Class of 2017.... how you doin?

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Really disappointed with my last two midterm grades. I did well enough I suppose (I did pass, after all) but I really thought I'd done better. And now I'm freaking out about our last two grades because I'm pretty sure I failed those. :nailbiting:
 
Barely. And I'm finding that vet school itself doesn't jive with how I study best. I have to write stuff out and make study guides out of written notes to really memorize things, but that's damn near impossible. Might as well try and sip from a fire hose.

I dunno. Meeting with some professors to see if they have any advice. It doesn't help that my grandmother took a turn for the worst a couple weeks ago and I lost her last week. Now I have to resit the OSCE cause I was such a mess during the whole thing and didn't achieve the minimum.

I used to relatively enjoy it. Not so much anymore.

Sorry you are having a hard time, Escalla... Also sorry to hear about your grandma.. 🙁

And resitting isn't a big deal, especially when you have had personal problems... trust me. It sucks, I know, but it will be ok.

I hope things start to get better for you. 🙂
 
Sorry you are having a hard time, Escalla... Also sorry to hear about your grandma.. 🙁

And resitting isn't a big deal, especially when you have had personal problems... trust me. It sucks, I know, but it will be ok.

I hope things start to get better for you. 🙂

Thanks DVMD. 🙂

Doing well on this physiology midterm will really help my confidence. I hope I can pull that off.
 
Well. Just failed my phys exam. Worst part is I actually knew all the info but just couldn't get through it. I was so friggin anxious and just have a lot weighing on me right now...
 
Barely. And I'm finding that vet school itself doesn't jive with how I study best. I have to write stuff out and make study guides out of written notes to really memorize things, but that's damn near impossible. Might as well try and sip from a fire hose.

I dunno. Meeting with some professors to see if they have any advice. It doesn't help that my grandmother took a turn for the worst a couple weeks ago and I lost her last week. Now I have to resit the OSCE cause I was such a mess during the whole thing and didn't achieve the minimum.

I used to relatively enjoy it. Not so much anymore.
You can do it, friend. You'll find your stride. Have you tried other methods of study? Quizzing with friends etc? I'm sure you've been asked that a million times. Just keep trucking, dude, you'll make it.

Oh, man, and I am really sorry about your grandma. 🙁
 
You can do it, friend. You'll find your stride. Have you tried other methods of study? Quizzing with friends etc? I'm sure you've been asked that a million times. Just keep trucking, dude, you'll make it.

Oh, man, and I am really sorry about your grandma. 🙁

Thanks Abs. 🙂 Yeah, I've tried a few things. Haven't found a replacement yet. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend money on ink and paper and just print crap off rather than use OneNote. If it helps me, then I'll consider it worth it.
 
I studied that way too before vet school (if I studied at all!) so I know it's a tough transition. Like Abney said, you'll find your stride, it may just take a little time. Keep trying new methods, you never know what may work 🙂 hang in there!
 
Barely. And I'm finding that vet school itself doesn't jive with how I study best. I have to write stuff out and make study guides out of written notes to really memorize things, but that's damn near impossible. Might as well try and sip from a fire hose.

Yer first year, right? (Checks thread title. Yeah. Ok.)

Meeting with professors is always a no-lose move, so yeah, definitely a good move.

But .... give yourself some time. You just started, and you've only got a couple months done. My study partner is a super smart person doing mixed animal who has large and small experience and who routinely rocks exams. She really struggled in her first semester and was in that "sitting on a D going into the final" situation more than once and was, as I understand it, really concerned about not being able to manage it. Now she cruises right along and I doubt she's gotten a C in two or three semesters and probably rolls in with a 3.2-3.5 every semester, which is perfectly fine. I know another person in our class who was in a similar position first semester; pulling D's and thinking she was going to fail out of vet school. She's still with us, and as best I can tell, doing just fine.

Some people just take some time to adapt.

I'm not saying ignore a problem if you're in academic peril, but at the same time, don't beat yourself up and start thinking you're not good enough. Take some deep breaths, focus on doing what you have to do, know that you're good enough and smart enough to get it done, and give yourself a chance to acclimate and settle in. You'll find your routine eventually.
 
Really want this week to be over... 5 exams and 1 quiz. One exam already down today... UGH, can it be Friday afternoon yet??
 
Yer first year, right? (Checks thread title. Yeah. Ok.)

Meeting with professors is always a no-lose move, so yeah, definitely a good move.

But .... give yourself some time. You just started, and you've only got a couple months done. My study partner is a super smart person doing mixed animal who has large and small experience and who routinely rocks exams. She really struggled in her first semester and was in that "sitting on a D going into the final" situation more than once and was, as I understand it, really concerned about not being able to manage it. Now she cruises right along and I doubt she's gotten a C in two or three semesters and probably rolls in with a 3.2-3.5 every semester, which is perfectly fine. I know another person in our class who was in a similar position first semester; pulling D's and thinking she was going to fail out of vet school. She's still with us, and as best I can tell, doing just fine.

Some people just take some time to adapt.

I'm not saying ignore a problem if you're in academic peril, but at the same time, don't beat yourself up and start thinking you're not good enough. Take some deep breaths, focus on doing what you have to do, know that you're good enough and smart enough to get it done, and give yourself a chance to acclimate and settle in. You'll find your routine eventually.

Thanks LIS. 🙂 I really appreciate it. It helps to know that the same thing has happened to others and things worked out. Just gotta keep going...
 
I am grateful for presentations that give you points. 3 minute presentation on any topic within genetics/microbiology in vet med? Awesome. Worth 20%? Even better.

One down. One more to go......
 
2 exams down, 3 more and a quiz to go. I want to die.

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We've got the rest of this week off for Fall Break. I'm home and hanging out with my little brother and it's awesome. 😀

I'll have to leave Saturday morning so I can spend some time in anatomy lab before the exam, but for now it's good.
 
Well, not one of my better days. Didn't study enough for the phys exam today, did miserable in my anatomy quiz, and overall just had a down day. Hope my motivation for studying comes back this weekend before the actual anatomy exam on Monday. :penguin:
 
Beginning to wonder if maybe I should start getting up early in the mornings and spending a few hours studying before class. I know it sounds crazy, but I went to bed either early or on time the night before each midterm and got up at 4am the day of so I could spend 2-3 hours doing some last minute studying. My brain completely shuts down at around 10 or 11pm, so staying up late to study was totally ineffective. I seem to be a bit more focused in the mornings, even if I'm tired, so the 4am thing actually worked pretty well for me.

Ever since midterms ended I've been having the hardest time finding the motivation to study. At the end of a long day I'm tired and all I want to do is come home, eat dinner, and relax on the couch with some Netflix. Even when I do force myself to study, I'm constantly getting distracted and I never seem to get very much done. As much as I hate to get up early, it would be nice to come home and relax for a few hours without feeling guilty about not studying. What I'm currently doing clearly isn't working, so it might be time to try something new.
 
One more day. One more day. Dear vet school gods let me pass anatomy tomorrow. I am woefully unprepared but my brain refuses to learn any more.
 
Beginning to wonder if maybe I should start getting up early in the mornings and spending a few hours studying before class. I know it sounds crazy, but I went to bed either early or on time the night before each midterm and got up at 4am the day of so I could spend 2-3 hours doing some last minute studying. My brain completely shuts down at around 10 or 11pm, so staying up late to study was totally ineffective. I seem to be a bit more focused in the mornings, even if I'm tired, so the 4am thing actually worked pretty well for me.

Ever since midterms ended I've been having the hardest time finding the motivation to study. At the end of a long day I'm tired and all I want to do is come home, eat dinner, and relax on the couch with some Netflix. Even when I do force myself to study, I'm constantly getting distracted and I never seem to get very much done. As much as I hate to get up early, it would be nice to come home and relax for a few hours without feeling guilty about not studying. What I'm currently doing clearly isn't working, so it might be time to try something new.

I have a friend that gets up at about 4:30 or 5:00am every day and studies before class. She usually goes to bed by about 10:00pm, and she likes to be lazy in the evenings when she can.

We like to joke on exam days - she'll be like, "I got up at 4:00am to go over stuff!" and I'm like, "Well, I went to bed at like 3:00am..."

Whatever works for you is what you should do. I get plenty done from about 9pm to 1-2am (unless I'm on SDN... ahem) so I usually take a nap after class and then stay up late. Seems to be okay.
 
I like getting up in the mornings too.....I find having x hrs until class starts helps my efficiency and for some reason, I absorb stuff better. :cow:

The scary thing I've found is that I have to be super careful with my alarm. Sometimes I'll shut it off (instead of snooze) without waking up and later jolt awake in a panic lol
 
Good luck!

I've got anatomy today too, kind of expecting to get reamed. There will be copious amounts of alcohol this night.

Agreed. All the alcohols!
5 more hours until freedom! Sweet sweet freedom! At least until Monday histo practical. And then Thursday cell bio exam...
 
Beginning to wonder if maybe I should start getting up early in the mornings and spending a few hours studying before class. I know it sounds crazy, but I went to bed either early or on time the night before each midterm and got up at 4am the day of so I could spend 2-3 hours doing some last minute studying. My brain completely shuts down at around 10 or 11pm, so staying up late to study was totally ineffective. I seem to be a bit more focused in the mornings, even if I'm tired, so the 4am thing actually worked pretty well for me.

Ever since midterms ended I've been having the hardest time finding the motivation to study. At the end of a long day I'm tired and all I want to do is come home, eat dinner, and relax on the couch with some Netflix. Even when I do force myself to study, I'm constantly getting distracted and I never seem to get very much done. As much as I hate to get up early, it would be nice to come home and relax for a few hours without feeling guilty about not studying. What I'm currently doing clearly isn't working, so it might be time to try something new.
I do the same thing. It is so much easier for me to come to school with no distractions early in the morning than try to study at home after a full day of classes.
 
Being at home for fall break is nice, but makes it really hard to find the motivation to study for my anatomy exam next week. And I'm going to have to go back to school for the weekend to spend some time in the lab.
 
Good to know I'm not the only crazy morning study-er out there! I think I might give it a shot next week. Hardest part will be resisting the urge to keep hitting the snooze button, which I have a tendency to do unless I absolutely have to be up.
 
I survived this week, so glad it is over- but also not. An exam on monday, too! Ahh!! But tonight is for going out to dinner with friends and having a few drinks!
 
Today was my turn in my communication lab again.....scenario was dealing with euthanasia, which in the past I have had no problems with. Actually, I've almost been worried about how little I was affected by it.

However today, explaining the process and talking with this client brought all the mental images and feelings rushing back from last week with my grandmother and watching her pass away without being able to do anything about it and I completely lost my composure. At first it was ok, but then my coach called a time out and asked how I was doing and I just completely broke down. I hate feeling like this in front of other people, having it on DVD, etc. and worse is the feeling that you can't stop the emotional rush that is just pouring out of you no matter how hard you try. I don't think I've ever felt like that before.

So glad that it's a 4-day weekend. I really thought I had gotten over what happened, but apparently not. My close friends are in different cities currently, my parents are in AZ for the winter and my sister is a few hours away in school. I don't know what I would do without my cat.
 
Today was my turn in my communication lab again.....scenario was dealing with euthanasia, which in the past I have had no problems with. Actually, I've almost been worried about how little I was affected by it.

However today, explaining the process and talking with this client brought all the mental images and feelings rushing back from last week with my grandmother and watching her pass away without being able to do anything about it and I completely lost my composure. At first it was ok, but then my coach called a time out and asked how I was doing and I just completely broke down. I hate feeling like this in front of other people, having it on DVD, etc. and worse is the feeling that you can't stop the emotional rush that is just pouring out of you no matter how hard you try. I don't think I've ever felt like that before.

I know one of our docs had a really hard time losing his dog. He avoided euths for weeks and cried at every one he did for weeks after. Not one client complained or seemed put off, if anything it was the opposite. I guess my point is that we're all human, and not to beat yourself up over it. *hugs*
 
Today was my turn in my communication lab again.....scenario was dealing with euthanasia, which in the past I have had no problems with. Actually, I've almost been worried about how little I was affected by it.

However today, explaining the process and talking with this client brought all the mental images and feelings rushing back from last week with my grandmother and watching her pass away without being able to do anything about it and I completely lost my composure. At first it was ok, but then my coach called a time out and asked how I was doing and I just completely broke down. I hate feeling like this in front of other people, having it on DVD, etc. and worse is the feeling that you can't stop the emotional rush that is just pouring out of you no matter how hard you try. I don't think I've ever felt like that before.

So glad that it's a 4-day weekend. I really thought I had gotten over what happened, but apparently not. My close friends are in different cities currently, my parents are in AZ for the winter and my sister is a few hours away in school. I don't know what I would do without my cat.

I haven't lost a family member recently, but I did lose my family dog in February. A few months before, we had a group euthanasia lecture and discussion. The video was of a corgi being put down for behavioral issues. At the time, my family and I were talking about the possibility of putting our dog asleep, who happened to be a corgi. My roomie warned me about the video and I figured I would be okay because I've been involved in several euthanasias through work and never completely lost it. Couldn't even make it through them getting a catheter in the dog. Ended up running out of the room bawling. I even broke out in some sort of rash from trying to fight the emotions. Ever since February, I now have a harder time with euthanasias whenever I'm at work...probably because I don't think I've fully dealt with his death yet. The healing process takes time. Please don't beat yourself up over it and please reach out to people...most would be beyond understanding.
 
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I know one of our docs had a really hard time losing his dog. He avoided euths for weeks and cried at every one he did for weeks after. Not one client complained or seemed put off, if anything it was the opposite. I guess my point is that we're all human, and not to beat yourself up over it. *hugs*
I haven't lost a family member recently, but I did lose my family dog in February. A few months before, we had a group euthanasia lecture and discussion. The video was of a corgi being put down for behavioral issues. At the time, my family and I were talking about the possibility of our dog, who happened to be a corgi. My roomie warned me about the video and I figured I would be okay because I've been involved in several euthanasia through work and never completely lost it. Couldn't even make it through them getting a catheter in the dog. Ended up running out of the room bawling. I even broke out in some sort of rash from trying to fight the emotions. Ever since February, I now have a harder time with euthanasias whenever I'm at work...probably because I don't think I've fully dealt with his death yet. The healing process takes time. Please don't beat yourself up over it and please reach out to people...most would be beyond understanding.

Thanks guys. I'm sorry to hear about your dog, orca. That must have been really tough. I was always one of the "it can't happen to me" people that always thought I would be able to keep it together. Prior to last week, I was fortunate enough to not have gone through a real grieving process though and I don't think ever fully understood what it meant to go through it. I always empathized with others, but couldn't fully comprehend how they truly felt. I should probably review my DVD and do my self assessment sooner rather than later so I don't continue to drag up all of the emotion behind it.

Just have to keep swimming, right? Oh vet school....
 
So I did way better on my Endocrine exam then I expected and way worse on on my Immunology exam. Not entirely sure what went wrong :grumpy:

I have my immunology final next week and now I am really scared. There is SO much information and so many random letters and numbers. I also have my Anatomy final next week and it is also a lot of information its all over the head all those nerves and those skull holes.... :cry:
 
Beginning to wonder if maybe I should start getting up early in the mornings and spending a few hours studying before class. I know it sounds crazy, but I went to bed either early or on time the night before each midterm and got up at 4am the day of so I could spend 2-3 hours doing some last minute studying. My brain completely shuts down at around 10 or 11pm, so staying up late to study was totally ineffective. I seem to be a bit more focused in the mornings, even if I'm tired, so the 4am thing actually worked pretty well for me.
.

This is how I study 🙂 I usually get up between 5-6 each morning, take a shower, play with my puppy and then study before class. I try to keep this up even on weekends. I'm usually done studying by 10-11 PM each night, because I just can't focus any more. I free lance to make some money on the side, so sometimes I'll write an article or proof read after I'm done officially studying. I just find that my brain is more productive in the mornings and if I get up and start working before class I'm able to focus more once I'm in class.

On a different note, we learned how to flip sheep this week! We did PEs and learned how to catch, halter, and flip sheep. It was very exciting. Mine was a sassy sheep that couldn't be tamed.
 
I just finished my massive tox study guide, and now I'm about to type out some musculoskeletal like a mad fool. I reckon bed at 2. It's panning out to be a long day, but if I get my guides done for both exams (one Monday and one Wednesday) then hot damn. All I have to do is read through them like a crazy person.
 
FML. After last weeks 5 exams, my brain has zero motivation to study for my histo practical tomorrow.:dead: Only 12 days until I fly to NY to see my husband for Thanksgiving break!!!!!
 
FML. After last weeks 5 exams, my brain has zero motivation to study for my histo practical tomorrow.:dead: Only 12 days until I fly to NY to see my husband for Thanksgiving break!!!!!
Yeah, it is really not happening tonight...
 
I just finished my massive tox study guide, and now I'm about to type out some musculoskeletal like a mad fool. I reckon bed at 2. It's panning out to be a long day, but if I get my guides done for both exams (one Monday and one Wednesday) then hot damn. All I have to do is read through them like a crazy person.

Dudes, do you want to be a bro and send me a copy of that tox study guide??? Would be super helpful for boards.
 
Spent all day at school studying anatomy and I'm pretty sure I know nothing. Just hoping this exam isn't as bad as we think it's going to be...
 
Had an awesome day today! Spent the morning helping out on an alpaca farm (weighing, deworming, trimming toe nails, collecting fecals, etc.) It was a pretty exhausting day, but tons of fun none the less. Plus there were crias born yesterday and the day before. TOO CUTE! Then I successfully did a jug stick for the first time today for the research I'm working on. Unfortunately things were horrendously dusty with the alpacas today and my asthma was awful and now my lungs are all cranky and I'm superbly tired. Totally worth it though!
 
Finally had a mini-breakdown in an anatomy professors office after doing poorly on my second test. He basically said my grades are not reflecting how I perform during dissection. We both agreed that I'll probably struggle over the next two years, but that I'll excel during surgery and other clinicals.

It's going to be a long two years though 🙁
 
Finally all caught up on all the new physiology material since the midterm! Now to catch up on those six other classes . . .
 
Bah. Another anatomy exam done, another feeling of inadequacy. Some of the group portion questions made me go "what the hell is that? I don't even remember seeing that before in my life." Admittedly, I didn't spend any time in lab over the last few weeks, so it was my fault. Also putting things like cricothyroid cartilage instead of just cricoid cartilage annoys me when I knew what I meant to write. Oh well. Time to get going for finals prep. Scared/excited our first semester is coming to an end.
 
Decided to give the whole getting up at 4 AM thing a try this week. Rolled out of bed at quarter to five this morning, got about two hours of studying in before class. Probably could have done more, but I was distracted - seriously, how does Facebook manage to be so engaging even when no one is online to post anything new??

Best part: came home on this rainy afternoon, made hot chocolate, and immediately rolled into bed with my cat and watched both Zorro movies. Didn't have to feel the least bit guilty about it either. I could get used to this. 😀
 
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