How do you stay awake?

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While I think Calliope is being a bit harsh (by her own admission), I don't think she's treating anyone like "a piece of dirt" here. She was reiterating the seriousness of the issue by putting it in a graduation context (i.e. "time is running out for you to fix this), not saying that the OP is unfit to be a vet.

Simmer down, y'all.
I disagree with her whole premise.
There is nothing for the individual to fix.
There is a systemic problem here that largely goes away after graduation (except for the poor saps going on to internships/residency they just delay the solution).

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Meanwhile, vet school still believes that long hours, being on-call without sleep, and other sleep-depriving practices are perfectly acceptable.

Not all vet schools are like this - when I was at Iowa State, the longest day was limited to 15 hours (and that was the emergency overnight shift on the ICU rotation) - there was a strict rule about not allowing students to do two ICU shifts back-to-back. So even if you had the emergency overnight shift 2 nights in a row, you still had an 8-hour break in-between. Going straight out for 15 hours is still exhausting, but we definitely had a chance to sleep. I saw somewhere in this forum that someone had to spend 36 hours straight in their teaching hospital - no one ever did that at Iowa when I was there.
 
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Not all vet schools are like this - when I was at Iowa State, the longest day was limited to 15 hours (and that was the emergency overnight shift on the ICU rotation) - there was a strict rule about not allowing students to do two ICU shifts back-to-back. So even if you had the emergency overnight shift 2 nights in a row, you still had an 8-hour break in-between. Going straight out for 15 hours is still exhausting, but we definitely had a chance to sleep. I saw somewhere in this forum that someone had to spend 36 hours straight in their teaching hospital - no one ever did that at Iowa when I was there.
See, that's good, but its not like in human medicine where the accrediting body has had some say and oversight. I know some schools still skirt the rules, but it would be nice to see some standards in place.
 
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Meanwhile, vet school still believes that long hours, being on-call without sleep, and other sleep-depriving practices are perfectly acceptable.
No, the problem is not Katryn, it is a ridiculous system that thinks your ability to work and learn effectively while sleep deprived is ok.

Glad I'm not the only one with this opinion. I can definitely understand how you could fall asleep in some of the topic rounds on certain rotations. It is very similar to being in lecture. My best way to stay awake is to eat a snack...or draw on my notes if no one is looking. It's definitely a struggle sometimes, especially when these topic rounds are at 4-5 pm and you've been awake and going non-stop since 6 am.
 
Yup, it's a systemic problem, and I agree it should be fixed......but falling asleep in rounds isn't going to do it, and isn't going to do anything for one's education or professional life either. You can work to change the system (i.e. petition the school to make changes), but your options until that change are either to opt out of the system or do whatever you need to do to continue in the system you've got now. Now that the OP is 6 months away from graduation, I'd think opting out wouldn't be a palatable option, so make whatever changes in your life you need to in order to continue through.
 
I'm just going to chime in here...

I am currently taking a break from school. The main reason is because I was tired all of the time. I would fall asleep in class if I didn't have enough caffeine. I would pinch myself and gulp cold water. It never worked. I couldn't stay awake when I was studying. Brain fog accompanied this.

For the longest time, I was convinced this was normal. I was told that it is normal to fall asleep in lecture or while studying. I was told that I was lazy and a procrastinator... that I would never amount to anything. I began to believe it until I crashed from fatigue and got to the point where I didnt want to live if I was going to be this tired.

I saw counselors for stress and MDs. When my MD wanted me on anti-depressants, I started seeing a naturopath. Three years later after my grades started slipping and my caffeine levels soured to keep me awake, I find out out that I have an mthfr mutation which caused B-12 deficiency. I only improved a little bit after treatment. I just found out I have a ferritin level of 12 (which is "in range" but my MD couldn't be bothered to see me about it)

There are many medical conditions that cause fatigue. If the tricks are not working and you feel like this isn't normal, don't be afraid to talk to a doctor and get some bloodwork done to rule out deficiencies or illness.
 
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