blind, but the clinician helping me said to keep going so I did and eventually I made it through! And other than that part I pretty much did it myself. That was a lot of fun!
Last week we also had our first path wetlab. There were a few cases: a couple of dogs, couple of cats, and a sample from a snake's mouth! I learned about pyogranulomatous inflammation, which then became relevant to our next bacteriology/mycology class, and I learned that cat eosinophils have rod-shaped granules that look like bacteria. I love doing the clin path wetlabs--since I'm a first year and don't know approximately anything, I feel pretty free to ask questions, so I learn a lot. Unfortunately the rest of our diagnostic imaging club wetlabs (including the abdominal one we were supposed to have Friday) got cancelled due to the lack of participation at the first one. I guess people prefer to come to wetlabs involving actual animals...
Also, I think I mentioned the live Night Vale show in my last post? That was great. I got to have dinner with my sister beforehand, and then went to the show. As I was walking in, there was a guy in a "All Hail the Glow Cloud" shirt (it's a reference), which made me sure I was in the right place even as other people talked about coming for some band (I think they were the weather--by which I mean part of the Night Vale show--but it confused me at first). I wound up walking out right behind him and the girl he was with, too--just a random coincidence, but it was something I noticed. There were a few cosplayers: I think I saw 2 Carloses and one Cecil. Cecil himself in the show (who, btw, was not dressed up as the character Cecil) had a lot of fun with us. When he was reading horoscopes, people would scream for their signs and he basically picked a person to talk directly to for each one (I was not the chosen Cancer). Even as he read his script he was still reacting to the audience (the way he said "There's nothing there!" when someone in the audience screamed--I'm sure it was part of the script but the way he said it sounded like a response). Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I've got the poster on my wall now.
Once again it's Monday and time for me to blog about last week. Neuro test worked out great, and I made a good grade in diagnostic imaging, too. Next up is our physiology final, focusing on renal phys. I studied a bunch over the weekend but I'm still not sure I'm ready...luckily I still have today to work on it. I had a little more relaxed weekend than the last one and managed to go for a run Sunday morning and watch several episodes of How I Met Your Mother besides my study time. Pathfinder this week was kind of awkward, for in-character reasons...I don't really want to go into it. I'm definitely looking forward to next session, though, and I hope they don't have it without me.
See, this weekend is when I'm going back to Colorado, this time to Fort Collins for SAVMA symposium. I still haven't figured out my shuttle from the airport to the hotel, so I'm planning on doing that this afternoon (or maybe this morning since we don't have class until 10). Luckily it looks like there's a discount code for SAVMA...I'm still annoyed that they didn't do anything to help me out when I'd been led to believe they had a shuttle included with my room rate and it turned out they "never had a shuttle." Symposium should be pretty cool, even if I only get to do one wetlab and afaik it doesn't actually involve live animals or procedures (it's a communication thing). Apparently there's a semi-formal one night so I need to bring a dress...luckily I've got the one I want to bring here in BR with me. A bunch of my classmates are actually leaving for it much earlier than I am...from what I saw, there's an opening reception at 5:30 on Thursday so that's when I tried to be there. I know some people are delegates and have to be there Wednesday for a meeting, but apparently there's also some stuff earlier on Thursday and maybe even before that. I've decided I'm okay with missing that though...if I love symposium and am going to go next year, maybe I can try to go earlier. For now though I'm pretty happy to not be missing any bacteriology lab time (if my calculations are correct). I'll definitely be blogging about the symposium once I've experienced it!
Unfortunately I won't be able to drop off my car at the dealership near the airport like I was planning since I'm getting in on Sunday and they're closed so I couldn't pick it up then. The "maintenance required" light is on, and I was planning to finally get the windshield replaced too (since it still has the crack from when I was driving back from Covington). Since I can't do it then I don't know when I will be able to...
Saturday morning before Pathfinder I also got to do a wetlab. It was with AAHA, and let us practice small animal endoscopy. I've seen a bunch of endoscopy on horses, but now I've actually done one on a dog! They also had a couple of models for us to practice on (which my group did before the live dog): a plastic tubing "colonoscopy" with an apple half in the "ileum" to practice taking biopsies, and a plush tiger with a jar of tootsie rolls in it's "stomach" for foreign body extraction. A couple of the guys in my group wanted to unwrap one of the tootsie rolls with endoscopes, but as far as I know they never did. It was really cool to do the actual dog: I saw its larynx, esophageal mucosa, stomach with rugal folds, pyloric antrum, and even the duodenum! I personally didn't get a good view of the duodenal papilla, but other people did. Getting through the pylorus I was pretty much blind, but the clinician helping me said to keep going so I did and eventually I made it through! And other than that part I pretty much did it myself. That was a lot of fun!
Last week we also had our first path wetlab. There were a few cases: a couple of dogs, couple of cats, and a sample from a snake's mouth! I learned about pyogranulomatous inflammation, which then became relevant to our next bacteriology/mycology class, and I learned that cat eosinophils have rod-shaped granules that look like bacteria. I love doing the clin path wetlabs--since I'm a first year and don't know approximately anything, I feel pretty free to ask questions, so I learn a lot. Unfortunately the rest of our diagnostic imaging club wetlabs (including the abdominal one we were supposed to have Friday) got cancelled due to the lack of participation at the first one. I guess people prefer to come to wetlabs involving actual animals...
Also, I think I mentioned the live Night Vale show in my last post? That was great. I got to have dinner with my sister beforehand, and then went to the show. As I was walking in, there was a guy in a "All Hail the Glow Cloud" shirt (it's a reference), which made me sure I was in the right place even as other people talked about coming for some band (I think they were the weather--by which I mean part of the Night Vale show--but it confused me at first). I wound up walking out right behind him and the girl he was with, too--just a random coincidence, but it was something I noticed. There were a few cosplayers: I think I saw 2 Carloses and one Cecil. Cecil himself in the show (who, btw, was not dressed up as the character Cecil) had a lot of fun with us. When he was reading horoscopes, people would scream for their signs and he basically picked a person to talk directly to for each one (I was not the chosen Cancer). Even as he read his script he was still reacting to the audience (the way he said "There's nothing there!" when someone in the audience screamed--I'm sure it was part of the script but the way he said it sounded like a response). Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I've got the poster on my wall now.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Why LSU?
Hi there; Birdie here!
I'm finally getting around to the Blog Topic of the Week based off my suggestion: How did you choose which school to attend? What things do you like and dislike about your school's location?I know some class of 2018ers are still making their decisions so I thought it would be a helpful topic for them. :)
The way I went about taking my pre-reqs was to take everything that was required for my IS (in-state = LSU), plus some random interesting classes that counted for my biology major: immunology, comparative vertebrate physiology, bacterial pathogenesis. Mostly, I figured if I had the prereqs for LSU, I would be able to apply to most if not all vet schools. Turns out, that's not exactly the case. I did not take genetics in undergrad, which narrowed down the schools I was eligible for application to 9. With just a little more narrowing, I picked 5 schools to apply to: LSU (of course), UPenn, Cornell, VMRCVM, and Missouri.
VMRCVM was easy to decide not to go to, since they rejected me outright without even an interview. I decided I would rather not stay so far up north where I would have to drive in snow--especially when my accepted candidates day at Cornell was the weekend of that big winter storm last January/February (I don't remember which). That left the two I was really deciding between: Mizzou and LSU.
LSU, of course, was one of my top choices purely because it's my in-state. That means in-state tuition, which is tens of thousands of dollars less expensive than, say, Cornell. There was also a little bit of the fact that I'd be close to my family, but that wasn't a huge concern for me--I'd spent 4 years in upstate New York far from my parents in Louisiana without really being homesick, which supported my hypothesis from undergrad applications that being at a school I like and really want to be at is more important than being able to go home for a weekend. Oh, also my dad pointed out that if I was going to practice in Louisiana (which I'm not sure whether I will), people might not want to go to a vet who wasn't an LSU vet. I don't know how many people that applies to or how true that is, but it was a factor.
If I was picking my vet school like I picked undergrad, I would have chosen Mizzou. The environment at that school seemed super positive: faculty super helpful, students really supportive of each other...there were even pictures of students and faculty with their pets all over the halls of the vet school! Plus a couple of other SDNers that I had become friendly with during applications had picked Mizzou, and I thought it would be nice to know a couple of other students going in. That school also has a 2+2 program--2 years in the classroom followed by 2 years in clinics, rather than the usual 3+1. That means 1) more experience with clinical skills, aka what I will likely be doing as a private practitioner, and 2) likely more opportunities for externships: rotations at practices/institutions outside of the vet school, which could lead to potential jobs. Given the poor climate for job availability, that was really appealing to me. Mizzou also has a canine blood donor program (somewhat similar to the one I learned about at Penn) that I would have loved to get involved in. In fact, I would have liked to adopt one of their blood donor greyhounds (my favorite dog breed) after its 2-year donation period was up. As for tuition, yes, it would be out of state and more expensive--but only for the first year. Mizzou lets students change residency status after matriculation, which translates to in-state tuition after the first year. It does require things like making a certain amount of money in the state and not leaving the state for more than...something like two to four weeks out of the year. The job was almost a positive for me: I could get a job in the clin path lab or with summer research, which would be great experience. The restriction on leaving the state was the biggest drawback for me.
In the end, that drawback was big enough. Particularly for reasons that I don't need to get into right now (and that are now actually completely irrelevant), I chose the school where I could spend the summer wherever I wanted. In all honesty, I probably knew from the time I applied that if I got into LSU, that was where Iwould go. But with all the positives about Mizzou and the fact that I had specifically not wanted to go to LSU for undergrad (I picked a small liberal arts school for a reason), I had a hard time making that decision. Towards the end I actually had an email conversation with an LSU professor who happened to have graduated from my undergrad, and that was what made me okay with my decision.
Now, even though the real reason I made the decision is no longer relevant, I'm glad I chose LSU over Mizzou. For one thing, I've seen the postings from Mizzou students: 2+2 programs mean far too much 3-exams-in-one-week. For another, I was terrified enough of driving on icy roads when we had our 3 snow days: I can't really imagine actually needing to drive it if everything didn't shut down. Being able to go see my parents (and little brother!) in Covington has been a bigger plus than I expected, plus I can easily get to New Orleans for conventions or shows (like the live Welcome to Night Vale show I saw last night), and visit my sister at her undergrad while I'm there. Despite what my next paragraph might indicate, I'm really not miserable here. It's clearly worse than undergrad, but undergrad was awesome. And at this point I don't know what it would be like to be anywhere but here. Having some friends and things to do with people besides sit in class, I'm almost at the point where I don't regret anything because I'm too happy where I am. Being able to stay in touch with my undergrad friends helps, too, even if I still miss them. Overall, I'm not sure I made the right decision, but it's definitely one I'm having less than trouble living with. I can definitely say it was a good decision.
This last paragraph is directed at those making a decision, but it's going to sound a little bitter, starry-eyed new acceptances might not want to read it:
My honest advice for anyone making a decision about vet school is, yes, go where it's cheapest. But not just because crushing debt is terrible (don't get me wrong, it totally is, even if I haven't started to experience the reality of paying it back yet). In the bluntest of terms: vet school sucks wherever you go. Maybe warm weather will make you a little less miserable, but no one likes the constant stressful studying wherever you are (and idk about other schools, but mine doesn't even have windows in the first-year classroom, so weather hardly matters to me). If you can get PBL at your school, great, and I would definitely advise getting involved with clubs or other experiential activities to remind you why you're really in vet school. But you'll get a great education regardless at any accredited school. And if there's one thing I've learned in vet school (besides, you know, anatomy, physiology, immunology, neuroscience, diagnostic imaging, and a billion other things) it's that unlike undergrad (which I was in, in large part, for the experience) vet school is pretty much just a means to an end. It's not there so you can enjoy it (if it was, it should be another year so we might have multiple weeks a semester without an exam)--it's there so when you get out you can have a career you can enjoy and find fullfilling, in whatever aspect of vet med you choose/can find a job in.
I'm finally getting around to the Blog Topic of the Week based off my suggestion: How did you choose which school to attend? What things do you like and dislike about your school's location?I know some class of 2018ers are still making their decisions so I thought it would be a helpful topic for them. :)
The way I went about taking my pre-reqs was to take everything that was required for my IS (in-state = LSU), plus some random interesting classes that counted for my biology major: immunology, comparative vertebrate physiology, bacterial pathogenesis. Mostly, I figured if I had the prereqs for LSU, I would be able to apply to most if not all vet schools. Turns out, that's not exactly the case. I did not take genetics in undergrad, which narrowed down the schools I was eligible for application to 9. With just a little more narrowing, I picked 5 schools to apply to: LSU (of course), UPenn, Cornell, VMRCVM, and Missouri.
VMRCVM was easy to decide not to go to, since they rejected me outright without even an interview. I decided I would rather not stay so far up north where I would have to drive in snow--especially when my accepted candidates day at Cornell was the weekend of that big winter storm last January/February (I don't remember which). That left the two I was really deciding between: Mizzou and LSU.
LSU, of course, was one of my top choices purely because it's my in-state. That means in-state tuition, which is tens of thousands of dollars less expensive than, say, Cornell. There was also a little bit of the fact that I'd be close to my family, but that wasn't a huge concern for me--I'd spent 4 years in upstate New York far from my parents in Louisiana without really being homesick, which supported my hypothesis from undergrad applications that being at a school I like and really want to be at is more important than being able to go home for a weekend. Oh, also my dad pointed out that if I was going to practice in Louisiana (which I'm not sure whether I will), people might not want to go to a vet who wasn't an LSU vet. I don't know how many people that applies to or how true that is, but it was a factor.
If I was picking my vet school like I picked undergrad, I would have chosen Mizzou. The environment at that school seemed super positive: faculty super helpful, students really supportive of each other...there were even pictures of students and faculty with their pets all over the halls of the vet school! Plus a couple of other SDNers that I had become friendly with during applications had picked Mizzou, and I thought it would be nice to know a couple of other students going in. That school also has a 2+2 program--2 years in the classroom followed by 2 years in clinics, rather than the usual 3+1. That means 1) more experience with clinical skills, aka what I will likely be doing as a private practitioner, and 2) likely more opportunities for externships: rotations at practices/institutions outside of the vet school, which could lead to potential jobs. Given the poor climate for job availability, that was really appealing to me. Mizzou also has a canine blood donor program (somewhat similar to the one I learned about at Penn) that I would have loved to get involved in. In fact, I would have liked to adopt one of their blood donor greyhounds (my favorite dog breed) after its 2-year donation period was up. As for tuition, yes, it would be out of state and more expensive--but only for the first year. Mizzou lets students change residency status after matriculation, which translates to in-state tuition after the first year. It does require things like making a certain amount of money in the state and not leaving the state for more than...something like two to four weeks out of the year. The job was almost a positive for me: I could get a job in the clin path lab or with summer research, which would be great experience. The restriction on leaving the state was the biggest drawback for me.
In the end, that drawback was big enough. Particularly for reasons that I don't need to get into right now (and that are now actually completely irrelevant), I chose the school where I could spend the summer wherever I wanted. In all honesty, I probably knew from the time I applied that if I got into LSU, that was where Iwould go. But with all the positives about Mizzou and the fact that I had specifically not wanted to go to LSU for undergrad (I picked a small liberal arts school for a reason), I had a hard time making that decision. Towards the end I actually had an email conversation with an LSU professor who happened to have graduated from my undergrad, and that was what made me okay with my decision.
Now, even though the real reason I made the decision is no longer relevant, I'm glad I chose LSU over Mizzou. For one thing, I've seen the postings from Mizzou students: 2+2 programs mean far too much 3-exams-in-one-week. For another, I was terrified enough of driving on icy roads when we had our 3 snow days: I can't really imagine actually needing to drive it if everything didn't shut down. Being able to go see my parents (and little brother!) in Covington has been a bigger plus than I expected, plus I can easily get to New Orleans for conventions or shows (like the live Welcome to Night Vale show I saw last night), and visit my sister at her undergrad while I'm there. Despite what my next paragraph might indicate, I'm really not miserable here. It's clearly worse than undergrad, but undergrad was awesome. And at this point I don't know what it would be like to be anywhere but here. Having some friends and things to do with people besides sit in class, I'm almost at the point where I don't regret anything because I'm too happy where I am. Being able to stay in touch with my undergrad friends helps, too, even if I still miss them. Overall, I'm not sure I made the right decision, but it's definitely one I'm having less than trouble living with. I can definitely say it was a good decision.
This last paragraph is directed at those making a decision, but it's going to sound a little bitter, starry-eyed new acceptances might not want to read it:
My honest advice for anyone making a decision about vet school is, yes, go where it's cheapest. But not just because crushing debt is terrible (don't get me wrong, it totally is, even if I haven't started to experience the reality of paying it back yet). In the bluntest of terms: vet school sucks wherever you go. Maybe warm weather will make you a little less miserable, but no one likes the constant stressful studying wherever you are (and idk about other schools, but mine doesn't even have windows in the first-year classroom, so weather hardly matters to me). If you can get PBL at your school, great, and I would definitely advise getting involved with clubs or other experiential activities to remind you why you're really in vet school. But you'll get a great education regardless at any accredited school. And if there's one thing I've learned in vet school (besides, you know, anatomy, physiology, immunology, neuroscience, diagnostic imaging, and a billion other things) it's that unlike undergrad (which I was in, in large part, for the experience) vet school is pretty much just a means to an end. It's not there so you can enjoy it (if it was, it should be another year so we might have multiple weeks a semester without an exam)--it's there so when you get out you can have a career you can enjoy and find fullfilling, in whatever aspect of vet med you choose/can find a job in.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Where does the time go?
Hi there; Birdie here!
How is it already Monday again? Last week I didn't have classes Monday or Tuesday, so Friday came up really quickly. I hope that neuro test turned out okay--we should be getting it back today. I'm pretty sure I passed, but I'm not sure whether I kept my grade up. And I've hardly been home at all this weekend. On Saturday I went to the Dream Clinic. Luckily no one busted their heads open this time! And afterwards I studied with a couple of my classmates until midnight for our diagnostic imaging exam. Then Sunday I went to mass, got home and hurriedly ate lunch, then headed out again for our first Pathfinder session. It was really fun, although I'm kind of disliking the whole premade setting thing. The DM really should have just not allowed me to be a Vishkanya if literally everyone else in the setting is the ~6 basic races. Seriously, everyone--he has numbers/percentages. A couple of funny highlights: the druid's companion, a velociraptor, won the balance competition (the village decided it didn't count and picked the human runner-up, but baby velociraptors aren't very intelligent so he thought they were cheering for him), and the fighter and paladin kept trying to Diplomacy people and when that failed Intimidate them. Towards the end they started skipping the first bit. And after that, guess what--more studying until the late night/early morning with the group. I got a lot out of it, but tonight I think I need to study on my own so I can focus on what's going to be on the exam and not understanding (more complicated) clinical stuff.
We also had our first diagnostic imaging club wetlab this past week. Looking over thorax cases. It would have been nice if we could have had abdominal rads, since that's what's on the exam! It was cool, though. Not enough people showed up to do the competition, but that just means everyone won. All of us who showed up are going to get laser pointers in different colors! That way next time we can each point out what we're talking about on the projection.
Colorado was fun. We read half of the Lightning Thief book, and I skiied with dad three days. I didn't get to go ice skating or even get my blades sharpened, though. I left them in the shop the second day, and when I went to pick them up a couple of days later so I could skate, the rink was being torn up or something, the store was closed, and the blades hadn't been sharpened (luckily I hadn't paid already). At least I got them back! Baton Rouge airport was the worst pain though. First my original flight out (to Houston, where I would meet up with my family) got delayed so I almost missed them. Then coming back...well, really it was Denver coming back. My original first flight got delayed 3 hours. I got on a different flight to Houston eventually but still missed my connection, and couldn't get off standby for the next two flights to Baton Rouge. I stayed up all night in the airport (studying neuro, of course) and missed the first two hours of class on Wednesday. One was intro to vet med, so not something I need to study, but I still need to listen to the hour of renal physiology I missed. Hopefully it was recorded!
If you're an SDNer reading this, don't worry, I'll get to the BTotW soon. I just wanted to get my weekly update done first. :) I couldn't skip the topic I came up with!
How is it already Monday again? Last week I didn't have classes Monday or Tuesday, so Friday came up really quickly. I hope that neuro test turned out okay--we should be getting it back today. I'm pretty sure I passed, but I'm not sure whether I kept my grade up. And I've hardly been home at all this weekend. On Saturday I went to the Dream Clinic. Luckily no one busted their heads open this time! And afterwards I studied with a couple of my classmates until midnight for our diagnostic imaging exam. Then Sunday I went to mass, got home and hurriedly ate lunch, then headed out again for our first Pathfinder session. It was really fun, although I'm kind of disliking the whole premade setting thing. The DM really should have just not allowed me to be a Vishkanya if literally everyone else in the setting is the ~6 basic races. Seriously, everyone--he has numbers/percentages. A couple of funny highlights: the druid's companion, a velociraptor, won the balance competition (the village decided it didn't count and picked the human runner-up, but baby velociraptors aren't very intelligent so he thought they were cheering for him), and the fighter and paladin kept trying to Diplomacy people and when that failed Intimidate them. Towards the end they started skipping the first bit. And after that, guess what--more studying until the late night/early morning with the group. I got a lot out of it, but tonight I think I need to study on my own so I can focus on what's going to be on the exam and not understanding (more complicated) clinical stuff.
We also had our first diagnostic imaging club wetlab this past week. Looking over thorax cases. It would have been nice if we could have had abdominal rads, since that's what's on the exam! It was cool, though. Not enough people showed up to do the competition, but that just means everyone won. All of us who showed up are going to get laser pointers in different colors! That way next time we can each point out what we're talking about on the projection.
Colorado was fun. We read half of the Lightning Thief book, and I skiied with dad three days. I didn't get to go ice skating or even get my blades sharpened, though. I left them in the shop the second day, and when I went to pick them up a couple of days later so I could skate, the rink was being torn up or something, the store was closed, and the blades hadn't been sharpened (luckily I hadn't paid already). At least I got them back! Baton Rouge airport was the worst pain though. First my original flight out (to Houston, where I would meet up with my family) got delayed so I almost missed them. Then coming back...well, really it was Denver coming back. My original first flight got delayed 3 hours. I got on a different flight to Houston eventually but still missed my connection, and couldn't get off standby for the next two flights to Baton Rouge. I stayed up all night in the airport (studying neuro, of course) and missed the first two hours of class on Wednesday. One was intro to vet med, so not something I need to study, but I still need to listen to the hour of renal physiology I missed. Hopefully it was recorded!
If you're an SDNer reading this, don't worry, I'll get to the BTotW soon. I just wanted to get my weekly update done first. :) I couldn't skip the topic I came up with!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Goodbye snow, back to vet school
Hi there; Birdie here!
Yes, I am writing this at 4 am. I'm currently at the Houston airport thanks to a 3 hour delay on my originally planned flight and no seats on my backup, so I'll have to miss at least the first hour of class tomorrow. I can't quite decide whether I'm lucky or not--that first hour is Intro to Vet Med, so it's not something I need to learn for an exam, but it is the one class where attendance is mandatory. Oh well, it's not like I'd planned to skip a different two sessions (we can miss two and still pass the pass/fail course).
The break was really nice. We read half of the first Percy Jackson book, and it turned into a family affair--my brother was somewhat reluctant at first, but my parents liked it so I read "to them" with him in the room for a chapter or two until he wanted to listen of his own accord. I also got to do some skiing for the first time in 8 years. My dad and I skied together, and one day we had a lesson, so I learned how to ski like an adult! Last time I took ski lessons I'm pretty sure they told me about pizza (wedge) and french fries (straight skis). At any rate, I took all of my turns with my skis pointed together, but I can do better now! I didn't get to go ice skating, since they were tearing up the rink for some reason yesterday when I left, but it was still a good trip. And I really liked playing and hanging out with my family instead of studying! Don't worry, I finished my neuro review questions before I started typing this. ;)
Since I have the time now and nothing better to do while I wait for my flight to be somewhat closer (it wasn't worth getting a hotel and trying to sleep since the full flight was at 11 and my next flight leaves at 7, which would mean leaving at 5 to get through security--throw in the trouble of finding a hotel and it comes up to Not Worth It), I thought I would write about the current Blog Topic of the Week. This week's suggestion: Your favorite thing about vet school.
There's a lot of things I don't like about vet school sometimes, but what I like best is when I remember exactly why I'm here. That means when I actually get to do things, which pretty much translates to wetlabs! Don't get me wrong, I do like doing the Spay Days and Dream Clinic, but I either feel a bit overwhelmed (at the Dream Clinic I'm the doctor, and I've never really been taught how to do a physical exam!) or like it's more tech work than vet work (I did a lot of surgery prep in my pre-vet experience). Club wetlabs are just the right amount of challenge, where I get to learn (be taught) actual hands-on stuff I'll use in practice (or at least on clinical rotations). I've done ultrasounds, "mass" aspirations and blood smears, and CSF taps. I'm actually keeping a spreadsheet of my experience...pre-vet habits, but it also helps to have it to look back to. Even the clin path wetlab I did last semester was awesome--I didn't know much, but the way it was taught, with the clinicians asking us questions...well, it would have made me feel more like a real doctor if I actually knew the answers to any of the questions. But still, it was real cases! Actually, clubs in general are pretty great. See: last week's surgery meeting, where a local practitioner talked about his work and showed videos of a couple of surgeries. In conclusion, the best parts of vet school are the parts that are more vet but still school, as they teach me how to properly do things I will one day do on my patients. :)
Yes, I am writing this at 4 am. I'm currently at the Houston airport thanks to a 3 hour delay on my originally planned flight and no seats on my backup, so I'll have to miss at least the first hour of class tomorrow. I can't quite decide whether I'm lucky or not--that first hour is Intro to Vet Med, so it's not something I need to learn for an exam, but it is the one class where attendance is mandatory. Oh well, it's not like I'd planned to skip a different two sessions (we can miss two and still pass the pass/fail course).
The break was really nice. We read half of the first Percy Jackson book, and it turned into a family affair--my brother was somewhat reluctant at first, but my parents liked it so I read "to them" with him in the room for a chapter or two until he wanted to listen of his own accord. I also got to do some skiing for the first time in 8 years. My dad and I skied together, and one day we had a lesson, so I learned how to ski like an adult! Last time I took ski lessons I'm pretty sure they told me about pizza (wedge) and french fries (straight skis). At any rate, I took all of my turns with my skis pointed together, but I can do better now! I didn't get to go ice skating, since they were tearing up the rink for some reason yesterday when I left, but it was still a good trip. And I really liked playing and hanging out with my family instead of studying! Don't worry, I finished my neuro review questions before I started typing this. ;)
Since I have the time now and nothing better to do while I wait for my flight to be somewhat closer (it wasn't worth getting a hotel and trying to sleep since the full flight was at 11 and my next flight leaves at 7, which would mean leaving at 5 to get through security--throw in the trouble of finding a hotel and it comes up to Not Worth It), I thought I would write about the current Blog Topic of the Week. This week's suggestion: Your favorite thing about vet school.
There's a lot of things I don't like about vet school sometimes, but what I like best is when I remember exactly why I'm here. That means when I actually get to do things, which pretty much translates to wetlabs! Don't get me wrong, I do like doing the Spay Days and Dream Clinic, but I either feel a bit overwhelmed (at the Dream Clinic I'm the doctor, and I've never really been taught how to do a physical exam!) or like it's more tech work than vet work (I did a lot of surgery prep in my pre-vet experience). Club wetlabs are just the right amount of challenge, where I get to learn (be taught) actual hands-on stuff I'll use in practice (or at least on clinical rotations). I've done ultrasounds, "mass" aspirations and blood smears, and CSF taps. I'm actually keeping a spreadsheet of my experience...pre-vet habits, but it also helps to have it to look back to. Even the clin path wetlab I did last semester was awesome--I didn't know much, but the way it was taught, with the clinicians asking us questions...well, it would have made me feel more like a real doctor if I actually knew the answers to any of the questions. But still, it was real cases! Actually, clubs in general are pretty great. See: last week's surgery meeting, where a local practitioner talked about his work and showed videos of a couple of surgeries. In conclusion, the best parts of vet school are the parts that are more vet but still school, as they teach me how to properly do things I will one day do on my patients. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)