Year 2 begins

I’m back….!

I had a wonderful summer.  I went to Hawaii, worked at a corporate vet outfit, and did a little bit of shadowing. Hawaii was amazing.  I am not entirely sure why I don’t live there except that there is no veterinary school and you have to quarantine your animals for about 6 months if you move there.  Working for Big Vet Corp was interesting.  There are a lot of good and bad things I could say about it, but overall I think it was a good experience, especially for between first and second year.  Even though I had worked in a practice before, everything was in a different light after a year of vet school. The shadowing I did was amazing.  I mostly worked with vets I had worked with before, but I also got to follow a small animal surgeon around for a day, which was really, really awesomely cool.

Speaking of vet school, I am in day 6 of year 2 of veterinary school.  We are currently taking Dermatology, Pharmacology, Parasitology, Pathology, Epidemiolgy, and Animal Behavior.  Whoa is this year different so far.  Overall, teachers are better and the classes are more interesting.  Supposedly it gets really tough later because there are 2 tests every week, but right now I am a pretty happy vet student.

We changed classrooms this year.  There are 102 of us in my class and approximately 104 seats in this room.  So that’s right, people are on top of each other.  On the first day of school people who really cared about where they sat, got there really early.  After that the whole first week there were mini tiffs breaking out about people stealing seats.  I am ashamed to admit that I was a passive participant in one of these tiffs.  On day 3, I came back from lunch and someone was in my seat – and then for the next few days I kept having to try and sneak in early to get it back.  Luckily the girl in front of me gets to school super early and agreed to save my seat everyday.  (I think this is partially because she likes me and partially because the other person talked all through class and was very distracting.)

Another disadvantage of being in such a high density situation is that small things can be amplified – noises, smells, heat, and annoyed people all seem much bigger than they are. For example, last Friday the air conditioning was out and it got hot so quickly.  It was 85 degrees by the time our 11 am class started. If someone is eating yogurt 4 rows behind you, you smell it.  If someone in the back row sighs loudly because they are annoyed with someone in the front asking questions, everyone can hear it.  So far, everyone seems to be handling it well, but I guess time will tell.

My personal drama is that my housing situation is still a mess.  Right now I am living with my husband and commuting from about 90 minutes away.  That’s right, 3 hours minimum in the car everyday, which means that I have no time to do anything.  I feel like I drive, go to class, and sleep. I am stressed about figuring out where we are going to live and am actively trying to solve the problem… but more on that later.

Communications: The Elective

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am taking a communications elective.  In this class we have learned about asking the right questions, reflective listening, nonverbal skills, expressing empathy, giving feedback, conflict, euthanasia, medical errors, and talking to clients about money. Needless to say, these are all really important skills to have as a veterinarian, no matter what type of vet you become.

The assignments and labs in this class have been plentiful.  They have ranged from role playing to writing up feedback after watching a video to being filmed taking a history from an actor and then having to critique that video with a professor.  Being filmed was incredibly nerve racking.  When I walked out of the room afterwards, I felt like it was a train wreck. I kept going over all the mistakes I felt like I had made in my head.

 I recently got my video back, and it wasn’t bad.  There is definitely a lot of room for improvement, but I don’t think a client would think it was a weird interaction walking out of the room… you’ll have to tell me what you think.

http://vimeo.com/23411264

I am believable as a veterinarian, right?  For the record, that is a stuffed dog.  I was really tempted to ascultate it with my stethoscope and then exclaim that it was in cardiopulmonary arrest and start CPR, but I resisted the urge.  I think not taking it seriously might have reflected poorly on my grade. J

Electives!

At my school we are now in the period known as electives.  It is truly a breath of fresh air. The elective peroid is 6 weeks at the end of each semester (except your very first semester) where you get some choice in the classes you take. Not every school does it this way. In general everyone at our school really likes the format.

I am currently taking International Veterinary Medicine, Public Health, Small Mammal and Aquatic Medicine, Communications, Animal Welfare, and Emergency and Critical Care.  All of which are much more interesting than any of my required courses.  There are a lot of assignments and papers and some tests, but I also get some non-class time everyday.

During electives, classes are not 8 – 5 straight all day, every day.  Don’t get me wrong, I still have classes and lots of work to do - but I also have a little time to breathe.  I have been to the gym and seen my husband, which were both much needed for my mental health. 

I currently have 7 full days of school left. I can't wait to be able to put year one under my belt.

9/11/01 - 5/1/11

We were all in different places in our lives when the Twin Towers were attacked almost 10 years ago.  It created different life experiences, different losses for each of us.  There is an entire generation who doesn't really even have a meaningful recollection of what life was like before 9/11 - the war on terror has been going on half their lives.  Most of my vet school classmates were in middle school. Today someone told me that they didn’t even know what the twin towers were until they got hit by a plane- which is completely understandable since he was 12.

I don't condone celebrating death, but Osama's removal as a threat to the US is a good thing.  There has been so much criticism between people about how others were handling it, who gets credit, and what the appropriate reaction is.  We are again focusing on what divides us instead of what unites us. We are using this as an excuse to hate each other instead of a reason to unite and celebrate together.  People who don’t really remember 9/11 are telling those that were there that they can’t be happy to have some closure.  Focus on yourself; focus on doing the right thing; lead by example. 

Show compassion for your fellow man that may not have had the same experience you did. Let's focus on what we can agree on as Americans, instead of what divides us.   This is not the time to throw stones at each other.

Baby Duckies!

There was a youtube video that went around the vet school during the fall that was about a baby monkey and a pig and had a very catchy song.  You can see it here, but be warned, if you watch it more than once, this video will be stuck in your head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_sfnQDr1-o

My husband coined a song to the same tune about my new wildlife case.  “Baby duckies, baby duckies, swimming in a tub, baby duckies.”

Monday I was assigned my new wildlife case, a female mallard duck and her 9 ducklings. Apparently this little family was attacked by a goose and 2 babies were killed and the mom now has a broken femur (Bad Goose!).  It is pretty much the most adorable thing ever. 

Twice a day my partner Wade and I go down to the wildlife ward to care for the family.  We change the water tubs, all the towels, the paper in the bottom of the run, and the food.  We also weigh all the ducklings and the mom every morning, and give the mom a ton of medicine.

Overall, it’s pretty cool.  We have named the ducklings Ferdinand, Filbert, Speedy, Lyle, Julia, Dolly, Arnold, and Lucy. They are very cute and “cheep” a lot.  They all want to be huddled together all the time.  If one gets separated from the group, it panics and runs in circles screaming… if you are imagining a cartoon, that’s really exactly what it looks like.

Mom is getting better.  She had surgery to set her leg.  Yesterday she actually started defending her ducklings. While that is unfortunate for us and our hands, it means she is feeling better – which is great! She will likely be in the hospital for 3-4 weeks, so I will likely pass the case off to the next on call shift Monday after next.

Then I am done with Wildlife Team!  It has been a good experience and I learned a lot, but it is definitely not one I am planning to repeat There has been a lot of unnecessary nonsense involved, and I am ready to pass the torch.

Happy Friday!

If you can’t say anything nice…

I have been a very bad blogger for the past few weeks, which is truly an indication of how hellish they have been.  I hope to give you guys several updates in the next few days.  

Finals.  We had them.  They were awful.  So much harder than last semester.  While, I don’t think that any of them did my GPA any favors, what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right?  Mine were also unusually spread out because…

Last Thursday morning – the morning of my last final, I woke up to excruciating pain in my right eye. It first started at 5:30 am and by 6:30 it became apparent to me that there was no way I was taking a test that day. I called the school and left them a message and then went to seek medical aid.  I asked both of my roommates to drive me to the health center (and both of them turned me down), but I managed to painfully get myself there anyway.

Turns out that it was a flare up from an old injury.  In July of 2009, my neighbors’ baby poked me in the eye and ripped up part of my cornea.  The neighbors never really thought it was a big deal, but it was honestly probably the most painful thing that has ever happened to me. I was on Percocet, so I don’t remember too much of my recovery.  Anyway, it turns out that in many of these cases the cornea never completely refuses the basement membrane as it heals.  So on Wednesday night while I slept, my cornea fused to my eyelid instead. When I opened my eyes Thursday morning, the eyelid ripped off a chunk of the cornea.  The technical term is "Recurrent Corneal Erosion."

When I got to the health care center they asked me what my pain was on a scale of 1-10, and I said 8-9.  Then they took my blood pressure, which rolled in at 140 / 90 (my usual is 110 / 65), and the nurse said “Wow, you really are in pain, huh?” The nurse left and the doctor was there about 2 minutes later.

The optometrist at the health care center was great. She examined me and then gave me some ointment and instructions to keep my eyes closed and the lights off for the rest of the day.  She also put a large unattractive patch on my face, so it was pretty unlikely I was going anywhere anyway.  I, amazingly, slept all day AND all night  with only limited breaks.  I imagine the stress and lack of sleep of finals combined with my injury was just more than my body could deal with.

Luckily, my very awesome friend Elizabeth came to my rescue that evening and took me to get food and more bandages.  I was a big whiny baby, so I really applaud her patience and kindness.  I don’t know what I would have done without the help. During this trip I also began to feel really sick to my stomach and that continued for 3 days unfortunately.

I was still obligated to work the vet school open house on Friday.  Luckily, I was staffed inside - out of the sun.  I also went for a follow up appointment with the optometrist. My eye was not progressing as she had hoped, so she dilated the pupil and gave me some salt drops to reduce the swelling.  I didn’t really understand the dilation at first, but apparently it paralyzes the iris to prevent said iris from agitating the wound.  She knew what she was talking about because other than the temporary numbing drops she used when she examined it initially, that dilation was the best thing that had happened to me since this debacle began.  This also gave me the chance to wear a pirate eye patch, which is not nearly as cool or as fun as it sounds.

I finally made it back to the city Friday night. (That drive was probably not the safest decision I have ever made.)  My dear husband took care of me and sat in a dark house with me for the rest of the weekend.  He went out and got me food that actually sounded good, and let me sleep a lot.  Today I finally took my last exam, and I am feeling mostly better. (Pain about 3 out of 10 J)  The stress of having to delay that exam was almost as bad as the injury itself. Looks like I either have to put this ointment in my eye for the rest of my life or have surgery.  We'll see.

Well, this post is already long enough without anymore color commentary from me. Coming soon… Posts on my baby ducks patients and electives.

Spring Break is somehow still tiring...

It has taken me 5 nights of Spring Break to finally wind down enough to actually get a goodnight’s sleep.  Boy, did it feel good.  This spring break has had me wound up worrying about everything – school, getting caught up on my life, cleaning my car, etc .  I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday. I feel like the only thing I am getting caught up on is TiVo...  And I still have a lot of that to do. 

Monday, I got to do a little shadowing at the main specialty practice in town.  I followed a nutritionist / alternative medicine veterinarian.  I learned a lot and got to see what a private specialty practice is like.  The doctor had several Acupuncture appointments and that was really interesting.  The dogs and cats actually tolerate it very well which was pretty surprising to me.  The entire day was pretty neat even if I was tired.