Class of 2020... how you doin?

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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SandstormDVM said:
My experience thus far has been that the more I study for a test, the worse I seem to do.
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Clearly this means you need to study less ;)

And I'm only joking a little bit. Obviously don't blow off studying entirely (that's not always obvious to me, but I'm just a bad person), but study smarter, not harder. Take more breaks, give yourself at least one night off every week, make sure you're actively recalling the information and not just reviewing it over and over again. Being active and efficient in your studying is key. How did you study for this anatomy exam?
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WildZoo said:
Clearly this means you need to study less ;)

And I'm only joking a little bit. Obviously don't blow off studying entirely (that's not always obvious to me, but I'm just a bad person), but study smarter, not harder. Take more breaks, give yourself at least one night off every week, make sure you're actively recalling the information and not just reviewing it over and over again. Being active and efficient in your studying is key. How did you study for this anatomy exam?
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I'm at such a loss that I tried as many different active methods as I could. I tried image occlusion cards with Anki, drawing, making vessel roadmaps, watching the UMN dissection videos and practiced narrating them myself, going over things for a few hours after lab with classmates, organizing things into groups... maybe it was just too much and so I wound up being more disorganized in the end as a result. Clearly I understand the material at least conceptually, because I did improve on the lecture portion of the test.
 
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Oh and if you're struggling definitely seek out help - do you guys have veterinary social work offices at your schools? They should be able to provide some advice for stress relief and may even have study resources.

I wish there was more time to read during vet school because I would tell everyone to read Learning How to Learn by Barbara Oakley (or take the free online course). It's super informative and helpful when it comes to figuring out the best ways to learn.

This is some of it:

The procrastination part is I imagine not as relevant for you, but I love it. I'm still working on taming my zombies...

Come to think of it though, Pomodoro is not only useful for procrastinators, but also those who don't give themselves enough breaks!

SandstormDVM said:
I'm at such a loss that I tried as many different active methods as I could. I tried image occlusion cards with Anki, drawing vessel roadmaps like the one I attached for arteries, watching the UMN dissection videos and practiced narrating them myself, going over things for a few hours after lab with classmates, organizing things into groups... maybe it was just too much and so I wound up being more disorganized in the end as a result. Clearly I understand the material at least conceptually, because I did improve on the lecture portion of the test.
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Did you practice identifying structures on different dogs? Not sure exactly how your course works but something that was really helpful for me as far as the practical portion went was making sure I could recognize the structures and talk about them when looking at several different dogs, since things will look different and even the dissection itself will be slightly different from group to group. You don't want to end up just studying your own dog and unknowingly associating the information with visual cues that you won't have on the test.

If you did that, then yeah, the only thing I can think is maybe you just wore your brain out, or didn't give it enough time to solidify the connections between all the pieces of information you were absorbing (which happens best when you're sleeping, but also any time you give your brain a good break from the material and all other high-focus activity). Your methods seem sound to me, but I'm no expert.
 
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SandstormDVM said:
I'm at such a loss that I tried as many different active methods as I could. I tried image occlusion cards with Anki, drawing, making vessel roadmaps like the one I attached for arteries, watching the UMN dissection videos and practiced narrating them myself, going over things for a few hours after lab with classmates, organizing things into groups... maybe it was just too much and so I wound up being more disorganized in the end as a result. Clearly I understand the material at least conceptually, because I did improve on the lecture portion of the test.
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Talk to the professors. Some second years here are peer tutors, try those out if your school has them. Maybe switch your study group. The school wants you to succeed. They can't replace you. Get enough sleep, try to eat well, take breaks. Talk to a counselor. Maybe there is something else going on? The thing about tests is that you could know everything you studied, but then they test on some other section or a bunch of little details, but you understand the big picture connections. Just remember that grades are not a reflection of who you are or really what kind of doctor you'll be. It's just the assessment of how well you can guess what the professor wants to see. And you know, taking the semester over isn't the absolute worst thing that could happen and considering dropping out of the program does not mean that you are a failure or aren't good enough. But please don't drop out. You clearly are putting in major effort and care into this. We are all in your corner. We're cheering you on and wanting to help you.


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WildZoo said:
Did you practice identifying structures on different dogs? Not sure exactly how your course works but something that was really helpful for me as far as the practical portion went was making sure I could recognize the structures and talk about them when looking at several different dogs, since things will look different and even the dissection itself will be slightly different from group to group. You don't want to end up just studying your own dog and unknowingly associating the information with visual cues that you won't have on the test.

If you did that, then yeah, the only thing I can think is maybe you just wore your brain out, or didn't give it enough time to solidify the connections between all the pieces of information you were absorbing (which happens best when you're sleeping, but also any time you give your brain a good break from the material and all other high-focus activity). Your methods seem sound to me, but I'm no expert.
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Yeah, we did look at multiple dogs (mine had some funky branching patterns so I kinda had to, anyway). :(

It's funny that you mention sleep in your post. I really have not been sleeping well at all for the past couple of weeks; I wonder if that could be a contributing factor.

Oh, well. I've got histo lecture and lab tests coming up on Monday and Tuesday, and I've at least been doing well in that class. Then we are free until finals week so I'm hoping that having such a large "break" will allow me to study the information in chunks rather than have to resort to cramming like I have been for the past month.
 
WildZoo said:
Oh and if you're struggling definitely seek out help - do you guys have veterinary social work offices at your schools? They should be able to provide some advice for stress relief and may even have study resources.

I wish there was more time to read during vet school because I would tell everyone to read Learning How to Learn by Barbara Oakley (or take the free online course). It's super informative and helpful when it comes to figuring out the best ways to learn.

This is some of it:

The procrastination part is I imagine not as relevant for you, but I love it. I'm still working on taming my zombies...

Come to think of it though, Pomodoro is not only useful for procrastinators, but also those who don't give themselves enough breaks!


Did you practice identifying structures on different dogs? Not sure exactly how your course works but something that was really helpful for me as far as the practical portion went was making sure I could recognize the structures and talk about them when looking at several different dogs, since things will look different and even the dissection itself will be slightly different from group to group. You don't want to end up just studying your own dog and unknowingly associating the information with visual cues that you won't have on the test.

If you did that, then yeah, the only thing I can think is maybe you just wore your brain out, or didn't give it enough time to solidify the connections between all the pieces of information you were absorbing (which happens best when you're sleeping, but also any time you give your brain a good break from the material and all other high-focus activity). Your methods seem sound to me, but I'm no expert.
Click to expand...


katashark said:
Talk to the professors. Some second years here are peer tutors, try those out if your school has them. Maybe switch your study group. The school wants you to succeed. They can't replace you. Get enough sleep, try to eat well, take breaks. Talk to a counselor. Maybe there is something else going on? The thing about tests is that you could know everything you studied, but then they test on some other section or a bunch of little details, but you understand the big picture connections. Just remember that grades are not a reflection of who you are or really what kind of doctor you'll be. It's just the assessment of how well you can guess what the professor wants to see. And you know, taking the semester over isn't the absolute worst thing that could happen and considering dropping out of the program does not mean that you are a failure or aren't good enough. But please don't drop out. You clearly are putting in major effort and care into this. We are all in your corner. We're cheering you on and wanting to help you.


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Also, just wanted to say that I really, really appreciate all of the awesome advice and support. I seriously don't know if I'd still be trying if it weren't for SDN. It's so, so cathartic to be able to vent to a forum full of people who actually do understand what it's like. Thank you. <3
 
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SandstormDVM said:
I really have not been sleeping well at all for the past couple of weeks; I wonder if that could be a contributing factor.
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YES. Definitely is a factor. Absolutely.

It is definitely hard not to live test to test. I don't know anyone who has managed to stick with studying as we go. I'm experimenting with breaking the material for a test up into 6 chunks, and starting my studying a week before the test so I have 6 days of study and then a day of review the day before the test. We'll see if it works or not, if not back to the drawing board as far as timing these things goes. I just don't know how to study the recommended 4 hours 5 nights a week and then 8 hours on one weekend day without sacrificing my health (physical, mental, emotional), as well as the time I spend getting experience in the hospital, and I'm not willing to do that.
 
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WildZoo said:
Now ask me how i plan on fitting Nanowrimo into all of this :laugh:
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I still cannot comprehend how you're going to pull that off with vet school on top, but hey, all the more power to you. You are more disciplined (and insane) than I. ;)
 
Urgh, speak of the devil... practical scores are up on Blackboard. I don't even want to look. :barf:

EDIT: I passed. Somehow. But barely.
 
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SandstormDVM said:
I still cannot comprehend how you're going to pull that off with vet school on top, but hey, all the more power to you. You are more disciplined (and insane) than I. ;)
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Bahaha
Insane, yes. Disciplined, no. The most I have done for nano in the past (2 previous "attempts") was under 8000 words. So I haven't put a ton of pressure on myself to actually make it to 50,000. Mostly I would like to beat my previous record. If I can make it to 50,000 that would be awesome! If you're familiar with nano terminology...I'm not a planner, I'm a pantser in every aspect of life, so I really have no idea how any of this is going to work. But I figure I have a fair bit of wasted time in my typical day, even on the days when I study, so if I spend that time writing instead of watching random youtube videos I might just get something done. I'm also going to cut back on my leisure reading and tv show watching to give myself a little more time. I had hoped posting about it on social media might encourage me to actually try instead of giving up too quickly but we'll see.
 
SandstormDVM said:
Urgh, speak of the devil... practical scores are up on Blackboard. I don't even want to look. :barf:

EDIT: I passed. Somehow. But barely.
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But you passed! And that is what matters! Does that mean it was an improvement from the previous test on both the written and the practical?
 
Interestingly, I have a cousin who is a first year too, and this weekend I went through my old (5 year old!) study guides and stuff to give her some study aids. I don't want to make you feel like what you're learning isn't important, because it is, but the things that were on those study guides from anatomy and physiology I could remember maybe a quarter to a third of off the top of my head. If I'm being generous. I remember learning those things and reading the notes definitely jogged my memory, but they aren't necessarily things I keep at the forefront of my day to day working vet knowledge (to the level that was taught to me first year). It's important to know about those transporters in physiology to understand how the disease works, why we use which drugs, etc and it's important to know anatomy for good physical exams, surgery, etc. Learn how it works and over a bit of time you'll figure out what is useful for you. As a vet, the things I do regularly or study over and over eventually stick, and if I need to review that detailed information (i.e. I have a case and I need to review that pathophys in depth to think through my plan or I have a surgery that I need to review anatomy for), I know the resources I need to go seek out. A lot of my time as a practicing vet so far was taking a few moments to look things up in books or online. You need a good working knowledge, but you won't be a bad vet if you don't remember everything. I promise. In real life, there are very few instances where an animal can't wait five minutes while you read a book and refresh your knowledge if you're faced with something you've forgotten or even never learned.
 
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WildZoo said:
But you passed! And that is what matters! Does that mean it was an improvement from the previous test on both the written and the practical?
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Compared to the second test, it was a large improvement on the written (I skirted just under 50% on the last one; I got an 80% this time). I actually did very slightly worse (by one point) on the practical. I still have a D in the class, but it has gone up just a smidge. At least it's not getting any worse...? The math says I can still pull a C if I earn at least a B on the final lecture and lab tests. Going to try my damnedest to make that happen.

I've spoken with a couple of VM2s, and I guess the second anatomy test just tends to be the worst for everyone--it's taught by a different professor with a completely different teaching style who, while very nice, does like to be very tricky on tests.
 
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SandstormDVM said:
Compared to the second test, it was a large improvement on the written (I skirted just under 50% on the last one; I got an 80% this time). I actually did very slightly worse (by one point) on the practical. I still have a D in the class, but it has gone up just a smidge. At least it's not getting any worse...? The math says I can still pull a C if I earn at least a B on the final lecture and lab tests. Going to try my damnedest to make that happen.

I've spoken with a couple of VM2s, and I guess the second anatomy test just tends to be the worst for everyone--it's taught by a different professor , with a completely different teaching style who, while very nice, does like to be very tricky on tests.
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So what I'm hearing is the second test is the worst, historically, and you did better overall on the second than the first? Girl you rock. You improved and on a potentially harder exam. You should be celebrating your success right now. And never ever listen to what other people say about how "easy" a test was. Sure it might have been easy for them because they just happened to commit to memory the 50 things that the professor asked on the test, but perhaps had no idea about the 100 other things you had committed to memory that the professor didn't ask. Not to mention, the people who, like you, felt it was difficult and were worried about their scores were not going to be the ones chatting loudly about it afterwards. In fact, they were probably freaking out listening to the people gabbing on about how "easy" it was, terrified out of their brains because Imposter Syndrome was steamrolling them. Don't let it get to you. I can almost guarantee that every vet student has tests that they think are ridiculously hard that some of their classmates ace, but the next year in a new class its the opposite. I'm rambling on now, so I may not be making much sense, but I think you should be proud of your achievement.
 
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I always make a point to get far away from everyone in my class who I know likes to chat about the test afterwards and either chill by myself somewhere or find my friends who I know aren't interested in discussing it.
 
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hazelmoo said:
I feel like the only people who know how I feel are you guys... but even I don't know how I feel. I study study study, feel like I know the material, and then take the tests. During the tests, I panic because I skip about half of the questions because I don't know the answer. I leave the test feeling awful, depressed, sad, confused, because I can't handle not knowing. How will I be a good doctor if I don't know the science behind my diagnoses and treatments? I know I'll be a good vet and have good people skills and love all the animals and treat their issues and blah blah blah, but how will I be a good DOCTOR of veterinary medicine if I don't know this stuff? How will I CURE patients of their diseases if I don't know how the disease is working?

And then I get my grade back. And everything I thought I didn't know, I apparently did know, or at least did a good job at guessing correctly. I don't know how to explain it. I feel crappy because I SHOULD be glad that I'm doing well in a really hard program... but I'm not. I'm disappointed in myself because I feel like I don't know it. I can't possibly know it all, but I feel like I should know more than I do... and ugh. Idk. I just don't know. I know it's silly but I don't know how to stop this way of thinking. Whatever I'm doing is working to get me good grades, and I'm NOT just memorizing stuff... I feel confident and like I know it. But then I don't. Idk :(
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I know how you feel. My grades are really good for the most part (physiology less so, but I'm not in any danger of failing right now), but I still feel like I know nothing, and I just get lucky making educated guesses since most of our tests are multiple choice. I came out of our last microanatomy lab exam feeling really crappy and like I might have failed it, but I ended up getting an 86. I'm good at cramming and memorization, but I feel like I'm not really retaining much of the information and just focusing on the upcoming test (I'm really scared about finals...). Sometimes my classmates will ask questions while studying about why something is a certain way, and I'm like "I don't know, it doesn't matter, that's not going to be on the test," but I know I shouldn't think that way. It seems like I don't study near as much as some of my classmates, but for the most part whatever I'm doing is working, so I don't know???

It's probably just a weird form of imposter syndrome, and I know it's normal and okay to forget a lot of what we learn first year. It's important to understand the normal anatomy/physiology to be able to recognize when something's abnormal, but we won't be asked to recall every tiny detail off the top of our heads once we're out in practice, like @JaynaAli mentioned. Plus at least for anatomy we're going to have everything reinforced next semester when we do large animal stuff (this semester we're just learning the dog, with occasional comparisons to the cat).
 
You go to vet school thinking you might be able to feel smart.

You don't. You just feel dumb. The whole time. You kind of get used to it.

And then you graduate, and you think, "Okay, NOW it's time to feel smart."

Hahahaha. I have bad news.

(Anyone who acts like things are easy for them or they aren't struggling, they are either filthy rotten liars or that rare freak of nature that can absorb information after reading it once. Odds are, those people will be lacking in some other department *coughcommonsense* *coughpersonalityofadeadrat* ahem.)
 
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twelvetigers said:
You go to vet school thinking you might be able to feel smart.

You don't. You just feel dumb. The whole time. You kind of get used to it.

And then you graduate, and you think, "Okay, NOW it's time to feel smart."

Hahahaha. I have bad news.

(Anyone who acts like things are easy for them or they aren't struggling, they are either filthy rotten liars or that rare freak of nature that can absorb information after reading it once. Odds are, those people will be lacking in some other department *coughcommonsense* *coughpersonalityofadeadrat* ahem.)
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This. So much this. I feel like a feckin ***** 99% of the time. The other 1% is because I'm euthanizing something and it is hard to screw that up though I've had some less than ideal experiences with that too .
 
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I haven't been here in forever school is so busy I miss you all :(
 
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WildZoo said:
I always make a point to get far away from everyone in my class who I know likes to chat about the test afterwards and either chill by myself somewhere or find my friends who I know aren't interested in discussing it.
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Yeah. I was one of the chatters. It was just how some of us decompress after the test. Not a gunner thing ... just ... process it by talking about it then moving on. I always tried to talk with people I knew were more like me and not like you.

Doesn't really change in practice. I talk my cases through. Even if it is just to myself. I was working alongside another doctor who does the same thing - the techs thought we were crazy sitting there babbling to ourselves typing notes. One of the other doctors and I ask each other questions all the time and usually don't really care what the other one has to say - it is just how we process.
 
LetItSnow said:
Yeah. I was one of the chatters. It was just how some of us decompress after the test. Not a gunner thing ... just ... process it by talking about it then moving on. I always tried to talk with people I knew were more like me and not like you.

Doesn't really change in practice. I talk my cases through. Even if it is just to myself. I was working alongside another doctor who does the same thing - the techs thought we were crazy sitting there babbling to ourselves typing notes. One of the other doctors and I ask each other questions all the time and usually don't really care what the other one has to say - it is just how we process.
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Oh I don't hold anything against the people who do like to chat about it, it's just that I don't particularly want to think about it anymore after I've finished. So for me it's better to be away from that. I don't even think the people in my class who are talking about it are usually the ones who think they've done really well (so it's not a bragging about how easy it was thing), it seems to be people who are worried about the wording of this or that question or what such and such answer was. I prefer not to speculate about the answers with others and instead just wait until I get the test back, or if something is really bugging me go look it up on my own. Honestly the test questions usually leave my head so fast that I can't even remember enough to do the latter.
 
I never thought professional school would be so much like high school all over again.
 
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rockatiel said:
I never thought professional school would be so much like high school all over again.
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Yeah. I guess I kind of had a clue it would be, but it's still annoying to deal with. There are definitely cliques, but overall my class only has a few people that really just aren't nice.
 
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My class is pretty nice overall, but anatomy lab really brings out some, uhhh, less than ideal behavior.
 
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Anatomy round 2 today. I think it went okay? Hopefully haha

The best part was brunch at a friend's afterwards with a bunch of my classmates! It was great to hang out and relax with everyone after such a stressful week.

Another cell phys exam next Friday, histo the following Monday, and then nothing till finals aside from a few quizzes.

I can't believe the semesters almost over!
 
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I'm with LIS, I need to talk about an exam after it to feel okay. But I also am a person that if I'm having a problem or dilemma, I need to talk to people about it until I can come up with a resolution for myself. It's not at all to hear what others say, it's just how I process my feelings and thoughts.

Also I think my class is getting more and more catty by the day-- Which is disappointing.
 
alohacat319 said:
Also I think my class is getting more and more catty by the day-- Which is disappointing.
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Goodness our class is a bunch of drama llamas!! I've heard that we're referred to as "the worst first year class yet" due to all of our drama... Professors, upper years, staff, etc. have no idea what to do with us :confused:
 
I like my class. Well than again, I usually keep to myself. I do make it a point to engage and be social during the day when I'm at school, but once the day is done I go home, kick it with my dog, and decompress. I don't do social media so I feel that puts up another barrier between me and the drama. Being in a wheelchair is like a very low-level of fame :eek:, so people are usually nice to me to begin with. I think my only entrance into drama land would be if I started dating someone. I'm making a concerted effort not to date within my class.

Tonight will actually be the first time I'm doing something really social with a bunch of vet students outside of class. I could just release a **** ton of smoke during every conversation and piss everyone off?
 
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alohacat319 said:
Also I think my class is getting more and more catty by the day-- Which is disappointing.
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This pretty much always happens first year. By middle of second, most of this dies back down. It is a bit like a social experiment in which you put 80+ different personalities together in a small room for a year. There is bound to be negativity until everyone feels each other out and learns how to conduct themselves in such an environment. Hang in there and keep getting fresh air when you need out from under the cloud. :)
 
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There is so much material on this next anatomy exam on Wednesday, my lord. This is the hardest one that gets the most people and has a ton of developmental stuff. I definitely haven't felt this unprepared yet, it's almost like I don't know where to begin with my studying.
 
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wheelin2vetmed said:
There is so much material on this next anatomy exam on Wednesday, my lord. This is the hardest one that gets the most people and has a ton of developmental stuff. I definitely haven't felt this unprepared yet, it's almost like I don't know where to begin with my studying.
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This video helped me visualize some of the developmental anatomy. I know how you feel though... there's 26 lectures on my next anatomy exam (and I have 3 others that week on top of it). I haven't started yet because I'm trying to learn stuff for biochem and phys for those tests. Stressing out big time!
 
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hazelmoo said:


This video helped me visualize some of the developmental anatomy. I know how you feel though... there's 26 lectures on my next anatomy exam (and I have 3 others that week on top of it). I haven't started yet because I'm trying to learn stuff for biochem and phys for those tests. Stressing out big time!
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YESSSS... this series of videos saved my butt when we were doing developmental anatomy.
 
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Just got out of a test over renal phys. That sucked. :bang:

Only tomorrow's histo lab test to go until we are finally free from tests until finals. I'm so ready for a breather.
 
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