Class of 2020... how you doin?

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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alohacat319 said:
Officially survived hell week. Time for alcohol.
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It's sad, I haven't had time for alcohol since school started. At block change there is going to be a beer olympics, which we have a team signed up for, the lack of tolerance will not bode well.

How did the hell week turn out?


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First written and lab anatomy exam tomorrow! I feel okay about it? I'm still struggling on the back limb attachments, but I studied with one of my lab partners again tonight and we went over a couple of old exams and aside from the back limb stuff, I knew everything. Hopefully tomorrow goes well!
 
Caiter92 said:
First written and lab anatomy exam tomorrow! I feel okay about it? I'm still struggling on the back limb attachments, but I studied with one of my lab partners again tonight and we went over a couple of old exams and aside from the back limb stuff, I knew everything. Hopefully tomorrow goes well!
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Same. I am less confident. Those attachments get me too!

A little under 6 hours...but I'm only studying until about 10 and then going to brunch with my friends.
 
WildZoo said:
Same. I am less confident. Those attachments get me too!

A little under 6 hours...but I'm only studying until about 10 and then going to brunch with my friends.
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Ours is at 9am, so about three hours for me! I'm meeting my friend for coffee at 7 to go over the list of things to remember that appeared on multiple tests again (just like little random facts that are easy to forget).

I'm trying to avoid going to school until I have to. Yesterday at lunch the break room was full of first years frantically trying to memorize everything and it just stressed me out :laugh:

Good luck today! I'm sure you'll do great 😀
 
Done! I definitely passed, and I think I actually did really well. There isn't going to be much time off because we have a physio exam on Monday but I'm helping bathe animals for Ag Day in a bit, and then helping with a bake sale for our class tomorrow 😀
 
Got rabies vaccine #2 today. Felt fine for the first two hours or so, barring some pretty bad arm soreness... but now I'm starting to feeling nauseous and gross. No me gusta.
 
SandstormDVM said:
Got rabies vaccine #2 today. Felt fine for the first two hours or so, barring some pretty bad arm soreness... but now I'm starting to feeling nauseous and gross. No me gusta.
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The second one was definitely the worst for me. I felt awful that night, but better by the next morning. I got #3 a few days ago and had no real noticeable side effects other than some mild soreness.
 
Lupin21 said:
And by now you know there are some people that aren't that fabulous. Why are you letting one veterinarian/person be the example you are using? There are always going to be crappy people out there, in every profession. That is when you recognize and ignore. You state here you did get good advice from everyone else. We don't live in a perfect world and never will, so I recommend you look at this and realize you are the one letting one bad egg cause you this anxiety.
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It was mostly 2 people and occasionally a third, but it was typically one doctor who would make these comments over and over again. The others would occasionally comment in passing. It got to me because we're very similar in temperament and personality, and she's someone who I really truly admire, both as a doctor and as the lovely person she is. I have a lot of respect for her, and she taught me a great deal. She really cared. In a situation like that, it's hard not to take their opinion seriously. In other circumstances and situations, I've been fine at picking out what's useful in people's advice and overlooking whatever didn't apply, but to have a mentor like that harp on the same thing over and over can really mess with your head.

My only point in bringing this up was that while it's very important for everyone to know exactly what they're getting into (because there are plenty of legitimately scary things about school and vet med in general), it's possible to go too far in underscoring the challenges and negatives, and that can be harmful just like sugar-coating can be. I've never really had many problems with anxiety, and it's not something I'm generally prone to, but hearing that kind of negativity repeatedly from someone whose opinion I really value really fed into it, and I don't think that was helpful. All it did was prevent me from relaxing and enjoying the little free time I had left. Setting people up for misery can make them actively look for it, and mentors can have a great deal of influence on the people they take under their wing. I think sometimes we don't even realize how much weight our words and advice can carry. I had also been reading a lot recently about psychological resilience in the health professions and how important it is for guarding against burnout and compassion fatigue, and this sort of scare-your-pants-off technique sort of flies in the face of the things you need to do to build resilience. Again, there are very real negatives in this profession that are legitimately scary, but once you've provided all the information you can and someone has decided to forge ahead anyway, I think it can be counterproductive to continue to freak them out.
 
missdarjeeling said:
It was mostly 2 people and occasionally a third, but it was typically one doctor who would make these comments over and over again. The others would occasionally comment in passing. It got to me because we're very similar in temperament and personality, and she's someone who I really truly admire, both as a doctor and as the lovely person she is. I have a lot of respect for her, and she taught me a great deal. She really cared. In a situation like that, it's hard not to take their opinion seriously. In other circumstances and situations, I've been fine at picking out what's useful in people's advice and overlooking whatever didn't apply, but to have a mentor like that harp on the same thing over and over can really mess with your head.

My only point in bringing this up was that while it's very important for everyone to know exactly what they're getting into (because there are plenty of legitimately scary things about school and vet med in general), it's possible to go too far in underscoring the challenges and negatives, and that can be harmful just like sugar-coating can be. I've never really had many problems with anxiety, and it's not something I'm generally prone to, but hearing that kind of negativity repeatedly from someone whose opinion I really value really fed into it, and I don't think that was helpful. All it did was prevent me from relaxing and enjoying the little free time I had left. Setting people up for misery can make them actively look for it, and mentors can have a great deal of influence on the people they take under their wing. I think sometimes we don't even realize how much weight our words and advice can carry. I had also been reading a lot recently about psychological resilience in the health professions and how important it is for guarding against burnout and compassion fatigue, and this sort of scare-your-pants-off technique sort of flies in the face of the things you need to do to build resilience. Again, there are very real negatives in this profession that are legitimately scary, but once you've provided all the information you can and someone has decided to forge ahead anyway, I think it can be counterproductive to continue to freak them out.
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Ah. I understand a bit better now. There real issue with all this kind of back and forth about what is or isn't the right thing to say is that everyone is different. Rare will it be that every prevet hears exactly the right amount of reality vs it will be okay. Obviously if the person talking to you is a vet, they made it through, so that is the take away.

It will always be on the individual to take in all info and decide for themselves if the seeming anguish and debt of school is the right or wrong path. Sadly, as had been said many times, you just don't know til you decide it is still for you and you give it a go. Then the experience will be unique to that person.

Surround yourself with positive people if that is what it takes, or forge it alone, or anywhere in between. That is where I feel being an older student is helpful because self knowledge is the most potent weapon in all this journey. Youngsters have to find themselves along the way, but it has been done many a time.

We had a prof tell us to go look at all the grad photos and think, man if that guy/gal did it, I can too. Sadly they have been taken down for digitization so I can't have the current class do that, but where there is a will there's a way. And obviously if a person ultimately decides it isn't worth it anymore to them, no judgement is passed by their peers, but they have to be strong enough in themselves to know what is best for them. 🙂
 
Well, vet school has destroyed my immune system. I haven't been truly ill in years, but here I am. Oh and I have 3 tests this week.
 
Not sure I'm into my stomach's new game of waking me up in the middle of the night with kind of crampy feeling pain. It's started doing it after I eat, too. Not a fan.

Rockatiel, hope you feel better soon!! Seems like a lot of people in my class are sick with an upper respiratory thing.
 
WardenN7 said:
The second one was definitely the worst for me. I felt awful that night, but better by the next morning. I got #3 a few days ago and had no real noticeable side effects other than some mild soreness.
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Second was worst for me too. I thought I was surely dying of rabies.
 
SandstormDVM said:
Just some not-serious late night rambling... but out of curiosity, is anyone else not entirely sure what they want to do with their DVM?

It seems like everyone here knows for certain what they want to do (whether or not they actually accomplish it obviously remains to be seen); they are 100% sure that they want to be small animal surgeons, or swine vets, or equine internists, or whatever. And I'm here changing my mind what seems like every other week. I have a lot of interests within the profession and I keep flip-flopping.

I came into school wanting to do industry poultry med because I really enjoyed getting to hang with a poultry (broiler) vet a couple of years ago and it's probably one of the best jobs for new grads in terms of salary and overall lifestyle, though finding externships/experience opportunities outside of school can be a bit difficult. Plus I love the idea of having an instrumental role in helping to provide the public with a cheap, easy-to-access protein source. But I've been speaking with a pathologist at school and participating in Path Club and now I'm quite interested in that, as well. I'm also into the standard small animal GP thing as well as avian med.

Gah. I know that I've still got a couple years to decide and even then I'm not limited to doing only one thing for the rest of my career, but still. I feel like nearly everyone I've talked to knows exactly what it is that they are aiming to do as a vet and that I'm behind the curve.
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Meh, people are probably still just mentioning what interest they had when they came into vet school. Some people will change their minds, some won't, and some will have to change their minds. It is still only first year, some people are still trying to decide in fourth year and some take internships after graduating without knowing for sure if they will specialize, what in or if they will go to GP. There's still a ton of time.
 
Many if not most of us are going to change our minds, even people who think they're 100% certain that they want to do a very specific thing. No way you're behind the curve. I'd say your being open to changing your path as you learn new things would actually put you ahead of the curve, in a sense, but in any case, it's nothing to worry about. Even if someone knows exactly what they're going to do, that doesn't mean they have everything figured out or that they have some kind of advantage.
 
SandstormDVM said:
Just some not-serious late night rambling... but out of curiosity, is anyone else not entirely sure what they want to do with their DVM?

It seems like everyone here knows for certain what they want to do (whether or not they actually accomplish it obviously remains to be seen); they are 100% sure that they want to be small animal surgeons, or swine vets, or equine internists, or whatever. And I'm here changing my mind what seems like every other week. I have a lot of interests within the profession and I keep flip-flopping.

I came into school wanting to do industry poultry med because I really enjoyed getting to hang with a poultry (broiler) vet a couple of years ago and it's probably one of the best jobs for new grads in terms of salary and overall lifestyle, though finding externships/experience opportunities outside of school can be a bit difficult. Plus I love the idea of having an instrumental role in helping to provide the public with a cheap, easy-to-access protein source. But I've been speaking with a pathologist at school and participating in Path Club and now I'm quite interested in that, as well. I'm also into the standard small animal GP thing as well as avian med.

Gah. I know that I've still got a couple years to figure things out and even then I'm not limited to doing only one thing for the rest of my career, but still. I feel like nearly everyone I've talked to knows exactly what it is that they are aiming to do as a vet and that I'm behind the curve.
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I don't know what I want to do. I have interested and ideas of things I like.... but you're not alone in flip flopping on different career ideas regularly!
 
SandstormDVM said:
Just some not-serious late night rambling... but out of curiosity, is anyone else not entirely sure what they want to do with their DVM?

It seems like everyone here knows for certain what they want to do (whether or not they actually accomplish it obviously remains to be seen); they are 100% sure that they want to be small animal surgeons, or swine vets, or equine internists, or whatever. And I'm here changing my mind what seems like every other week. I have a lot of interests within the profession and I keep flip-flopping.

I came into school wanting to do industry poultry med because I really enjoyed getting to hang with a poultry (broiler) vet a couple of years ago and it's probably one of the best jobs for new grads in terms of salary and overall lifestyle, though finding externships/experience opportunities outside of school can be a bit difficult. Plus I love the idea of having an instrumental role in helping to provide the public with a cheap, easy-to-access protein source. But I've been speaking with a pathologist at school and participating in Path Club and now I'm quite interested in that, as well. I'm also into the standard small animal GP thing as well as avian med.

Gah. I know that I've still got a couple years to figure things out and even then I'm not limited to doing only one thing for the rest of my career, but still. I feel like nearly everyone I've talked to knows exactly what it is that they are aiming to do as a vet and that I'm behind the curve.
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I want to do zoo, like that is my top tier big goal, but I could be happy doing a lot of things. Shelter, small animal + exotics, feline, and probably some other things I just haven't thought about or learned about yet. I'm interested in so much and so I try not to limit myself. I don't think there's anything wrong with not knowing exactly what you want to do. How would you really know for sure before you're exposed to all the field has to offer? I feel like almost every vet I've talked to ended up somewhere different than they thought they would be when they started school.
 
SandstormDVM said:
Just some not-serious late night rambling... but out of curiosity, is anyone else not entirely sure what they want to do with their DVM?

It seems like everyone here knows for certain what they want to do (whether or not they actually accomplish it obviously remains to be seen); they are 100% sure that they want to be small animal surgeons, or swine vets, or equine internists, or whatever. And I'm here changing my mind what seems like every other week. I have a lot of interests within the profession and I keep flip-flopping.

I came into school wanting to do industry poultry med because I really enjoyed getting to hang with a poultry (broiler) vet a couple of years ago and it's probably one of the best jobs for new grads in terms of salary and overall lifestyle, though finding externships/experience opportunities outside of school can be a bit difficult. Plus I love the idea of having an instrumental role in helping to provide the public with a cheap, easy-to-access protein source. But I've been speaking with a pathologist at school and participating in Path Club and now I'm quite interested in that, as well. I'm also into the standard small animal GP thing as well as avian med.

Gah. I know that I've still got a couple years to figure things out and even then I'm not limited to doing only one thing for the rest of my career, but still. I feel like nearly everyone I've talked to knows exactly what it is that they are aiming to do as a vet and that I'm behind the curve.
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I've known what I wanted to do since I got into vet school and that hasn't changed. That being said, I am definitely not the norm in my class or amongst people I know from other schools. It's incredibly common to change your mind, even all the way up until graduation!
 
And even after you graduate. A lot of professors here have worn many hats and there is a lot of career changing!
 
hazelmoo said:
Last night, I wrote my fiancé a very long, multiple page love letter, complete with a spray of my perfume and a kiss from my Rimmel Paris Cheeky Coral lipstick. Dear god, I've become one of "those".

:barf:
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Pretty sure if I did this, my husband would write back and ask where to send the ransom money to ensure my safe return.

(Seriously, though, enjoy being sappy. 🙂 )
 
Caiter92 said:
Who, me? I definitely won't try to use lots of Doctor lines. None at all, that's just silly :whistle:
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Senoritis must be some sort of latent infection and reemerges whenever you get stressed. Maybe we should make a vaccine against it.
 
Caiter92 said:
I'm pretty sure my senioritis from high school never went away...
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It would not be inaccurate to say I've been at least somewhat burned out at baseline since halfway through senior year of high school :hilarious:
 
My attention span is nonexistent this afternoon. focusing in class after a big exam in the morning is hard.
 
hazelmoo said:
Been FREAKING OUT about passing my biochem exam that I took this morning.... I did not feel prepared AT ALL... And I ended up doing really well. So shocked, but now I feel better about being able to make it through vet school!
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Same thing happened with my physio exam yesterday (wow it was just yesterday haha oh man), I wasn't really freaking out because I don't tend to do that, but I was so sure I had tanked it. Nope. Did better than I did on the first one. How even.
 
alohacat319 said:
This is how vet school is going for me right now. A note I took today that makes oh so much sense: View attachment 209402
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You could be the sixth sense version of the veterinary world! See the spirits of animals on the necropsy floor . . . Yeah, that's definitely what you were taking notes about. 😉
 
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