Reading Suggestions for Fall Vet School Entry

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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Jill418

Tufts Class of 2014
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Hi there,
I'm considering doing some reading in advance to prep for the fall curriculum. I know my mind tends to absorb info better if I've seen it twice (I'm definitely nervous about the amount of info we have to learn, but excited of course!), so I thought I'd get a little headstart to be ready for the fall. Can anyone recommend any good textbooks/books to acquire to start reading material that would be covered first year first semester? I've mainly been searching for veterinary anatomy/physiology/phys-chem books thus far. I'm not planning to start studying but just want to casually review the material as it's been a few years since I was a student. :)

Thanks for any help you can give me!! Hopefully this will be helpful to others as they prepare to start school as well! Congrats to everyone accepted!!! :)
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Haha, I kind of figured but that's ok. :)

I just want to pick up the book occasionally, like I said, not studying, just reviewing (I haven't been a student in a while so want to just review). Well aware my life will be consumed by studying when I get there!

I promise to enjoy my summer!!! :laugh:

Cheers
 
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There will be a ton of people who come and tell you not to do any work whatsoever this summer, but I think that it's actually a good idea, if you're up for it and find it enjoyable. Probably the best thing would be to see if you can find out what books were used this year at the school you'll be attending, and if you can get ahold of syllabi for the course(s) you're interested in getting a jump on, even better.
 
It might be helpful for you, but again it might not. You learn so much in such a short amount of time, that all your hard work over the summer will probably be learned in 4 weeks at school.

Last year, this first year student at Western told us when I had my interview there, that she did what you want to do now over the summer, and she said she wished she just enjoyed her summer, because all that effort she did was learned in a matter of weeks at school.

Just a forewarning...but if thats really what you want to do, I guess it can't hurt. Just try not to get too studious...because you definitely won't have much time to enjoy yourself once school starts.

Good Luck!
 
It's absolutely true. I had the same idea as you- getting a head start, etc. But it really is pointless. It's not at all an efficient use of time. You can work your butt off all summer and once school starts, you will realize all the stuff you learned in advance was covered in about 2 weeks in school. Seriously! My advice- enjoy the fact that you MADE it! Take time off this summer and enjoy it! Go on vacation, hang out with friends, whatever, and when you come back and start school this fall you will have it out of your system, be refreshed and ready to go! :thumbup:
 
twelvetigers said:
Here's what everyone will say...

Are you crazy? Enjoy your summer! You'll learn everything you need in the fall!
Click to expand...

Maybe a happy medium is to pick up a book or two on subjects that interest you that will apply at some point in your vet school studies. Not necessarily for this fall or to study in detail, but to peruse at your leisure.

I like old school food animal husbandry books and books like Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in Horses by Ross and Dyson. Much of the Ross and Dyson book is WAY over my head, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Or just kick back with an US Weekly. If I ever get into vet school, that's my plan anyway!
 
If you've been out of school for a while, probably the most helpful thing would be to learn about a topic (any topic you're interested in) and breath life into your study skills again.

The extra knowledge you'd gain over a summer of reading a bit really won't help you much when fall comes, but if you take the chance to geek out about something and just practice the learning process? That would probably be very helpful.
 
I would recommend reading a good book. Any book. Just to get your mind back in the right frame set. I would also recommend getting to know some basic terminology, such as cranial, caudal, distal, proximal, etc. Other than that, trying to learn content would be a wash and you might not remember it or learn it correctly, so just have fun and don't worry too much. You will have plenty of worrying to do in the fall and beyond.
 
Don't mess with trying to start reading your anatomy and histology texts. You'll fall asleep. Just read some good fiction/non-fiction for fun. Try something like "Stiff" by Mary Roach (what happens to cadavers donated to science) and "Better" or "Complications" by Atul Gawande MD (very inspiring).
 
when i graduated hs i spent the summer working before college. later in college i seriously regretted that. i never went on the trips that i was planning on going to and i didnt visit my OOS friends. in college i always had a job during the summers+some classes and of course, i didnt follow my own advice and i spent the summer after i graduated college starting my new 2 yr fellowship. now, i am FINALLY going to do what ive wanted to do for 6 yrs. My fellowship ends in June and I am going to MO and Cali to visit my old hometown and friends. YAYY!
 
I always tried to buy my textbooks before the first week of classes so I could read ahead, but I could never get myself to actually do it! :p

I'm planning to spend this summer traveling and being a beach bum. :thumbup:
 
I agree with dgm, it could definitely be helpful.

One thing you could do which doesn't require much brain-power but lots of time is to make up some flashcards (if flashcards are your thing) for anatomy. Most school use little Miller (which is actually by Evans) and you could photocopy the images and make some muscle flashcards. I wish I had made more flashcards, but it just wasn't practical to try to do it all during the semester on top of everything else!

They rec. to our class to read the first few chapters of Dyce's Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy. I think I read the first few sentences before I quit and picked up some trashy magazine. :cool:

Even more helpful depending on where you are going would be to take developmental biology (or any other course) over the summer so you can pass out of it in the fall!!!!
 
turnandburn said:
It's absolutely true. I had the same idea as you- getting a head start, etc. But it really is pointless. It's not at all an efficient use of time. You can work your butt off all summer and once school starts, you will realize all the stuff you learned in advance was covered in about 2 weeks in school. Seriously! My advice- enjoy the fact that you MADE it! Take time off this summer and enjoy it! Go on vacation, hang out with friends, whatever, and when you come back and start school this fall you will have it out of your system, be refreshed and ready to go! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Exactly what I want to say. :thumbup:

Studying during your summer is like throwing your Christmas feast into the trash when you know you have a famine coming up. Don't do it!!!! Savor it while you can.

If you really want to do something, go buy highlighters. You'll need them. Or cook some food and freeze it so while you're studying you don't have to eat ramen.

You don't necessarily have to learn med stuff to get your brain in study mode. Maybe take a class in something you enjoy or read some DIY (vet school is pretty DIY).

IMHO, the best thing you can do to prep for vet school is (if you're moving to a new home or area) get settled in before school starts. It takes off fairly quick and it's challenging get eveything done when you're living in a pile of boxes.
 
If you REALLY want to do something, I wouldn't read; instead I would learn basic vet med terminology. Being really comfortable with basic terms like chylo and caudal-dorsal and cranial vs superior will help in anatomy, radiology, phys exams, embryology, etc. I am now pretty comfortable, but when you read a paragraphs that has 20+ of these terms in it 'the X emerges ventally through the cranial aperture and courses caudal dorsally to enter the lateral aspect of the caudal edge...' I still have to slow down & dissect them out
 
I believe saunders makes some veterinary terminology flash cards. they would work. other than that, there is a "veterinary medical terminology" textbook that we obtained for NCSU's summer course (optional, but aimed at students like you who want a head start coming in.'
 
Thanks! I'll check them out. I'm afraid I'm the kind of person who does not relax well. I suppose vet school will cure that, huh? :p
 
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