Class of 2015... How ya doing?

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that redhead said:
Mostly, I'm happy that I'm done with this chapter of my life. Yeah, I'm going to be a vet forever but the formal schooling part - the being away from my husband and my family and Chipotle - is over. I feel like I somehow dodged a bullet or that I escaped some terrible fate. A sense of gratitude that I managed to survive the ordeal. My biggest focus right now is trying to assimilate back to my life before vet school, if that's even possible. Part of me relishes the fact that no one but my family and friends know that I'm a vet. Like some kind of secret identity.

I miss my vet school friends, especially the core people (cough@Coquette22 cough) who always know how to make me laugh or get me riled up into a rant. Friends back home just don't appreciate a good gross (and I mean gross) path story.
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I didn't "leave" my family like you did, but nevertheless I can totally relate to the feeling of "ok, back to normal living like every other adult my age."
 
LetItSnow said:
I didn't "leave" my family like you did, but nevertheless I can totally relate to the feeling of "ok, back to normal living like every other adult my age."
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I wish I felt that way, instead I feel panicked about the amount of debt I have (no where near what my classmates have or even national average, but still), and like I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. Ugh.
 
LetItSnow said:
I didn't "leave" my family like you did, but nevertheless I can totally relate to the feeling of "ok, back to normal living like every other adult my age."
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Yep. I can't wait until it is no longer the norm to be asked about school/Canada/being away.

Rwwilliams said:
How did you live?
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Like Coquette said, I complained pretty much daily. And whenever I was home, I ate it way more than could be considered healthy 😉
 
I am done with vet school! It feels surreal, like I'm not sure that I believe it's over. Graduation is next Saturday, then I move far far away! I'm so excited to start this new chapter.
 
Congrats on graduation everybody!! Best of luck in all your future endeavors 😀
 
Can I just say that I have this very polar mix of feelings about a) loving the fact that I can pick my own damn drug/diagnostic/treatment/whatever protocols now and nobody says "wellllllllll...... I'd do X, instead" and b) really missing the safety net of having someone say "welllllllll...... I'd do X, instead."

I feel like fourth year was one big confidence killer: Every time you suggest something (drug, diagnostic, whatever), someone's always saying "well, it wouldn't be WRONG to do that, but I'd do <blah>". Like, rationally I know it's great to have people tweaking your inexperienced knowledge, honing it, and helping you do it incrementally better. But emotionally, it's kinda a long year of "nope, that's not the right answer." And then bam, you're out in practice with a hemorrhaging cat on the table in front of you and super talented techs saying "so, what drugs do you want?" and you're kinda like "heck if I know - for the last year any time I suggest something somebody always changes it."

Rant over. I'm actually having a blast. But in retrospect I think schools (at least UMN where I was) should give some thought to trying harder to build up your clinical confidence. Maybe it's just me, though.

I guess that's why other people do internships.
 
LetItSnow said:
Can I just say that I have this very polar mix of feelings about a) loving the fact that I can pick my own damn drug/diagnostic/treatment/whatever protocols now and nobody says "wellllllllll...... I'd do X, instead" and b) really missing the safety net of having someone say "welllllllll...... I'd do X, instead."

I feel like fourth year was one big confidence killer: Every time you suggest something (drug, diagnostic, whatever), someone's always saying "well, it wouldn't be WRONG to do that, but I'd do <blah>". Like, rationally I know it's great to have people tweaking your inexperienced knowledge, honing it, and helping you do it incrementally better. But emotionally, it's kinda a long year of "nope, that's not the right answer." And then bam, you're out in practice with a hemorrhaging cat on the table in front of you and super talented techs saying "so, what drugs do you want?" and you're kinda like "heck if I know - for the last year any time I suggest something somebody always changes it."

Rant over. I'm actually having a blast. But in retrospect I think schools (at least UMN where I was) should give some thought to trying harder to build up your clinical confidence. Maybe it's just me, though.

I guess that's why other people do internships.
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I imagine that you are just having the initial PTSD from your fourth year and will recover as the days go by and you learn what you do actually prefer. Kind of like trying on suits then finding the cut that makes you look absolutely suave. 🙂
 
LetItSnow said:
Can I just say that I have this very polar mix of feelings about a) loving the fact that I can pick my own damn drug/diagnostic/treatment/whatever protocols now and nobody says "wellllllllll...... I'd do X, instead" and b) really missing the safety net of having someone say "welllllllll...... I'd do X, instead."

I feel like fourth year was one big confidence killer: Every time you suggest something (drug, diagnostic, whatever), someone's always saying "well, it wouldn't be WRONG to do that, but I'd do <blah>". Like, rationally I know it's great to have people tweaking your inexperienced knowledge, honing it, and helping you do it incrementally better. But emotionally, it's kinda a long year of "nope, that's not the right answer." And then bam, you're out in practice with a hemorrhaging cat on the table in front of you and super talented techs saying "so, what drugs do you want?" and you're kinda like "heck if I know - for the last year any time I suggest something somebody always changes it."

Rant over. I'm actually having a blast. But in retrospect I think schools (at least UMN where I was) should give some thought to trying harder to build up your clinical confidence. Maybe it's just me, though.

I guess that's why other people do internships.
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What's your opinion of people that do internships outside of the match? I'm small animal focused but know a couple people that matched for equine internships outside of the match... just think it's a little weird when the hospital consists of one non-boarded doctor and a bunch of new grads.
 
Rwwilliams said:
What's your opinion of people that do internships outside of the match? I'm small animal focused but know a couple people that matched for equine internships outside of the match... just think it's a little weird when the hospital consists of one non-boarded doctor and a bunch of new grads.
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For equine, I wouldn't think twice about it. Many many equine internships go outside of the match. For small-animal, I might be more skeptical if only because it seems rarer. I'm happy for someone else to chime in though, since I didn't look into internships much.
 
Coquette22 said:
I start my job tomorrow. Thank you for making my anxiety even worse, LIS. :scared:
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I *did* say I was having a blast, didn't I? 🙂

You'll be great. Honestly, the people I've been working with have been as supportive as I have needed. It's just a very weird feeling. In the school environment when you pick one thing and your clinician picks the other, the clinician almost always 'wins' (bad choice of words, but....). So I couldn't help but emotionally feel like my choice was 'worse', which didn't help my confidence at all.

That's really my biggest gripe: I feel like schools should give you more rope <so long as what you're suggesting is safe>. That's what allows you to actually learn. Not having someone say "Well, I'd use 0.1mg/kg instead of 0.05mg/kg." Yanno?

At UMN I can only think of 2 rotations that were really good about giving students the chance to really learn in that way: Anesthesia and GP. Fantastically run rotations. On both of those I had multiple instances where I wanted to do one thing, the clinician would have done another, and they said "but you know what - your suggestion is reasonable, let's go with it." To me, that's how you REALLY learn. Other rotations were decent teaching rotations in general, but it was all teaching by being told, watching the clinician, etc. Your decisions really weren't 'decisions' and thus you didn't get the inherent learning feedback. Obviously if the student suggestion is just plain wrong, or dangerous, or provides meaningfully poorer patient care it should be altered. But if not? Why not let the student learn from their choices?

Retrospective look at 4th year, I guess.
 
Rwwilliams said:
What's your opinion of people that do internships outside of the match? I'm small animal focused but know a couple people that matched for equine internships outside of the match... just think it's a little weird when the hospital consists of one non-boarded doctor and a bunch of new grads.
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I think no matter whether you're looking in the match or out, it's kind of a buyer (er, applicant) beware situation. There's no one that polices internships and residencies currently I don't think which is why it is so important to speak to current interns/residents and/or visit a practice. You don't want a place that takes you as an 'intern' just so they can get away with paying you almost nothing to act like a doctor without the mentorship that goes along with an internship. I believe most equine private practice internships are outside the match and it seems common to go outside the match for equine, though what you describe does seem sketchy or strange. Even with small animal internships, some are ones that just toss you in and expect you to sink or swim and others are more likely to hold your hand all the time. You need to figure out what you want and if those programs fit with you.
 
Lupin21 said:
I imagine that you are just having the initial PTSD from your fourth year and will recover as the days go by and you learn what you do actually prefer. Kind of like trying on suits then finding the cut that makes you look absolutely suave. 🙂
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How'd you know I look really good in a suit? 😉

Rwwilliams said:
What's your opinion of people that do internships outside of the match? I'm small animal focused but know a couple people that matched for equine internships outside of the match... just think it's a little weird when the hospital consists of one non-boarded doctor and a bunch of new grads.
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I dunno. I know what you're saying/asking ... I just never really gave much thought to the internship arena since I knew I wasn't going to do one. Based on where I'm at in life age-wise and with mouths to feed I just couldn't do an internship.

You're going to get answers that sorta tend to reflect what someone did. Most people who did an internship that I've talked to say "Oh yeah, great choice, I learned a lot that year by seeing so many cases." Most people who didn't do one say "Oh yeah, great choice - I learned a lot by just being thrown in the fire." So ..... what's the right answer? Meh. Dunno. For equine, aren't <most> internships outside the match? I'd be a little more skeptical about a SA internship outside the match, but not so much about equine. That said, I think we all know there are crappy internships in all branches of vet med where they just want a credentialed DVM so they can dump cases on them and vanish on vacation. Best thing to do is probably to ask for references from previous interns and talk to them. Probably true for most internships at lesser-known places.
 
Rwwilliams said:
What's your opinion of people that do internships outside of the match? I'm small animal focused but know a couple people that matched for equine internships outside of the match... just think it's a little weird when the hospital consists of one non-boarded doctor and a bunch of new grads.
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The vast majority of equine internships are private practice outside the match. They're listed through the AAEP along with externships.

That has nothing to do with a particular place only having one senior clinician and other recent grads though. You'll find really competitive internships and bottom of the barrel listed.
 
Coquette22 said:
It is incredibly weird to go from asking permission for things to just doing them.
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A-yup. Even in stupid little unimportant details it just feels weird. One of our techs asked if they could inject something into the subq fluid pocket (typical supportive outpatient vomiting kinda animal) and I just stopped and stared and thought "why are you asking me? find someone who's allowed to make decisions."
 
LetItSnow said:
A-yup. Even in stupid little unimportant details it just feels weird. One of our techs asked if they could inject something into the subq fluid pocket (typical supportive outpatient vomiting kinda animal) and I just stopped and stared and thought "why are you asking me? find someone who's allowed to make decisions."
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I went in later tonight to check on an inpatient. One of the techs says, "Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" What? Why? What do you expect me to do? Oh, right, it's my patient, and I'm apparently a doctor and a functional adult. Right.
 
I'm gonna be like, ummm...

I-Know-Nothing-Apparently-On-Game-Of-Thrones.gif


And even if I know, it, the odds of me actually remembering it, correctly, right when I need it? Ehh...
 
Sooooooo......... what am I, 11 days a veterinarian as of yesterday?

I show up for my training shift last night at a fairly busy suburban ER hospital where I've been doing some off and on training stuff... and my training vet, who has the overnight shift, is going to be late (for very super-good reasons)... and we didn't have a day-shift ER vet (dunno why, they usually do) so the specialty/referral practice that occupies the same space was covering ER for us during the day.... so there I am. All new and shiny and freshly graduated with my evening ER shift starting and no training (wheels) doc. And soon enough, the dog that's declined after surgery at the rdvm comes rushing through the door having just arrested.

Wheeeeeee. Nothing like trial by fire.
 
LetItSnow said:
Sooooooo......... what am I, 11 days a veterinarian as of yesterday?

I show up for my training shift last night at a fairly busy suburban ER hospital where I've been doing some off and on training stuff... and my training vet, who has the overnight shift, is going to be late (for very super-good reasons)... and we didn't have a day-shift ER vet (dunno why, they usually do) so the specialty/referral practice that occupies the same space was covering ER for us during the day.... so there I am. All new and shiny and freshly graduated with my evening ER shift starting and no training (wheels) doc. And soon enough, the dog that's declined after surgery at the rdvm comes rushing through the door having just arrested.

Wheeeeeee. Nothing like trial by fire.
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:horns:
 
I've been playing Mood Whiplash today. Walk in the door to be told that my previously-parvo negative puppy patient is now parvo positive. Then I saw a Pittite pup for vaccines. Then a very difficult euthanasia (as in, did not go well, no veins, no blood pressure) on an old dog in right heart failure (luckily, clients were very understanding). Then two happy cats for check ups. Then a 6 year old dog with 3 months of weight loss and vomiting, who ended up being in chronic renal failure (creatinine >8). Then a Dobie pup for vaccines.... Up, down, up, down...
 
About to wrap up the family vacation. After having a severely inconsistent exercise regimen for two years, the 6 hour hike my sister encouraged us to take yesterday was painful and my hip is still not happy today. Fortunately, the view was completely worth it. I'm ready to see my dog and to get away from my PDA-happy siblings (for the record, the PDA is with their respective partners, not reach other).
 
My program's intern director just let us know about an internship orientation in LA we will be flying to. I'm sure it will be fun, but there's nothing like sudden travel plans to stress out some future interns! Spontaneity is not my strong suit. At least it's a one day thing and I won't have to find a dog sitter within days of moving across the country.
 
JaynaAli said:
My program's intern director just let us know about an internship orientation in LA we will be flying to. I'm sure it will be fun, but there's nothing like sudden travel plans to stress out some future interns! Spontaneity is not my strong suit. At least it's a one day thing and I won't have to find a dog sitter within days of moving across the country.
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is it a VCA internship? they flew the corporate reps out for a 48 hour orientation when I was a rep and it was fun! but stressful (and exhausting!)
 
jmo1012 said:
is it a VCA internship? they flew the corporate reps out for a 48 hour orientation when I was a rep and it was fun! but stressful (and exhausting!)
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Yep. I've been to LA before but it would be nice to have more time there. We've already been told we have to work the day after even though it will be a very long day...welcome to internship I guess, haha.
 
JaynaAli said:
My program's intern director just let us know about an internship orientation in LA we will be flying to. I'm sure it will be fun, but there's nothing like sudden travel plans to stress out some future interns! Spontaneity is not my strong suit. At least it's a one day thing and I won't have to find a dog sitter within days of moving across the country.
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Just one day?!
 
LetItSnow said:
You know, I expected to be a bit anxious/nervous right after graduation, but I feel <really> anxious/nervous going in for my shifts. But I'm really having a lot of fun, too. And I keep getting nothing but positive feedback.

It's weird.
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This is unrelated (and probably creepy, sorry) but I have to tell you: I've been sick and taking Nyquil at night and had this whacked out dream where (long story short) I was taken to the UMinn (veterinary) ER and you were the doctor there and I was like OH THANK GOODNESS. So if you're ever feeling anxious or doubtful, just remember that drugged up TRH has faith in your abilities 👍
 
JaynaAli said:
Yep. I've been to LA before but it would be nice to have more time there. We've already been told we have to work the day after even though it will be a very long day...welcome to internship I guess, haha.
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I'm going as well - what day is it? We're there June 23rd. I've been wondering if ALL the interns will be there.
 
that redhead said:
This is unrelated (and probably creepy, sorry) but I have to tell you: I've been sick and taking Nyquil at night and had this whacked out dream where (long story short) I was taken to the UMinn (veterinary) ER and you were the doctor there and I was like OH THANK GOODNESS. So if you're ever feeling anxious or doubtful, just remember that drugged up TRH has faith in your abilities 👍
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I am very concerned about your sanity. Please seek help. 😵
 
that redhead said:
This is unrelated (and probably creepy, sorry) but I have to tell you: I've been sick and taking Nyquil at night and had this whacked out dream where (long story short) I was taken to the UMinn (veterinary) ER and you were the doctor there and I was like OH THANK GOODNESS. So if you're ever feeling anxious or doubtful, just remember that drugged up TRH has faith in your abilities 👍
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You know.......... I'm not sure which is more concerning: me showing up in your dreams, or you being glad that I - the total n00b - was the ER doc on. 😉

(But thank you.)
 
Starting to get nervous now. Took me 15mins to find my stethoscope and I almost had a meltdown over that alone. Had to go get a couple new pairs of pants because apparently I'm fat. Am now at the stage where I'm wondering if I should review my notes and where the hell I'd even start. Add on the disease that's been plaguing me since last Friday and I'm a little bit of a wreck. I know once I just get my feet wet I'll be fine (or better than I am now, at least) but ugh!
 
that redhead said:
Starting to get nervous now. Took me 15mins to find my stethoscope and I almost had a meltdown over that alone. Had to go get a couple new pairs of pants because apparently I'm fat. Am now at the stage where I'm wondering if I should review my notes and where the hell I'd even start. Add on the disease that's been plaguing me since last Friday and I'm a little bit of a wreck. I know once I just get my feet wet I'll be fine (or better than I am now, at least) but ugh!
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there's a first time for everything. You wouldn't be human if you weren't a little nervous.
Soon enough ....
 
that redhead said:
Starting to get nervous now. Took me 15mins to find my stethoscope and I almost had a meltdown over that alone. Had to go get a couple new pairs of pants because apparently I'm fat. Am now at the stage where I'm wondering if I should review my notes and where the hell I'd even start. Add on the disease that's been plaguing me since last Friday and I'm a little bit of a wreck. I know once I just get my feet wet I'll be fine (or better than I am now, at least) but ugh!
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The nerves are the worst part. I'm starting to get more relaxed going into work every day. I was even all alone last night for two hours, except for two receptionists/assistants. Everything was fine. Don't bother reviewing anything, you'll review as you go as you run into stuff. And sometimes, there's nothing you could review and you just have to go with your gut. (What's that lump? No idea, poke it with a needle!)
 
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