Ok, Ill give a disclaimer that what Ill reply are just my views on these questions. Im sure if you ask other people theyll tell you give you varying responses (basically I just dont want anyone getting mad and saying thats not what person x told me)
Also, the post ended up being somewhat long, so good luck reading!
1. Do you like the PBL system? Do you use PBL in the "big" classes such as anatomy/physiology, etc.? Can you give us some examples of how PBL is used?
I really enjoy PBL and am really glad that we have it in our curriculum. It has definitely helped my problem solving skills and helped to train us to think more medically at a presenting case.
At the beginning of the semester, everyone is assigned to a group of about 8. My group gets along really well, but there were a few groups that had some issues first semester. They seem to have settled down 2nd semester, though. PBL is a series of classes, and thus, not necessarily incorporated with our other classes. We had an Intro to PBL first semester which reviewed research resources and gave us some little problems to work on as well as teaching us the basics of SOAP writing (basically case write-ups).
This semester we worked with the same group and had a facilitator assigned to make sure we stay on task and what not. We were given 2 weeks for the class, one week per case. At first we were given a very basic idea of the animal and presenting problem. We then had to ask questions to gather a more complete history and begin researching to find out more about normal values (for resp, heart rate, temp, behavior, common diseases). These are historical cases so we never see the animal, but we receive the test results as we request them.
PBLs hard to explain without doing it, but I thought it was a very helpful experience and a good way to begin the second semester. (LSUs also on a block schedule. So, while youll have 20 something hours, youll only be taking 3 4 classes at a time).
2. How's housing been since Katrina? Is it hard to find decent housing? What's it like living there?
Housing immediately after Katrina was impossible to find, but I think everything has settled down significantly after New Orleans was re-opened and people could move back. I really enjoy living here; the foods awesome, Ive met a lot of great people, we get time off for Mardi Gras, and Louisiana definitely has a unique cultural feel. I also swing dance (when I can find spare time), so being close to New Orleans and all of the jazz musicians is definitely a bonus.
3. Are there many opportunities for research or summer internships? In what areas of vet med?
Dr. Klei is responsible for the big grant research opportunities and is very willing to help you find a position. Also, a lot of the clubs post different positions as they become available from the surrounding area or from national grants. I would assume this is similar to most Vet Schools.
Within the building there are all sorts of research opportunities to help out with, but I havent been looking at too many of them so I cant give specifics. I do know that with the national grants you are also able to apply to work with Pennington (a Biomedical research facility in Baton Rouge) or with the Primate Center, which is near New Orleans, so its definitely not limited to just opportunities within the Vet School.
4. Are you part of a cohesive class or is it every man/woman for himself/herself?
I have some awesome friends in my class, but feel like I get along with pretty much everybody. There are definitely groups throughout it, but I dont feel like our class is different than any other random group of 80 something people placed in a room for the majority of the day for extended periods of time. ;-)
My class has been called incohesive by some of the other people in the Vet School, but we had an extremely rough first semester and I havent really heard of any complaints about that within my class. Each class is different, but LSU has started adding a day to orientation for team building activities. I really enjoyed that day and was able to meet a lot of my classmates in a non-academic setting, which I feel helped people feel more at ease, especially in the first few weeks.
I hope this has been helpful, and if you have more questions feel free to keep asking. Also, sorry the reply's been a bit delayed, we've had Mardi Gras break
