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Agreed.
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What is you vet student's life like?
Started by evenstar7139
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Agreed.
Or they're just not saying it to your face... 
Its funny, I read that and take absolutely no offense to it. Maybe its just me, but I appreciate her opinions as one who has "been there and done that". Yes, it can be taken as condescending, but she is writing that post to inform us, the freshman/vet school hopefuls that asked this question, and has been honest and informative in her responses. Also, as she stated, she has some past issues with this, so its not pointed at any of us in particular.
Finally, in my humble opinion, if you arent ready to get a little razzed about being a freshman, then be prepared. Its true in every school and I am sure vet school is no different.
Finally, in my humble opinion, if you arent ready to get a little razzed about being a freshman, then be prepared. Its true in every school and I am sure vet school is no different.
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Yes, because being an upitty pre-vet or first year and telling them that they are wrong because every little pointless detail in anatomy is vitally important (when it is not) is so professional to begin with. I certainly don't tell interns, residents, or attendings/faculty that sort of thing. I know my place on the rung of the educational ladder. Perhaps unlike some of you...
For some vets, it may be very important. Such as all of the ones teaching our anatomy courses (who also do clinical work). I get that not everyone needs to know every detail (difference between a C and A+?) about anatomy, or about current treatments in exotics, but some others might need all of that. I find some details of anatomy more important than other students, but that is because I need to understand leg structure in sloths and kangaroos as well as dogs and horses. Also, if you haven't attended every school, how do you know what every school teaches and how much of what they teach is important? While I do think there is some excess and some fluff, I don't believe it is 75% of vet school first year education. And what is fluff or excess for my interest and goals may be vitally critical for someone else's.
part of why I wish we were P/F like many med schools
Yeah, that's pretty much precisely what I meant. I forgot how teh interwebs are srs bsns.
I don't know about other schools, but our class is already figuring out how to welcome the next class in, picking up stuff for sib gits, putting together skits, and study packs. We haven't been razzed. Actually, it didn't happen in undergrad either. Maybe that is the advantage of small campuses.
Just wait another year or two, come back to this thread, and see how much of it all is still vitally important to you. Trust me. 😎 Been there, done that, and I even kinda liked anatomy (well, the cutting part, not the testing part). Your brain can't fit all that crap in and still make room for all the stuff you will learn second year and beyond. Plus there's probably 2-3 anatomy professors per vet school x 28 vet schools out of ~80,0000 vets in the US. Hmmm...
By the way, I'm not saying anatomy is not important. In fact, I intentionally spent my own time working on some cadavers in both the pathology lab on my first rotation and, I'm ashamed to say, actually going back across the street to review some anatomy of the stifle joint. But as my epidemiology professor said, the longer the term, the less important it is.
Things like "aorta" and "sciatic" are usually pretty important. 😎 Just wish they taught more of a surgery anatomy style maybe...
Please let me be more specific. By razzed I mean teased, not hazed in any way. Glad there are people out there who haven't experienced that. And thats certainly not saying upperclassman are not helpful and welcoming to freshman here, because they certainly are. Its just something I have noticed, again, in my humble opinion 🙂
Oh yeah, me and my little sib went out to dinner before her classes started and I made her a little anatomy survival pack with two boxes of extra gloves, extra scalpel blades, Febreeze, etc. And I scanned in the entire freakin' "study guide" (read: test file) for first years when I was a second year. So please don't think I'm not nice to the first or second years. But know-it-all Hermione Granger-ishness to your vet school "elders" is generally frowned upon. Just sayin'.
You know, I have been hearing that same line from the same folks for a couple years on here, and in my life for a couple of decades. So far, for me, it hasn't always applied. 😱
Again, for me and you, anatomy might not be so important, but for a few folks in my class, it is and will be. For me, current topics in exotics is incredibly important, yet 92% of my class could really care less, and that is fine as well. The difference for me is that everyone doesn't have to take zoo med topics, while I do have to learn every detail in other classes.
However, I have had the opportunity to compare a couple of anatomy classes at different vet school, and something I do KNOW is that not every school teaches to the same depth and breadth. So, maybe 75% of what you learned at your school isn't relevant, while 90% isn't at another school, and 20% at the other. Oh, I forgot, your a great big soon to be vet, and therefor know better than anyone else! 😉
I had this conversation over a year ago about learning across species and was told 'you will get in first year and see.' Guess what? I am in first year, and it seems even more critical to me to learn across species than ever before (and not because professors think so, but because I see how it applies to my future in zoo vet med). So, no hard feelings if I take your pronouncements about what I will and won't value with a grain of salt, and I have no hard feelings that you think you know what applies and stands true for every other vet student and veterinarian.
And, since tone can't be read...all of the above was written while ignoring a unit on goats that I don't feel is vitally important! Well, bits of it were. But I am sure that 99% of it wasn't important for anyone...I mean, it just included the procedure for debudding goats next week. So, basicly, I am bemused.
Just wonderin' since we're on the topic of anatomy...
Do any of you guys enjoy the study of anatomy "just because"? I do. I'm a details nerd too... 😛
Do any of you guys enjoy the study of anatomy "just because"? I do. I'm a details nerd too... 😛
So, no hard feelings if I take your pronouncements about what I will and won't value with a grain of salt, and I have no hard feelings that you think you know what applies and stands true for every other vet student and veterinarian.
No worries. All experiences are different, but when there is an avalanche of stuff to know, particularly when the more clinical stuff taught second year is more relevant, the "basic science" stuff starts to go with almost frightening speed. 😱
evenstar7139 said:
Yeah, I love to cut and I think anatomy (particularly bones and muscles) is beautiful in its own way. Any day where I had to just sit and read the book while other lab members did dissection drove me crazy. I enjoyed pathology for the same reason. But I just snuck by with a C because I'm mediocre at best at rote memorization. Same kinda thing with me and drama/forensics/speech in high school. I loved doing it and I wasn't bad at it, but I suck at memorizing lines. 🙁
You know, if I was in vet school, I would be annoyed that I didn't have time to memorize every detail because I would want to.
I'm the memorization queen. LOVE THOSE FLASH CARDS! Haha. I am REALLY good at making stuff memorable. Like to memorize the nerves in the horse's foreleg I WROTE LITTLE STORIES ABOUT EACH ONE!!! Haha.
I know a few people who stopped making flash cards because they didn't have enough time to make them, and study them.
Doesn't surprise me. I think vet school is like a trash compactor...it takes like six, seven, eight years worth of learning and squishes it down small enough to fit (read: barely) into four.
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David, I was one of those "flashcard in vain" sorts of people. Just took too long! I ended up making flashcard Powerpoints and sharing them with my class. They last quite a bit long than flashcards, too, and I'm hoping to go back to some of them for boards. 🙂
So a few quick questions on this subject (which may be dumb):
I haven't seen any direct comments about this directly but, does the average vet student have a paying job? I know you spend a lot of time on your studies and in labs, so is it actually possible to devote time to a job?
For those of you who don't have a rich family that is paying for your schooling, are you able to work, and if not, have you had to rely mostly on loans? (This is most likely something I'll have to do...)
I haven't seen any direct comments about this directly but, does the average vet student have a paying job? I know you spend a lot of time on your studies and in labs, so is it actually possible to devote time to a job?
For those of you who don't have a rich family that is paying for your schooling, are you able to work, and if not, have you had to rely mostly on loans? (This is most likely something I'll have to do...)
No job for me (though during the summer I'm going to need some income)
No rich family here...(I wish!) Money appears in my bank account 3 times a year (yay for direct deposit!) and I try to not think about where it is coming from or how I will have to pay it back with interest in a few years...
No rich family here...(I wish!) Money appears in my bank account 3 times a year (yay for direct deposit!) and I try to not think about where it is coming from or how I will have to pay it back with interest in a few years...
I think vet students who work during school are in the minority. I think many people work during summers.
Most of the ones who do work during school tend to have jobs in the vet school - as an assistant, tech, or working in a lab doing research. When you work in the school they're fairly flexible about your schedule when exams come around.
A few others I know work in clinics in the community one or two days a week.
During the school year I work in a bakery 15-27 hours a week, though I'm going to cut back a little bit this semester. It's possible to have a job but you have to be careful it doesn't mess with your study time. There are many days I only get around 4 hours of sleep. Works for me but it's certainly not for everyone. I've always worked during school. In the summer I'm about 35 hours/wk at a small animal clinic.
The average vet student is over $115,000 in debt (that's an old figure, it's probably higher now). Pretty much everyone takes out loans for tuition and living expenses. There is no way you could work enough during school to avoid loans unless you're selling drugs or robbing banks.
If you do want to work I suggest you go jobless your first semester. Get a feel for the school work load and see what you can handle before putting more on your plate.
Most of the ones who do work during school tend to have jobs in the vet school - as an assistant, tech, or working in a lab doing research. When you work in the school they're fairly flexible about your schedule when exams come around.
A few others I know work in clinics in the community one or two days a week.
During the school year I work in a bakery 15-27 hours a week, though I'm going to cut back a little bit this semester. It's possible to have a job but you have to be careful it doesn't mess with your study time. There are many days I only get around 4 hours of sleep. Works for me but it's certainly not for everyone. I've always worked during school. In the summer I'm about 35 hours/wk at a small animal clinic.
The average vet student is over $115,000 in debt (that's an old figure, it's probably higher now). Pretty much everyone takes out loans for tuition and living expenses. There is no way you could work enough during school to avoid loans unless you're selling drugs or robbing banks.
If you do want to work I suggest you go jobless your first semester. Get a feel for the school work load and see what you can handle before putting more on your plate.
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Also...
I work during school because I love my job. LOOOOVE my job - I'd probably do it for free, the pay is just a bonus. In my opinion, don't work during vet school unless it's a job you really like. You have so little free time that you need to spend it doing something you enjoy. If it also earns you some cash, even better.
I can't imagine working 15-27 hours a week doing something I only tolerated or hated. It would make school absolutely miserable.
I work during school because I love my job. LOOOOVE my job - I'd probably do it for free, the pay is just a bonus. In my opinion, don't work during vet school unless it's a job you really like. You have so little free time that you need to spend it doing something you enjoy. If it also earns you some cash, even better.
I can't imagine working 15-27 hours a week doing something I only tolerated or hated. It would make school absolutely miserable.
I have a job but it is in the teaching hospital and is 6hr/week (full time in the two summers I had). So it isn't doing much as far as paying the bills. I agree with waiting until second semester to pick up a job. You will need the time to figure out study habits and decide how much time you want (or can) to put into a job. I also totally agree with getting a job that you enjoy.
That's what scares me the most about vet school, because I am that way too. I need to make connections, understand why, how, and the relevance to be able to memorize. Like most of ochem drove me nuts because I didn't know why all of it was relevant. Now that I am in biochem, I get it, and enjoy it.
I haven't taken anatomy yet, but I'm afraid I will be terrible at it due to straight memorization. I kicked ass in physio because there are processes involved, and relevance shows up everywhere.
How do you do it Electrophile?
when i took anatomy i still made note of WHY ___ was important. my teacher was really good at this too. even though it wasnt a physio course he taught a little bit of it so it was easier to understand. IMO-yes anatomy is a ton of memorization, but that doesnt mean that the things you learn arent involved in some process that you can learn and by looking up why that tiny nerve/bone/etc is impt it will help you understand it and therefore memorize it
That works for a lot of things....until you start getting to the vestigial muscles...or the muscles that all originate and insert very near to each other and do very similar things but are named different things or originate and insert very near each other, but do completely different things but have similar names. Or my favorite; the muscles that have multiple names but are not delineated on the animal. Or the muscles that have one name but different parts (each with an additional name.) Anatomy is one of the classes where I definitely feel we are learning way more detail than we need.
