Class of 2015... How ya doing?

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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Muahahaha I have the vet students for the first half of the day today and therefore get to subject them to whatever I want.
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that redhead said:
Okay, okay, you ALL are invited to MD to hang out with me and the fantastic @cowgirla. I have three extra bedrooms, just no mattresses/beds yet...minor details.

@LetItSnow, I thought you were on vacation anyway. I don't see what's holding you back!
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I've got an extra bed, a futon, the worlds most comfortable red couch and a sectional. Also have air mattresses and lots of floor space. Or we can make people camp in the backyard.

I think between the two of us we can host SDN. :)
 
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that redhead said:
Okay, okay, you ALL are invited to MD to hang out with me and the fantastic @cowgirla. I have three extra bedrooms, just no mattresses/beds yet...minor details.

@LetItSnow, I thought you were on vacation anyway. I don't see what's holding you back!
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I was thinking, yanno, a little more out in the future? I'm on vacation, but I'm doing a reservation deal with vet students this weekend. (Cause nothing says vacation like doing veterinary things while you're on it.)
 
LetItSnow said:
I was thinking, yanno, a little more out in the future? I'm on vacation, but I'm doing a reservation deal with vet students this weekend. (Cause nothing says vacation like doing veterinary things while you're on it.)
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if its further out, I can probably make it, too
 
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Hey guys! I have a couple question for you about clinics. I have 9 weeks of free time spread out over my 1.5 years of clinics to do with as I please. At this point I have pretty much everything that is Mandatory for the school planned. So I guess What I am wondering is how much "vacation time" did you have and do you think it would be better to leave a week here and there to have a break from clinics? Also, did you set aside time specifically to study for the NAVLE or did you just study as you went along? I tend to be the kind of person that wants to fill up all my free time with more stuff.. But I dont want to regret it down the road. Also - 4 of these weeks are October of 4th year just in case I decide to do an internship so that I can travel and spend a couple days at different hospitals (not sure if thats what I want to do or not but I have the time set aside just in case.)

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!
 
Kpowell14 said:
Hey guys! I have a couple question for you about clinics. I have 9 weeks of free time spread out over my 1.5 years of clinics to do with as I please. At this point I have pretty much everything that is Mandatory for the school planned. So I guess What I am wondering is how much "vacation time" did you have and do you think it would be better to leave a week here and there to have a break from clinics? Also, did you set aside time specifically to study for the NAVLE or did you just study as you went along? I tend to be the kind of person that wants to fill up all my free time with more stuff.. But I dont want to regret it down the road. Also - 4 of these weeks are October of 4th year just in case I decide to do an internship so that I can travel and spend a couple days at different hospitals (not sure if thats what I want to do or not but I have the time set aside just in case.)

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!
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Well, yanno, it's just like classes - there are the hardcore gunner types ("*grunt* I'm not taking ANY vacation because V3t M3d R00lz and Girlz Dr00lz and I'm haaaaaard core!!!!!111111!!!!1!1!") and then there are the rest of us slacker types ("Vacation? What? Where? How do I get more?")

Personally, my advice is to take Every Last Single Day of vacation that you can get. Once you graduate, you may have some time before work/internship or you might be working before your license number is even issued. I had *planned* to take 2-3 weeks after graduation before I started, but that didn't work out. Point being: you're at the point in life now where vacation time will start to become a precious commodity - take it when you can.

NAVLE-wise, I studied every day for the 8 to 12 weeks before it (I forget exactly). Prior to that I did a question or two of VetPrep a day. During the 8 weeks before it, I started watching at least one PowerPrep lecture a day (I liked them - 5-15 minutes each) and doing a bunch of questions. But I didn't kill myself over it, and if I had a super long day on clinics I skipped it. I took a 2-week vacation block with NAVLE halfway through, so I spent the first week cramming like crazy and the second week whining about how certain I was I failed NAVLE.

In regards to filling up free time - nothing wrong with that! But make it vacation time that you're filling with fun things rather than extra rotations. Just my advice.
 
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Kpowell14 said:
Hey guys! I have a couple question for you about clinics. I have 9 weeks of free time spread out over my 1.5 years of clinics to do with as I please. At this point I have pretty much everything that is Mandatory for the school planned. So I guess What I am wondering is how much "vacation time" did you have and do you think it would be better to leave a week here and there to have a break from clinics? Also, did you set aside time specifically to study for the NAVLE or did you just study as you went along? I tend to be the kind of person that wants to fill up all my free time with more stuff.. But I dont want to regret it down the road. Also - 4 of these weeks are October of 4th year just in case I decide to do an internship so that I can travel and spend a couple days at different hospitals (not sure if thats what I want to do or not but I have the time set aside just in case.)

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!
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I had 4 open weeks during the school year (Sept-April) but that was because I completed 4 weeks of rotations during the summer between 3rd and 4th year. I took all of those 4 weeks off - one during the first week of Sept, one during the week leading up to my NAVLE (which was on the Friday), one in February, and then one in April before exams. We also had the last 2 weeks of December off for winter break which I didn't fill with any extra rotations. I highly advise taking as much vacation time as possible, it'll be the last time you'll have this much free time!

As for the NAVLE, I had a pretty easygoing 3 week rotation (SA general practice) right before my NAVLE. I scheduled it there on purpose because I knew I would not be on call for the whole 3 weeks, only had to work one Saturday from 8-2, and otherwise it was pretty much a 9-5 rotation. I had plenty of downtime to study during that rotation, plus I took the following week leading up to my NAVLE off. I started doing VetPrep questions consistently in mid-September (before that I was just doing a few questions here and there) and during my 3 week SA GP rotation I was going through 1-2 hours minimum of VetPrep per day. On my week off, I reviewed lectures and completed 2 practice tests.
 
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Kpowell14 said:
Hey guys! I have a couple question for you about clinics. I have 9 weeks of free time spread out over my 1.5 years of clinics to do with as I please. At this point I have pretty much everything that is Mandatory for the school planned. So I guess What I am wondering is how much "vacation time" did you have and do you think it would be better to leave a week here and there to have a break from clinics? Also, did you set aside time specifically to study for the NAVLE or did you just study as you went along? I tend to be the kind of person that wants to fill up all my free time with more stuff.. But I dont want to regret it down the road. Also - 4 of these weeks are October of 4th year just in case I decide to do an internship so that I can travel and spend a couple days at different hospitals (not sure if thats what I want to do or not but I have the time set aside just in case.)

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!
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I'm with LIS - take the vacation while you can. We had something like 12 weeks total, including built-in around holidays and I took all of it to relax and do nothing. Sure, there were days when I got fidgety but overall so much better for my mental health. I didn't set time aside for NAVLE studying, just did some every day or so and it worked out well but I know classmates who took time off to study for it. Whatever fits your study strategy/style.

You can fill the vacation time, I'd just recommend filling it with fun, non-school stuff.
 
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Kpowell14 said:
Hey guys! I have a couple question for you about clinics. I have 9 weeks of free time spread out over my 1.5 years of clinics to do with as I please. At this point I have pretty much everything that is Mandatory for the school planned. So I guess What I am wondering is how much "vacation time" did you have and do you think it would be better to leave a week here and there to have a break from clinics? Also, did you set aside time specifically to study for the NAVLE or did you just study as you went along? I tend to be the kind of person that wants to fill up all my free time with more stuff.. But I dont want to regret it down the road. Also - 4 of these weeks are October of 4th year just in case I decide to do an internship so that I can travel and spend a couple days at different hospitals (not sure if thats what I want to do or not but I have the time set aside just in case.)

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!
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Take vacation. I have only been in clinics since early May, but I am ready for a break. Not dying for one, though this next month of straight surgery might change that, but I am definitely needing a break right about now. We get 8 weeks of vacation and I am "mostly" taking every single one. They are MINE! ALL MINE! I am taking two of them at the very end of 4th year so that I basically finish rotations in early April, taking one around Thanksgiving to take the NAVLE and my first "vacation" is coming up here in late Sept-Oct. I am so looking forward to being away from the school. I will warn you, the time in clinics just flies by, it is insane.
 
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Kpowell14 said:
Hey guys! I have a couple question for you about clinics. I have 9 weeks of free time spread out over my 1.5 years of clinics to do with as I please. At this point I have pretty much everything that is Mandatory for the school planned. So I guess What I am wondering is how much "vacation time" did you have and do you think it would be better to leave a week here and there to have a break from clinics? Also, did you set aside time specifically to study for the NAVLE or did you just study as you went along? I tend to be the kind of person that wants to fill up all my free time with more stuff.. But I dont want to regret it down the road. Also - 4 of these weeks are October of 4th year just in case I decide to do an internship so that I can travel and spend a couple days at different hospitals (not sure if thats what I want to do or not but I have the time set aside just in case.)

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!
Click to expand...

I left a good 4 weeks of mine open in the spring (not scheduled until very close to the date) so that I could schedule multiple days of working interviews for jobs if I needed to. If I didn't have anything planned I either took a vacay or scheduled an ER or internal med rotation last minute.
 
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Minnerbelle said:
I left a good 4 weeks of mine open in the spring (not scheduled until very close to the date) so that I could schedule multiple days of working interviews for jobs if I needed to. If I didn't have anything planned I either took a vacay or scheduled an ER or internal med rotation last minute.
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Ah you brought up a great point. For those of you that went into private practice how soon did you start applying for jobs / going to interviews etc. I should definitely plan for that!
 
Kpowell14 said:
Ah you brought up a great point. For those of you that went into private practice how soon did you start applying for jobs / going to interviews etc. I should definitely plan for that!
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I feel like people started contacting practices kinda in the March-ish time frame? Some quite a bit earlier, some later, but that's when I feel like I really started to hear about people going to interviews and things like that.

There's a wide variety, though. Half yer class will go off to internships. Of the remaining half, some will go back to clinics they worked at who are now hiring them as vets. Some will go through the Banfield pipeline process. Some will muddle about not sure what they want to do, and maybe take time off after graduation. Point being; don't worry about everyone else's timing - just start looking for a job when you have a good idea where you want to be and what you want to do.
 
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Kpowell14 said:
Ah you brought up a great point. For those of you that went into private practice how soon did you start applying for jobs / going to interviews etc. I should definitely plan for that!
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I started putting out feelers starting around jan, but that only led to depression as those who were hiring then were looking for someone to start then, not June. I just sent out resumes/cvs to any practice with ads up in the target location that I remotely qualified for starting then until I was hired. I started getting a couple replies in Feb. By March I was getting way more call backs/interviews. Most people
who were applying blindly seemed to have gotten jobs in April-June.
 
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Kpowell14 said:
Ah you brought up a great point. For those of you that went into private practice how soon did you start applying for jobs / going to interviews etc. I should definitely plan for that!
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I didn't match anywhere (for lab animal residency) and started submitting job applications for private practice in early March.
 
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Thanks Guys!! You have been super helpful! We get 2 "free blocks" and I picked to have our last block off meaning I am done with clinics March 8th (We graduate May 12th 2017). 2 of those weeks i'll be at Humane Alliance but other than that I have nothing planned - Perfect time to start looking for jobs (if I decide to not go the internship path or dont match). I feel a lot less stressed about this schedule now, Thanks again!!!
 
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In the category of 'Stupid Veterinarian Injuries' I finished examining a lame horse today, walked out of the barn, stepped wrong on some uneven concrete and made myself lame by spraining my ankle. In front of the client (naturally).
 
My internship is changing and I'm not super happy. One of the residents changed his focus from production med to medicine, which is fine, but since we only have one acvim diplomate on at any given time, and they are on in house, and our attempts to hire someone have been futile, I am being shoved off in house and onto field service and regulatory (read: every group of students learns about the production of beef cattle, dairy cows, swine, visits a slaughter plant, goes to Jeff City to learn about lawmaking, etc). So... I am happy to be on those services, working with students and stuff, but I personally learn so much more on in house... grumble grumble
 
scb44f said:
My internship is changing and I'm not super happy. One of the residents changed his focus from production med to medicine, which is fine, but since we only have one acvim diplomate on at any given time, and they are on in house, and our attempts to hire someone have been futile, I am being shoved off in house and onto field service and regulatory (read: every group of students learns about the production of beef cattle, dairy cows, swine, visits a slaughter plant, goes to Jeff City to learn about lawmaking, etc). So... I am happy to be on those services, working with students and stuff, but I personally learn so much more on in house... grumble grumble
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you're not the only one with a program that is changing...i understand how frustrating that feels!
 
So far the shortest day I have spent at the clinic this week was 17 hours long. Longest was 20 hours. The third was somewhere in between. Just 3 more days, then I get two whole days off to sleep!
 
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Titles I've gotten at my clinic:
- The one who does nerve blocks
- The one who deals with behavior problems
- The abscess queen
- The 'young blonde one' (A client called me this. I'm not blonde...)
 
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I got called "the little short one" by a resident two inches shorter than me. :) Better than my intern-mate, who got "the twelve-year-old" (from a client, no less).
 
Coquette22 said:
Titles I've gotten at my clinic:
- The one who does nerve blocks
- The one who deals with behavior problems
- The abscess queen
- The 'young blonde one' (A client called me this. I'm not blonde...)
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Ahahahahaha. Yeah. It's amusing. Even though at LEAST 75% of the time I say "hey, how do you guys prefer to do [X]," the lousy 25% of the time I prefer to do something differently totally earn me exasperated sighs and eye rolls.

People, as a rule, are incredibly inflexible.
 
So I'm "the one who will see exotics"...my receptions played a prank on me the other day where they asked, "So would you be comfortable euthanizing a tarantula?" I'm sure I looked horrified because I am pretty afraid of spiders but also didn't want something to be suffering for want of someone brave enough to euthanize. They let me off the hook a little later :laugh:

And yeah, people call me 12 (literally) pretty regularly, which I continue to find exasperatingly rude. My coworkers are planning to make me a "Child Prodigy" shirt...
 
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that redhead said:
So I'm "the one who will see exotics"...my receptions played a prank on me the other day where they asked, "So would you be comfortable euthanizing a tarantula?" I'm sure I looked horrified because I am pretty afraid of spiders but also didn't want something to be suffering for want of someone brave enough to euthanize. They let me off the hook a little later :laugh:

And yeah, people call me 12 (literally) pretty regularly, which I continue to find exasperatingly rude. My coworkers are planning to make me a "Child Prodigy" shirt...
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Man. What I wouldn't give to look 12.
 
That moment when you ask the owner of the tremoring, hypersalivating cat if they've recently used any flea treatments and they look at you like you're a wizard mind reader.
 
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Coquette22 said:
I'd play tomorrow depending on the time.
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Well, I have this wonderful thing called "not on call" and this other wonderful thing called "no patients"... so, I can basically start up a game of cards against humanity at anytime. Just need to know what will work for peoples. (Not too late though because I have turned into an old fart and tend to pass out around 10:30 at night).
 
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Jilary said:
Evil apples the app or actual online version? I'd likely play depending on the timing.
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It is an online version of cards... has all the cards against humanity cards in it. You can make your name the same as your SDN name and I just make it a private game with a password. I will send a PM to everyone who wants to play tomorrow with the link and password.

Let's say 4PM central time tomorrow? Or would later be better for people?
 
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