RANT HERE thread

[bunnity]

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From my experience I never got less cases because we were overly busy, I just got more cases and therefore more paperwork / treatments and therefore less time to actually study the disease and the treatment for each patient. On LA surgery when I had 5 horses that needed a PE, SOAP, and meds before 8AM and surgeries, diagnostics, outpatient appointments, and treatments throughout the day, you bet I wasn't spending much time looking things up or discussing cases with clinicians. Or sleeping. And the nurses and clinicians were also spread thin. At that point the goal became not letting my exhaustion negatively impact my patients and not getting yelled at by clinicians. In contrast, on a rotation with more reasonable pace like SA cardiology, we had enough patients to keep things interesting but plenty of time for rounds, learning from other students' cases, and making sure I fully understood each case.

I think it's worth remembering that your experience of fourth year is going to depend on (a) your school's caseload, scheduling, policies, culture (b) your personality (c) some degree of random luck in terms of rotation mates, whether you're getting called in constantly, etc. Comparing things across schools is probably not super useful since huge variation is inevitable considering how many factors affect the patient to student to doctor to nurse ratio at any given school.

Like everything else in vet school, it's okay to enjoy clinics and it's okay to not enjoy clinics. In fact the one absolute fact I can say on this subject is that you will feel both love and hate for clinics at some point. It is okay to express how you are feeling about your vet student life, and it is okay for other people to express how they feel even if that is a negative feeling. I think this forum has come a long way in creating a supportive environment for people who are feeling conflicted or downright miserable in the academic years of vet school - even if that is not what everyone hoped to hear. I think we need to remember to do the same for people on clinics, because if you are already feeling down it can be really hard to feel like you're alone or that your experience is being invalidated by other people going through similar things. Personally, I am an introvert who needs alone time, I need a lot of sleep, and I get stressed by highly hierarchical environments, so while I loved the medicine, clients, and patients, I was also pretty unhappy a lot of the time. I have classmates with different personalities who loved clinics. Don't stress out about how you or anyone else "should" feel!

 

[Ashgirl]

Note to self: As tempting as it may be, don't ever click over to Pre-allo. There will be ongoing threads and posts (such as just how pathetically easy getting into vet school versus med school is) that will make you angry and want to throw your computer out your window and into the cornfield.

Just don't go over there. Don't do it Ashgirl.

 

[Gwenevre]

 

[DVMDream]

Note to self: As tempting as it may be, don't ever click over to Pre-allo. There will be ongoing threads and posts (such as just how pathetically easy getting into vet school versus med school is) that will make you angry and want to throw your computer out your window and into the cornfield.

Just don't go over there. Don't do it Ashgirl.

I only go over there to make me realize how awesome our side of the forum is in comparison. 🙂

 

[dovelover]

You and me both sister. That was ridiculous.

One of my group mates emailed both professors early last week to ask for some feedback. Haven't heard anything back yet. If I actually had time and hadn't just had a whole week of 8-5 class with a long commute, working all weekend, and another week of class and work from 8am-9:30pm every day next week, I'd be writing a nice, long, politely nasty course evaluation. Hmmm... no, I'll make sure to make the time.

btw, nice to see you back!

 

[that redhead]

Note to self: As tempting as it may be, don't ever click over to Pre-allo. There will be ongoing threads and posts (such as just how pathetically easy getting into vet school versus med school is) that will make you angry and want to throw your computer out your window and into the cornfield.

Just don't go over there. Don't do it Ashgirl.

I like it for a few reasons...it really makes me appreciate how awesome our vettie community is here, there are some genuinely interesting contributions about a field I feel should be more connected with our field, there are some genuinely hilarious, non productive, snarky comments that make me laugh aaaanddd a sadistic part of me likes to watch people squirm about getting into Harvard so they can become a billionaire boob enhancer but struggling to write their ps about how they want to help people dying in Africa while I'm starting into my fourth and final year of professional school and am glad I never have to be in that scenario again.

It's complicated, okay? 😉

 

[Coquette22]

aaaanddd a sadistic part of me likes to watch people squirm about getting into Harvard so they can become a billionaire boob enhancer but struggling to write their ps about how they want to help people dying in Africa

I've never ventured to pre-allo, but now I'm curious...

 

[Minnerbelle]

Last summer, after one day on the beach. Clearly I should have invested in better sun screen. Mother Nature: 1, Minnerbelle: 0

 

[Minnerbelle]

Yesterday, after 1 day in the jungle. Clearly, I should have invested in bug spray. I was told I wouldn't need it... Mother Nature: 2, Minnerbelle: 0

I think I will continue to live a sedentary lifestyle indoors because this clearly ain't for me.

 

[dyachei]

eek @Minnerbelle

 

[VetAshley2117]

Dang I thought I burned bad!

 

[WildZoo]

Holy ouch!

 

[Gwenevre]

Yeowowowowoooooow!

 

[Kpowell14]

OMG @Minnerbelle !!! You and Mother Nature don't get along!!!

 

[jmo1012]

owwwwwww i'm pretty sure my eyes just popped out of my head with hurt!!! 🙁

 

[dovelover]

I guess this isn't really a rant, just unfortunate. Heard about an awesome job opportunity that I couldn't do because it starts "immediately" and I'm currently working 30 hours a week (in addition to full time coursework) for the next two weeks training for my current new job, even though that job will normally only be 8 hours a week. Why did all the cool summer opportunities pop up last minute after I had other things going on I couldn't drop out of?

 

[nyanko]

Like everything else in vet school, it's okay to enjoy clinics and it's okay to not enjoy clinics. In fact the one absolute fact I can say on this subject is that you will feel both love and hate for clinics at some point. It is okay to express how you are feeling about your vet student life, and it is okay for other people to express how they feel even if that is a negative feeling. I think this forum has come a long way in creating a supportive environment for people who are feeling conflicted or downright miserable in the academic years of vet school - even if that is not what everyone hoped to hear. I think we need to remember to do the same for people on clinics, because if you are already feeling down it can be really hard to feel like you're alone or that your experience is being invalidated by other people going through similar things. Personally, I am an introvert who needs alone time, I need a lot of sleep, and I get stressed by highly hierarchical environments, so while I loved the medicine, clients, and patients, I was also pretty unhappy a lot of the time. I have classmates with different personalities who loved clinics. Don't stress out about how you or anyone else "should" feel!

My feelings about clinics have been almost entirely different from rotation to rotation and sometimes even week to week within a rotation based on (1) the attendings/house officers that I've been on with and (2) my rotation mates. There were rotations where week 1 I wasn't even sure that I'd pass the rotation and week 2 I just hit my stride and excelled, and there were some where after the first week I was so disenchanted that I totally blew off week 2 in my brain before it even started and it probably showed. A large part of it is kind of luck of the draw though.

edit: I still maintain that even the crappiest rotation 4th year for me was better than the best things in the first 3 years though, honestly.

 

[KCgophervet]

I guess this isn't really a rant, just unfortunate. Heard about an awesome job opportunity that I couldn't do because it starts "immediately" and I'm currently working 30 hours a week (in addition to full time coursework) for the next two weeks training for my current new job, even though that job will normally only be 8 hours a week. Why did all the cool summer opportunities pop up last minute after I had other things going on I couldn't drop out of?

I actually emailed her about it (because you're right, it does sound pretty awesome). My rant is that about 20 minutes after I emailed her, she sent out another email to everyone, but never actually replied to my email about the opportunity. Seems like nothing is going my way this summer but it would be an amazing boost to get that job!

 

[Minnerbelle]

My feelings about clinics have been almost entirely different from rotation to rotation and sometimes even week to week within a rotation based on (1) the attendings/house officers that I've been on with and (2) my rotation mates. There were rotations where week 1 I wasn't even sure that I'd pass the rotation and week 2 I just hit my stride and excelled, and there were some where after the first week I was so disenchanted that I totally blew off week 2 in my brain before it even started and it probably showed. A large part of it is kind of luck of the draw though.

edit: I still maintain that even the crappiest rotation 4th year for me was better than the best things in the first 3 years though, honestly.

That sums it up really well. I didn't mean to say that anyone should feel one way or another about clinics. There were rotations I absolutely hated (mostly because of how it was run and not so much the subject matter), and I know people who were pretty miserable and realized that they were absolutely not meant to be in clinical practice. But there's no way to get a realistic expectation of what clinics will be like until you actually experience it esp because of variations between rotations, so I think it's just too early to be jaded about it based on rumors and upper classmen rants. Even if what they have to say is true, the importance of whatever they're b****ing about in the overall educational experience is really hard to discern.

 

[dovelover]

I actually emailed her about it (because you're right, it does sound pretty awesome). My rant is that about 20 minutes after I emailed her, she sent out another email to everyone, but never actually replied to my email about the opportunity. Seems like nothing is going my way this summer but it would be an amazing boost to get that job!

I spent my entire morning trying to figure out if there was a way I could possibly change my schedule around to do it. Then I spent my entire afternoon worrying about whether I would make the bus I needed to get to work on time. So really, I didn't learn much in class today. And I probably totally offended my professors by getting up from the middle of our ten person class and running out the door as soon as the clock hit 5:00 even though they were still talking. But the little online bus tracker said the bus would be there is 2 minutes and I didn't want to miss it. Of course it ended up taking 6 minutes to get there.

 

[Minnerbelle]

But the little online bus tracker said the bus would be there is 2 minutes and I didn't want to miss it. Of course it ended up taking 6 minutes to get there.

What amazing bus system is this???

 

[Kpowell14]

A couple little rants kinda wrapped up together- I have been dealing with persistent headaches for about a week now. But today has been the worst by far. It seems to be pretty focal around my left eye/ left side of my forehead, and nothing seems to help. It doesn't help either that I am doing PT for my knee which is extremely painful and emotionally draining. I'm taking Aleve regularly for my knee, and also Tramadol prior to therapy.. I figured regular Aleve would help with the headaches but no... Then in Therapy my therapist suggested I take a stronger med before I come bc Its hurting me so bad doing my exercises.. The only problem is that we are still in class so taking a stronger med not only makes me kinda out of it, but they also make me nauseous which doesn't make studying very productive.. I'm so sick of being on medications, either I'm taking one and it's not helping enough or I take a different one and I can't get anything done... And no matter what I take, the headaches don't go away ! Tonight I even tried excedrin for the headache, and no change. Blah 🙁

 

[ThreeLeggedDogs]

A couple little rants kinda wrapped up together- I have been dealing with persistent headaches for about a week now. But today has been the worst by far. It seems to be pretty focal around my left eye/ left side of my forehead, and nothing seems to help. It doesn't help either that I am doing PT for my knee which is extremely painful and emotionally draining. I'm taking Aleve regularly for my knee, and also Tramadol prior to therapy.. I figured regular Aleve would help with the headaches but no... Then in Therapy my therapist suggested I take a stronger med before I come bc Its hurting me so bad doing my exercises.. The only problem is that we are still in class so taking a stronger med not only makes me kinda out of it, but they also make me nauseous which doesn't make studying very productive.. I'm so sick of being on medications, either I'm taking one and it's not helping enough or I take a different one and I can't get anything done... And no matter what I take, the headaches don't go away ! Tonight I even tried excedrin for the headache, and no change. Blah 🙁

Have you tried triptans for migraines? Getting an Rx for Imitrex (sumatriptan) changed my life.

 

[dovelover]

What amazing bus system is this???

Just something on the University's website that tracks the campus connectors and shuttles and such. It seems to be not very accurate though...

 

[WelshCob]

So I've been having moderate to severe back pain since April. In May it got so bad I missed several days of school as I couldn't get out of bed. I am a huge believer in chiropractic work. It worked really well at first and then got to the point would help the day of and go right back to screaming the next day. I finally went to an orthopedic back specialist, who ordered an MRI.

I have small protrusions in T8-9, T9-10 and T10-11. I am utterly devastated. Since my initial visit I have been on serious NSAIDs and was in the tapering phase after the MRI and well I'm no where near being able to taper them off. He has a stepwise list of things to do/treatment options and number one on the list is change lifestyle/job. I literally lost it in the room. I am an avid horseback rider and I am in vet school a physically demanding profession, there is no changing lifestyle. I also currently work as am emergency technician, in a busy practice. I am trying conservative methods first and have a prescription for physical therapy. The next step is injections, which scare the snot out of me but less so then surgery. He stated that it is possible to cure them and give them time to heal.

No sitting trot for a while, and my horse is not 100% reliable I LOVE this horse he is a Ferrari in a horses body. Horse of my dreams. I really need to keep him in training with a professional to be considered reliable but I can't afford that right now. I'm depressed and scared.

I guess thoracic disk issues have a genetic component to them. My mom still blames some portion of them on the horse though.

Anyone with disk issues? 🙁

 

[VetAshley2117]

So I've been having moderate to severe back pain since April. In May it got so bad I missed several days of school as I couldn't get out of bed. I am a huge believer in chiropractic work. It worked really well at first and then got to the point would help the day of and go right back to screaming the next day. I finally went to an orthopedic back specialist, who ordered an MRI.

I have small protrusions in T8-9, T9-10 and T10-11. I am utterly devastated. Since my initial visit I have been on serious NSAIDs and was in the tapering phase after the MRI and well I'm no where near being able to taper them off. He has a stepwise list of things to do/treatment options and number one on the list is change lifestyle/job. I literally lost it in the room. I am an avid horseback rider and I am in vet school a physically demanding profession, there is no changing lifestyle. I also currently work as am emergency technician, in a busy practice. I am trying conservative methods first and have a prescription for physical therapy. The next step is injections, which scare the snot out of me but less so then surgery. He stated that it is possible to cure them and give them time

Anyone with disk issues? 🙁

Yes I've had lower disc problems in the lumbar region and had sx ten years ago. I have worked in the vet industry before and after that point and will actually be starting vet school in August. You have to take extra precautions but I wouldn't let anyone say not to do this!

 

[Tante]

So here's my rant. Last September I finally got a job in a vet clinic. It's a small, relatively new clinic, there are only 2 doctors and their shifts are designed such that they only overlap for five or so hours a couple days a week. At first I worked those overlap hours two days a week. In December someone started volunteering, and is there just about whenever we're open. In February they told me they would only need me one day a week, because there just weren't enough clients the other day for me to be worthwhile. Now a second volunteer just started. So now I only work one day a week, and at least once a month they call me to say "don't bother coming in, there's nothing going on". Besides that, there is really very little going on. So when I do work I spend the whole day trying to come up with something to do. Today I started at 11, the next appointment wasn't until 4 and we had two dentals. So basically I was allowed to restrain while they intubated etc. for the one dental, but other than that spent the rest of the time trying to find stuff to do, ie. dusting the waiting room, cleaning the bathroom, restocking everything..... The fact that volunteers are there doesn't bother me, except that they're competition when there is animal related stuff to do and they usually are quicker to be there because they're not doing stuff to justify getting paid. The techs and doctors are also more willing to teach them stuff because they aren't on the clock. I had intended to come in off the clock to learn stuff too, but now there are too many people.
Oh and did I mention? I managed to occupy myself most of the day today in anticipation of the 4:00 appointments.... and got sent home at 3:45. I was supposed to work until 5. And I really need those experience hours.

 

[VetAshley2117]

Oh sleep why do you elude me yet again!

 

[WildZoo]

Oh sleep why do you elude me yet again!

This. I have to wake up at 6 so I try to be asleep by 10:30. Last night I didn't get to sleep until midnight and my cat woke me up just after 5...I think I'll be feeling the effects of this about halfway through my 11 hour work day

 

[MassDVMMPH]

I have small protrusions in T8-9, T9-10 and T10-11. I am utterly devastated. Since my initial visit I have been on serious NSAIDs and was in the tapering phase after the MRI and well I'm no where near being able to taper them off. He has a stepwise list of things to do/treatment options and number one on the list is change lifestyle/job. I literally lost it in the room. I am an avid horseback rider and I am in vet school a physically demanding profession, there is no changing lifestyle. I also currently work as am emergency technician, in a busy practice. I am trying conservative methods first and have a prescription for physical therapy. The next step is injections, which scare the snot out of me but less so then surgery. He stated that it is possible to cure them and give them time to heal.

Anyone with disk issues? 🙁

I have a lumbar disc problem - I have a question though - are protrusions the same as bulging discs or is he saying those discs are starting to herniate? I've never had a doctor describe 'protrusions' before. Also, just a warning - if he is talking about epidural steroid injections, DON'T do them. The steroids have never been cleared by the FDA for use near the spinal cord and they are associated with horrendous side effects, including arachnoiditis. Please google Dr. Oz and epidural steroid injections at the very least before you consent to have these done. Doctors make a lot of money doing these, but more and more negative information is coming out on them everyday. I believe Australia and New Zealand have even banned doctors from performing them anymore. Just make sure you know what you are potentially getting into. What kind of surgery is he talking about - fusion? Here's a link:

http://americannewsreport.com/nationalpainreport/fda-warns-about-epidurals-8823722.html

 

[WelshCob]

Double

 

[WelshCob]

I have a lumbar disc problem - I have a question though - are protrusions the same as bulging discs or is he saying those discs are starting to herniate? I've never had a doctor describe 'protrusions' before. Also, just a warning - if he is talking about epidural steroid injections, DON'T do them. The steroids have never been cleared by the FDA for use near the spinal cord and they are associated with horrendous side effects, including arachnoiditis. Please google Dr. Oz and epidural steroid injections at the very least before you consent to have these done. Doctors make a lot of money doing these, but more and more negative information is coming out on them everyday. I believe Australia and New Zealand have even banned doctors from performing them anymore. Just make sure you know what you are potentially getting into. What kind of surgery is he talking about - fusion? Here's a link:

http://americannewsreport.com/nationalpainreport/fda-warns-about-epidurals-8823722.html

There are two types of disc diseases a protrusion and an extrusion. A protrusion is where the nucleus pulposa is pressing on the annulus and and extrusion is where the nucleus pulposa has caused a rupture in the annulus. Both interact or press on the spinal cord. The issue with thoracic disks are the fact that they press on the spinal cord where as lumbar disks are interacting with the caudal equina. Which makes thoracic disease more 'serious'. He doesn't do the epidural injections he refers them out. The doctor is also supposedly one of the premier spinal guys. I am really far away from having surgery but the surgery would be a microlamenectomy.

Right now it is controlled with anti-inflammatories but the problem with that is I already have be scoped for ulcers, esophagitis and a diseased cardiac sphincter. I have none of these but I do have horrible acid reflux and the medicine has been known to increase the occurrence of ulcers and acid reflux.

 

[MassDVMMPH]

There are two types of disc diseases a protrusion and an extrusion. A protrusion is where the nucleus pulposa is pressing on the annulus and and extrusion is where the nucleus pulposa has caused a rupture in the annulus. Both interact or press on the spinal cord. The issue with thoracic disks are the fact that they press on the spinal cord where as lumbar disks are interacting with the caudal equina. Which makes thoracic disease more 'serious'. He doesn't do the epidural injections he refers them out. The doctor is also supposedly one of the premier spinal guys. I am really far away from having surgery but the surgery would be a microlamenectomy.

Right now it is controlled with anti-inflammatories but the problem with that is I already have be scoped for ulcers, esophagitis and a diseased cardiac sphincter. I have none of these but I do have horrible acid reflux and the medicine has been known to increase the occurrence of ulcers and acid reflux.

OK, so my doctor uses the term bulging for protrusion and annular tear/herniation for extrusion. Pain management doctors are usually the ones who do epidural steroid injections. But again, my main point was to do your research on those injections before consenting to them. You think your pain can't get any worse, but I am acquainted with people who have developed arachnoiditis after getting epidurals, and believe me it can. And you are the one who has to live with the consequences, not your doctor(s).

 

[WillowLeaf]

My rant: people who don't know anything about the scientific method or what makes evidence useful. We had to give persuasive speeches today (not a science class, but still, these are college-educated people who don't seem to know a thing about science or how to test a theory). Multiple people used the same story to argue why GMOs in food are bad: Apparently, one person in the class knows someone whose kid had severe food allergies. The parent put this kid on pre-packaged, extremely hypoallergenic food. Because the kid had been eating non-organic food before, and the parent chose to use organic prepackaged food, obviously it was the lack of GMOs in the food that made the kid's severe allergies improve, and couldn't possibly be related to the major diet change to an extreme hypoallergenic food.
Oh yeah, and another person gave a speech in which they called veterinarians unethical and greedy.

 

[allygator13]

My rant: people who don't know anything about the scientific method or what makes evidence useful. We had to give persuasive speeches today (not a science class, but still, these are college-educated people who don't seem to know a thing about science or how to test a theory). Multiple people used the same story to argue why GMOs in food are bad: Apparently, one person in the class knows someone whose kid had severe food allergies. The parent put this kid on pre-packaged, extremely hypoallergenic food. Because the kid had been eating non-organic food before, and the parent chose to use organic prepackaged food, obviously it was the lack of GMOs in the food that made the kid's severe allergies improve, and couldn't possibly be related to the major diet change to an extreme hypoallergenic food.
Oh yeah, and another person gave a speech in which they called veterinarians unethical and greedy.

I'm so sick of the GMO argument. And I'd love to know their reasons to back up the thing about unethical and greedy vets...

 

[DVMDream]

I'm so sick of the GMO argument. And I'd love to know their reasons to back up the thing about unethical and greedy vets...

The GMO argument

The anti-vaccine arguments

And I have lately heard about "alkaline" diets that make your blood alkaline and protect you from things like cancer.... you know because your blood pH changes with your diet...

 

[Coquette22]

And I have lately heard about "alkaline" diets that make your blood alkaline and protect you from things like cancer.... you know because your blood pH changes with your diet...

And y'know, it's ALWAYS a good thing when your blood pH changes. Not like that's a problem at all, nope....

 

[devyn]

I am doing a clinical EMS week in the post-mortem room of our vet hospital - which pretty much means working with the pathologists on any necropsies that come in... so far it has been fairly uneventful except for a dog we got in this afternoon which was downright depressing....

The dog had been taken to the vet 2 weeks prior with the complaint of it having ingested a rubber ball. The vet palpated the dog and found it to be not painful & BAR - sent it home. A few days later the dog was back in, still BAR, still not painful, so the vet continued to let the dog go home.... Finally a day or so later the dog came back in vomiting & the vet decided to do an exploratory laparotomy - this is without doing an x-ray first. This is all from the history sent in from the vet's office not the owner. Well nothing was found on the explore other than the intestines were a bit inflamed. 2 weeks post first complaint the dog drops dead. The owners decide to send it to us for necropsy as they really want answers to what happened (what was wrong). The dog was a healthy 4 yr old border collie cross.

The pathologist opened the dog up and it was immediately clear what was wrong - the dog had a septic peritonitis. Its abdominal cavity was completely filled with fluid, the thorax had filled as well, the sepsis had led to DIC pretty much. The cause: intestinal obstruction. What was the obstruction? A rubber ball.....

The dog died due to a veterinarian mistake/negligence - the vet did do the proper diagnostics and then also missed the obstruction on exploratory.

That poor dog must have gone through hell (pain-wise) before it died.

 

[WelshCob]

I am doing a clinical EMS week in the post-mortem room of our vet hospital - which pretty much means working with the pathologists on any necropsies that come in... so far it has been fairly uneventful except for a dog we got in this afternoon which was downright depressing....

The dog had been taken to the vet 2 weeks prior with the complaint of it having ingested a rubber ball. The vet palpated the dog and found it to be not painful & BAR - sent it home. A few days later the dog was back in, still BAR, still not painful, so the vet continued to let the dog go home.... Finally a day or so later the dog came back in vomiting & the vet decided to do an exploratory laparotomy - this is without doing an x-ray first. This is all from the history sent in from the vet's office not the owner. Well nothing was found on the explore other than the intestines were a bit inflamed. 2 weeks post first complaint the dog drops dead. The owners decide to send it to us for necropsy as they really want answers to what happened (what was wrong). The dog was a healthy 4 yr old border collie cross.

The pathologist opened the dog up and it was immediately clear what was wrong - the dog had a septic peritonitis. Its abdominal cavity was completely filled with fluid, the thorax had filled as well, the sepsis had led to DIC pretty much. The cause: intestinal obstruction. What was the obstruction? A rubber ball.....

The dog died due to a veterinarian mistake/negligence - the vet did do the proper diagnostics and then also missed the obstruction on exploratory.

That poor dog must have gone through hell (pain-wise) before it died.

That will be a lawsuit in the making.

 

[DVMDream]

And y'know, it's ALWAYS a good thing when your blood pH changes. Not like that's a problem at all, nope....

The funniest part is that people actually believe their blood pH will change by eating certain veggies. Unless they are chugging bleach or pool acid, they are not doing jack crap to their blood pH just by eating certain foods.

 

[Coquette22]

The funniest part is that people actually believe their blood pH will change by eating certain veggies. Unless they are chugging bleach or pool acid, they are not doing jack crap to their blood pH just by eating certain foods.

Oh I know. I've heard of it, my older sister has the scientific awareness of a gnat and tends to believe all the latest fad things. I just think it's funny that even if you COULD change your blood pH by eating things, for some reason having alkaline blood would be a good thing....

 

[DVMDream]

Oh I know. I've heard of it, my older sister has the scientific awareness of a gnat and tends to believe all the latest fad things. I just think it's funny that even if you COULD change your blood pH by eating things, for some reason having alkaline blood would be a good thing....

Yeah... I don't think people realize how bad that would actually be.

My older sister also has scientific awareness of, ok she has no common sense at all whatsoever, so scientific awareness is a laugh. She constantly posts lame articles about random health crap or some other stuff and thinks they are cool. One of them was that if you put a raw onion on the bottom of your foot it will draw out all the toxins in your body and make you healthier and make you suffer less disease. The onion will have access to your bloodstream and draw the toxins out of your bloodstream. I had to let her know that it will really only give you smelly, onion feet.

 

[WillowLeaf]

I'm so sick of the GMO argument. And I'd love to know their reasons to back up the thing about unethical and greedy vets...

It was about declawing. They told the class that the main reason declawing has not been outlawed in the U.S. is that it makes more money for the vets than recommending soft-paws, more scratching posts, or other solutions. The information they gave about soft paws in their speech was also incorrect, by the way. I don't think they know how they're applied.

My professor almost required the entire class to make a speech on the same topic, and do all the research together as a class, and the topic people voted on was anti-GMO. I'm so glad the professor changed his mind and allowed us to do our own topics.

On a related note, my senior-project class has to make a website about toxins in homes. So far the research people have done is pretty awful. Zero analyzing the sources of information, for example, that a company selling green materials might be just slightly biased about the health benefits of those green materials. How can people have not taken a single statistics or science class and be about to graduate college?

 

[dovelover]

My rant: people who don't know anything about the scientific method or what makes evidence useful. We had to give persuasive speeches today (not a science class, but still, these are college-educated people who don't seem to know a thing about science or how to test a theory). Multiple people used the same story to argue why GMOs in food are bad: Apparently, one person in the class knows someone whose kid had severe food allergies. The parent put this kid on pre-packaged, extremely hypoallergenic food. Because the kid had been eating non-organic food before, and the parent chose to use organic prepackaged food, obviously it was the lack of GMOs in the food that made the kid's severe allergies improve, and couldn't possibly be related to the major diet change to an extreme hypoallergenic food.

This is kinda funny as I'm literally about to start working on a group presentation about GMOs for my food regulations public health class. Luckily my group all agreed that GMOs were okay (at least food safety wise, there are other non-scientific issues to consider too).

 

[BlackDog17]

It was about declawing. They told the class that the main reason declawing has not been outlawed in the U.S. is that it makes more money for the vets than recommending soft-paws, more scratching posts, or other solutions. The information they gave about soft paws in their speech was also incorrect, by the way. I don't think they know how they're applied.

Oh boy, this sounds very much like my public speaking class. The professor did nothing to encourage people to use credible sources, so many of the presentations were filled with crap. One guy gave a speech on how 9/11 was an "inside job" but very obviously just took a few main bullet points off a conspiracy theory website and failed to consider even the most simple counter arguments. One of his points was that when first informed about the hijacked plane that ultimately ended up at the Pentagon, the vice president ordered the air force NOT to shoot it down. So I asked him why he felt that was so indicative of conspiracy, considering there were dozens of civilians on the plane and at the time the motives and destination of the hijackers was still unknown, and his answer was "oh, uhhhhhhh, I dunno."

One girl did a speech that essentially boiled down to "Organic = HEALTHY!". Basically telling the whole class that everything you can possibly buy that's organic is going to magically improve your health, and we should all eat organic meats/eggs/dairy because it is unquestionably 100% better welfare for the animals. I have nothing against organic production, but it really irks me when people spread misinformation like that.

My favorite was the girl who was totally against breeding dogs. Okay, that's fine, I can see both sides of the coin in that argument. But her whole speech was basically how we should not only adopt all our animals from shelters, but also donate tons of money to HSUS to support shelters. I had to be the one to say "Ummmmm, you know HSUS has absolutely nothing to do with your local humane society, right?" She didn't.

That whole class was one big eye roll. I hated it by the end of the semester.

Edit: omg, I can't believe I forgot the best one! Assignment was to give a speech honoring someone. Guy does his on Eminem, talks about how Eminem grew up using music as an "escape goat" (yes, you read that right) from the problems in his childhood. Goes on to talk about how he identifies with Eminem because he too uses music as an "escape goat." I was dying.

 

[variegata]

omg, I can't believe I forgot the best one! Assignment was to give a speech honoring someone. Guy does his on Eminem, talks about how Eminem grew up using music as an "escape goat" (yes, you read that right) from the problems in his childhood. Goes on to talk about how he identifies with Eminem because he too uses music as an "escape goat." I was dying.

I am getting THE GREATEST mental image of a Eminem riding off into the sunset on a goat.

 

[WillowLeaf]

Oh boy, this sounds very much like my public speaking class. The professor did nothing to encourage people to use credible sources, so many of the presentations were filled with crap. One guy gave a speech on how 9/11 was an "inside job" but very obviously just took a few main bullet points off a conspiracy theory website and failed to consider even the most simple counter arguments. One of his points was that when first informed about the hijacked plane that ultimately ended up at the Pentagon, the vice president ordered the air force NOT to shoot it down. So I asked him why he felt that was so indicative of conspiracy, considering there were dozens of civilians on the plane and at the time the motives and destination of the hijackers was still unknown, and his answer was "oh, uhhhhhhh, I dunno."

One girl did a speech that essentially boiled down to "Organic = HEALTHY!". Basically telling the whole class that everything you can possibly buy that's organic is going to magically improve your health, and we should all eat organic meats/eggs/dairy because it is unquestionably 100% better welfare for the animals. I have nothing against organic production, but it really irks me when people spread misinformation like that.

My favorite was the girl who was totally against breeding dogs. Okay, that's fine, I can see both sides of the coin in that argument. But her whole speech was basically how we should not only adopt all our animals from shelters, but also donate tons of money to HSUS to support shelters. I had to be the one to say "Ummmmm, you know HSUS has absolutely nothing to do with your local humane society, right?" She didn't.

That whole class was one big eye roll. I hated it by the end of the semester.

Edit: omg, I can't believe I forgot the best one! Assignment was to give a speech honoring someone. Guy does his on Eminem, talks about how Eminem grew up using music as an "escape goat" (yes, you read that right) from the problems in his childhood. Goes on to talk about how he identifies with Eminem because he too uses music as an "escape goat." I was dying.

I think we must have the same professor... He is new to my school, so maybe he came from your undergrad.

There were some other really bad presentations, similar to the "organic food will have a million magical benefits" one, but I tuned a lot of them out and can't remember what they were about.

Lol, the escape goat made me come really close to spitting out my breakfast.

 

[BlackDog17]

I am getting THE GREATEST mental image of a Eminem riding off into the sunset on a goat.

I really wanted to raise my hand at the end and be like "Dude, I'm a zookeeper and I have dealt with many an escaped goat, they only create more problems!"

Worst part was no one corrected him. Even the professor didn't say anything when he gave his comments at the end of the speech.

 

[shortnsweet]

My timing in finding relationships is impeccable. I should really just give up and become a nun.

 

[that redhead]

Oh boy, this sounds very much like my public speaking class. The professor did nothing to encourage people to use credible sources, so many of the presentations were filled with crap. One guy gave a speech on how 9/11 was an "inside job" but very obviously just took a few main bullet points off a conspiracy theory website and failed to consider even the most simple counter arguments. One of his points was that when first informed about the hijacked plane that ultimately ended up at the Pentagon, the vice president ordered the air force NOT to shoot it down. So I asked him why he felt that was so indicative of conspiracy, considering there were dozens of civilians on the plane and at the time the motives and destination of the hijackers was still unknown, and his answer was "oh, uhhhhhhh, I dunno."

One girl did a speech that essentially boiled down to "Organic = HEALTHY!". Basically telling the whole class that everything you can possibly buy that's organic is going to magically improve your health, and we should all eat organic meats/eggs/dairy because it is unquestionably 100% better welfare for the animals. I have nothing against organic production, but it really irks me when people spread misinformation like that.

My favorite was the girl who was totally against breeding dogs. Okay, that's fine, I can see both sides of the coin in that argument. But her whole speech was basically how we should not only adopt all our animals from shelters, but also donate tons of money to HSUS to support shelters. I had to be the one to say "Ummmmm, you know HSUS has absolutely nothing to do with your local humane society, right?" She didn't.

That whole class was one big eye roll. I hated it by the end of the semester.

Edit: omg, I can't believe I forgot the best one! Assignment was to give a speech honoring someone. Guy does his on Eminem, talks about how Eminem grew up using music as an "escape goat" (yes, you read that right) from the problems in his childhood. Goes on to talk about how he identifies with Eminem because he too uses music as an "escape goat." I was dying.

I admit to being full out against ever breeding another dog until we run out of homeless critters, but if recognize I'm one of the more extremist view points. But HSUS? No.