Class of 2021 . . . how ya doin?

[cdo96]

From what I've heard, Zuku is more geared towards visual learners (more pictures and things?) and vetprep is designed to present you with things in a way that is more similar to the NAVLE itself (aka all the images are ****ty lol).

I had Vetprep premium, did not do enough to get much use out of the premium features.

I think @cdo96 did Zuku so may be able to tell you more about specific features there.

Almost my entire class had Vetprep and I think it's just because they Vetprep rep came and talked to us and did trivia nights and we didn't hear from Zuku really at all.

I got Zuku premium. 10/10 would not recommend spending the extra money.

one thing I don’t like about zuku is that you essentially have to go through the 3200 questions twice. Once in “study mode” and once in “test mode” the average of the two is your official percentage. So I’m like 60% done on the study mode but only 38% done on test mode...

but it’s the same questions... so I think that’s frustrating

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[vetmedhead]

@vetmedhead please excuse my post-exam brain, but my melted brain has decided you need to go into therio so you can be Dr. Meats, The Meat Doctor™

Unfortunately I hate therio and basically want to do the opposite and spay/neuter the world

From what I've heard, Zuku is more geared towards visual learners (more pictures and things?) and vetprep is designed to present you with things in a way that is more similar to the NAVLE itself (aka all the images are ****ty lol).

I had Vetprep premium, did not do enough to get much use out of the premium features.

I think @cdo96 did Zuku so may be able to tell you more about specific features there.

Almost my entire class had Vetprep and I think it's just because they Vetprep rep came and talked to us and did trivia nights and we didn't hear from Zuku really at all.

I did Zuku because it was cheaper for me to purchase at the time. I did like the answer explanations (more thorough imo and had lots of good links for different topics) and I did feel like the questions were sometimes a little harder (or maybe just overtly confusing?) than the ones my friends showed me from VetPrep.

I also appreciated that a lot of the questions were long af and had lots of useless info in them... good practice on the timed practice exams for skimming to important info during NAVLE

Overall both of the softwares are going to get you to the same place so it doesn't really matter. Buy whichever one is cheapest unless you absolutely have some kind of deal breaker with one of them

The main thing I remember from checking out a classmates zuku is I think zuku has more questions and vetprep has a more detailed breakdown of your accuracy (ie zuku just breaks it down by species, vetprep breaks it down within each species so you can see not only your equine accuracy but your equine dermatology accuracy for example).

There were other differences but those are the two I remember for whatever reason.

As a personal preference I like the aesthetics of vetprep better.

I bought vetprep mainly bc I already got zuku questions of the day and I knew people from last year who had vetprep and liked it. I just didn't know anyone who had zuku to give me their thoughts.

Zuku is marginally less hideous in night mode, thank god

@jaboo I got vetprep for 2 reasons:

1. Zuku seems to have more "goofy" answers interspersed into their question bank, at least from what I've seen from friends who use it. I generally like having humor/fun mnemonics as a way of studying, but I didn't want my test prep software to throw me softballs because I'm guessing the actual NAVLE is not into having giggle moments with test takers

2. @SARdoghandler told me she liked the VetPrep mobile app a lot, and I agree. Zuku doesn't really have much on the mobile front afaik, and I use my phone a LOT for these kinds of things. It's easier to do a couple questions while I have some downtime than if I had to get out my laptop every time.

On the flip side, I do think that zuku seems to have better answer choice explanations most of the time.

Zulu's mobile app is basically a sin lol. I mean, functional I guess... but it's basically a link to their website on your phone lol

Also, NAVLE did have a FEW funny answer options - I can't remember it now but there was one entertaining enough that I told my mom about after I finished lol. But agree it's definitely not at the same rate as the funny options in Zuku haha

 

[finnickthedog]

I got Zuku premium. 10/10 would not recommend spending the extra money.

one thing I don’t like about zuku is that you essentially have to go through the 3200 questions twice. Once in “study mode” and once in “test mode” the average of the two is your official percentage. So I’m like 60% done on the study mode but only 38% done on test mode...

but it’s the same questions... so I think that’s frustrating

This is true of vetprep too though. There are a handful of questions that are only in practice mode or only in test mode but the vast majority is the same questions and your completion percentage is the average of both because completion is finishing both modes. The idea is for you to see each question at least twice because repetition is good or something like that. Regardless of how ya feel about it, it's the same on both so doesn't really matter for picking between them.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

on the vetprep vs zuku I know vetprep has navle like timed exams that are like 1 hour increments and zuku just says "timed mimic tests" are these also hour intervals?

 

[WildZoo]

This is true of vetprep too though. There are a handful of questions that are only in practice mode or only in test mode but the vast majority is the same questions and your completion percentage is the average of both because completion is finishing both modes. The idea is for you to see each question at least twice because repetition is good or something like that. Regardless of how ya feel about it, it's the same on both so doesn't really matter for picking between them.

Evidence that I didn't do enough of the program, I definitely felt like I had different questions for the practice ones vs the timed exams

 

[battie]

on the vetprep vs zuku I know vetprep has navle like timed exams that are like 1 hour increments and zuku just says "timed mimic tests" are these also hour intervals?

Yep. It's an hour and 5 minutes or something.

Zuku also lets you do different lengths of practice (non-timed) and "real" (timed) questions. For the timed sets, they adjust the timer. So 10 questions gets 10 minutes sort of thing.

 

[WildZoo]

Yep. It's an hour and 5 minutes or something.

Zuku also lets you do different lengths of practice (non-timed) and "real" (timed) questions. For the timed sets, they adjust the timer. So 10 questions gets 10 minutes sort of thing.

Yeah Vetprep is the same, you pick however many questions you want to do for the timed exams (between...5 and 60 questions I think) and it adjusts the timer.

 

[finnickthedog]

Yeah Vetprep is the same, you pick however many questions you want to do for the timed exams (between...5 and 60 questions I think) and it adjusts the timer.

Can confirm these numbers are correct. Why haven't you wiped this from your brain yet?

I didn't really like doing timed exams. While it's not terrible to go through 60 questions in a row... it's obnoxious to go through 60 explanations in a row when you finish the questions. So I started off doing 60 at a time and then lowered what I was doing to like... 10 questions at a time. I'd still do about 40-60 in one sitting most times, but in sets of 10.

 

[battie]

it's obnoxious to go through 60 explanations in a row when you finish the questions

Ain't going to lie, I only go through the ones I got wrong. I try to do a 60 question timed test, then 4 10 question regular question sets. I never go through questions I got right. Ain't nobody got time for that (if you're lazy like me).

 

[vetmedhead]

I got Zuku premium. 10/10 would not recommend spending the extra money.

one thing I don’t like about zuku is that you essentially have to go through the 3200 questions twice. Once in “study mode” and once in “test mode” the average of the two is your official percentage. So I’m like 60% done on the study mode but only 38% done on test mode...

but it’s the same questions... so I think that’s frustrating

Agree here too! Also their counting is off, because if you go above 80 on one but slightly below on another, even though overall you're above 80% done total it won't show it as 80% until you're 80% on both categories

 

[finnickthedog]

Ain't going to lie, I only go through the ones I got wrong. I try to do a 60 question timed test, then 4 10 question regular question sets. I never go through questions I got right. Ain't nobody got time for that (if you're lazy like me).

Yeah... for me, I went through them all unless it was a question I really recently read the explanation too. I liked to know if I was right for the right reasons and sometimes there's information in the explanation that I either didn't know or have forgotten or even just reading it again will (hopefully) help it stick better.

I was actually more likely to skip an explanation I got wrong because I knew the question would come around again.

But at any rate, going through 60 explanations in a row is a special brand of torture that I gave up on putting myself through almost immediately. I started doing 30 at a time and then worked my way down to 10.

 

[Trilt]

Zuku does have more images, but they are absolute trash most the time lol. I bought premium.

This is a pro not a con. The pictures in the navle are trash, too, lol, it's preparing you.

I recommend zuku, 100% because the owl is cute.

(Both will work juuuust fine).

 

[vetmedhead]

This is a pro not a con. The pictures in the navle are trash, too, lol, it's preparing you.

I recommend zuku, 100% because the owl is cute.

(Both will work juuuust fine).

NAVLE: *photo of potato taken by 1870s era spy camera hidden in a log*
NAVLE: What disease is this a classic finding for?
Is it... a radiograph? Photo of an eye? A limb perhaps???

 

[jaboo]

Y’all are the best

 

[SkiOtter]

Unfortunately I hate therio and basically want to do the opposite and spay/neuter the world

Dude same. Can we just open a spay neuter clinic together please

 

[vetmedhead]

Dude same. Can we just open a spay neuter clinic together please

I will handle baby kitties exclusively

 

[SkiOtter]

I will handle baby kitties exclusively

Deal. I will take the baby puppies.

 

[genny]

I will handle baby kitties exclusively

Deal. I will take the baby puppies.

Y'all are crazy. Give me the pittie mamas who have had like 6 litters so everything is so floppy and easy to see. Or the young bunny spays, before they pack all that fat in their broad ligaments,

 

[vetmedhead]

Y'all are crazy. Give me the pittie mamas who have had like 6 litters so everything is so floppy and easy to see. Or the young bunny spays, before they pack all that fat in their broad ligaments,

I spayed a 2 lb kitten today and it felt like I was very gently threading the eye of a needle the whole time

I just like kittens, okay?!

 

[genny]

I spayed a 2 lb kitten today and it felt like I was very gently threading the eye of a needle the whole time

I just like kittens, okay?!

They hold together a lot better than older cat spays though, once the uterus gets friable during heat. I worry more about the anesthetic complications for the baby kitties since they get so cold so fast.

 

[KCgophervet]

I also appreciated that a lot of the questions were long af and had lots of useless info in them... good practice on the timed practice exams for skimming to important info during NAVLE

This is NAVLE in a nutshell. Start by scrolling to the question and reading that first, will save yourself a lot of time.

 

[WildZoo]

Ain't going to lie, I only go through the ones I got wrong. I try to do a 60 question timed test, then 4 10 question regular question sets. I never go through questions I got right. Ain't nobody got time for that (if you're lazy like me).

Yeah I also only looked at the ones I got wrong, or ones I knew I was 100% guessing on

 

[WildZoo]

They hold together a lot better than older cat spays though, once the uterus gets friable during heat. I worry more about the anesthetic complications for the baby kitties since they get so cold so fast.

5 minute spay, no time to get cold

 

[cohen2000]

Posting here since a lot of you guys are dealing with this right now and we’re about to get charmed by both companies: Zuku or VetPrep?

I know that either will work, but what are the main differences and what makes you like one over the other?

I didn’t have the energy to search for this on the search bar because I just can’t with online lectures this week. We’re 110+ lectures in and the semester is only half over.

Our school paid for a VetPrep subscription so that's what I'm using. I feel like it's prepared me well, but we'll find in a month.

 

[Trilt]

They hold together a lot better than older cat spays though, once the uterus gets friable during heat. I worry more about the anesthetic complications for the baby kitties since they get so cold so fast.

What, you don't like when uteruses just ****ing rip in half in your hand?

*Nam dog style flashbacks to my last feral cat flank spay where I nearly had to open her midline because her post partum uterus just fell apart with traction*

 

[Trilt]

I love spaying and neutering kittens because they just seriously don't give a ****. Quickly neutered one of the assistants' kittens yesterday during a lull in my ER shift and as soon as his DKT wore off he was frolicking under and over everything in the front desk, purring up a storm and making biscuits on us.

I had to convince her that, yes, please take the buprenorphine home with him, I promise having your balls ripped out does hurt once the local wears off lol.

 

[battie]

Questions to other 4th years: how late do your clinicians message/text you at night?

 

[finnickthedog]

Questions to other 4th years: how late do your clinicians message/text you at night?

I don't think I've ever been texted by a clinician at night unless I was on call or I texted them first to ask a question.

 

[cdo96]

Questions to other 4th years: how late do your clinicians message/text you at night?

 

[Coopah]

Questions to other 4th years: how late do your clinicians message/text you at night?

I got one at 9:30 other than when I was on call (yay 2am call in)

 

[finnickthedog]

I got one at 9:30 other than when I was on call (yay 2am call in)

Ew, y'all get called in at 2 am? Pretty sure the latest we can called in is like... 10 pm.

 

[Coopah]

Ew, y'all get called in at 2 am? Pretty sure the latest we can called in is like... 10 pm.

I was lucky, it was a weekend so I didn't have to stay when I got out around 5:30

 

[cdo96]

Ew, y'all get called in at 2 am? Pretty sure the latest we can called in is like... 10 pm.

I got called in twice in one night. Once for a hemilaminectomy at 5pm and the other for a GDV at 1 am.

 

[finnickthedog]

I got called in twice in one night. Once for a hemilaminectomy at 5pm and the other for a GDV at 1 am.

Gross. I've never had on call that long or that late.

 

[WildZoo]

Gross. I've never had on call that long or that late.

That's interesting! We had overnight and weekend on call shifts for surgery rotations and for anesthesia in small animal, and also shared across the in-house large animal rotations.

 

[WildZoo]

Oh we had on call shifts for the large animal field service rotations too. I can't remember if that included nights or if it was just weekends

 

[battie]

Ew, y'all get called in at 2 am? Pretty sure the latest we can called in is like... 10 pm.

Even for things like surgery, isolation, or ICU shifts?

I'm only asking because I've had multiple clinicians on multiple services message me about paperwork in particular several times. So i was curious what the culture was like at other schools.

 

[finnickthedog]

That's interesting! We had overnight and weekend on call shifts for surgery rotations and for anesthesia in small animal, and also shared across the in-house large animal rotations.

Even for things like surgery, isolation, or ICU shifts?

I'm only asking because I've had multiple clinicians on multiple services message me about paperwork in particular several times. So i was curious what the culture was like at other schools.

We have night and weekend on call shifts for surgery, anesthesia, and large animal but they don't last until 1 or 2 am. And not for 8+ hours at a time unless a student chose to to take both on call shifts on a weekend day.

We also have on call for ECC but that's different since you're only on call for the hours of your normal shift (day or night) and they basically never call the on call student anyways so it's effectively just a second day off per week.

 

[battie]

We're on call for our ICU/ISO/ER while on other services. Then the average on call shifts for all other services with the exception of, like, derm.

Between the on call for service with on call and the services on call for ICU/ISO/ER, we average being on call about every 3 days. And you're there until your dismissed. Sunday night, I can get called in at 11 pm, get done with surgery at 5, and my soft tissue surgery rotation starts at 5:30. I'm expected to be there for my whole unless the faculty l have dismisses me (unlikely since the shift is till noon).

 

[finnickthedog]

We're on call for our ICU/ISO/ER while on other services.

This is weird to me. We definitely don't have that.

And you're there until your dismissed.

We're also there until we're dismissed but if we haven't been called in by like 10-11pm then we aren't getting called in because that's the end of our on call shift (for nights). So when I've been called in I didn't get home until like 1 am and it conceivably could have been longer if things had taken longer (ie had my colic horse I was called in for been surgical I'm sure I'd have been there longer) but I wasn't getting called in at 1 am.

 

[finnickthedog]

Nobody asked but I keep looking for excuses not to study today so here are some random numbers from my spreadsheet of patients.

I have seen 28 different breeds of dog and 3 different breeds of cat.

Mixed breeds aside, I have seen more Labs than any other type of dog.

My youngest small animal patient was 5 weeks old and my oldest was 20 years.

I have seen 3 times as many dogs as I have cats. I have seen equal numbers of horses and cows. I have not seen any other species.

I have seen more females dogs than male... but more male cats than female.

 

[battie]

It sounds like I want your school's on call schedule. Lol

end of our on call shift (for nights).

Who is on call after?

 

[cdo96]

Nobody asked but I keep looking for excuses not to study today so here are some random numbers from my spreadsheet of patients.

I have seen 28 different breeds of dog and 3 different breeds of cat.

Mixed breeds aside, I have seen more Labs than any other type of dog.

My youngest small animal patient was 5 weeks old and my oldest was 20 years.

I have seen 3 times as many dogs as I have cats. I have seen equal numbers of horses and cows. I have not seen any other species.

I have seen more females dogs than male... but more male cats than female.

I saw my first Borzoi this week and I don’t know how to feel about that

 

[finnickthedog]

Who is on call after?

Idk. I assume there are still doctors on call, just not students. I know the interns/residents have on call hours but I don't know what those hours are.

At least with my experiences getting called in it's not like they needed a student there anyways. Did I help? Yes. Was it a good learning experience? Yes. Was I actually necessary for things to get done? Not really.

I saw my first Borzoi this week and I don’t know how to feel about that

Haven't seen a Borzoi yet. Greyhound is the only sighthound I've seen so far.

 

[cdo96]

Idk. I assume there are still doctors on call, just not students. I know the interns/residents have on call hours but I don't know what those hours are.

At least with my experiences getting called in it's not like they needed a student there anyways. Did I help? Yes. Was it a good learning experience? Yes. Was I actually necessary for things to get done? Not really.




Haven't seen a Borzoi yet. Greyhound is the only sighthound I've seen so far.

I’ve seen a Borzoi, a whippet, and an Italian greyhound (not sure if that counts as a sighthound? A mini sight hound??)

 

[cdo96]

also I had a dog that the owners claimed was a Portuguese Pondengo, but it was 100% just a chihuahua mix

 

[finnickthedog]

also I had a dog that the owners claimed was a Portuguese Pondengo, but it was 100% just a chihuahua mix

I had a cat who was listed as a siamese but was like the most DSH looking DSH you've ever seen.

 

[cdo96]

I had a cat who was listed as a siamese but was like the most DSH looking DSH you've ever seen.

I had a “Norwegian Forest Cat” that was just a fat DLH with diabetes

 

[finnickthedog]

I had a “Norwegian Forest Cat” that was just a fat DLH with diabetes

I mean... still probably more believable than my siamese . This cat wasn't even pointed, let alone having any other breed resemblance.

 

[finnickthedog]

You may have done too much studying when...

You see a picture of this glass tree on facebook and your brain says "ascarids"