Next week will be my first round of exams. All of them are "minor" exams (meaning they weigh less than "regular" exams, and may be shorter, but have the same level of difficulty as all future exams will have.)
I must admit to a fair bit of nervousness. Though, actually, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I did well on the Histology practice exam. I'm very comfortable with Immunology (thanks to Dr. Hillis at Baylor!) Anatomy I'm a little worried about, but I just need to keep going over and over and over the muscles and I'll be ok. Physiology doesn't actually happen til the 8th, and I have no idea what to expect from it.
Wish me luck!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Lab Animal Medicine
We had the first meeting of the Lab Animal Medicine club today. And I'm very excited about the prospect of working with lab animals!
There are so many different kinds of things you could end up doing in lab animal medicine-- from governing type work (writing Good Laboratory Practices, GLPs) to taking care of animals used in reasearch to doing your own research projects. Also, it's a field that is in desperate need of new recruits (meaning that there's lots of available positions!) and it's in the top 2 most highly paid veterinary positions (starting salary is somewhere around $100,000!)
The downside? A 2-3 year residency then taking boards. (However, the residency does defer your student loans and pay enough to live on...)
So, this seems like a really great possibility! Now I just need to figure out what it takes to be competetive for lab animal medicine residencies!
Also, next weekend I'm going to an Wildlife Orphanage in San Antonio to watch a panther declaw and tour their facilities with the AAFP (American Association of Feline Practitioners). I'm pretty excited!
There are so many different kinds of things you could end up doing in lab animal medicine-- from governing type work (writing Good Laboratory Practices, GLPs) to taking care of animals used in reasearch to doing your own research projects. Also, it's a field that is in desperate need of new recruits (meaning that there's lots of available positions!) and it's in the top 2 most highly paid veterinary positions (starting salary is somewhere around $100,000!)
The downside? A 2-3 year residency then taking boards. (However, the residency does defer your student loans and pay enough to live on...)
So, this seems like a really great possibility! Now I just need to figure out what it takes to be competetive for lab animal medicine residencies!
Also, next weekend I'm going to an Wildlife Orphanage in San Antonio to watch a panther declaw and tour their facilities with the AAFP (American Association of Feline Practitioners). I'm pretty excited!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Veinipuncture
Today we did a "blood and plasma" lab in physiology lab.
Our (remarkably patient) lab dog, Winkler, got blood drawn with a syringe in two veins (once each in the right cephalic and right saphenous veins... essentially, the major vein of the front leg and back leg.) And, we tried (about 5 times) to place a catheter.
I got to draw the cephalic vein blood... and, I hit the vein on my first try! I was very proud of myself. Actually drawing the blood was harder, though, because while I have the one handed motion down for a 3cc syringe, the 12cc syringe provides A LOT more tension. I ended up having to use 2 hands.
We never did get the catheter inserted properly. Poor Winkler was really patient with us, though!
Our (remarkably patient) lab dog, Winkler, got blood drawn with a syringe in two veins (once each in the right cephalic and right saphenous veins... essentially, the major vein of the front leg and back leg.) And, we tried (about 5 times) to place a catheter.
I got to draw the cephalic vein blood... and, I hit the vein on my first try! I was very proud of myself. Actually drawing the blood was harder, though, because while I have the one handed motion down for a 3cc syringe, the 12cc syringe provides A LOT more tension. I ended up having to use 2 hands.
We never did get the catheter inserted properly. Poor Winkler was really patient with us, though!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Professionalism #1
One of the things they're really stressing to us is that we're "professionals" now and that means we have different standards of behavior than we did in undergrad.
One (of the many) things about professionalism that our professors are stressing is punctuality. We heard about it at orientation. It is written into every one of our syllabi. DO NOT BE LATE. Don't do it. (With one exception. Dr. Landis is willing to make a few minute allowances on the 8AM histology lecture for unforseen circumstances like car trouble or your cat threw up all over the floor and you had to clean it up before you left.)
Dr. Hoffman, the anatomy professor, takes punctuality so seriously that he says that if you are going to be late, do not come to class. Stay in the hall. Talk to him later and he'll catch you up. If you walk in the door late, the whole class will have to take a pop quiz.
Well, someone decided to test him today. And we had a pop quiz (luckily, it wasn't hard because we haven't learned much.) We were all glaring daggers at the girl who came in late. I'm still peeved about it.
Be professional! Or at least make sure that your problems and your bad planning don't negatively impact the rest of us!
One (of the many) things about professionalism that our professors are stressing is punctuality. We heard about it at orientation. It is written into every one of our syllabi. DO NOT BE LATE. Don't do it. (With one exception. Dr. Landis is willing to make a few minute allowances on the 8AM histology lecture for unforseen circumstances like car trouble or your cat threw up all over the floor and you had to clean it up before you left.)
Dr. Hoffman, the anatomy professor, takes punctuality so seriously that he says that if you are going to be late, do not come to class. Stay in the hall. Talk to him later and he'll catch you up. If you walk in the door late, the whole class will have to take a pop quiz.
Well, someone decided to test him today. And we had a pop quiz (luckily, it wasn't hard because we haven't learned much.) We were all glaring daggers at the girl who came in late. I'm still peeved about it.
Be professional! Or at least make sure that your problems and your bad planning don't negatively impact the rest of us!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Funny/Interesting Things Professors Say #1
Anatomy:
"Veterinarians are highly trained, well educated problem solvers."
"Even though it is a dead animal course, we're going to evaluate you on some live animal stuff!"
"I said 'do do,' I'm sorry."
"Some of us are lumpers, some of us are splitters. I'm a lumper."
Physiology:
"The day before you graduate is the smartest day of your life. The day after you graduate is the dumbest year of your life."
"If you're bored with physiology, then study anatomy..."
"Excerise. It's a really good idea. Sleep. You have to. Play. But not too hard or too often."
"Is it a gorilla glue bond?"
Physiology lab:
"So, if you have a 1% dirt solution, you have 1 g dirt per 100 mL solution."
Histology/Clinical Correlates/Professional Development:
Uhm. I didn't write anything down, so it would seem they haven't said anything that struck me at the time as particularly funny!
"Veterinarians are highly trained, well educated problem solvers."
"Even though it is a dead animal course, we're going to evaluate you on some live animal stuff!"
"I said 'do do,' I'm sorry."
"Some of us are lumpers, some of us are splitters. I'm a lumper."
Physiology:
"The day before you graduate is the smartest day of your life. The day after you graduate is the dumbest year of your life."
"If you're bored with physiology, then study anatomy..."
"Excerise. It's a really good idea. Sleep. You have to. Play. But not too hard or too often."
"Is it a gorilla glue bond?"
Physiology lab:
"So, if you have a 1% dirt solution, you have 1 g dirt per 100 mL solution."
Histology/Clinical Correlates/Professional Development:
Uhm. I didn't write anything down, so it would seem they haven't said anything that struck me at the time as particularly funny!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Anatomy Lab Couldn't Stay Injury Free Forever!
Dr. Hoffman was so impressed that we got through the first day with sharps without any accidents... but, apparently that was just to lull him into a false sense of security!
One of my classmates went to the hospital today. (Well, really, 2 did... one got hurt and one of his lab partners drove him to the hospital.)
Apparently, he was transecting a muscle and his hand slipped... and he gouged himself in the other hand. Dr. Hoffman said that he "has good tendon function" but he needed to go get sutures. It really freaked the poor kid out. He was fine going over to the sink, but he started throwing up when he actually looked at it. (I probably would too... it's very different when it's your own body.) Hopefully he'll be the only injury this year! (And, hopefully his hand is really ok! They're so delicate! You really don't want to go cutting stuff in your hands... you can do permanent damage really fast.)
One of my classmates went to the hospital today. (Well, really, 2 did... one got hurt and one of his lab partners drove him to the hospital.)
Apparently, he was transecting a muscle and his hand slipped... and he gouged himself in the other hand. Dr. Hoffman said that he "has good tendon function" but he needed to go get sutures. It really freaked the poor kid out. He was fine going over to the sink, but he started throwing up when he actually looked at it. (I probably would too... it's very different when it's your own body.) Hopefully he'll be the only injury this year! (And, hopefully his hand is really ok! They're so delicate! You really don't want to go cutting stuff in your hands... you can do permanent damage really fast.)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
What We DON'T Know
Quite frequently when I read science textbooks I'm struck by what an incredible volume of knowledge we have accumulated about a wide array of topics.
But, almost as frequently, I'm struck by how much we DON'T know. (And also by how much we think we know, but then find out we were wrong about.)
Right now I'm reading pretty general information about bones-- such as how to classify bones by shape (which is more touchy-feely than classifying them by location)-- and I come across this statement:
"The exact constitution of the crystal lattice is still under study, [...]"
And it is just incredible to me that we know so many things about the bones, and their structure and their function and their histology, but we're missing something so fundamental as the constitution of the crystal lattice.
(Also, apparently, if you soak a dog fibula in hydrochloric acid for a day, you can then tie it in a knot.)
But, almost as frequently, I'm struck by how much we DON'T know. (And also by how much we think we know, but then find out we were wrong about.)
Right now I'm reading pretty general information about bones-- such as how to classify bones by shape (which is more touchy-feely than classifying them by location)-- and I come across this statement:
"The exact constitution of the crystal lattice is still under study, [...]"
And it is just incredible to me that we know so many things about the bones, and their structure and their function and their histology, but we're missing something so fundamental as the constitution of the crystal lattice.
(Also, apparently, if you soak a dog fibula in hydrochloric acid for a day, you can then tie it in a knot.)
Cadaver day!
Today was our first day in anatomy lab actually doing work with the cadavers.
It's really interesting, though, also kind of gross. I noticed at the end of the lab session that I had a glob of dog fat in my bangs. It was really quite unpleasant. But, I took it out with a paper towel and went on with my day! (And showered immediately upon arriving at home.)
I am slowly getting a handle on the osteology (bones), arthrology (joints) and musculature (muscles) of the thoracic limb (the front leg.)
My interesting factoid from today is that what we commonly refer to as "the arm" (you know, shoulder to finger tips) is not actually "the arm." The brachi, the region between your shoulder and your elbow, is scientifically defined as your "arm."
Oh, and another one... domestic animals don't have collar bones! Dogs and cats have a vestigial clavicle, but it isn't even ossified. Horses and cows don't have a clavicle at all.
It's really interesting, though, also kind of gross. I noticed at the end of the lab session that I had a glob of dog fat in my bangs. It was really quite unpleasant. But, I took it out with a paper towel and went on with my day! (And showered immediately upon arriving at home.)
I am slowly getting a handle on the osteology (bones), arthrology (joints) and musculature (muscles) of the thoracic limb (the front leg.)
My interesting factoid from today is that what we commonly refer to as "the arm" (you know, shoulder to finger tips) is not actually "the arm." The brachi, the region between your shoulder and your elbow, is scientifically defined as your "arm."
Oh, and another one... domestic animals don't have collar bones! Dogs and cats have a vestigial clavicle, but it isn't even ossified. Horses and cows don't have a clavicle at all.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Horse Doctoring in the Dark Ages
My physiology lab professor was in practice at Ohio State Univeristy a long, long time ago (he says.) It was far enough back that bags of sterile IV fluid didn't exist for horses. (I'm not exactly sure when those came about, but apparently a while ago.)
He was talking to us about calculating osmolarity of solutions because it was something they had to do frequently when mixing up batches of salt to pour into water to use for IV fluids. (You can't put pure water into veins or realllllly bad things happen.)
As he was talking, he said that after a while of his horse doctoring, he would get calls in the middle of the night at home about horses he had on fluids running fevers. His first response was always to change out the resevoir of IV fluids, because "sometimes there are varmints."
Oh, to be a horse doctor in the dark ages! I'm glad things are a little more advanced than that now!
He was talking to us about calculating osmolarity of solutions because it was something they had to do frequently when mixing up batches of salt to pour into water to use for IV fluids. (You can't put pure water into veins or realllllly bad things happen.)
As he was talking, he said that after a while of his horse doctoring, he would get calls in the middle of the night at home about horses he had on fluids running fevers. His first response was always to change out the resevoir of IV fluids, because "sometimes there are varmints."
Oh, to be a horse doctor in the dark ages! I'm glad things are a little more advanced than that now!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Bone Box!
I keep getting some of the coolest tools... especially for anatomy.
I have a giant necropsy knife for large animal anatomy next semester (oooo, exciting!)
Then, today in lab, we were issued a bone box! And it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a red toolbox full of small animal bones. I have a (broken) skull, a scapula, 2 mandibles, a full vertebral column, some ribs, a humerus, radius and ulna, a femur, tibia and fibula, a front paw and a back paw. It's really neat!
I have a giant necropsy knife for large animal anatomy next semester (oooo, exciting!)
Then, today in lab, we were issued a bone box! And it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a red toolbox full of small animal bones. I have a (broken) skull, a scapula, 2 mandibles, a full vertebral column, some ribs, a humerus, radius and ulna, a femur, tibia and fibula, a front paw and a back paw. It's really neat!
Do I Always Have to Go First?
The first day of classes went very well. My professors all seem very nice and very good. I'm sure that I'm going to be learning a lot!
Many of the classes are set up so that we're all doing pretty much the same thing at the same time... except for Physiology. There is a project (worth 6% of the total grade) where we are given an actual clinical case that we have to write up a differential diagnosis for. We then have to meet with a clinician to present and talk about our work, then write a (really short) paper about it before giving a presentation in class. There will be 5 cases throughout the semester, with 4 groups assigned to each. Each case will be assigned on a Friday and then presented to the class on the following Friday.
My case is going to be given to me on August 29. Yes, next Friday! I don't think we'll have learned enough by then to make a good diagnosis! I mean, I know he isn't expecting as much depth from us as the last groups of the year, but I think it would be more educational to get to do one of the later cases... Oh well, it will be nice to get it done early!
After coming to terms with that, I get home and read my e-mail... and I have an e-mail from our Clinical Correlates professor (to me and 8 other students, most of whom are in my faculty mentor group) saying that we get the (dubious) joy of starting Animal Husbandry rotations in Clinical Correlates TOMORROW! Yes, tomorrow. I will have to spend a week taking care of a horse. This includes feeding it before 8AM and again before 3PM. (Before 8AM isn't so hard, just get to school early... but before 3PM again could be hard... I have class solidly from 8AM-5PM...) I will also be learning all of the things you have to do to do a physical exam on a horse.
Well, at least I didn't get stuck with the ostrich!
Many of the classes are set up so that we're all doing pretty much the same thing at the same time... except for Physiology. There is a project (worth 6% of the total grade) where we are given an actual clinical case that we have to write up a differential diagnosis for. We then have to meet with a clinician to present and talk about our work, then write a (really short) paper about it before giving a presentation in class. There will be 5 cases throughout the semester, with 4 groups assigned to each. Each case will be assigned on a Friday and then presented to the class on the following Friday.
My case is going to be given to me on August 29. Yes, next Friday! I don't think we'll have learned enough by then to make a good diagnosis! I mean, I know he isn't expecting as much depth from us as the last groups of the year, but I think it would be more educational to get to do one of the later cases... Oh well, it will be nice to get it done early!
After coming to terms with that, I get home and read my e-mail... and I have an e-mail from our Clinical Correlates professor (to me and 8 other students, most of whom are in my faculty mentor group) saying that we get the (dubious) joy of starting Animal Husbandry rotations in Clinical Correlates TOMORROW! Yes, tomorrow. I will have to spend a week taking care of a horse. This includes feeding it before 8AM and again before 3PM. (Before 8AM isn't so hard, just get to school early... but before 3PM again could be hard... I have class solidly from 8AM-5PM...) I will also be learning all of the things you have to do to do a physical exam on a horse.
Well, at least I didn't get stuck with the ostrich!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Just beginning!
I decided to seperate out my general life blog from my blog about specifically vet school experiences. I wanted to be able to sort out the interesting and amusing ups and downs of vet school from other random ramblings about things like my pets, my friends and my message boards!
So, to kind of get this one started... Orientation was amazing. And really scary! It seems like they spent a lot of time trying to impress on us how hard everything is going to be, though the second years made sure to say over and over and over that they're just trying to scare us and it really won't be that bad! Here's to hoping!
Well, keep your eyes peeled! I'll let you know how vet school's treating me!
:)
So, to kind of get this one started... Orientation was amazing. And really scary! It seems like they spent a lot of time trying to impress on us how hard everything is going to be, though the second years made sure to say over and over and over that they're just trying to scare us and it really won't be that bad! Here's to hoping!
Well, keep your eyes peeled! I'll let you know how vet school's treating me!
:)
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