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Not really.
Hardest year in vet school? And summarize each year in 25 words or less.
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I probably would have but I ended up taking a gap year due to how my application cycle worked out.
This is a huge fear of mine going into my internship though. I'm planning on doing a lot of working out, pleasure reading, drinking and sitting by a beach to help me feel less burnt out.
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The first post in this entire thread that completely resonated with me.
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It's the opposite for me, too. Especially since I've noticed that rote memorization is definitely more difficult for me now, near 30, than it was 10 years ago, and I imagine it's not going to improve. I've had a ton of practice in learning complex concepts in different subjects from spending a billion years in school, but I'm terrified of subjects like anatomy with all the origins/insertions and innervations. Working as an assistant/tech has done wonders for my comfort level with technical things, and I've always done well with learning how to do things with my hands. It's the nitty gritty detail and volume of material that scares the ever-loving crap out of me.
If we could all just mush our brains together...
As for impostor syndrome, it's so, so common among grad and professional students. I guess you kind of get used to it after a while. I definitely suffered from it in grad school, but when I look back on what I wrote then, I think, "Wait, I actually used to know all that?". It really is amazing how little credit we give ourselves sometimes, and a little bit of perspective can help.
Since grad school, my method of dealing with it has been accepting that this is how my mind works sometimes and that this is how a little anxiety and self doubt manifests itself, so I decide not to let those thoughts occupy much mental real estate. Instead of dwelling on those thoughts, I try my best to identify them as a roadblock, explain them to myself, and then move on. Yeah, so what if I don't know absolutely everything? Neither does anyone else. So what if I got a B- in organic II? It's not the end of the world and it doesn't mean I'll never amount to anything. Failing or doing poorly isn't the worst thing that could ever happen to you, nor does it define who you are.
I find that a lot of high achievers tend to downplay their successes for fear of seeming too proud or boastful. But in my experience, that tends to just make impostor syndrome worse. I don't think everyone needs to be shouting from the rooftops and telling everyone they meet that they got an A in biochem, but if you do get an A in biochem, acknowledge your hard work and let yourself feel proud about it. Maybe quietly.
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This thread both scares me and makes me feel better. I'm coming to terms with the reality that vet school will be demanding and overwhelming. One of the worst feelings for me is being seemingly alone in those feelings, so reading this had helped me see that nearly everyone shares the feelings that I will eventually encounter. When I feel like my feelings and anxiety and struggles are unique and "no one understands," that's when the depression sets in. That's when I start losing motivation and gain the "what's the point" attitude.
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I like @cowgirla 's summary best, even though these are all very real, haha.
First year - far and away the worst year. So many adjustments. In another country 1200 miles away from home, my now-husband, family, friends, everything. Everything very different from where I grew up. And then, oh yeah, start learning how to vet school...
Second year - better schedule, more interesting courses. Interesting, more applicable stuff.
Third year - so many things to know, exams at every turn, first surgeries and then major burn out at the end as fourth year becomes more and more real.
Fourth year - my favorite year. Long hours, hard work but working with classmates in a hands-on setting, getting to play doctor with a knowledgeable attending at your side so you don't goof too bad. Some days were great, some days were awful but by and large the best year of vet school.
First year - far and away the worst year. So many adjustments. In another country 1200 miles away from home, my now-husband, family, friends, everything. Everything very different from where I grew up. And then, oh yeah, start learning how to vet school...
Second year - better schedule, more interesting courses. Interesting, more applicable stuff.
Third year - so many things to know, exams at every turn, first surgeries and then major burn out at the end as fourth year becomes more and more real.
Fourth year - my favorite year. Long hours, hard work but working with classmates in a hands-on setting, getting to play doctor with a knowledgeable attending at your side so you don't goof too bad. Some days were great, some days were awful but by and large the best year of vet school.
D
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Was I burnt out from undergrad? Absolutely. I had not taken one day off of schoolwork since I was 14. I was just so done and ready for a break. That being said, I had graduated and was essentially forced to take 3 months off before vet school. I worked the whole time but that break really recharged me. Plus, vet school was new and exciting and there would be no more humanities prereqs. It was just medicine, and I really looked forward to that.
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You sound like me. I'm actually a lib arts major and while I thought the humanities would keep me from going on science overdose, those classes gave me stress as well, if not more than the science courses. I do think it will be nice to focus on medicine, though I know there will be things in vet school I won't enjoy. For me, I think it's less of doing things I don't like and more of a need for a change in scenery. The same small college town for four years gets to be a little much. Gosh, I'm ready for May.
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I envied those who went straight from undergrad into vet school! They were used to memorization, class schedules, exams, and note taking, whereas I hadn't been in school for over 10 years until the 2 part time years I took to get my missing pre-reqs before applying.
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I'm gonna miss my lit and writing classes actually...hoping I can make the time to still read and write a little every day
Yeah....I'm only taking 1 class to finish up while working full time (and doing a bunch of other things) and I just can barely make myself work on it (self-paced). I'm like wait, study? No... I want to go out and play! The adjustment scares me the most. And having old people brain...and alcohol tolerance.
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I always think of the most intense scenarios when someone says "...defending my thesis." I wish it went down like I imagine.
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There should be flamethrowers!
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Amen. It had been, uh, 15 years for me. And on top of it, I had failed out 15 years earlier. The combination of re-adjustment (from the long amount of time out of school) plus anxiety (failing out previously) really sucked. I felt a little envious of my smarter classmates who just went straight from undergrad into vet school.
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Thanks @w2vm for starting this thread. I received my acceptance e-mail and a few days later thought it must be a mistake. I had to call the school just to make sure it was "really real." Even after receiving a call this week from the school to set up my e-mail account, I still feel the same. It's ridiculous. It helps to know that others have similar feelings, and also to see current students/graduates describe their experiences. So awesome of everyone to be so open and honest. I graduated in 2009, so I know I will be coping with being in school full time/completely new environment and routine, but I am so freaking happy that I hope it helps the transition!
...if I was in fact supposed to get that acceptance
...if I was in fact supposed to get that acceptance
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1st year: Not too bad, I think I can handle this
2nd year (mostly 2nd semester): This is ridiculous.
3rd year (1st semester): I hate my life.
3rd year 2nd semester-4th year: I cannot wait to GTFO.
2nd year (mostly 2nd semester): This is ridiculous.
3rd year (1st semester): I hate my life.
3rd year 2nd semester-4th year: I cannot wait to GTFO.
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It can definitely be a full-on war sometimes. All of the experts in your field trying to rip apart your research/thesis. A flamethrower would definitely liven up the party.
D
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I like your analysis. There were moments during my last set of exams that I was giggling during the exam because of the ridiculousness of it. I just couldn't help
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I'm not sure how to interpret "hardest".....
First year induced the most anxiety for me with the whole "will I pass" thing.
Second year with its 30-some credits/semester just made me want to kill myself from overload.
Third year was awesome, especially second semester. Less so because of "gee whiz, real medicine classes" factor and moreso because of the "only taking 20 credits" factor. It was like vacation. It helped that I quit studying for exams.
Fourth year had its ups n downs but was probably the best year overall. Most interesting, anyway. I liked rounds on most services.
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First year induced the most anxiety for me with the whole "will I pass" thing.
Second year with its 30-some credits/semester just made me want to kill myself from overload.
Third year was awesome, especially second semester. Less so because of "gee whiz, real medicine classes" factor and moreso because of the "only taking 20 credits" factor. It was like vacation. It helped that I quit studying for exams.
Fourth year had its ups n downs but was probably the best year overall. Most interesting, anyway. I liked rounds on most services.
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The unit course-load particularly worries me. Since my undergrad was spread out over many years and I was doing other stuff at the same time I was in college, I never had a semester above 15 credits. 30 credits sounds insane, I really don't know how I would handle that...
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Study groups, bro. Even if you study by yourself in the group, it takes the stress off cause you're all commiserating in your misery.
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I've been meaning to ask, what about vet school makes it so difficult? Right now, I'm burnt out with all the dumb little papers, lab reports, and online quizzes. I actually welcome classes that are just lectures with 2 exams. Did anybody else feel excited to focus only on these classes and medicine specifically?
I'm not sure how to interpret "units". They say at least 3 hours studying outside of class for every 1 unit in UG right? But we all know that always didn't correlate. Some 1 credit hour labs took FOREVER and some 3 credit hour classes were a breeze. I realize it's going to be a LOT of work, but don't scare yourself until you see it. Just realize you will have to stay on top of it and don't get behind early on.
Have you read the why med school is like eating pancakes story?
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Yes, it made me really hungry for pancakes.
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so you take more classes than 4 or 5 (or whatever your undergrad capped you at). I think my least stressful semester we still took 8 classes with labs. And often there are more than 2 tests per class. It becomes a marathon of getting from test to test without failing out. It's entirely doable, but it's stressful.
And if you think group presentations and papers stop at vet school, think again.
Ha, I haven't had pancakes since.
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That ending. Never eating pancakes again.
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Yeah. Well. That part can be sorta nice.... but the thing is: 90% of the classes aren't interesting, or aren't taught in a way that's relevant to what you want to do, or .... etc. Vet school isn't all "Oh look - now I'm learning medicine so every class is AWESOME!". Really, most classes aren't awesome and it's a lot of drudgery to learn all the underpinnings so that you can Do Medicine Later.
What makes it difficult is the volume. I had a 13-class semester in year 2 with 30+ credits. Sure, a couple were 1 credit classes, but still ... 13 classes in a semester that included clinical pathology, neuro, ophtho, toxicology, and cardio, surgery, another radiology, and urinary............. Stack that against your 4- or 5-class undergrad semester. Even if they aren't a huge load individually, just keeping track of all that stuff can get annoying. And it might only be a couple exams per class, but that still ends up meaning a mid-term level exam at least weekly. It was a rare week we didn't have at least one major exam, unlike undergrad where you basically coast through until mid-terms and then coast until finals.
And then you get a class (neuropharm, in our case) that has exactly one-test-one-grade and you're like "well, great that I only have to study for one exam, but holy hell I'd better not screw it up". Suddenly having a bunch of exams reminds you that at least you have room to make up for a bad grade.
We didn't do many papers (I don't really remember doing any in vet school), but we had tons of online quizzes, group projects, the occasional presentation, etc. A lot of that "little nitpicky crap" stuff continues right on through vet school.
It's purely the volume + time management that makes vet school so difficult. Combine that with feeling like so much of it isn't INTERESTING (especially when you go in thinking "oh, this will be so exciting!").... I mean, my god, every time we had a cow lecture I wanted to shoot myself. And I'm sure the cow people felt that way every time we had some dog lecture.
But it's doable. Just keep reminding yourself that thousands of people have done it before you just fine, and thousands will after, and you will too.
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I want to see Tridents and hand grenades
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I had a 21 credit semester in undergrad and while it was a lot of work, I feel like the credit to amount of work ratio in vet school really varies. I'm on a rotation now that only meets 4 days over 2 weeks and is like 3 credits bUT has a butt load of busy work.
I found that true for some courses too. Obviously some heavy credit course like anatomy require a lot of time but I was suprised by the amount of busy work some lighter credit courses had too.
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Thanks for the advice everyone. I knew about senioritis and all that, but when I got my acceptance it hit me like a brick wall. Luckily, I can afford to take the summer off to regroup and hopefully my stubborn excitement will carry me at least halfway through year 1.
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I can say with 100% certainty that my stubborn excitement will carry me at least halfway through day 1. Beyond that, it's a total crapshoot and depends on whether I've slept and had breakfast.
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It is the non-stop onslaught of new information. The never-ending exams, you seriously think there is no way that you could STILL have an exam next week, but nope, you do and you don't just have one, you have two, or three, or four. "Dumb little papers" don't go away, heck I have to write one up for the current rotation I am in. I am also currently in the middle of creating a presentation for a course for final year. We sill have quizzes (online ones) during courses, heck, I had some in fourth year rotations. Granted by fourth year you kind of go "meh" and don't bother with any studying (at least I did). You don't just focus specifically on medicine. And damn if I didn't want to die during every pig/bird lecture. Sheep parasitology? Yup, still don't care. Maerk's disease vs. avian luekosis (are those the ones that look similar, hell if I can remember anymore), definitely do NOT care. Rinderpest... yup, not caring, bored. Random diseases in food animals that currently exists only in other countries but they still make you learn them in case one of them shows up here in the US... yup REALLY DO NOT CARE. And on and on and on... there is so much volume in veterinary medicine and during veterinary school that you do just get beat down with all of it. And quite a bit of the information is really not interesting, you have no idea how many lectures on pig diseases I had to force myself out of bed to attend (if I could even get myself out of bed). And I know many food animal people felt that way about lectures on feline medicine.
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The worst lecture I remember from vet school was on teat surgery in cows - I SO wanted to shoot myself...
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Well, they've now officially announced that Rinderpest has been eradicated globally, so aren't you glad you learned all about it, LOL. Actually, declaring it eradicated was a big deal, to those who live and work in those areas.
I swear our class did pretty well in Swine Medicine mostly because we all showed up for lectures and didn't goof off, showing the prof we at least respected her time, even if nobody really cared about swine medicine.
I swear our class did pretty well in Swine Medicine mostly because we all showed up for lectures and didn't goof off, showing the prof we at least respected her time, even if nobody really cared about swine medicine.
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For some of my classes, this was the only reason I went. I just wanted to respect their time, even though they taught purely off of powerpoint and never used anything from the book. Micro and Zoo were good examples of that.
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Aw gawd. When exams each week cover 40-50 hours worth of lecture material. ****ing sucks man. Just remembering that makes my head hurt.
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Hey, it's remembering a surgical technique that made me argue with a vet and get a second opinion when my Nubian caught a teat on the fence (nearly ripped it off). He was willing to stitch it up my way rather than cut it off and she's back to 100%, fully healed.
Actually probably better than she was. Her teat had a bit of a blow out, so she got a nip tuck.
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It wasn't the subject matter so much as the way it was presented - no prepared notes, no PowerPoint, just the prof talking really fast while he drew on the chalkboard udder after udder after udder - I was so busy trying to copy down what he was drawing on the board that, at the end of the lecture, all I had were pages of drawings of cow udders and teats with a few lines and arrows pointing to certain parts - I literally learned nothing from that lecture at all. Oh, and as soon as he was through with one drawing, he would immediately erase it and start drawing another one. Probably would have been interesting if the guy had had any clue how to teach... As it was, the vast majority of the kids in my class were saying "Thank God I'm not planning to work on cows... because I still don't know anything about teat surgery." The only time goats were ever mentioned in my entire curriculum, by the way, was in infectious disease class.
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The structure of each gland isn't too much different. Whether it is a cow or a goat, the part that gets busted into with a typical teat injury is the wall around the cistern (where milk pools before flowing through the orifice). General gist is thin, rubbery wall that deals with a lot of pressure and baby teeth or hands or a milk machine. If it gets a hole, it's kinda like trying to repair a slowly inflating bike innertube.
But I see your point. I really dislike those lectures. I had one class where I thought I was learning a ton until I went back over notes to study for the test. Lots of hastily drawn pictures, few words, and no idea what any of it was in reference to. Or the disease class with lots of pictures as the notes and the only option was printing in black and white so all the pics became useless.
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And, let's be honest, some of us don't care about teat surgey (or really anything) on cattle or goats.
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I see you in the front row though, since the material slightly resembles tits.
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All about that "hands on learning"
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Reading this thread only serves to remind me how much I hated vet school. Every time I walk through the hospital now and see the students I just think....thank god that isn't me.
I almost dropped out my third year due to burnout/near mental breakdown. And, just as they say, it takes you 2-3x as long to recover from something like that as you spend going though it. Almost 6 years post-graduation I'm still dealing with repercussions of the stress and my poor coping mechanisms. It doesn't really matter which year is the hardest.....you need to find healthy outlets and work/life balance as early as you can. And I'm not just saying that to sound wise or pompous, I'm serious.
I almost dropped out my third year due to burnout/near mental breakdown. And, just as they say, it takes you 2-3x as long to recover from something like that as you spend going though it. Almost 6 years post-graduation I'm still dealing with repercussions of the stress and my poor coping mechanisms. It doesn't really matter which year is the hardest.....you need to find healthy outlets and work/life balance as early as you can. And I'm not just saying that to sound wise or pompous, I'm serious.
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I needed to see this. I'm trying to find better ways to manage stress before I start.
