Vet students: school/life balance

[Kylana]

Have been to a sleep doctor many times this year, but his only conclusion seems to be that I am a "very sleepy person." Oh well...

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[sunshinevet]

He went through my facebook messages twice in a year, and accused me of cheating 3 times. Vet school was but a mild annoyance.

And some boys are great. The right ones.

I don't think SOV meant you nessercerrily, but vet students in general. Most of the vet students I know who say they have relationships fail because people outside of vet don't understand etc, are the vet students who don't have time for real life.

My boyfriend is an electrician - he loves dogs but has nothing else to do with the veterinary profession, which I find awesome. He is very understanding about the time commitment that veterinary medicine is, but at the same time I would gladly give up a few marks on a test to spend time with him and have our relationship. Because in the long run, it is highly unlikely that those few marks will be worth it!

Vet/life balance is definately achievable. Just keep telling yourself - there is life outside of vet!!! And if you do find you have to study every second of every day to make it through, then there is a problem, and there are people who can help with that (developing better study habits, reducing anxiety, etc).

 

[sunshinevet]

Have been to a sleep doctor many times this year, but his only conclusion seems to be that I am a "very sleepy person." Oh well...

And I've got to say - that SUCKS!!! Maybe go to a different doctor?! How ridiculous!!!

But to brighten your day, I attended maybe 4 lectures all semester. My uni doesnt have a compulsory attendance policy - so I listen to all my lectures online at home. Mainly because I'm not a morning person, but also because I work lots and that way I could fit uni around my schedule, instead of vice versa. But I always made sure I attended labs - these are way more important than lectures, and usually longer, so I dont know if these would be harder for you?

I guess when applying, you really need to look at whether or not schools have compulsory attendance. Some do, others "frown upon" you not coming, and others don't care. I think this will be an important point for you!

 

[Minnerbelle]

Have been to a sleep doctor many times this year, but his only conclusion seems to be that I am a "very sleepy person." Oh well...

yep, been there, done that. After spending a good $6000 on diagnostics, I had 3 "diagnoses" - idiopathic hypersomnia with suspicion for narcolepsy, abnormal sleep with hypopnia and maybe shift in circadian rhythm with increased need for sleep (inconclusive for narcolepsy), and "complicated sleep problem." Pretty convinced now that it's not narcolepsy since I don't respond to drugs and I sleep more than the average narcoleptic (who I guess naps a lot, but don't actually sleep much more than the normal person). I gave up after the last one, and decided to simply sleep to my heart's content.

Seriously, if you wanted a medical career that makes bank, then a sleep specialist is the way to go. Patients pay $3-5k for an overnight study and all you do is look at their EEGs like for 10 min and give these really stupid diagnoses.

 

[StartingoverVet]

I don't think SOV meant you necessarily,

Of course every case is different and some SO should be drop-kicked. I am just pointing out that the person who changes is usually the vet student, and some of us (not all) need to look inside and take some responsibility for being a large part of the problem. And like I said, I speak from experience.