RANT HERE thread

[SkiOtter]

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Its a small class, seminar style thing so she specified have to log into zoom with the video on and attendance/class participation counts for our grade. 🙁

Take a picture of you in front of your computer and set it as your zoom background and just peace

 

[Minnerbelle]

Yeah, I'd show up long enough to be counted and then feign wifi issues lol

Find the oldest tablet or laptop or whatever archaic thing you have that will support zoom, and be that person whose audio/video keeps skipping out, and then unplug your WiFi for a minute so that you seemlessly disappear due to technology issues

 

[battie]

Its an animal law class. I foolishly thought would be interesting, helpful, and maybe help me understand some of the regulatory side of veterinary medicine...but I was very, very wrong and by the time I saw the syllabus/realized it was essentially animal rights propaganda it was too late to drop it.

Also write a review for the class of how its biased and shouldn't be a campus funded class if it's not going to be an actual animal law class. I get having the various perspectives, but having it be animal rights based isnt okay since that's not how animal law actually works

 

[vetmedhead]

Also write a review for the class of how its biased and shouldn't be a campus funded class if it's not going to be an actual animal law class. I get having the various perspectives, but having it be animal rights based isnt okay since that's not how animal law actually works

Especially because learning what people's opinions of what the laws should be is not even remotely the same as discussing, y'know, actual animal laws.

These topics sound better suited to an animal ethics class, and even then it would be a heavily biased class content-wise

 

[ajs513]

I just found out that my summer position at the research colony, which was full time and would have been awesome experience with both researchers and clinicians, is no longer happening. I have no idea what to do at this point. I know there are people in the same position as me, but I’m just sort of at a loss. I put in so much work to earn this position, and it would have set me up perfectly. I had everything planned out. First summer I would work in the colony, second summer I would do research. Well now if I can’t find a research position or something this summer, I’m screwed. I know people say that internship and residency programs will probably understand that the world exploded in 2020, but this was my leg up. This was my cool, unique thing I was going to do.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

I just found out that my summer position at the research colony, which was full time and would have been awesome experience with both researchers and clinicians, is no longer happening. I have no idea what to do at this point. I know there are people in the same position as me, but I’m just sort of at a loss. I put in so much work to earn this position, and it would have set me up perfectly. I had everything planned out. First summer I would work in the colony, second summer I would do research. Well now if I can’t find a research position or something this summer, I’m screwed. I know people say that internship and residency programs will probably understand that the world exploded in 2020, but this was my leg up. This was my cool, unique thing I was going to do.

I'm so very sorry. This is such a hard time. Could you do this experience next summer instead and plan to find a research project that is outside of the summer research program? I did other externships during the summer, so I never did a summer research program, but have managed to still accumulate significant research experience prior to the match.

 

[ajs513]

I'm so very sorry. This is such a hard time. Could you do this experience next summer instead and plan to find a research project that is outside of the summer research program? I did other externships during the summer, so I never did a summer research program, but have managed to still accumulate significant research experience prior to the match.

I think that’s a good idea. I’m doing a case report with my faculty mentor this summer, so I’m also still doing something even if I can’t find a project to join. Your experience is extremely reassuring, and as a first year it’s been hard to think about doing anything other than planning my entire life perfectly. Thank you.

 

[KCgophervet]

Its a small class, seminar style thing so she specified have to log into zoom with the video on and attendance/class participation counts for our grade. 🙁


Its an animal law class. I foolishly thought would be interesting, helpful, and maybe help me understand some of the regulatory side of veterinary medicine...but I was very, very wrong and by the time I saw the syllabus/realized it was essentially animal rights propaganda it was too late to drop it.

Also write a review for the class of how its biased and shouldn't be a campus funded class if it's not going to be an actual animal law class. I get having the various perspectives, but having it be animal rights based isnt okay since that's not how animal law actually works

I went to a great talk at AALAS about how animal rights activists are in colleges and teaching classes like the one you're describing. It's awful because they are targeting people during very formative years, filling their heads with lies and misinformation based on emotion rather than fact, and then basically setting them up to go on to push for laws that make any animal work more and more challenging to do. And not actually teaching or showing people all the laws and regulations that actually already exist for the various areas of animal work (research, agriculture, etc) or the necessity for these areas of work. People literally don't understand why animal research is still necessary.

On a side rant, I saw an ad the other day from Pfizer about COVID19 and how science and scientists are working to find treatments and vaccine to combat it, not ONE SECOND of footage showed animals in research. It drives me nuts because this is all the public sees; people in lab coats and masks and goggles swirling beakers of colored liquids but not connecting this to the fact that animal research is going to be imperative to developing a vaccine and testing novel drug therapies.

 

[lilylilac]

I‘ve been waiting for a scholarship check to come in the mail for 7 weeks now. On top of that, I fall in the category of people that neither got a refund nor owed money, so the Get My Payment feature through the IRS won’t recognize my information to set up a direct deposit for the stimulus check. That’s a lot of money just up in the air right now that I have no idea when I’ll get. My first paycheck for residency won’t come until end of July and I definitely don’t have enough money to make it until then.

 

[sheltermed]

I think that’s a good idea. I’m doing a case report with my faculty mentor this summer, so I’m also still doing something even if I can’t find a project to join. Your experience is extremely reassuring, and as a first year it’s been hard to think about doing anything other than planning my entire life perfectly. Thank you.

To add onto 3m's idea - you might look for opportunities in industry (pharmaceutical companies for instance) who do similar work, such as drug development. They're still up and running - I work at Charles River Labs and it's business as usual - places like that may or may not be looking for extra hands as they lose some of their staff to illness or quarantine.

 

[KCgophervet]

Oh also @altadama I would be spamming that class with links to Speaking of Research or Foundation for Biomedical Research | Animal Research etc. Granted I am at a very different part of my career and don't need the class for anything.

Also if it's not too late, 100% don't go to the class with that speaker. Or do what others suggest and connect via zoom and then peace out mentally and browse reddit or something. Mute it and if someone asks why you didn't speak up just say your audio wasn't working great.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

I think that’s a good idea. I’m doing a case report with my faculty mentor this summer, so I’m also still doing something even if I can’t find a project to join. Your experience is extremely reassuring, and as a first year it’s been hard to think about doing anything other than planning my entire life perfectly. Thank you.

10/10 recommend. The summer program can definitely help you get your foot in the door with a faculty member, but it's definitely not the only way...you'd be amazed how willing faulty are to have help on projects, especially if they can see your truly interested. I pretty randomly reached out to my mentor about getting involved on one of her projects when I was just starting to think about specializing and I've since ended up with two first author papers and a conference abstract (hopefully it gets accepted), plus a couple other projects...but probably even more importantly, I've developed a really great relationship with them. Case reports are definitely a good way to start and get some writing experience IMO.

If your looking for a faculty member, it's helpful to select one that publishes a lot to begin with and one that's doing things your interested in. You can search faculty pages/pub med/ clinical trials page if your school has one to see what their research interests are. Try not to stress too much, there's definitely multiple ways to accomplish the same goal🙂

 

[sheltermed]

@finnickthedog does the scholarship office drop the ball on a lot of things? =\

 

[finnickthedog]

@finnickthedog does the scholarship office drop the ball on a lot of things? =\

I have no idea tbh. They send out scholarship opportunities. Are there others that they don't send out? Maybe, but I wouldn't know. I only knew they dropped the ball on this scholarship because I knew it existed before I ever started school because of my background which fits what the scholarship is looking for (which ya know, makes this hurt all the more). And then when I started emailing them about it they initially kind of just told me to handle it myself and I was like... guys, I literally cannot. They will only accept applications sent by the school. So I finally got them to send it out. And then they didn't pick mine as one to send anyways. Wish I knew why.

I guess at least I helped two other people apply for a scholarship they otherwise either wouldn't have known about and/or couldn't have applied for.

Anyways, I wouldn't worry about whether they drop the ball on things because it probably won't affect you. I don't think most scholarships are like this one where you need the school in order to apply.

 

[altadama]

I went to a great talk at AALAS about how animal rights activists are in colleges and teaching classes like the one you're describing. It's awful because they are targeting people during very formative years, filling their heads with lies and misinformation based on emotion rather than fact, and then basically setting them up to go on to push for laws that make any animal work more and more challenging to do. And not actually teaching or showing people all the laws and regulations that actually already exist for the various areas of animal work (research, agriculture, etc) or the necessity for these areas of work. People literally don't understand why animal research is still necessary.

On a side rant, I saw an ad the other day from Pfizer about COVID19 and how science and scientists are working to find treatments and vaccine to combat it, not ONE SECOND of footage showed animals in research. It drives me nuts because this is all the public sees; people in lab coats and masks and goggles swirling beakers of colored liquids but not connecting this to the fact that animal research is going to be imperative to developing a vaccine and testing novel drug therapies.

Yeah...its actually worse than that in this case because the whole point this professor has tried to make is that regulations to protect animals don't actually exist. She disparages the animal welfare act, humane slaughter regulations, etc. as ineffective, created by biased organizations and serving only to actually help people exploit and mistreat animals (hence having the president of the American anti-vivisection society be the one to teach these students about the animal welfare act). Also, completely incorrect information was presented about which animals are covered, which I tried to correct and was instantly shut down.
Wven when discussing veterinary malpractice, she was basically setting it up like vets are the enemy and the legal system lets them literally get away with murder (her malpractice example was "you take your dog to the vet for surgery, the vet beats your dog to death, throws it down the stairs, and then claims it died of a heart attack when you come to pick it up"...aside from the fact that that's STRAIGHT ABUSE, not actual malpractice where a medical decision causes harm). They're literally teaching that animal use in all industries is unregulated, farmers are intentionally cruel and torture their animals, and veterinarians will murder your dog and get away with it. It makes my blood boil.

And I 1000% agree with your side rant...I've been sharing articles on facebook trying to highlight the animal research component of things, but that just resulted in my family telling me I need to stop sharing those types of things because its "inflammatory". 😡

Also write a review for the class of how its biased and shouldn't be a campus funded class if it's not going to be an actual animal law class. I get having the various perspectives, but having it be animal rights based isnt okay since that's not how animal law actually works

Yup, full on plan on blasting the biased nature of the course on the evaluation. I honestly usually don't fill out course evaluations...but I CAN'T WAIT. I've also talked to a few people in the vet school about this class and how damaging I feel it is...and how inexcusable it is to be so biased and willfully ignorant about all things animal/regulatory/welfare based when they have a veterinary school literally 10 minutes away

Oh also @altadama I would be spamming that class with links to Speaking of Research or Foundation for Biomedical Research | Animal Research etc. Granted I am at a very different part of my career and don't need the class for anything.

Also if it's not too late, 100% don't go to the class with that speaker. Or do what others suggest and connect via zoom and then peace out mentally and browse reddit or something. Mute it and if someone asks why you didn't speak up just say your audio wasn't working great.

I do post articles from AMP and other places about research and try to counter some of the misinformation, but no one listens. There was a lecture where they discussed agriculture and they were talking about how "vets feed animals chemicals!", showing farrowing crates and mislabeling them as gestation stalls, etc. I tried to share information about the veterinary feed directive, changing views on antimicrobial use, welfare reasons behind calf hutches, farrowing crates etc. to at least try and show these things don't exist purely because "FARMERS AND VETS WANT TO TORTURE ANIMALS!!". Literally got no where because they're just not willing to listen.

I did go to the class and his definition of animal welfare and what it does was entirely factually incorrect, but of course my attempts to try and counter were completely dismissed as stupid and apparently as someone who isn't vegan I have no business "pretending to care about animals" and there's something morally wrong with me if I argue otherwise. I'm just so livid about everything this class stands for and the fact that its such an echo chamber of people confirming their own biases and then thinking that makes them qualified to pass judgement and regulations about how people deal with animals.

I can't wait to hand in my final paper and do my presentation about the importance of animal research, how everyone benefits from it every single day (unless you don't use any kind of medication or commercial product ever), the actual definition of animal welfare. Also plan on correcting the misinformation that was presented about the definition of animal welfare, what the animal welfare act does and does not do, and discuss how compassionate management practices implemented by people educated in welfare, behavior, and animal physiology can fill in the gaps that may be present...as opposed to burying their head in the sand/pretending they don't benefit from the use of animals/disparaging entire industries and veterinarians just to make themselves feel better and attain some perceived moral high ground. Side note...I may fail this class but it'll be worth it.

And this isnt even some stupid undergrad class. This is considered a senior level class at the law school. The people in this class, learning this information, and truly believing these things are about to graduate from a professional program, with a JD, thinking they understand the issues and are the most qualified people to advocate for animals and regulate the various animal industries....

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

Yeah...its actually worse than that in this case because the whole point this professor has tried to make is that regulations to protect animals don't actually exist. She disparages the animal welfare act, humane slaughter regulations, etc. as ineffective, created by biased organizations and serving only to actually help people exploit and mistreat animals (hence having the president of the American anti-vivisection society be the one to teach these students about the animal welfare act). Also, completely incorrect information was presented about which animals are covered, which I tried to correct and was instantly shut down.
Wven when discussing veterinary malpractice, she was basically setting it up like vets are the enemy and the legal system lets them literally get away with murder (her malpractice example was "you take your dog to the vet for surgery, the vet beats your dog to death, throws it down the stairs, and then claims it died of a heart attack when you come to pick it up"...aside from the fact that that's STRAIGHT ABUSE, not actual malpractice where a medical decision causes harm). They're literally teaching that animal use in all industries is unregulated, farmers are intentionally cruel and torture their animals, and veterinarians will murder your dog and get away with it. It makes my blood boil.

And I 1000% agree with your side rant...I've been sharing articles on facebook trying to highlight the animal research component of things, but that just resulted in my family telling me I need to stop sharing those types of things because its "inflammatory". 😡


Yup, full on plan on blasting the biased nature of the course on the evaluation. I honestly usually don't fill out course evaluations...but I CAN'T WAIT. I've also talked to a few people in the vet school about this class and how damaging I feel it is...and how inexcusable it is to be so biased and willfully ignorant about all things animal/regulatory/welfare based when they have a veterinary school literally 10 minutes away


I do post articles from AMP and other places about research and try to counter some of the misinformation, but no one listens. There was a lecture where they discussed agriculture and they were talking about how "vets feed animals chemicals!", showing farrowing crates and mislabeling them as gestation stalls, etc. I tried to share information about the veterinary feed directive, changing views on antimicrobial use, welfare reasons behind calf hutches, farrowing crates etc. to at least try and show these things don't exist purely because "FARMERS AND VETS WANT TO TORTURE ANIMALS!!". Literally got no where because they're just not willing to listen.

I did go to the class and his definition of animal welfare and what it does was entirely factually incorrect, but of course my attempts to try and counter were completely dismissed as stupid and apparently as someone who isn't vegan I have no business "pretending to care about animals" and there's something morally wrong with me if I argue otherwise. I'm just so livid about everything this class stands for and the fact that its such an echo chamber of people confirming their own biases and then thinking that makes them qualified to pass judgement and regulations about how people deal with animals.

I can't wait to hand in my final paper and do my presentation about the importance of animal research, how everyone benefits from it every single day (unless you don't use any kind of medication or commercial product ever), the actual definition of animal welfare. Also plan on correcting the misinformation that was presented about the definition of animal welfare, what the animal welfare act does and does not do, and discuss how compassionate management practices implemented by people educated in welfare, behavior, and animal physiology can fill in the gaps that may be present...as opposed to burying their head in the sand/pretending they don't benefit from the use of animals/disparaging entire industries and veterinarians just to make themselves feel better and attain some perceived moral high ground. Side note...I may fail this class but it'll be worth it.

I don't understand why speakers like this are invited to teach at a vet school??? Lab animal vets are vets. Ergo, they are the best ones to teach vets about lab animals and additionally it would suck that any vet school would invite someone to put down a category of veterinarians. Like, we should all stick up for each other, not put one another down.

 

[altadama]

I don't understand why speakers like this are invited to teach at a vet school??? Lab animal vets are vets. Ergo, they are the best ones to teach vets about lab animals and additionally it would suck that any vet school would invite someone to put down a category of veterinarians. Like, we should all stick up for each other, not put one another down.

Its actually a law school class I took out of interest. I was doing a mini-duel degree to get a certificate in law (because I thought that might be helpful for going into a regulated field like lab animal, or for negotiating employment contracts/understanding malpractice law if lab animal didnt pan out). But now ive just suffered through the most useless class in existence AND am in the process of trying to withdraw from the program because I cant afford the extra tuition because neither me nor my fiance are working at all because of covid. So really Im getting absolutely nothing from this whole painful experience. 🙁

Edit to add: When trying to bring up the actual definition of welfare per the ACAW, mention its an actual veterinary specialty, and discuss things in an logical, purely factual, and unemotional way, the response from this supposedly esteemed lawyer/philosopher was "That's crap, animal welfare is crap. It accomplished nothing, doesn't address animals, and the paper anything welfare related is written on isn't even worth using as toilet paper. And we're moving on". Which is when I decided it wasn't worth my breath, time, or energy, and muted the class.

 

[KCgophervet]

Its actually a law school class I took out of interest. I was doing a mini-duel degree to get a certificate in law (because I thought that might be helpful for going into a regulated field like lab animal, or for negotiating employment contracts/understanding malpractice law if lab animal didnt pan out). But now ive just suffered through the most useless class in existence AND am in the process of trying to withdraw from the program because I cant afford the extra tuition because neither me nor my fiance are working at all because of covid. So really Im getting absolutely nothing from this whole painful experience. 🙁

Edit to add: When trying to bring up the actual definition of welfare per the ACAW, mention its an actual veterinary specialty, and discuss things in an logical, purely factual, and unemotional way, the response from this supposedly esteemed lawyer/philosopher was "That's crap, animal welfare is crap. It accomplished nothing, doesn't address animals, and the paper anything welfare related is written on isn't even worth using as toilet paper. And we're moving on". Which is when I decided it wasn't worth my breath, time, or energy, and muted the class.

Major props to you for trying. Even if you didn't reach the professor or the speaker, perhaps one of the other classmates heard and may remember and do some research on their own to get the truth. And even if not, you did what you could.

 

[Lisagk]

I know this is completely changing the topic, but I just had to rant about this now that the application cycle is near its last few months and felt like the "RANT HERE" thread was a perfect place to rant about this. Or maybe there's a different place to rant about this that would actually be useful, but here it goes. I'm sure other people have already ranted about something similar in the past, but I just need to get this off my chest:

It kind of blows my mind to see how people behave on the student doctor network forums and in interviews. I found some applicants on this site who talk about the school they are applying to in a very disparaging and kind of insulting way. I'm not saying that people shouldn't have opinions or be able to express them, good or bad, but there is a way to communicate thoughts and feelings without straight up insulting the school or its administration, especially considering how nothing posted on the internet is ever private and identifying people from this site is actually not that difficult to do. With how unique everyone's application school list, experiences, stories, etc, is, it is not that hard to identify someone off of the information they put on here. I find that I regularly recognize people’s usernames with the recommended friends suggestions on facebook or in the APVMA group. If I can identify people that easily, so can schools.

I’ve read many posts of people straight up disparaging schools and its administration over delayed admissions decision due to COVID-19. I totally understand the frustration of having an expectation unmet, especially during a super stressful process, but also understand that these are unprecedented times and no one really knows how to handle a global pandemic, schools included. It’s okay to feel disappointed and frustrated, but maybe don’t bash administration when they actually are trying their best to accommodate people and adapt to the global changes. Things got delayed and that really sucked. I know the waiting is torturous, but try to understand what the school is going through, too. They've had to completely switch to online classrooms/clinicals, while states went into shut/lockdown so administration had to find out ways to better accommodate and support the students that they are currently responsible for, not to mention the familial responsibilities many people may have with all the k-12 schools shutting down. It sucks!

I've met with some people during my interviews about how they probably won't even go to this school anyway and I'm just left there thinking... "then why did you come to the interview if you didn't want to go here? You just took this spot away from someone who does!" Or I've met people who bashed whoever interviewed them DURING the interview day! I get that interviews are stressful and people have their ways of coping, but I don't understand why people do this where it can possibly be overheard by administrators. If you've had a terrible experience, I'm so sorry and my heart goes out to you and if you really decide because of the interview experience you don't want to attend that school, then I understand and I hope you make the best decision for yourself. But if you know you want to go to this school, maybe leave the ranting and raving for another day when you're not still on college property lol

I've been told my the doctors I work with that veterinary medicine is a small world, so it goes without saying that people should be careful what they say and post in public, especially about a school they are trying to get into. With how competitive admittance is in general, if the school finds out that you don’t really like them anyway, why would they accept you? That spot can go to someone who speaks and represents the school in a positive manner. Not to say that you cannot have or express your opinions, but it needs to be done and worded in a way that is respectful to the school and to other people. Schools can and will choose to reject you on these metrics alone.

 

[mammalade]

@Lisagk I’ve also noticed some of the negative things people have posted on here and it kinda blows my mind as well. Your post made me think of a time when an admissions official from a vet school came to talk to my college’s pre vet club, and a student asked for some tips on interviews like things not to do etc. The school they work for also has a human medical school and they work with their admissions team as well, and they told us about a student who told the interviewers that they were “lucky he was even considering their podunk school, since he was an incredibly outstanding student, and because his father went to Harvard and so he was probably also going to Harvard.“ Like okay, bye, go to Harvard then? Some people have no filter and I can’t comprehend it.

 

[Lisagk]

@Lisagk I’ve also noticed some of the negative things people have posted on here and it kinda blows my mind as well. Your post made me think of a time when an admissions official from a vet school came to talk to my college’s pre vet club, and a student asked for some tips on interviews like things not to do etc. The school they work for also has a human medical school and they work with their admissions team as well, and they told us about a student who told the interviewers that they were “lucky he was even considering their podunk school, since he was an incredibly outstanding student, and because his father went to Harvard and so he was probably also going to Harvard.“ Like okay, bye, go to Harvard then? Some people have no filter and I can’t comprehend it.

Ohmygod! I can't believe someone had the audacity to say something like that TO the school DURING the interview! The entitlement is so strong. I wonder if that person ever made it to Harvard lol I don't understand why he even went to the interview then if he think he deserved "better." ugh

 

[allygator13]

I know this is completely changing the topic, but I just had to rant about this now that the application cycle is near its last few months and felt like the "RANT HERE" thread was a perfect place to rant about this. Or maybe there's a different place to rant about this that would actually be useful, but here it goes. I'm sure other people have already ranted about something similar in the past, but I just need to get this off my chest:

Along these same lines, I've been told by residency directors that when they are considering candidates they do look at their social media and any other online presence. If they see that you're someone who explicitly or disrespectfully complains about your work environment regularly or posts other unprofessional things they absolutely will not consider you. I'm sure posts to SDN are no different. Seems like common sense in this day and age but some people still don't have that

 

[Lisagk]

Along these same lines, I've been told by residency directors that when they are considering candidates they do look at their social media and any other online presence. If they see that you're someone who explicitly or disrespectfully complains about your work environment regularly or posts other unprofessional things they absolutely will not consider you. I'm sure posts to SDN are no different. Seems like common sense in this day and age but some people still don't have that

This just reminded me about the existence of my Twilight fan fiction account that I made when I was twelve that I now cannot delete because I do not remember the password and I cannot make a new password because the email address I used to make the account has been deactivated by AOL for inactivity so basically I'm screwed. Oh, and no, contrary to popular belief, I didn't write any smut; it's just plain embarrassing.

 

[allygator13]

This just reminded me about the existence of my Twilight fan fiction account that I made when I was twelve that I now cannot delete because I do not remember the password and I cannot make a new password because the email address I used to make the account has been deactivated by AOL for inactivity so basically I'm screwed. Oh, and no, contrary to popular belief, I didn't write any smut; it's just plain embarrassing.

LOL I mean I don't know that they'd care about something like that. They just don't want someone with a bad attitude about life.

 

[deleted676737]

This just reminded me about the existence of my Twilight fan fiction account that I made when I was twelve that I now cannot delete because I do not remember the password and I cannot make a new password because the email address I used to make the account has been deactivated by AOL for inactivity so basically I'm screwed. Oh, and no, contrary to popular belief, I didn't write any smut; it's just plain embarrassing.

I, too, definitely wrote my own share of cringy fanfiction back in the day; despite it probably still existing out there somewhere, it hasn't come back to haunt me yet, be it with getting into vet school or getting jobs or otherwise.

 

[Lisagk]

 

[Lisagk]

I, too, definitely wrote my own share of cringy fanfiction back in the day; despite it probably still existing out there somewhere, it hasn't come back to haunt me yet, be it with getting into vet school or getting jobs or otherwise.

Okay, now you need to tell us what you wrote fanfiction on.

 

[RTC19]

I have accepted it probably isn't realistic for me to become a physician, nor do I really want to.

The problem is that I can't get excited about ANY other career. I work in Education right now and have looked into School Psychology, SLP and OT. All of these are objectively good choices that I would probably enjoy because I love kids and my favorite subject in all of school is Child Development.

I just can't feel excited.

Maybe I am still grieving (just changed my major to Psychology on Wednesday so I can graduate in Spring of '21 and am still in the process of selling off my MCAT books). Maybe I'm stubborn. I don't know.

I am sure I won't always feel this way, but I do now. Some of you know my backstory - I left an abusive, super creepy ex-boyfriend who was also my apartment neighbor in the middle of the night in the spring of 2019. I moved back in with my mom and switched schools. I have always been a huge Linkin Park fan and it sounds silly, but a song lyric from Mike Shinoda's album Post Traumatic described how I was feeling and that was, "It's not what I wanted, but it had to be" This other school was the only other one I could afford and literally my only choice. I got accepted in April and felt excited about it in August. The fact that it was my only choice for completion of my college education somehow made it easier to find the positives and make myself eventually get happy about it.

In choosing a different career: "This isn't what I want, but it has to be", but I am overwhelmed by all of the choices and the fact that not a single one feels *just right*. It isn't exactly like switching to my new school - the only other public university in this section of the state - where even though it's not what I wanted, I had to make it what I wanted. If this particular thing isn't exactly what I want, there are other options, but none of those options seem to feel quite right either.

This was very ranty and disjointed and I appreciate you giving me a chance to get some things off my chest. 🙂

 

[Coopah]

Hugs RTC, hopefully it all works out in the end in an even better way than you could've imagined. Sometimes the letting go is hard but it can be the best thing to ever happen to us. We're here for you.

 

[RTC19]

You are a good friend, @Coopah . Thank you - that helped. *hugs back*

 

[vetmedhead]

This just reminded me about the existence of my Twilight fan fiction account that I made when I was twelve that I now cannot delete because I do not remember the password and I cannot make a new password because the email address I used to make the account has been deactivated by AOL for inactivity so basically I'm screwed. Oh, and no, contrary to popular belief, I didn't write any smut; it's just plain embarrassing.

I, too, definitely wrote my own share of cringy fanfiction back in the day; despite it probably still existing out there somewhere, it hasn't come back to haunt me yet, be it with getting into vet school or getting jobs or otherwise.

I've got one better on both of you, I wrote super cringey House MD fanfic back when I was 12

If anything it just proves that I've always been interested in the health professions tho so I'm happy for it to show up on my online resume 😎

Also I still read a lot of fanfic now, it's like those trash bubblegum romance novels, but more entertaining and kind of more embarrassing to get caught reading in public. But I've stumbled across some legitimately good stories over the years!

 

[Trilt]

Yeah, youtube has really sorted my ish for pretty much every knot I know how to tie.

For what it's worth @ziggyandjazzy I legitimately don't know a single person who felt good about tying knots for suturing the first time they did it. Practice will get you there but it sucks, especially when you're first learning. And there may always be knots and patterns that just aren't your friend. I can rock out strangle knots and intradermals like nobody's business, but god help us all if I need to remember how to do something that is supposed to be simple like burying an effing knot

Practicing vet and I still fail at "proper" burying. If at all possible I leave a tail from a lower closure layer to tie down to. And use skin glue. And pray to suture gods occasionally, just like my prayers to venipuncture gods.

(clarification: it's the same as you extend the knot, but after 3 throws, you draw the working strand through the last loop you've made & pull it tight.)

I feel like Aberdeen is just a knot that you need shown to you... and then once you get it, you get it. Such a great knot. My favourite is using it intermittently in continuous closures.

 

[altadama]

Major props to you for trying. Even if you didn't reach the professor or the speaker, perhaps one of the other classmates heard and may remember and do some research on their own to get the truth. And even if not, you did what you could.

That's my hope! I figure I'm at least putting the information out there and if they choose to remain ignorant, then its on them and they're a lost cause anyways. I also e-mailed the professor about my thoughts on some of what's been said in class/assigned as readings, and I do think there's been some weakening on the "animal welfare is crap and purely benefits humans" stance. I also figure that maybe putting a face to veterinarians/lab animal people will maybe make it harder for them to spew so much misinformation and venom...or will at least force them to say it to my face instead of just behind a keyboard or in their little echo chambers.

 

[finnickthedog]

Locked myself out of the house. Because of course I did. At least I locked myself out with my phone?

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Oh my god I can't stand this anymore.
There is one or two mourning doves outside my office making mating calls (or some annoying noises) virtually 24/7. They've been doing this for days. I can hear them through earplugs. I can hear them when watching/listening to lectures with headphones on (unless I turn it up to obnoxious and painful levels). And I dont even have good hearing. I can't hear them when I put earplugs in, then my headphones over it and put a white noise playlist over it, but this is hardly a solution and I cant watch lectures this way...
They are driving me crazy. I have ADHD and am very noise sensitive and they're severely impacting my studying and sanity. If I walk outside, they'll fly away (sometimes), but they'll just come back 10 minutes later and keep doing it. I looked up noise cancelling headphones but they're all so expensive, money is tight right now, and I have nice headphones I like.
Does anyone have any advice? I'm so desperate.

 

[battie]

Does anyone have any advice? I'm so desperate.

Could you order one of those fake owls and set it up? You might need to move it every few days so they don't realize it's fake. But it might be worth a shot!

 

[SkiOtter]

Shiny things that move. Strips of Mylar balloon taped where they can blow in the breeze, special spinners for this purpose

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Could you order one of those fake owls and set it up? You might need to move it every few days so they don't realize it's fake. But it might be worth a shot!

that was one thing I've been considering. it's worth a shot!
I'm not even sure which tree(s) they're hanging out in since we have quite a few and they're tall. but I def might try it out. I regularly hear an owl at night also, but haven't for a couple weeks. maybe if the owl was to come around the doves may go somewhere else

 

[Eclectic Teal]

Do you have a speaker? There's a website with the calls of different birds of North America. Try red-tailed Hawks

 

[vetmedhead]

Do you have a speaker? There's a website with the calls of different birds of North America. Try red-tailed Hawks

www.allaboutbirds.org is a great one for finding calls to play @ziggyandjazzy

 

[ziggyandjazzy]

Ooh great suggestions ty

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Anti-vaxers on facebook-"I'm not getting a COVID vax because it'll have a microchip"
...would you like me to stab you with a microchip needle no lido? 😵

 

[killerleaf]

sometimes, you just realize, you really can't fix stupid. you just hope they haven't bred.

 

[killerleaf]

However, I have often day-dreamed of being able to GPS chip the residents...that would stop some of the issues of "where are they?" and the VA saying that they weren't there when they were. sigh.

 

[KCgophervet]

Woken up last night to feverish baby (got up to 104F axillary temp on tylenol 🙁 ) and basically got no sleep last night. His fever is waxing and waning and he is a cranky baby. Also got the pleasure of taking him in for a nasal swab for COVID19 testing and I'm all paranoid now. 24-48 hrs for results. Hate all the uncertainty and just want my kiddo to feel better 🙁

 

[finnickthedog]

Unsure if I'll be able to reschedule either of the two externships I'd originally planned that I was really looking forward to. As one of them was supposed to be my source of surgical experience I'm now unsure whether I'll have accomplished even one spay before I graduate. The other I was just really looking forward to. I think this is the first time I've been genuinely a little bitter about not getting in a year earlier. If I'd been a fourth year with the same schedule I would have just been done and only missed one elective that I wasn't super attached to.

Also my boyfriend might have a dental abscess (after losing a filling a few weeks ago) that he can't get treated (I mean they'll give him antibiotics and painkillers but they won't even look at the tooth) because apparently when they say "no dental care except for emergencies" they mean "you basically have to be dying already for us to consider it emergency" so I get to sit around worrying about him. As if him being far far away wasn't hard enough.

Giving up on life for today. Just gonna curl up in a ball and feel sorry for myself. I can try and be productive tomorrow.

 

[RTC19]

*huge hug* Praying for you and your baby, @kcoughli .

 

[awesomenessity]

A minor rant given all the craziness in the world right now: why does my horse hate vaccines now????

He's always been fine getting vaccines, then two years ago his neck got super swollen and painful two days afterwards, causing him to colic because it changed the way he cribbed and he was just sucking in air. Last year I gave it in the pectoral to prevent a similar event from happening, and gave him banamine just in case, and he formed a lovely, droopy boob that lasted for about a week. So this year I decided to try giving it in the butt, plus banamine, plus I lunged him for 15 mins to help distribute it. NOPE! Now we have a very swollen butt 🙄 I swear to god horse you're never getting a vaccine ever again

 

[Squeaksmom]

@awesomenessity is this just since you added the rabies vax?

I have apparently developed a citrus allergy. It cross-reacts with birch pollen, so not completely out of left field shocking, but I LIKE citrus 🙁

 

[awesomenessity]

@awesomenessity is this just since you added the rabies vax?

I have apparently developed a citrus allergy. It cross-reacts with birch pollen, so not completely out of left field shocking, but I LIKE citrus 🙁

He hasn't gotten the rabies vaccine since the skunk incident, didn't react to that one at all. Reacted to the 5 way the following spring though... last year we did a 4 way and this year I just did the 3 way to see if splitting it up more would help.. Guess not 🙄