Midwestern University DVM 2021

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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Has anyone who was waitlisted for an interview been granted one yet? or are they finished with interviews? When I logged onto the portal yesterday I had to verify my address and information so now I'm pretty scared that means I will receive a denial. :(
 
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Puppylovedvmhopeful said:
Has anyone who was waitlisted for an interview been granted one yet? or are they finished with interviews? When I logged onto the portal yesterday I had to verify my address and information so now I'm pretty scared that means I will receive a denial. :(
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Don't worry about having to verify address and contact info. That verification page pops up regularly. As a current student I just had to verify mine just a few days ago!
 
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Puppylovedvmhopeful said:
Has anyone who was waitlisted for an interview been granted one yet? or are they finished with interviews? When I logged onto the portal yesterday I had to verify my address and information so now I'm pretty scared that means I will receive a denial. :(
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My status is still waitlisted, and I had to re-confirm my address etc. over the weekend. I've had to do it twice before within the cycle, so it seems to be a regular thing, as other people are saying.
 
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Just gave up my interview as I got accepted to my in state. Good luck guys
 
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Just declined my acceptance because I was accepted at a school higher on my list. I hope it'll help move that list! Good luck everyone, I truly loved it there, but too expensive and a big adjustment for me.
 
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mdsniper7 said:
Just gave up my interview as I got accepted to my in state. Good luck guys
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findlay2016 said:
Just declined my acceptance because I was accepted at a school higher on my list. I hope it'll help move that list! Good luck everyone, I truly loved it there, but too expensive and a big adjustment for me.
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You the real MVP's :thumbup:
 
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mdsniper7 said:
Just gave up my interview as I got accepted to my in state. Good luck guys
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findlay2016 said:
Just declined my acceptance because I was accepted at a school higher on my list. I hope it'll help move that list! Good luck everyone, I truly loved it there, but too expensive and a big adjustment for me.
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Good luck to you both and congratulations!
 
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Just wondering if anyone knows how many spots are left? Also, I sent my final transcripts from fall, does the admission committee take those grades into consideration? {Patiently waiting for that interview....:rofl:}
 
Phaedra said:
Just wondering if anyone knows how many spots are left? Also, I sent my final transcripts from fall, does the admission committee take those grades into consideration? {Patiently waiting for that interview....:rofl:}
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I think they would take those transcripts into consideration. I updated them with info post VMCAS submission and they added it to my file!
 
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Are there any current students who chose MWU over another school that I could PM for some advice? :)
 
dairyqueen said:
Are there any current students who chose MWU over another school that I could PM for some advice? :)
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I chose Midwestern over Western, which was my top choice before interviewing at MWU, feel free to message me!
 
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An upperclassman here, I chose Midwestern over Ohio State.
PM me if you want to know more details, I'd be happy to answer any of your questions. Welcome to Midwestern CVM.
 
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Hey guys, so maybe some of you can help me on here. I was just accepted to one of my top choice schools. It is fully accredited (has been for a while), and is cheaper than Midwestern. Rent is also low in that area. I have an interview at Midwestern coming up soon. I would LOVE to visit the school since I've heard so many amazing things about it, but am really hesitant since I have already been accepted somewhere. Midwestern is the most expensive option for me out of all of the places I have received interviews, but I love the fact that it is right near Phoenix and in a relatively large city. I am hesitant only because of the tuition and that it is a new school and is not fully accredited yet until their first class graduates. If I do choose to still go to my interview it will cost me several hundred dollars as well as having to miss an important class. I am just wondering if it is worth it for me to even go and still visit the school. I would love to be able to, but don't know what to do and I am running out of time.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 
PreVetMed said:
Hey guys, so maybe some of you can help me on here. I was just accepted to one of my top choice schools. It is fully accredited (has been for a while), and is cheaper than Midwestern. Rent is also low in that area. I have an interview at Midwestern coming up soon. I would LOVE to visit the school since I've heard so many amazing things about it, but am really hesitant since I have already been accepted somewhere. Midwestern is the most expensive option for me out of all of the places I have received interviews, but I love the fact that it is right near Phoenix and in a relatively large city. I am hesitant only because of the tuition and that it is a new school and is not fully accredited yet until their first class graduates. If I do choose to still go to my interview it will cost me several hundred dollars as well as having to miss an important class. I am just wondering if it is worth it for me to even go and still visit the school. I would love to be able to, but don't know what to do and I am running out of time.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Click to expand...

@hazelmoo @cheddar87 @WildAnimal @Penelope Renee
 
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PreVetMed said:
Hey guys, so maybe some of you can help me on here. I was just accepted to one of my top choice schools. It is fully accredited (has been for a while), and is cheaper than Midwestern. Rent is also low in that area. I have an interview at Midwestern coming up soon. I would LOVE to visit the school since I've heard so many amazing things about it, but am really hesitant since I have already been accepted somewhere. Midwestern is the most expensive option for me out of all of the places I have received interviews, but I love the fact that it is right near Phoenix and in a relatively large city. I am hesitant only because of the tuition and that it is a new school and is not fully accredited yet until their first class graduates. If I do choose to still go to my interview it will cost me several hundred dollars as well as having to miss an important class. I am just wondering if it is worth it for me to even go and still visit the school. I would love to be able to, but don't know what to do and I am running out of time.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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If you can't see yourself attending MWU, and you are seriously only interested in your top choice, don't go. If Midwestern is still an option for you, come :)
 
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PreVetMed said:
Hey guys, so maybe some of you can help me on here. I was just accepted to one of my top choice schools. It is fully accredited (has been for a while), and is cheaper than Midwestern. Rent is also low in that area. I have an interview at Midwestern coming up soon. I would LOVE to visit the school since I've heard so many amazing things about it, but am really hesitant since I have already been accepted somewhere. Midwestern is the most expensive option for me out of all of the places I have received interviews, but I love the fact that it is right near Phoenix and in a relatively large city. I am hesitant only because of the tuition and that it is a new school and is not fully accredited yet until their first class graduates. If I do choose to still go to my interview it will cost me several hundred dollars as well as having to miss an important class. I am just wondering if it is worth it for me to even go and still visit the school. I would love to be able to, but don't know what to do and I am running out of time.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Congrats on being accepted to your top choice and receiving an interview at MWU! I'm a current third year (about to be in clinical year in 2 weeks!). I guess my advice would be if you do not think you would attend MWU even if you fell in love with the program, don't spend your money on travel and miss a class. I feel accreditation should not be a factor in making the decision. Everyone that graduates from MWU is graduating at an "accredited" school and has zero disadvantages on the road to becoming a veterinarian. If you really want to choose based on the program, then come interview! You'll get to spend time with students and faculty and get a really good sense of what our program is about. If you want more info about a certain part of our program, just ask!
 
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GreytLife said:
I would say don't go unless you would actually consider it. MWU is an amazing school and an amazing program. Their clinical rotations are unique and sounds like they will they will produce some great primary vets. One required rotation is 3 or 4 months of essentially acting as a primary vet in their hospital.. I'm sure someone else could elaborate more on this!

I just wish they didn't cost so much.. atleast COL is low in AZ!
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Thank you so much for your response! Yes, the cost is a huge deterrent for me. Cost is my #1 concern, and I don't want to regret attending a school that is more expensive simply because I may have liked it a tiny bit more. However, I haven't even visited the school yet so I have no idea how I will like it. I'm sure I would love it though, and I really liked Arizona when I visited years ago. This decision is tough!!
 
hazelmoo said:
If you can't see yourself attending MWU, and you are seriously only interested in your top choice, don't go. If Midwestern is still an option for you, come :)
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Well, it's hard for me to say without visiting the school if I would attend or not.

What I really would love to know is about he program because I am wanting to go to a school that offers a lot of hands on experience working with animals right away in the curriculum. This is something the school I was accepted to gives. So is that something Midwestern would offer as well?
 
Penelope Renee said:
Congrats on being accepted to your top choice and receiving an interview at MWU! I'm a current third year (about to be in clinical year in 2 weeks!). I guess my advice would be if you do not think you would attend MWU even if you fell in love with the program, don't spend your money on travel and miss a class. I feel accreditation should not be a factor in making the decision. Everyone that graduates from MWU is graduating at an "accredited" school and has zero disadvantages on the road to becoming a veterinarian. If you really want to choose based on the program, then come interview! You'll get to spend time with students and faculty and get a really good sense of what our program is about. If you want more info about a certain part of our program, just ask!
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your response. How are you enjoying Midwestern? I am having a hard time deciding simply because I would have to miss am important class (lab) that I can't make up. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't want to fall behind. I would love to see the school though me visit the area. So this is a hard decision for me.
 
PreVetMed said:
Thank you so much for your response. How are you enjoying Midwestern? I am having a hard time deciding simply because I would have to miss am important class (lab) that I can't make up. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't want to fall behind. I would love to see the school though me visit the area. So this is a hard decision for me.
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Being worried about missing a lab that you cannot make up does not sound stupid to me! I definitely get it. I really love Midwestern and have never regretted my decision to attend. Yes the price is outrageous and I shed a tear every time I look at my loans, but for me I didn't have an ISS that was significantly lower in price. Also, I work every break, and apply for every scholarship, to get extra help wherever I can. I saw in a previous comment you asked about hands on experience. MWU puts a strong emphasis on hands on labs. I know there are some first year students on here and I'm pretty sure they get even more hands on experience than the current third years did during our first year. I know that they go into the second year surgery labs and perform physical exams on the patients every week (someone please correct me if I'm giving wrong information). We don't have a full blown large animal teaching hospital on campus, but we do have horses and cows, so we get to work with them in all types of hands on labs.

The goal at MWU is to produce day one ready veterinarians. I could go on and on about the ways in which they are accomplishing this. A few things are the extensive communication courses and simulations (more than any vet school in the country), surgical experience, and being the primary doctor on cases at our clinic.
My personal tally so far, before going into clinics, is 4 dog neuters, 3 dog spays, 2 cat spays, 1 cat pyometra/spay, 1 cat neuter, and a toe amputation at the metacarpophalangeal joint. I've also already seen 15 primary care cases and 1 internal medicine case as the primary doctor. This was all accomplished through regular classes and taking advantage of mobile clinic and surgery shadowing opportunities. Some of my classmates take every opportunity and have completed over 60 surgeries! I really like surgery so thats exciting for me :) But with every surgery, there is a physical exam attached and medication calculations and administration. So even if you don't enjoy the surgical aspect, there is experience to be gained. I love MWU and I think they are going above and beyond with our curriculum, experience and facilities to make sure that MWU will be the best veterinary school it can be! I hope that helped, let us know if there is anything else we can answer for you. I understand it's a tough decision you have to make!
 
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PreVetMed said:
Well, it's hard for me to say without visiting the school if I would attend or not.

What I really would love to know is about he program because I am wanting to go to a school that offers a lot of hands on experience working with animals right away in the curriculum. This is something the school I was accepted to gives. So is that something Midwestern would offer as well?
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From my understanding, Midwestern gives the most hands on experience there is. At orientation, the dean said the goal is for students to have done something like 3,000 (I know, it blew my mind--not sure if this was a realistic goal or not) surgeries by the time they graduate. Someone who goes there would probably be able to answer better but I remember them saying something about you doing physicals on patients really early on. You begin surgery in your second year. From all of the schools I looked into, this one had the most. At the interview, they emphasized that they produce "practice ready veterinarians"--in other words, you could do an internship or something after you graduate, but you would be ahead of the game compared to schools with a more traditional curriculum. Now, the veterinarians I have spoken with told me that there has to be somewhere that is being overlooked as doing that many surgeries means you cut corners somewhere. I don't know. That is the iffy part. I fell in love with Midwestern but after being accepted elsewhere, it has moved out of that top spot on my list. I am sure you would love the school--and it sounds like accreditation is not an issue. Just giving my two cents--obviously, I don't go to Midwestern, but I really REALLY loved it :).
 
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bombai said:
From my understanding, Midwestern gives the most hands on experience there is. At orientation, the dean said the goal is for students to have done something like 3,000 (I know, it blew my mind--not sure if this was a realistic goal or not) surgeries by the time they graduate. Someone who goes there would probably be able to answer better but I remember them saying something about you doing physicals on patients really early on. You begin surgery in your second year. From all of the schools I looked into, this one had the most. At the interview, they emphasized that they produce "practice ready veterinarians"--in other words, you could do an internship or something after you graduate, but you would be ahead of the game compared to schools with a more traditional curriculum. Now, the veterinarians I have spoken with told me that there has to be somewhere that is being overlooked as doing that many surgeries means you cut corners somewhere. I don't know. That is the iffy part. I fell in love with Midwestern but after being accepted elsewhere, it has moved out of that top spot on my list. I am sure you would love the school--and it sounds like accreditation is not an issue. Just giving my two cents--obviously, I don't go to Midwestern, but I really REALLY loved it :).
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I totally get that it would seem like they would have to cut corners, but I kid you not, the surgical practices and protocol are at the highest standard of care, both in the surgery lab and on the mobile clinic. I'm guessing the 3,000 surgeries must be for the entire class (100 students performing ~ 30 surgeries each). I'm a surgery nut (planning on an internship and surgical residency) and the surgery exposure is a dream come true. If anyone wants to hear details of the amazing surgery lab, that takes place in the most beautiful surgery suite, just let me know lol! ;)
 
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Penelope Renee said:
I totally get that it would seem like they would have to cut corners, but I kid you not, the surgical practices and protocol are at the highest standard of care, both in the surgery lab and on the mobile clinic. I'm guessing the 3,000 surgeries must be for the entire class (100 students performing ~ 30 surgeries each). I'm a surgery nut (planning on an internship and surgical residency) and the surgery exposure is a dream come true. If anyone wants to hear details of the amazing surgery lab, that takes place in the most beautiful surgery suite, just let me know lol! ;)
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I would! I'm really interested in surgery. I haven't declined my offer, yet ;). I'm heavily leaning elsewhere, but more info is great, if you want to share :).
 
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bombai said:
I would! I'm really interested in surgery. I haven't declined my offer, yet ;). I'm heavily leaning elsewhere, but more info is great, if you want to share :).
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Liquid_Phoenix said:
We are all ears if you have time to share sx info! :D
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Be prepared, it's a LONG one!

I really should be studying for finals but writing about surgery is my favorite way to procrastinate!

You are arranged into groups of 3, and you are either assigned to a Tuesday or Thursday surgery day. The class is split in half, half goes Tuesday and half goes Thursday. In your group of 3, you rotate through three positions- surgeon, assistant surgeon, and anesthetist.

Afternoon before surgery lab: You, along with your group meet your patient (I always say it feels like Christmas morning). The three of you perform a physical exam and perform a blood draw to run blood glucose, PCV, TP and BUN. The anesthetist for the week will then calculate all of the drug doses for the patient (pre-med, induction, pain meds, antibiotics, iso and o2 flow rate, fluid rate, ER drugs and meds to go home). The rest of the group is responsible for double-checking all doses. The surgeon that week then goes to the computer lab upstairs to write a SOAP for the patient.

Surgery Day: One of your group members will come in the morning (before 8am) to walk your patient or clean out the litter box, as well as get a TPR.

After lunch, around 12, is when the surgeries begin. If you’ve interviewed you probably went downstairs in the clinic and saw where all of our patients are. In that room there is a whiteboard and it shows what DVM or DACVS you are assigned to that day. That doctor is going to be grading the surgeon and assistant surgeon and the anesthesiologists in the lab will be grading the student anesthetist. The doctor is also there to answer any questions or help you if you are having any complications. One of my favorite things is that local veterinarians come to help us in this lab. I think it helps MWU build a stronger relationship with the vets in the local community. I think the vets feel like they are making an impact on future generations of vets and some of them want us to work for them when we graduate!

There are about 16 groups of 3 and they are split in half, so the first 8 groups go up to the surgery prep area first, and then once a group makes it out of the prep room and into the surgery suite another group is called up to the prep room. Once you are called up to the prep room, you take your patient into the recovery room to administer the pre- medication. The student anesthetist stays with the patient and the surgeon and assistant go set up all of the anesthesia and surgical prep (anesthetic machine with proper bags and tubes, ET tube, IV catheter, all monitoring equipment, etc). After about 10 to 15 minutes, once the patient is sedated, we move him into the surgery prep room. Here he receives an IV catheter, is hooked up to monitors, fluids, pre-oxygenated, induced, intubated and surgically prepped. Once completed, you roll your patient into surgery. The surgeon then goes to scrub in while the assistant does the final surgical prep. All this time the anesthetist is monitoring the patient. Once the surgeon is back the assistant will scrub in. Once the assistant is back, you can drape in your patient, check with the anesthetist and start your surgery.

When the surgery is complete, your patient receives a tattoo, and you move into recovery, where you continue to monitor and warm your patient, as well as give a postoperative pain medication. Once extubated we move downstairs and take our patient back to the surgery ward. Our group then has to check in with the overnight technician and round our patient to her, including any surgical complications that make our patient require extra monitoring. Once we’ve finished our rounds, the assistant and anesthetist can leave for the day and the surgeon writes a SOAP, discharge instructions for the rescue or shelter, spay/neuter certificate, and a surgery report.

Day after surgery: The patient is going to be discharged later in the morning, but still needs to be walked or have the litter box changed. So one of the group members goes in that morning (before 8am) to take care of the patient, perform a post- operative exam and TPR. The group member then goes to the computer lab and writes a SOAP that day.

Your patient gets picked up later that morning and is adoptable!!!
The following week the three students rotate duties. This is done once a week for almost the entire second year. You can imagine how much experience and confidence you gain, when week after week you are performing all of the tasks I listed above.

That’s just a small glimpse but does cover a lot of the details. It was the best experience in my time at vet school. It was the first time I felt like I was becoming a veterinarian. I was changing an animal’s life and making decisions on my own (with the close supervision of the doctors). If there are any specific details you would like to know more about, just let me know!

-Also for cats we use v-gels to control the airway, all patients are kept warm with a hot dog or baja warmer, IV catheters have T-ports and are on fluids during prep and entire surgery. Patients have socks on in surgery. If patients need additional things like back dewclaw removal, deciduous tooth removal, or scrotal ablation for older dogs with more skin, we do that too!
 
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Penelope Renee said:
Being worried about missing a lab that you cannot make up does not sound stupid to me! I definitely get it. I really love Midwestern and have never regretted my decision to attend. Yes the price is outrageous and I shed a tear every time I look at my loans, but for me I didn't have an ISS that was significantly lower in price. Also, I work every break, and apply for every scholarship, to get extra help wherever I can. I saw in a previous comment you asked about hands on experience. MWU puts a strong emphasis on hands on labs. I know there are some first year students on here and I'm pretty sure they get even more hands on experience than the current third years did during our first year. I know that they go into the second year surgery labs and perform physical exams on the patients every week (someone please correct me if I'm giving wrong information). We don't have a full blown large animal teaching hospital on campus, but we do have horses and cows, so we get to work with them in all types of hands on labs.

The goal at MWU is to produce day one ready veterinarians. I could go on and on about the ways in which they are accomplishing this. A few things are the extensive communication courses and simulations (more than any vet school in the country), surgical experience, and being the primary doctor on cases at our clinic.
My personal tally so far, before going into clinics, is 4 dog neuters, 3 dog spays, 2 cat spays, 1 cat pyometra/spay, 1 cat neuter, and a toe amputation at the metacarpophalangeal joint. I've also already seen 15 primary care cases and 1 internal medicine case as the primary doctor. This was all accomplished through regular classes and taking advantage of mobile clinic and surgery shadowing opportunities. Some of my classmates take every opportunity and have completed over 60 surgeries! I really like surgery so thats exciting for me :) But with every surgery, there is a physical exam attached and medication calculations and administration. So even if you don't enjoy the surgical aspect, there is experience to be gained. I love MWU and I think they are going above and beyond with our curriculum, experience and facilities to make sure that MWU will be the best veterinary school it can be! I hope that helped, let us know if there is anything else we can answer for you. I understand it's a tough decision you have to make!
Click to expand...


Ahh! It sounds amazing! This makes my decision harder because now I really want to visit! ahha I really appreciate you taking the time to respond and write this. Thank you so much!
 
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Penelope Renee said:
Be prepared, it's a LONG one!

I really should be studying for finals but writing about surgery is my favorite way to procrastinate!

You are arranged into groups of 3, and you are either assigned to a Tuesday or Thursday surgery day. The class is split in half, half goes Tuesday and half goes Thursday. In your group of 3, you rotate through three positions- surgeon, assistant surgeon, and anesthetist.

Afternoon before surgery lab: You, along with your group meet your patient (I always say it feels like Christmas morning). The three of you perform a physical exam and perform a blood draw to run blood glucose, PCV, TP and BUN. The anesthetist for the week will then calculate all of the drug doses for the patient (pre-med, induction, pain meds, antibiotics, iso and o2 flow rate, fluid rate, ER drugs and meds to go home). The rest of the group is responsible for double-checking all doses. The surgeon that week then goes to the computer lab upstairs to write a SOAP for the patient.

Surgery Day: One of your group members will come in the morning (before 8am) to walk your patient or clean out the litter box, as well as get a TPR.

After lunch, around 12, is when the surgeries begin. If you’ve interviewed you probably went downstairs in the clinic and saw where all of our patients are. In that room there is a whiteboard and it shows what DVM or DACVS you are assigned to that day. That doctor is going to be grading the surgeon and assistant surgeon and the anesthesiologists in the lab will be grading the student anesthetist. The doctor is also there to answer any questions or help you if you are having any complications. One of my favorite things is that local veterinarians come to help us in this lab. I think it helps MWU build a stronger relationship with the vets in the local community. I think the vets feel like they are making an impact on future generations of vets and some of them want us to work for them when we graduate!

There are about 16 groups of 3 and they are split in half, so the first 8 groups go up to the surgery prep area first, and then once a group makes it out of the prep room and into the surgery suite another group is called up to the prep room. Once you are called up to the prep room, you take your patient into the recovery room to administer the pre- medication. The student anesthetist stays with the patient and the surgeon and assistant go set up all of the anesthesia and surgical prep (anesthetic machine with proper bags and tubes, ET tube, IV catheter, all monitoring equipment, etc). After about 10 to 15 minutes, once the patient is sedated, we move him into the surgery prep room. Here he receives an IV catheter, is hooked up to monitors, fluids, pre-oxygenated, induced, intubated and surgically prepped. Once completed, you roll your patient into surgery. The surgeon then goes to scrub in while the assistant does the final surgical prep. All this time the anesthetist is monitoring the patient. Once the surgeon is back the assistant will scrub in. Once the assistant is back, you can drape in your patient, check with the anesthetist and start your surgery.

When the surgery is complete, your patient receives a tattoo, and you move into recovery, where you continue to monitor and warm your patient, as well as give a postoperative pain medication. Once extubated we move downstairs and take our patient back to the surgery ward. Our group then has to check in with the overnight technician and round our patient to her, including any surgical complications that make our patient require extra monitoring. Once we’ve finished our rounds, the assistant and anesthetist can leave for the day and the surgeon writes a SOAP, discharge instructions for the rescue or shelter, spay/neuter certificate, and a surgery report.

Day after surgery: The patient is going to be discharged later in the morning, but still needs to be walked or have the litter box changed. So one of the group members goes in that morning (before 8am) to take care of the patient, perform a post- operative exam and TPR. The group member then goes to the computer lab and writes a SOAP that day.

Your patient gets picked up later that morning and is adoptable!!!
The following week the three students rotate duties. This is done once a week for almost the entire second year. You can imagine how much experience and confidence you gain, when week after week you are performing all of the tasks I listed above.

That’s just a small glimpse but does cover a lot of the details. It was the best experience in my time at vet school. It was the first time I felt like I was becoming a veterinarian. I was changing an animal’s life and making decisions on my own (with the close supervision of the doctors). If there are any specific details you would like to know more about, just let me know!

-Also for cats we use v-gels to control the airway, all patients are kept warm with a hot dog or baja warmer, IV catheters have T-ports and are on fluids during prep and entire surgery. Patients have socks on in surgery. If patients need additional things like back dewclaw removal, deciduous tooth removal, or scrotal ablation for older dogs with more skin, we do that too!
Click to expand...
A.) I'm sorry (but not sorry lol) for helping you procrastinate studying for your finals. You just needed a break right?! Haha.
B.) That is possibly the most detailed run through for a student surgical day that I've seen on here. Awesome job!
C.) I did interview and saw the whiteboard. The amount of surgeries you do with animals to be adopted is phenomenal! Shelter medicine is something that is near and dear to my heart and it is one of my favorite aspects of MWU's program.

The surgical prep area and surgical suite at MWU is top notch. I've assisted as a tech in many surgeries and our days were much like you described (without US doing the actual sx of course).

At the hospital I worked at, surgery days and dentals were my favorite part of the week! The hospital I worked at did spays, neuters, dentals, and a plethora of other surgeries randomly inserted into our surgery days. Some examples include: Enucleation, tumor and growth removals, ACL repair, prolapsed uterus/rectum, fracture repair, bladder stone removal, limb/tail amputation, declaw/dewclaw. We also did many random after hours emergency surgeries (GDV, pyometra, c-section, etc) and the occasional emergency surgery during the work day. The closest emergency clinic/referral hospital was an hour and a half away so our hospital was involved in many surgeries some clinics never see.

Thank you for the detailed explanation. It is very helpful for anyone interested in attending MWU. I too would love to do an internship and surgical residency! I am currently on the alternate list hoping for the best. :)
 
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Penelope Renee said:
I know there are some first year students on here and I'm pretty sure they get even more hands on experience than the current third years did during our first year. I know that they go into the second year surgery labs and perform physical exams on the patients every week (someone please correct me if I'm giving wrong information). We don't have a full blown large animal teaching hospital on campus, but we do have horses and cows, so we get to work with them in all types of hands on labs.

The goal at MWU is to produce day one ready veterinarians. I could go on and on about the ways in which they are accomplishing this. A few things are the extensive communication courses and simulations (more than any vet school in the country), surgical experience, and being the primary doctor on cases at our clinic.
My personal tally so far, before going into clinics, is 4 dog neuters, 3 dog spays, 2 cat spays, 1 cat pyometra/spay, 1 cat neuter, and a toe amputation at the metacarpophalangeal joint. I've also already seen 15 primary care cases and 1 internal medicine case as the primary doctor. This was all accomplished through regular classes and taking advantage of mobile clinic and surgery shadowing opportunities. Some of my classmates take every opportunity and have completed over 60 surgeries! I really like surgery so thats exciting for me :) But with every surgery, there is a physical exam attached and medication calculations and administration. So even if you don't enjoy the surgical aspect, there is experience to be gained. I love MWU and I think they are going above and beyond with our curriculum, experience and facilities to make sure that MWU will be the best veterinary school it can be! I hope that helped, let us know if there is anything else we can answer for you. I understand it's a tough decision you have to make!
Click to expand...

Current first year: While our physical exam practice is not every single week, it's often. We have to turn in a packet with three completed exams by the end of each quarter to be graded, but we can do more if we like. Additionally, I actually learned to do exams BEFORE classes even started by volunteering for the mobile clinic (this one didn't include surgery) 2 weeks before school started. Every time I've volunteered for mobile clinic I've done several exams and I have to say I've gotten pretty good.

We've had other hands on experience with the horses a few times, but it's been mostly identifying types and horse handling. Next quarter we have theriogenology and get to work with cows!

There's also hands on experience hidden in other ways. Like we had to practice taking a history with an actual client. It was for communication practice but the vet allowed us to do the FNA following our time in the room!

We also had one SIM with an actor that brought in their dog (most of the time it's just the actor and no pet since it's communication practice). We got yet another chance to do physicals.

Obviously volunteering for the mobile clinic. Some are full day, some are just an evening after school. They also do two day trips often to reservations (I haven't gone yet) and those are not stop hands on learning for two days while helping a community in need.

I volunteered for the TNR in which I got to do my first 3 cat neuters as well as surgery prep, recovery, ear tipping, etc.

You can even shadow the teaching hospital. I haven't done it yet but I know first years who have.

Take advantage! Midwestern offers so much!
 
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Penelope Renee said:
Be prepared, it's a LONG one!

I really should be studying for finals but writing about surgery is my favorite way to procrastinate!

You are arranged into groups of 3, and you are either assigned to a Tuesday or Thursday surgery day. The class is split in half, half goes Tuesday and half goes Thursday. In your group of 3, you rotate through three positions- surgeon, assistant surgeon, and anesthetist.

Afternoon before surgery lab: You, along with your group meet your patient (I always say it feels like Christmas morning). The three of you perform a physical exam and perform a blood draw to run blood glucose, PCV, TP and BUN. The anesthetist for the week will then calculate all of the drug doses for the patient (pre-med, induction, pain meds, antibiotics, iso and o2 flow rate, fluid rate, ER drugs and meds to go home). The rest of the group is responsible for double-checking all doses. The surgeon that week then goes to the computer lab upstairs to write a SOAP for the patient.

Surgery Day: One of your group members will come in the morning (before 8am) to walk your patient or clean out the litter box, as well as get a TPR.

After lunch, around 12, is when the surgeries begin. If you’ve interviewed you probably went downstairs in the clinic and saw where all of our patients are. In that room there is a whiteboard and it shows what DVM or DACVS you are assigned to that day. That doctor is going to be grading the surgeon and assistant surgeon and the anesthesiologists in the lab will be grading the student anesthetist. The doctor is also there to answer any questions or help you if you are having any complications. One of my favorite things is that local veterinarians come to help us in this lab. I think it helps MWU build a stronger relationship with the vets in the local community. I think the vets feel like they are making an impact on future generations of vets and some of them want us to work for them when we graduate!

There are about 16 groups of 3 and they are split in half, so the first 8 groups go up to the surgery prep area first, and then once a group makes it out of the prep room and into the surgery suite another group is called up to the prep room. Once you are called up to the prep room, you take your patient into the recovery room to administer the pre- medication. The student anesthetist stays with the patient and the surgeon and assistant go set up all of the anesthesia and surgical prep (anesthetic machine with proper bags and tubes, ET tube, IV catheter, all monitoring equipment, etc). After about 10 to 15 minutes, once the patient is sedated, we move him into the surgery prep room. Here he receives an IV catheter, is hooked up to monitors, fluids, pre-oxygenated, induced, intubated and surgically prepped. Once completed, you roll your patient into surgery. The surgeon then goes to scrub in while the assistant does the final surgical prep. All this time the anesthetist is monitoring the patient. Once the surgeon is back the assistant will scrub in. Once the assistant is back, you can drape in your patient, check with the anesthetist and start your surgery.

When the surgery is complete, your patient receives a tattoo, and you move into recovery, where you continue to monitor and warm your patient, as well as give a postoperative pain medication. Once extubated we move downstairs and take our patient back to the surgery ward. Our group then has to check in with the overnight technician and round our patient to her, including any surgical complications that make our patient require extra monitoring. Once we’ve finished our rounds, the assistant and anesthetist can leave for the day and the surgeon writes a SOAP, discharge instructions for the rescue or shelter, spay/neuter certificate, and a surgery report.

Day after surgery: The patient is going to be discharged later in the morning, but still needs to be walked or have the litter box changed. So one of the group members goes in that morning (before 8am) to take care of the patient, perform a post- operative exam and TPR. The group member then goes to the computer lab and writes a SOAP that day.

Your patient gets picked up later that morning and is adoptable!!!
The following week the three students rotate duties. This is done once a week for almost the entire second year. You can imagine how much experience and confidence you gain, when week after week you are performing all of the tasks I listed above.

That’s just a small glimpse but does cover a lot of the details. It was the best experience in my time at vet school. It was the first time I felt like I was becoming a veterinarian. I was changing an animal’s life and making decisions on my own (with the close supervision of the doctors). If there are any specific details you would like to know more about, just let me know!

-Also for cats we use v-gels to control the airway, all patients are kept warm with a hot dog or baja warmer, IV catheters have T-ports and are on fluids during prep and entire surgery. Patients have socks on in surgery. If patients need additional things like back dewclaw removal, deciduous tooth removal, or scrotal ablation for older dogs with more skin, we do that too!
Click to expand...
In addition to all this amazing surgery during second year, first years did get to practice exams pre-surgery day like we mentioned before. But also Spring quarter we'll have an anesthesia class. While this class is mostly lecture to prepare us for being the anesthetist next year, we'll get to attend three live-animal surgery labs and see the entire process from induction to recovery. We're encouraged to ask the anesthetist questions during surgery. The second years are usually pretty good about telling us what they're doing and why. I know as a second year I'll be so excited to share my knowledge with the first years.
 
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WildAnimal said:
In addition to all this amazing surgery during second year, first years did get to practice exams pre-surgery day like we mentioned before. But also Spring quarter we'll have an anesthesia class. While this class is mostly lecture to prepare us for being the anesthetist next year, we'll get to attend three live-animal surgery labs and see the entire process from induction to recovery. We're encouraged to ask the anesthetist questions during surgery. The second years are usually pretty good about telling us what they're doing and why. I know as a second year I'll be so excited to share my knowledge with the first years.
Click to expand...

As a second year last year, having the first years come into the surgery lab was one of my favorite parts. I was anesthetist two of three times and I loved being able to share my knowledge. In fact we were able to identify a cardiac arrhythmia on the ECG and by listening to the patient. I had all the students with me listen and I had Dr. Jones come over and help explain what was going on. I think we all benefited from the mixing of classes. You're going to love it next quarter!!
 
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I just declined my offer because I got accepted to my in-state school. I honestly fell in love with Midwestern, but the price is so expensive and how can I turn down Davis?!

I'm glad I'm giving someone else an opportunity :) Good luck to you all! I know you'll be exceptional vets ❤️
 
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pitbullmom said:
I just declined my offer because I got accepted to my in-state school. I honestly fell in love with Midwestern, but the price is so expensive and how can I turn down Davis?!

I'm glad I'm giving someone else an opportunity :) Good luck to you all! I know you'll be exceptional vets ❤️
Click to expand...
Congrats on getting into your IS!! Good luck to you :)
 
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Penelope Renee said:
Be prepared, it's a LONG one!

I really should be studying for finals but writing about surgery is my favorite way to procrastinate!

You are arranged into groups of 3, and you are either assigned to a Tuesday or Thursday surgery day. The class is split in half, half goes Tuesday and half goes Thursday. In your group of 3, you rotate through three positions- surgeon, assistant surgeon, and anesthetist.

Afternoon before surgery lab: You, along with your group meet your patient (I always say it feels like Christmas morning). The three of you perform a physical exam and perform a blood draw to run blood glucose, PCV, TP and BUN. The anesthetist for the week will then calculate all of the drug doses for the patient (pre-med, induction, pain meds, antibiotics, iso and o2 flow rate, fluid rate, ER drugs and meds to go home). The rest of the group is responsible for double-checking all doses. The surgeon that week then goes to the computer lab upstairs to write a SOAP for the patient.

Surgery Day: One of your group members will come in the morning (before 8am) to walk your patient or clean out the litter box, as well as get a TPR.

After lunch, around 12, is when the surgeries begin. If you’ve interviewed you probably went downstairs in the clinic and saw where all of our patients are. In that room there is a whiteboard and it shows what DVM or DACVS you are assigned to that day. That doctor is going to be grading the surgeon and assistant surgeon and the anesthesiologists in the lab will be grading the student anesthetist. The doctor is also there to answer any questions or help you if you are having any complications. One of my favorite things is that local veterinarians come to help us in this lab. I think it helps MWU build a stronger relationship with the vets in the local community. I think the vets feel like they are making an impact on future generations of vets and some of them want us to work for them when we graduate!

There are about 16 groups of 3 and they are split in half, so the first 8 groups go up to the surgery prep area first, and then once a group makes it out of the prep room and into the surgery suite another group is called up to the prep room. Once you are called up to the prep room, you take your patient into the recovery room to administer the pre- medication. The student anesthetist stays with the patient and the surgeon and assistant go set up all of the anesthesia and surgical prep (anesthetic machine with proper bags and tubes, ET tube, IV catheter, all monitoring equipment, etc). After about 10 to 15 minutes, once the patient is sedated, we move him into the surgery prep room. Here he receives an IV catheter, is hooked up to monitors, fluids, pre-oxygenated, induced, intubated and surgically prepped. Once completed, you roll your patient into surgery. The surgeon then goes to scrub in while the assistant does the final surgical prep. All this time the anesthetist is monitoring the patient. Once the surgeon is back the assistant will scrub in. Once the assistant is back, you can drape in your patient, check with the anesthetist and start your surgery.

When the surgery is complete, your patient receives a tattoo, and you move into recovery, where you continue to monitor and warm your patient, as well as give a postoperative pain medication. Once extubated we move downstairs and take our patient back to the surgery ward. Our group then has to check in with the overnight technician and round our patient to her, including any surgical complications that make our patient require extra monitoring. Once we’ve finished our rounds, the assistant and anesthetist can leave for the day and the surgeon writes a SOAP, discharge instructions for the rescue or shelter, spay/neuter certificate, and a surgery report.

Day after surgery: The patient is going to be discharged later in the morning, but still needs to be walked or have the litter box changed. So one of the group members goes in that morning (before 8am) to take care of the patient, perform a post- operative exam and TPR. The group member then goes to the computer lab and writes a SOAP that day.

Your patient gets picked up later that morning and is adoptable!!!
The following week the three students rotate duties. This is done once a week for almost the entire second year. You can imagine how much experience and confidence you gain, when week after week you are performing all of the tasks I listed above.

That’s just a small glimpse but does cover a lot of the details. It was the best experience in my time at vet school. It was the first time I felt like I was becoming a veterinarian. I was changing an animal’s life and making decisions on my own (with the close supervision of the doctors). If there are any specific details you would like to know more about, just let me know!

-Also for cats we use v-gels to control the airway, all patients are kept warm with a hot dog or baja warmer, IV catheters have T-ports and are on fluids during prep and entire surgery. Patients have socks on in surgery. If patients need additional things like back dewclaw removal, deciduous tooth removal, or scrotal ablation for older dogs with more skin, we do that too!
Click to expand...



WOW, thank you SO much for writing this out and going into so much detail! This is amazing! I know others here appreciate it as much as I do. I can't believe this part, it is unreal, "This is done once a week for almost the entire second year". I can't believe you are doing that every week! That's amazing practice!

Thank you very much. I have some serious deciding and figuring out scheduling to do.
 
Anyone still waitlisted for an interview??? It's almost march now and I still haven't heard anything from MWU...Is there still hope? :arghh::xf:
 
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