On to Second Year!

Finals finished up on Friday. This quarter was, by far, my hardest. I think it was the combination of not feeling like myself, lack of motivation, and difficult material that did me in. I hope that I managed a B, but I will be okay with a C if it comes to it.

This summer, I will be working at the Clinical Skills Lab with some of my favorite technicians and veterinarian. We are going to be making models for the vet students to use during clinics. It's only til June 30th but, hopefully it will be relaxing and nice. During July, The Boyfriend is coming out and I may also get my wisdom teeth finally removed. Then in August, I might go home for a bit to visit the family. Who knows what this summer will bring... but I am very excited to not study for a while.

Be back soon

Sorry I haven't been updating that much. Finals are next week and we are all buckling down. For the professors that means shoving as much information down our throats as possible. For the students, it is mostly just trying to keep our epiglottis closed so we don't aspirate.

In other news, our yellow-bellied sapsucker is going to be sent to the sanctuary soon. He's been improving in leaps and bounds. Another successful case!

I have a lot going on right now, but I don't want to dump it on whatever readers I might have. Hopefully things will get better once school is out for the summer.

What a day!

This day started out normal enough... cept for the fact that I was hungover and my friend had to pick me up from my house to take me to where I left my car last night (no drunk driving for this girl!). I got my car around 9:20 and headed to school. Why school on a Saturday, you ask? Well, I was signed up for treatments at the Wildlife Clinic today. Our current patient is a yellow-bellied sapsucker, a woodpecker type bird. He has a broken wing and we are working on making him better.

This is not him, just an example of what he looks like

Unfortunately, he is non-releasable because of how his wing is broken. He won't ever really be able to fly, but there is a place in Chicago that has agreed to take him in as a display bird. This is really great because he is a very beautiful and fun bird. If we couldn't place him, we would have had to euthanize him.

So, I went in to the clinic with the intention of feeding our little friend, giving his meds, cleaning his cage and running home. It would probably take me about a half hour, at most.

However, things never really go as planned. As I was there, a 2nd year guy on another team came in alone to check out a new case they had. It was a squirrel that had gotten hit by a car the day prior. Usually teams assign two people for each treatment shifts, but sometimes people go alone if, like in my case, the patient is easy and treatments are quick. The 2nd year came in alone for reasons unknown to me because his patient was anything BUT easy. As I was in the other room, getting food ready for our sapsucker, I hear yelling, a bit of crashing and some mild cursing. I peek my head out of the room to see a large squirrel skittering about the room followed by the 2nd year and another girl from a different team.

"GET A NET!"

I grabbed a net and ran out to help catch the obviously recovered squirrel. He was running around the room, under cages and tables, and spinning back to RUN AT US. Finally he got underneath a cabinet and wedged himself in there. Since squirrels bite through any sort of glove, we couldn't just stick our hands in there. We ended up using a bunch of tools to try to push him out. He was growling and screaming at us as he wedged further under this cabinet. After an hour, several nets, mirrors, sticks, and brooms, we moved the cabinet a bit and lifted it up to poke at him better. He hurtles out at us causing us to scream and jump back. I quickly grab the net and chase him across the room. As he got to the end of the room he turned around and ran straight for me. This time I was ready and slammed the net down over him. CAUGHT.

We all stood there for a while staring at him wondering what the heck we were going to do. Eventually we decided that if he was that crazy and athletic, he was not suffering any ill effects from his run in with the car. We should probably do the safest thing for everyone and just release him. Since we couldn't assess him at all, it was our only option.

So we wrapped him in the net and a towel and walked him across the street to this park. As we were crossing the street, I made a joke along the lines of, "Wouldn't it be awful if we go through all this trouble only to have him be released and immediately get hit by a car?" At that very moment he somehow escaped the net and ran INTO THE STREET! We all screamed but he made it across safely and quickly went up a tree. Laughing, we watched him for a bit and then returned to the clinic.

I was a little exhausted by the time I got home, but unfortunately (and fortunately!!) my parents were coming to visit so I had to clean up my house before they got there. We went out to lunch and then walked around main campus for a while with my cousin who is starting his undergrad here in the Fall. As we were on our way back to my apartment, my parent's van started shaking. Worried, we drove it to the shop by my home and asked them to take a look at it. After a couple hours, it was determined that the fuel injector was busted. By then all the auto parts shops were closed and wouldn't open until the morning. The mechanic is going to come in tomorrow morning and fix it for us on his day off because my parents have to head back to Colorado on Monday. This also meant that my parents took my car back to Chicago (where my aunts and uncles live and where my parents are staying) and I am supposed to bring them the van tomorrow after it is fixed.

After my family left, I finally had a chance to sit down and relax. It was then that I realized that it was The Boyfriend's and my 2 year anniversary. Whoops. So I made nice to him and just wrote this day off as a "study fail." As I am probably going to do with most of tomorrow... and last night. Bah!! I really need to get more on top of things!

But I had to go out last night! It was a vet med costume party. There are few things I love more in this world than a costume party. I love dressing up and crazy makeup. Speaking of which, here's a taste of that. This picture was taken after I got back from the party so it is a bit smudged and I look drunk... cuz I was.

Drunk eyes

So, starting tomorrow evening, I will be a good kid - study hard, get good grades. I will also be dogsitting the cutest, most fluffy sheltie! I'll post a pic after she comes. I adore her.

That's all for now, have a Happy Easter tomorrow! <3

Find your thang

When I was in high school, whenever I would come home and tell my mom that I had a bad day, she would suggest we head over to Kohl's because she saw something I might like there. The rest of the afternoon would be spent trying on outfits with my mom. I would return home with a new shirt or jewlery or purse and forget all about what had upset me earlier.

We called it retail therapy and honestly, it made me feel better. I am not saying that one should go out and spend tons of money whenever they are feeling upset, but for little things that just bring you down sometimes, getting something that makes you feel good about yourself can be helpful.

My mother (brilliant and wonderful lady that she is) had another way of dealing with stress too. She likes to bake. We would always know when Mom was in a bad mood when we would come home to five different baked goods cooling on the countertop. It got to a point where my siblings and I would respond to the sight of a cake with, "Mom, what's wrong?!"

Sometimes these things tend to be forgotten about once you leave the proverbial nest. I don't shop often because I am poor and it is a waste of money. I don't bake often because I live alone and have no one to share with. So it came as a bit of a surprise to me when I accidentally stumbled onto a cure for my sour mood.

Vera Wang pumps - $3.00

Yes, that is right, I got these shoes at a thrift store and they were only THREE DOLLARS. They are a bit too big so I stuffed a tissue in the front and it is fine. I went to the thrift store today to get a costume for a vet med party tomorrow. The theme is CosTUNE, so we have to dress like the title of a song. I am going as "Maneater" and dressing like a leopard/middle aged cougar. Haha. It's a double joke. I'm wearing those heels with a leopard print silky dress (also from the thrift store) and leggings. I am going to do my hair and makeup all crazy.

Anyway, I found these shoes by accident and fell in love. They have totally brightened my mood. Lovvveeee shoes.

On a related note, while shopping, I remembered that my mother's birthday was a few weeks ago and she and my father are visiting this week. She is coming down on Satuday so I went to the ethnic market to get her some yummies. I picked her up some awesome looking brie and cookies. Mom loves edible gifts. While I was there, I also got myself some Japanese seaweed salad. If you have not had a seaweed salad before, I highly suggest you do. It is crunchy and tasty and just heaven. I am trying to save some for my mom, but it is really hard. So is not eating that brie in my fridge. The food has also greatly improved my mood. I am a very happy kid right now. Apparently, my "thang" is good food and snazzy shoes.

And in case you think that my dog has been forgotten forever, here are some cute pics of Sport sleeping!

I threw the pillow on him and he didn't even move...

He likes to sleep on the back of the couch. Weirdo.

Darkness

I didn't get the job. Now I have to scramble and figure out plans for this summer. On the bright side, this means that I will have some free time to visit with my friends and Boyfriend in May. We are planning a trip to my best friend's lake house at the end of May that is sure to be awesome. Boyfriend is coming sometime this summer to just visit and also check out med schools in Chicago. That will also be a good time!

As for me, right now... I'm... in a funk.

When I started school, I used to make fun of people (in my head) for freaking out about grades and every little thing that happened to them. Suddenly, in the last few weeks, I have become one of the abhorred. My grades are faltering and I am having trouble focusing in and out of class. I am apathetic about my clubs, friends, relationships... Even my relationship with Sport is on the back burner. In undergrad, I went through a similar situation and isolated myself from a lot of friends. I am trying really hard to not let that happen again, but lately it has been more of a struggle to keep up the mask. I hope that this summer will be a good time for me to relax and come back next fall swinging.

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe I'm just burning a little low. Maybe I'm not cut out for this.

All I know is that I really need to get my act together in the next couple weeks before I fall apart.

BUSY!!

I think my interview went well yesterday. I should know if I got the job or not in a week or so. I'm not really nervous about it, but if I don't get the job I have to look out for a new one.

In other news, I was just appointed the Vice President of the Integrative Medicine Club as well as the 2014 Class Representative of the Behavior Club. Besides this, I am still on a team for the Wildlife Medical center as well as some other clubs. This weekend is meticulously planned out as I have to be 8 different places at once. It's bad.

I don't know why I do this to myself. Did I mention that I am also dogsitting this weekend?? BAHHHH

Summer jobs and beyond

Right now I am waiting to be interviewed by the instructors of the Anatomy lab. I applied for a position over the summer to help them get the cadavers ready for the incoming 1st years. It is a really exciting position for me because I concentrated in anatomy in undergrad. I love being in the lab and getting down and dirty with the cadavers. I know you must think I am some crazy freak to want to play with dead animals all summer, but it will also be really educational! Pretty much everything in vet med boils down to anatomy. If you don't know your anatomy, how are you supposed to figure out if something is wrong?!

Hopefully, I will get this job. If not, I will have to scramble to find another position so that I can pay the bills this summer. Another upside to this job is that I keep it during the school year part time. This would be really helpful money wise, but will also be convenient as I am in the building for classes anyway!

So wish me luck! I'll let you know what happens as soon as I find out!

Now onto the fun stuff!! Zoo trip

Alright, I am sure you are sick of hearing about my school's curriculum and my silly personal life. This blog is supposed to be about being a vet student and all the awesome things I get to do!

Well, unfortunately for you, being in vet school is kinda boring to the outside viewer. We go to class, we sit in lecture, we go home and study, sleep, repeat. I could tell you about how I confused a cow for a horse today - which was perfectly reasonable seeing as how I only had the pelvic region and half of the legs to go by. I could also tell you about how my friends and I snuck over to the large animal clinic this morning to look at the week old foal and his mama. That is our new favorite pastime.

Instead, I will treat you to a more interesting subject (and very dear to my heart): Behavior and Training! I am the Class of 2014 representative for the Behavior Club at my school. I love learning about animal behavior and I believe that this knowledge is important for veterinarians as we cannot verbally communicate with our patients. It saddens me that more vet students are either uninterested or unwilling to learn more about animal behavior and change the way they deal with animals. There is a lot of misinformation out there and a lot of people buy into it.

Anyway, I was selected to go on a trip to the Brookfield Zoo last weekend to learn more about how they train their zoo animals. Not only was this relevant for general behavior interests, but these zoo animals are being trained to tolerate veterinary procedures, so it is relevant to our profession.

We didn't know what all our trip would entail. At first we heard that it was just going to be a powerpoint presentation with a little tour of the zoo after that. That was enough for me! But the day turned out to be much more amazing than expected.

Our first stop on our tour was the public training of the polar bear, Hudson. It really made me happy that they show the training of the animals in public displays like this.

Hudson "standing" for exam

Targeting

We then moved on to other animals like this Argus Monitor Lizard. This is a natural behavior called "tripoding." The lizards stand like this to look for food. The keeper put this behavior on cue so that we can see natural behaviors in unnatural settings.

Tripoding and targeting

At this point, I was already over the moon about the trip. I felt like a five year old on her first trip to the zoo. But the day just got better from there. We went to the Dolphin house and got to sit in on a training session. It was better than sitting in on a show because we could hear the trainers and keepers talking to each other. It was sort of an organized chaos but the dolphins were so eager. How the keepers and trainers are able to tell all of the dolphins apart is beyond me!

Demonstrating some basic tricks

After the dolphins, we moved on to the pinnepeds, or seals and sea lions. Amazingly, the keepers allowed us into the exhibits to watch the animals train. I was in with the seals and they were literally a foot away from me. It was really cool. Unfortunately, we couldn't bring cameras then, but I snapped a few photos of the sea lions later.

Doin' his sea lion thing

And then to top off the most exciting zoo trip ever, our last stop was the Black Rhinoceros enclosure. We were also not allowed to bring our cameras in here because we were going to feed the rhino! We all got to feed him biscuits and rub his face and horn. He was very sweet, though he thought I was holding out on him and tried to eat my jacket to find more treats. I have never touched a rhino before! His lips were very soft but otherwise he was fairly rough.

It truly was the best day ever and I learned a lot about how zoos are changing the way they keep their animals. Tim Sullivan at the Brookfield zoo is an amazing guy and really seems to love his job. He's all about positive reinforcement with both people and animals so he really made us feel comfortable and excited the whole tour.

This is just a snippet of the kind of things I am a part of now that I am in vet school. It is such a priveledge to be able to do these kind of things. I only hope that I will remember these experiences once I am practicing and use them to become a better veterinarian.

Introducing the Boyfriend, the Maddog, and the PLAN

As you probably know by now, I am a consummate dreamer. Hey, that's the title of my blog, right? However, being a dreamer, I'm not usually one for concrete plans for the future. I like to think about what ifs, not what will. Unfortunately, no longer the fast paced single gal that I once was, plans are all I have at the moment.

This is the Boyfriend ('s feet) and Maddie a.k.a Maddog. They both live in Arizona. The Boyfriend graduates in December and is planning to move out here in January to live with Sport and me. It will definitely be a full house with two people and two dogs, but I am very excited. The Boyfriend also has plans to attend medical school so depending on where he goes, that where be where I look for a job after I graduate. We're just planning away here.

It's strange for me to ever think about where I want to be and what I want to do. In high school and college, it was so easy to say, "I want to go to vet school." People would oooh and ahhh and congratulate you on your ambitions. But no one would ever ask you what you wanted to do after that. Vet School. The end.

Unfortunately, (and fortunately!!) life does not end at vet school. Now that I am in it, one cannot just be satisfied with the generic "vet school" answer. Questions are beginning to pop up like, "Where do you want to practice?" or "What kind of animals do you want to treat?" More difficult ones like "What do you hope to accomplish in your career?" and "Do you want to start a family?" begin to haunt me.

When I got accepted into vet school, my life changed more drastically than I ever imagined. I have to begin planning for my future and it honestly terrifies me. Thinking years in advance makes me nervous. I would rather just dream about what ifs and wouldn't that be nice (nices?)...

As of right now, the furthest I am looking ahead is January of next year when the Boyfriend and dog move in. That's enough planning for me.

A little different way of thinking

One of the main draws of Illinois' vet school is its brand new curriculum. This was the major reason I was so in love with the school. It just started the year before us, so we are still technically guinea pigs, but everyone is trying really hard to make it all work for us. It is different than the other schools in the country and as of right now, I really think it works well.

In order to understand how Illinois' program is different, you must first understand how traditional schools work. In a traditional curriculum students spend their first year learning about what is "normal" - that is, anatomy, histology, physiology ect. In their second year they learn "abnormal" - so parasitology, immunology, ect. Then in third year they learn how to treat diseases and also begin surgery. Forth year, the students are no longer in class and are instead in the clinics diagnosing and treating real cases alongside clinicians. Most students do not get any sort of clinical experience at all in their first two years and limited exposure in their third year. While this is a fine way to learn (they have been doing it forever and producing amazing vets, so it has to work), it does create a steep learning curve for 4th year. Not only do you have to apply everything you have learned in the past 3 years, you have to learn how to present yourself in a clinic setting, learn to run and interpret tests, learn new computer programs, learn your way around... well, you get my point. There is a reason that the 4th years look like very scared zombies.

Our curriculum is different in multiple ways, the most evident being that we have 24 more weeks of clinical experience than traditional schools. In fact, we begin our education by spending the first 8 weeks of school in the clinics shadowing 4th year students. This gives the new students a chance to see how the teaching hospital is run and what is expected of them once they hit 4th year. We also learned basic handling, suturing, physical exams and other basic procedures. It is the hope that this experience will give us a good foundation to base our further education on.

In our second year, we get to spend another 8 weeks in clinics. This time we refine the skills we learned prior and also get to have more responsibilities in assisting the 4th year students. Then in our third year, we immediately begin surgery at the beginning of the year and the last 8 weeks of our third year we jump into clinics and take over for the leaving 4th years. This is because in the last 8 weeks of our 4th year, before graduation, we get to choose what to do. They explained this period as a time to interview for jobs, do off site rotations, begin internships, and other pre-graduation education. I'm not sure I really understand it, just yet, but I am sure we'll figure it out when it comes time.

My first experience with clinicals was amazing. I came into vet school with very little large animal experience, so I was thrilled that I got assigned three large animal rotations: Equine Medicine and Sugery, Farm Animal Medicine and Surgery, and Dairy Cattle Medicine. My dairy rotation was by far my most educational and fun rotation. Other rotations that I had included: Ophthalmology, Anesthesia, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery, and Emergency Medicine. All of them were very educational for me and I had a lot of fun on most. Some of my classmates felt overwhelmed, ignored at times, or bored with certain rotations. I feel as if the clinicians still aren't terribly comfortable to have us there, but that also this experience is what you make it. On my emergency rotation, I checked in when they weren't busy because I knew that things could change at any time while my other classmates on that rotation chose to stay in the back room to do their assignments.

Another big change in the curriculum is that instead of having several classes throughout the semester, we have one big superclass. Within this one class we have different professors teaching different material such as anatomy, histology, neurology, and physiology. However, we have one big test for all of the material. This means that our grades are usually composed of one midterm, one final and a couple of quizzes. That may seem scary to you. To have one test make up 30% of your 9-10 credit class is kinda weird. However, I really enjoy it. Not only does this make the professors work together to present the material and write the tests (so there is little confusion of opinions), but if you aren't doing so great in one section, you can still get an overall good grade as long as you do well enough on the other sections. This really helped me out last quarter as I was not doing well in respiratory physiology. If I had a test on respiratory phys., I would have failed it. But, because it was incorporated into a test with anatomy and histology (which I rocked at) and other sections, I was able to maintain my grade.

There are other little tweaks that I won't get into right now, cuz I have to get to bed, but this should give you an idea of our new curriculum. It really is an awesome way to learn. Our professors are always trying to tie in out experiences in clinics with what we are learning in class and it is extremely helpful for me. I am very much a "why" kind of learner and this curriculum is all about "WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS STUFF." That isn't to say that there are not downsides to this curriculum, but I feel as if this will someday be the norm among vet schools.