the DVM life - Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Today was a busy day. Anatomy exam! Woohoo!

I like to think I did well. There were a few I guessed on, but for the most part I felt confident. We will get scores back in a week so I should just be content for now. I like to think I showed that exam who's boss. And the boss was not anatomy.

The exam was in 2 parts. First we had an hour long written exam. That was alright, I finished with time to spare. Then we had the 2 hour practical part. The anatomy lab had been setup with 35 stations. Each station had either a bone, radiograph, or cadaver with multiple questions. There were a few that I had to hem and haw on, mostly I felt good. Again the results are really going to do the talking in a week.

The trickiest one was the blind box. Literally. There was a box with arm holes, you stuck your hands in and couldn't see. You had to be able to name which bone was in there and specifically the left or right side. After feeling the bone up for a while (heheh) I came to my conclusion and felt smugly satisfied.

Taking the exam was pretty cool, it was like playing with little puzzles. The room was silent, most people were in lab clothes, and we looked really intense. Great shot for a vet med school poster "Learning in Action". I thought to myself "Wow! I'm really in vet school!"

Some of my classmates were annoyingly grabby with the specimens. The proper etiquette is to wait for a person to finish with a cadaver before messing with it yourself. Some people tend to get so wrapped up, thinking they're the only ones taking the exam and will butt right in, moving the specimen while you're still looking at it. Shame on them I say. Shame shame. I believe they'll be the ones pushing people out of the way when it's fire drill time.

After classes were out I headed over to the draft horse club. We were going to start learning how to drive. Eventually when people get good enough they can drive the wagon - Oregon Trail style.

Today was my first time attempting to drive. Let me just say I'm not going to be plowing any trails or blazing the Oregon trail any time soon. Much harder than it looks! That, and the horse knew I hadn't driven before so he was really testing me to see who was boss. In the end (after some embarrassing getting stuck in a corner) and lots of encouragement from the senior members, I finally got him to Gee (turn right) and Haw (turn left) for a few good rounds. I still have a long, long way to go. We were just pulling the harrow for practice. Then we hitched him up to the wagon and cruised around the vet school.

Seriously though, it's much harder than it looks. I was secretly hoping I'd automatically be fantastic at it. I mean, chances are that in a past life I've had to at least driven a wagon, cart, or chariot. So shouldn't I have some innate skill? The answer is obviously NO. Sorry buddy. Sigh. I wish I was innately good at something but I'll have to settle for just learning my skills.

The horse kicked up a bit of dust and the harrow didn't exactly act as a spoiler. So it's off to the showers for me, followed by some needed sleep.

Today was a nice long day. Nice, because I got a lot accomplished. Long, because I was at school from 8AM to 8PM. Except for the lunch hour I got off campus, ate some Chinese food and then fell asleep in my car.

If anyone cares to know, here was the breakdown.

8am-10am: Anatomy Lab
10:00-12:30 Study Embryology
12:30-1:10 Embryology Quiz
1:10 - 2:00 Cell Physiology
2:10 - 3:00 Histology
(Note: 3:10 - 5:00 class canceled!)
3:00 - 4:00 eat/sleep
4:00 - 5:00 review Anatomy
5:00 - 8:00 PM Anatomy Lab

Oh yeah, life as a first year! WOot! But really, it was kind of fun with the exception of embryology which isn't my favorite. My awesome lab partner quized me on all the musles and I got really excited - it's like a game! But cooler because you sound pretty smart!

Then I got home (which is cold, it got COLD here!) took a walk, talked with my Mom and helped edit some personal statements for some pre-vet amigos.

Now it's 10:30 and I'm looking forward to a hot shower, a grapefruit, and a few more hours of anatomy. When a client complains of my fees, I will think back on the days I spend 12+ hours at school and feel justified. Skill doesn't come cheap.

Fall is here. My least favorite season. Why? Because it gets cold and I really dislike being cold. It also gets soggy and I also dislike being soggy. I really don't understand people who like fall. You just came from a wonderful warm sunny place where you didn't have to worry about freezing, all the yummy fruits are in season, and you can take walks, camp, and swim without worry -- and somehow, SOMEHOW people prefer to be cold, dark, and limited in activities and fruits. I'll never understand you people. I'm attributing it to a lack of vitamins during cranial development.

Anyhoo, school today was alright. Studying for the anatomy test and embryo quiz. Yesterday the cobbler turned out nicely, the eggplant was 5/10. Will I eat it? Yes. Will I imagine I'm eating something else. Probably.

There was a lunch seminar today for the Holistic Club. A few of the faculty here are certified veterinary acupuncturists. It's very interesting and I would like to get further training/info. I'm signed up for an indepth seminar in Nov. The official training is expensive and takes a while to complete but there are many benefits. As a 3/4 year you can get scholarships to attend the Chi Institute and I'd like to try out for that down the road.

And now to cram scientific knowledge into my poor brain.

So I'm in vet school. And my brain hurts. HURTS. Hurts bad. Mostly because of anatomy and the impending exam. We're going into week 5 tomorrow. In 4 weeks we've covered the front limb, hind limb, neck, thorasic muscles and more! Woohoo.

Now naming the muscles is getting easy. The harder part is origins and insertions. The Sternocephalicus originates from the manubrium - the first sternebra - and goes to the basihyoid bone or something equally wonderful. Its action is to move the head laterally. And that was my Saturday night.

But it's getting better. Yesterday I didn't know the O/I of the front leg. Today I struggled through it. Last week I didn't have the names down. So in theory, next week this will all be cake.

The exam is on Friday. I am eager for next Saturday! Yesterday was nice because I just finished my cell phys exam. Now the relaxation is halted for the upcoming exam. Agh. But it's all good. A good grasp of anatomy is imperative for being a good doctor.

Now I should get around to cooking dinner. Yesterday I went to the farmers market. I only wanted 1 eggplant, but the nice elderly gentleman insisted I take 3 for the same price ($1, and 3 for $1 is a steal!) Then he gave me back too much change and I told him so. He said I was a sweet heart and I should take a flat of peaches. So I got 3 eggplant and 15+ peaches for $1. Then I got some Italian plums for free because the other stall was closing for the day. Suffice it to say I have more fruit than I know what to do with and some kind of pie is on the way. Hopefully my oven with give birth to a beautiful eggplant lasange later tonight! Push oven, push!

I don't know if I can say anything too thrilling about this week. Except I made cinnamon rolls that turned out very well.

There's also something in the works about hiring me at the clinic hourly, which could be pretty cool. (I'm just there a lot during the summer, I show up like I work there. At the end they give me a nice money).

One of our retired Docs has come back for the summer. He is a lucky, lucky guy. He sold the clinic and headed off to Mexico/Europe via sailboat. Spending days on a Mexican beach, or skiing in the Alps is a good way to be retired. When he gets done living the awesome life, he comes back and does the DVM life for a few months. Which is noticeably less glam.

It's an interesting contrast between him (30+ years vet) and our newest doc. I can't laugh because I'll be the newbie soon enough.

Some interesting medical things that week: ear ablation. We had a student from a middle school observing at the clinic that day. It made her a little woozy. Cool surgery! And for some crazy reason, the power went out during it. We had really crappy power that week. 3rd time it went out. The Doc had to finish some stitches via flashlight. I got to hold that flashlight : D What can I say, vetmed it hardcore!

Also some emergency stuff - new strain of Parvo potentially. Big pain in the arse.

I had a delightful train ride over to visit my Grandparents. I really enjoy seeing them, even though they're not particularly fond of my choice of career. Oh well. It was my Grandma's 75th birthday and her church was having a potluck. I'm happy to report my chocolates safely made the trip there, no melting at all!

The train over was nice, it was a little confusing though since I'd never been on a train before. Turns out that the train pulls up, you hop on, grab a seat, and the conductor comes through to check your ticket/give you a seat marker. It was fairly crowded on the way over and I shared a seat duo with a sleeping guy. I got to see lots of cool scenery and it was CHEAPER THAN DRIVING - especially good since gas is just insane.

When I got to grandma's I got a yummy grilled cheese. Then I chatted with my grandma and helped make dinner. I really like the food she makes. Each day they eat something different and that just blows my mind. It's awesome! My mom has always cooked food en mass, so it's 1 dish for 5 days. Having something new each nice is pretty special I think.

The next day we had a great time gardening. I helped put in petunias (I hope they're doing alright) and some garden plants. She has a famous garden full of yummy things to eat come later in the summer. I hope I can garden like her someday.

I really enjoyed the pace we worked at. Mom is always doing work at a manic speed. Grandma takes time to appreciate stuff, grab a bite to eat, get out of the sun and read a book. It was one of the nicest days I've had so far. Then after dinner (special hot dogs just for me, since I dont' get to eat them at home) we went over pictures from their trip south.

The next day was Church and the potluck. I think my Grandparents enjoy taking me to church. I like it too, even though I may not subscribe to all their views. In any effect, "Peace be with you" is always a nice thing. Who couldn't use a bit more peace, eh?

The potluck was also yummy. My favorites were scalloped potatos and a strawberry salad. And the deviled eggs I made with Grandma the day before. I tried every dessert there, of course! During the potluck, they had posters up of each person who turned 75. They also read a life story of each of them.

I found it very interesting. That could be me in 52 years. I hope I do something cool between now and then!

When we got home and rested, I helped my Grandma more in the kitchen - making a cake for a relative's birthday. I asked her: if she had the chance to re-live a year of her life, which one would it be?

She said it would be a year right after she married Grandpa. They decided not to have kids right away, to just take time to get to know eachother. She said they had a lot of fun enjoyed those years very much. I thought that was neat.

After my nice long weekend I headed back home via train. This time it was much less crowded, I got my own seat. Leather seat, mind you. Since I understood the train routine this time (and also had seen the scenery already) I roamed around the train. I found the dining car and ordered an OK lasange. It was just ok, but since it was on a train it was cool. I walked through all the cars, took lots of pictures, and enjoyed the trip. Trains and grandparents get a thumbs up.

We had a small puppy in for a leg amputation. The leg was broken far beyond any repair. It was flopping around in such a way that grossed out the whole clinic (which is hard to do). So amputation was the only option (other than spending thousands of dollars with a specialist with marginal possible success or putting the puppy down).

Thankful to say that everything went exceedingly well! The leg was removed without significant blood loss. Very little in fact! The recovery temperature was nothing short of a miracle and afterwards the little one was resting peacefully. She's been through so much at such a young age!

I was also impressed with our lead tech, being able to put an IV into such a tiny tiny vein! That is true skill, which some day I hope I have!

On a different topic I got a very nice compliment. "Why isn't some guy dating you?!" A very sweet compliment. They went on to tell my how smart, nice, and pretty I am in addition to being a good baker. They also said that anyone who wanted to date me had better be a good guy. That was just really nice and made my day. I wish everyone got to hear nice things about themselves like that, it's quite a warm fuzzy that someone thinks highly of you.

I finished the chocolates! I made 164 pieces of peanut butter balls. Yum. Some is going to work, friends, neighbors, the rest is traveling with me to my Grandmas. I think they took a total of 5 hours which isn't too bad. Nothing to technically difficult - just time consuming. I learned not to freeze them. Since it's fairly warm here now I can't just stick them in the garage to cool and harden. Turns out the fridge, not the freezer, is the correct location. They are yummy anyways!