Class of 2020... how you doin?

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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Yeah, we don't do that until second year. Unless you do the special shelter program/elective, which I'm definitely doing. Then you get to learn early. First years even get to start learning feline neuters in the spring, assuming you finish all of the units and complete the skills lab. It's basically my motivation to get through this quarter alive. :laugh:
 
When I took vet tech classes sporadically in undergrad we had to learn those restraining knots. For someone who struggled tying their shoes as a kid, it was not a fun experience. I crushed my knots on the final though. Don't be discouraged if you can't get them right first try!
 
First emotional break down of vet school yesterday, weeeeeeeee!
 
WildZoo said:
*sends you lots of hugs*
You ok?
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Yes, just wondering if I'm going to be able to do this. Not used to the never-ending feeling of impending doom and not being able to stay on top of things :arghh: but I think I'm in a similar boat to everyone else so I'm not alone. Which helps.
 
hazelmoo said:
Yes, just wondering if I'm going to be able to do this. Not used to the never-ending feeling of impending doom and not being able to stay on top of things :arghh: but I think I'm in a similar boat to everyone else so I'm not alone. Which helps.
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Those breakdowns show just how much you truly care and want this. You can do it. I believe in you.
 
hazelmoo said:
Yes, just wondering if I'm going to be able to do this. Not used to the never-ending feeling of impending doom and not being able to stay on top of things :arghh: but I think I'm in a similar boat to everyone else so I'm not alone. Which helps.
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You've got this 🙂 we're all pretty much there, and with very few exceptions everyone struggles with staying on top of everything. And that's ok! We're gonna make it anyway.
 
We had our first cadaver lab in anatomy yesterday and it did not go well. Two hours of panic, not enough instructors to cover all the questions at the tables (and EVERY) table had questions. It degraded to the point of desperately trying to follow the protocol without actually learning anything. At the end, someone told me that the year ahead of us (the old curriculum) covered what we did today in three two hour labs. It was definitely rough.
 
flameshock said:
We had our first cadaver lab in anatomy yesterday and it did not go well. Two hours of panic, not enough instructors to cover all the questions at the tables (and EVERY) table had questions. It degraded to the point of desperately trying to follow the protocol without actually learning anything. At the end, someone told me that the year ahead of us (the old curriculum) covered what we did today in three two hour labs. It was definitely rough.
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Our first day of anatomy lab was similar to this (except we had 3 hours), but the second was drastically better once we'd all figured out the best way to work with our groups. What are you guys dissecting right now?

My class relies heavily on the dissection videos our instructors post (http://vanat.cvm.umn.edu/ ), they've been super helpful. If you have time, check them out - they might be a good resource while you're in lab...
 
hazelmoo said:
First emotional break down of vet school yesterday, weeeeeeeee!
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I know how much it sucks. We just finished our third week and I've already had several... it's so, so hard, but you just have to try to remind yourself that you are there because the school truly believes that you can do it--and you CAN. Attrition rates at US schools are so low for a reason. Life does happen sometimes, but nearly everyone makes it.

And take solace in the fact that everyone is probably feeling the exact same way, with maybe an exception here and there. I've been struggling with pelvic limb anatomy like crazy for the past week (seriously, I JUST got comfortable with the thoracic limb and now we are finished with the pelvic and moving on to the vertebral column and skull before our test next week), and I feel SO behind, but after talking to some of my classmates last week, nearly all of them also felt lost and frustrated.

You will be okay, Hmoo. I know you will.
 
We have our first anatomy test on MONDAY; can't get into the anatomy lab easily today because its game day aka campus is shut down, nowhere to park, so its gonna be all shoved into tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it! But I will be glad when its done (its supposed to be the hardest test we have? idk if thats because we don't know how things work yet and everyone fails or if it literally is just the hardest)
 
Hang in there, hmoo!

SandstormDVM said:
And take solace in the fact that everyone is probably feeling the exact same way, with maybe an exception here and there. I've been struggling with pelvic limb anatomy like crazy for the past week (seriously, I JUST got comfortable with the thoracic limb and now we are finished with the pelvic and moving on to the vertebral column and skull before our test next week), and I feel SO behind, but after talking to some of my classmates last week, nearly all of them also felt lost and frustrated.
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Seriously, that freaking pelvic limb. I didn't have much trouble learning the thoracic limb, but the muscles of the crus in particular are getting on my nerves. And now we're supposed to be doing the trunk, but we're all still so shaky on the pelvic limb. Bah.
 
supershorty said:
Our first day of anatomy lab was similar to this (except we had 3 hours), but the second was drastically better once we'd all figured out the best way to work with our groups. What are you guys dissecting right now?

My class relies heavily on the dissection videos our instructors post (http://vanat.cvm.umn.edu/ ), they've been super helpful. If you have time, check them out - they might be a good resource while you're in lab...
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We skinned one side and removed a thoracic limb. We're going into the thoracic cavity next week. Our lab midterm is Friday, bleh.

Your website looks super useful! This is the first year of a new curriculum and everyone is trying to make it work. I'll pass this link along.
 
flameshock said:
We skinned one side and removed a thoracic limb. We're going into the thoracic cavity next week. Our lab midterm is Friday, bleh.

Your website looks super useful! This is the first year of a new curriculum and everyone is trying to make it work. I'll pass this link along.
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That's what we've done so far too. It's labs 1 through ... probably 3 or 4 on the carnivore tab of link. We haven't done the intrinsic muscles of the thoracic limb yet, so I'm guessing at what lab numbers they go up to.
 
heyyimhayley said:
I always tell myself I'm gonna be super productive on the weekends, but then I don't get up until noon and I catch up on TV for 3 hours so.... yeah that's where I'm at now.
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That's my usual. I've been oddly productive today. I don't like it.
 
I had many unproductive days. Then you take advantage when your mind and body are willing. The material sticks better and you feel it. More damage has been done in my opinion, by trying to force studying when it doesn't stick and causes stress because of it. Gotta feel yourself out and know when and when not to study. 🙂
 
Lupin21 said:
I had many unproductive days. Then you take advantage when your mind and body are willing. The material sticks better and you feel it. More damage has been done in my opinion, by trying to force studying when it doesn't stick and causes stress because of it. Gotta feel yourself out and know when and when not to study. 🙂
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Yup, wasn't feeling it Thursday night so I took the night off, needed a nap yesterday so I did that, and today I feel in a studying mood so I'm learning things and getting through my notecard backlog. Yay!
 
This thread stressed me out so I'm gonna go take a nap.

Seriously, you get used to all the blah. You'll be so used to a constant low level stress that it will be weird when you have a summer and it goes away for a few months.

And then you get to have a normal life again after it's over, assuming you don't pick a job with constant on call and terrible hours (hint: don't). The sort where you work a few hours Saturday, then you get lunch, look for a few Pokemon, and then come home and hang out with the cats while your husband plays a video game. No books, no guilt.

Just keep on plodding along, one day at a time, one test at a time. You do get the hang of it.
 
I think it's worth plugging in--if your vet school or main campus has any sort of free or low cost counseling/mental health services, they are worth taking advantage of if you think you need them. I was feeling really anxious and depressed the past few weeks and I was scared to do it, but it was so very worth it. I have a whole treatment plan and i already feel so much better. don't wait until things get too bad to get yourself help if you need it.
 
heyyimhayley said:
I always tell myself I'm gonna be super productive on the weekends, but then I don't get up until noon and I catch up on TV for 3 hours so.... yeah that's where I'm at now.
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That's okay - you need breaks! The week is so exhausting that I really look forward to sleeping in on Saturdays. It's the highlight of my week. :laugh:

Weekends have been pretty productive for me so far, but I've been taking breaks during the week instead. Hardly did any work on Wednesday and Thursday. Only feel vaguely guilty about it. I'll take the vague guilt over melting my brain and burning out. That's a lesson learned the hard way in years past. I feel like it's important to also come to peace with the fact that there's no way anyone except the rare robot of a person will manage to remember everything and that I'm going to forget stuff I know now by the time the exam rolls around but oh well. This is helping to contain the stress so far.
 
Yea, I came to a weird realization the other day since I was getting super stressed out. I know it would ruin some people if they failed out of a vet school, but I thought: "I'm going to do my best. If the best I can do is not good enough, and I somehow fail out of vet school, there's still a million things I could do with my life. It would suck a little, but I think I'd be ok."

Nonetheless, I think some of the underlying physical responses to stress are happening. I'm sick, and I haven't been in almost 2 years. Also, what I was worried about wheelchair-wise is kinda happening. One of the worst and potentially deadly aspects of being paralyzed is tissue health. When you sit the entire day, and especially if your paralysis causes you to lose all the muscle mass on your butt, you're extremely prone to pressure sores. Now that we all know some anatomy, feel your asses. You have nice muscle to cushion your ischial tuberosities. Imagine all your ass muscle was gone. When you sit, your ITs are basically like your elbows, bone on skin. Now imagine sitting on that for hours or days and not realizing there's hazardous pressure: bam, pressure sore.

I've had a few bad ones, worst one making me bedridden for an entire summer. I've tried every type of wheelchair cushion, and the one I'm on right now is actually custom molded to my butt. It's the worst part of my injury, hands down.

I'm scared because I'm in my chair for 15-17 hours a day. I have an hour during lunch to go lay down, but this **** is definitely worrying me.
 
wheelin2vetmed said:
Yea, I came to a weird realization the other day since I was getting super stressed out. I know it would ruin some people if they failed out of a vet school, but I thought: "I'm going to do my best. If the best I can do is not good enough, and I somehow fail out of vet school, there's still a million things I could do with my life. It would suck a little, but I think I'd be ok."

Nonetheless, I think some of the underlying physical responses to stress are happening. I'm sick, and I haven't been in almost 2 years. Also, what I was worried about wheelchair-wise is kinda happening. One of the worst and potentially deadly aspects of being paralyzed is tissue health. When you sit the entire day, and especially if your paralysis causes you to lose all the muscle mass on your butt, you're extremely prone to pressure sores. Now that we all know some anatomy, feel your asses. You have nice muscle to cushion your ischial tuberosities. Imagine all your ass muscle was gone. When you sit, your ITs are basically like your elbows, bone on skin. Now imagine sitting on that for hours or days and not realizing there's hazardous pressure: bam, pressure sore.

I've had a few bad ones, worst one making me bedridden for an entire summer. I've tried every type of wheelchair cushion, and the one I'm on right now is actually custom molded to my butt. It's the worst part of my injury, hands down.

I'm scared because I'm in my chair for 15-17 hours a day. I have an hour during lunch to go lay down, but this **** is definitely worrying me.
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Are your lectures recorded? Maybe you can either rotate or choose a couple classes that you don't go to lecture throughout the week in order to keep your body safer. The school should allow for this as your concerns are quite real and serious.
 
wheelin2vetmed said:
Yea, I came to a weird realization the other day since I was getting super stressed out. I know it would ruin some people if they failed out of a vet school, but I thought: "I'm going to do my best. If the best I can do is not good enough, and I somehow fail out of vet school, there's still a million things I could do with my life. It would suck a little, but I think I'd be ok."

Nonetheless, I think some of the underlying physical responses to stress are happening. I'm sick, and I haven't been in almost 2 years. Also, what I was worried about wheelchair-wise is kinda happening. One of the worst and potentially deadly aspects of being paralyzed is tissue health. When you sit the entire day, and especially if your paralysis causes you to lose all the muscle mass on your butt, you're extremely prone to pressure sores. Now that we all know some anatomy, feel your asses. You have nice muscle to cushion your ischial tuberosities. Imagine all your ass muscle was gone. When you sit, your ITs are basically like your elbows, bone on skin. Now imagine sitting on that for hours or days and not realizing there's hazardous pressure: bam, pressure sore.

I've had a few bad ones, worst one making me bedridden for an entire summer. I've tried every type of wheelchair cushion, and the one I'm on right now is actually custom molded to my butt. It's the worst part of my injury, hands down.

I'm scared because I'm in my chair for 15-17 hours a day. I have an hour during lunch to go lay down, but this **** is definitely worrying me.
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Y'know, I've had a cold for a couple weeks now that probably should've cleared up after maybe a week. I wonder if it's related to stress levels, too?

Anyway, I second what Lupes said. That is a very, very real health concern for you. Perhaps talk to your professors and let them know ahead of time that you might miss a couple lectures here and there due to those issues...? I'm sure that they'll be understanding. If your lectures are captured, then that will certainly help, too. Gah, vet school is hard enough--I can't even imagine dealing with this on top of it. Take care of yourself. Seriously. 🙁
 
Lupin21 said:
Are your lectures recorded? Maybe you can either rotate or choose a couple classes that you don't go to lecture throughout the week in order to keep your body safer. The school should allow for this as your concerns are quite real and serious.
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Seconded. I really think you should reach out to someone in the school's administration - whoever handles student services for the vet school or whoever handles disability/accessibility - and bring this up. You shouldn't have to worry about developing a serious health problem just to go to class. Even if you never developed a pressure sore, all of that stress and worry takes its toll. I hope they can work with you to find a solution so you can take that weight off your shoulders. There's enough crap to deal with already. 🙁
 
Spank you everyone. I will make an appointment to speak with someone higher up on Monday.

SandstormDVM said:
Gah, vet school is hard enough--I can't even imagine dealing with this on top of it. Take care of yourself. Seriously. 🙁
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Oh, but there's so many more goodies! I'd share but pretty sure it'd be way TMI for SDN 😛
 
JaynaAli said:
I vote you get a bed moved into the classroom. That way you can lie down in class. Everyone else will be envious.
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There's nothing stopping the rest of us from carrying a mattress around and saying it's performance art.

Just saying.
 
We have all but moved beds into our first year classroom. We have blankets, pillows, chair cushions, etc.
 
SandstormDVM said:
Y'know, I've had a cold for a couple weeks now that probably should've cleared up after maybe a week. I wonder if it's related to stress levels, too?
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I too still have congestion that started on the third day of school. I don't think I've ever been sick for this long in my life, but it has almost become "normal" for me to where I don't notice it anymore lately.
 
I didn't even have a drastic climate change like some of you did and my allergies doubled over. I too stay stuffed up. Even my dog--his skin allergies went crazy!
 
Yeah, I used to have scalp issues my whole life (maybe since middle school), and I saw several dermatologists who would always tell me it's probably stress related, but I never believed them because it never seemed to correlate with particular stressful times. It actually went away this summer and I was so happy, but it just came back this week... I think I believe the doctors now.
 
supershorty said:
One of my classmates just said that she thought olecranon fossa sounds like a Lion King character, and now I can't stop trying to figure out ways to work it into Lion King songs.

Might be time for a study break...
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Yep. Mufossa :laugh:
 
supershorty said:
One of my classmates just said that she thought olecranon fossa sounds like a Lion King character, and now I can't stop trying to figure out ways to work it into Lion King songs.

Might be time for a study break...
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One of our clubs made a T-shirt about lacunas from histology (the space where osteocytes sit in bone).

It's a picture of the lion king with the phrase "Lacuna Matata" underneath, and every time I hear that song I think of it. So you aren't the only weird one 😛
 
Ashgirl said:
One of our clubs made a T-shirt about lacunas from histology (the space where osteocytes sit in bone and chondrocytes sit in cartilage).

It's a picture of the lion king with the phrase "Lacuna Matata" underneath, and every time I hear that song I think of it. So you aren't the only weird one 😛
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expanded this for ya! lol
 
Last edited:
I actually really enjoy histo, at least so far! A lot of it is review from my undergrad histo and comparative anatomy classes, though, which probably helps 🙂
 
Ashgirl said:
One of our clubs made a T-shirt about lacunas from histology (the space where osteocytes sit in bone).

It's a picture of the lion king with the phrase "Lacuna Matata" underneath, and every time I hear that song I think of it. So you aren't the only weird one 😛
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Heh. One of our profs made that joke.
 
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