Year One: Check

First Day of School

I'm officially 1/4 of the way through vet school - where has the time gone?  This year has literally passed me in the blink of an eye.  I figured this was a good time to do some updates, some reflections, some goals, and some thank you's... and we all know I love lists... so here we go..  be prepared it's gonna be a long one :)

Updates:
1.  I ended the semester with A's in all of my classes except Physiology... YAY! I was so close to an A in physio, but obviously I know nothing about reproduction - that test did not treat me nicely :/

Gross Anatomy Lab

2.  Friday is my last day working in the Radiology Department.  After spending the past two months there and searching for another part time job to fill up my summer, I was unsuccessful at finding anything else part time.  I accepted a full-time position doing research in the vet school with the understanding that it wouldn't conflict with the radiology position.  Turns out the university has a policy about students working more than 40-hours a week, so unfortunately I had to accept the full-time position and say "bye-bye" to the cats in the radiology department.  Which brings me to...

My summer.

3. I am spending my summer as a research assistant in the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.  What does this mean?  I am working with two other girls from my first year class collecting ticks all across SE Kansas to observe the prevalence of anaplasmosis, a disease often found in cattle.  Here's how this works... We dress in coveralls and rubber boots (duct-taped to the coveralls of course) and trek through farmland across SE Kansas in the ridiculous summer heat and drag a piece of flannel in the fields hoping that ticks attach to it.  I assure you it's a very scientific process (insert eye-roll here).  Then we collect these ticks in little jars and bring them back to K-State to ID them (based on their species and sex) and grind them up to study what types of diseases they carry.  Overall it's going to be a sweaty and disgusting summer full of bugs and allergies, but on the plus side - it pays well and gives me the opportunity to have published research.

Finals week

So now I would say it's time for some First Year reflections and maybe a little advice for those getting ready to start their own vet school adventures :)

1. Vet school is a ridiculous amount of work.  Far more work than anything I've ever done in my entire life and far more than I ever prepared myself for.  Undergrad came so easy for me, when others studied hours for tests I would "review" and somehow manage to do just as well as them - I was so fortunate in that aspect.  That being said, I had heard vet school was going to be a lot of work and require a lot more time and effort than undergrad - I knew it would be more work, but just how much more? I was in no way mentally prepared for what a life change it would truly be.

Finals week study break

2. Vet school has blessed me by meeting some of the most amazing people.  One of the great things about vet school is that it is full of passionate, driven, ambitious people.  People who want to make a difference in the world and who have similar goals and dreams as you.  People who understand your weird obsession with animals and why you'd rather spend a day with your cat than with actual people.  People who sacrifice their own studying to help you understand something you're struggling with, people who make you a Christmas ornament of your canine cadaver (because who else would really understand how much you loved Bud), and people who bring you McDonald's hash browns before your last final because they know you had an awful morning at work.  I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful people and am so excited to not only spend the next three years with them, but to get to call them colleagues for the rest of forever :)

My desk at school

3.  Vet school is diverse.  As many amazing people there are in my class, there are quite a few interesting ones as well ;) People end up here in Kansas from all corners of the U.S. and with all different backgrounds.  Also, I'm surprisingly young compared to most of my class.  So many students have gone out and had real world (aka "grown up") experiences before coming back and deciding to go to vet school.  I'm just over here with my high school diploma like.. "oh yeah, I haven't even finished college."  Despite our differences, this has helped me become more patient and understanding of others beliefs.

Suturing prolapses in cattle

4.  Live with people who are similar to you.  Being in a sorority was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. Kappa gave me the opportunity to live with girls I had never spoken to before and helped me find some of my best friends in the world.  Wellllllll... that was great during undergrad, when I'm in class 40-hours a week and studying another 20-hours on top of that?  It's probably best to live with someone who understands how hectic life can be.  I began the school year living in a house with four other girls, and I've come to the conclusion that it would be best to have one or two roommates while in vet school.  One of the hardest things towards the end of the semester was when my roommates would get to go to bed early - I was so tired and all I wanted to do was sleep, but I had to force myself to stay awake by myself and keep on studying.  That being said, I was so fortunate to have one of my favorite people in the world live in the house with me. Without her I would've completely lost my mind this year and through the craziness it only brought us closer. Unfortunately, she's leaving me to get married and move to Oklahoma... although she still has a few days before her wedding to change her mind.... just kidding Jacob... kind of :)

Gross Anatomy Lab

5.  It's okay to depend on your parents - even when you're in a doctorate program.  Having my parents living in Manhattan has been the biggest blessing in the world.  Perks to having my parents here: my mom helping me out with my laundry when I'm stressed, my parents treating me to McAllister's sweet tea and mac and cheese the night before a big test, or knowing that I have a spot in the garage and a cat waiting for me when I come to stay at home after a late night at the library.  Lucky for me, my lease ends at my rental house tomorrow and I'm almost completely moved back home and will be living free of charge for the next year.  Second year only gets harder and it will be so great having such a wonderful support system :)

Summer Goals?

1. Not get Lime Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, or Anaplasmosis from the ticks.  Also, not cry if they crawl on me...
2. Review, review, review - I can not afford to lose any knowledge from this semester.  I constantly have to remind myself I'm not learning for a test - I'm learning for a lifetime.
3. Palpate a cow :)

Time to thank a few people who have helped me survive my first year...

-Most importantly, I have to thank Cole - I couldn't have made it through this year without you.  Thanks for always loving me and supporting me through the tears and the mean things I said to you out of sleepiness, stress and hunger :) Thanks for never letting me quit even though I wanted to about a billion times.

Dr. Steve Mosier - Class of 1966

-Another important man in my life has been Dr. Mosier.  Steve has shown me just how amazing and influential a veterinarian could be and set an amazing example of the type of veterinarian I want to be.  Thanks for all of the books, encouragement, and priceless experiences I've gained working with you.

The pink eye disaster of 2013

-A huge thanks to my mom and dad for the laundry, and meals, unconditional love, support, and encouragement (and for the free rent).  And especially to my mom for driving me to and from school so many times when I had pink eye and my eye was swollen shut :)  Let's all pause for a moment and have a quick laugh at how gross and swollen my eye was this semester...

-Thanks to Little Bear for reminding me why I want to be a vet in the first place.  To give back to the animals that give so much purpose to our lives.

Kev built me a desk!

-Thanks to Kevin for my beautiful new desk and Jane for listening to all of my stories that Cole is tired of hearing about :)

-Thanks to Kels and B for being such great sister and brother and for always calling to check on me :)

-Thanks to Ryan and Kelli for the meals and the walks and most importantly for blessing me with the sweetest nephew who reminds me there's so much more to life outside of school :)

Best walking buddy

Mid-finals break :)

-Thanks to the best lab and study group in the world.  I owe so much of my success this year to all of our studying and talks about everything except school (study breaks.. right?).  Thanks for teaching me so much about school and about myself.

-Thanks to Summer, Paige, and Abbie for being the most amazing best friends and making time for me when I'm not good making time for anything.  Thanks for always making me feel loved and included and keeping me a part of your lives :)

-Thanks to the rest of my family, Cole's family, and all of my friends and past and present teachers and everyone at Hays Vet for helping me become the person I am today and helping me follow my dreams.

Okay... Now that I've set a new record for the longest blog post ever... I think that's it. For now.  Happy Wednesday :)

Love,
A

Not so dead week...

Once upon a time there was an ambitious vet student who thought she had time to have a blog.  Oh how wrong she was...

Kidding - I still love having a blog, but somehow the past 5 weeks have flown by in the blink of an eye.  Literally - I can't believe it's already dead week.  And I really can't believe it's May.  Where did the month of April go?

School has been going fantastic.  Of course it's had its ups and downs - the same as anything else - but overall I'm very happy where I am right now.  Grades are going very well (however, there's still time for that to change) and I have excitedly accepted a part time position in the Veterinary Hospital's Radiology Department. 

I am caring for feline hyperthyroid patients that are receiving radiation treatment.  When cats have hyperthyroidism they are essentially have an overactive thyroid.  This means they are producing too many thyroid hormones and have a very high metabolism, increased heart rate, and are extremely skinny and hyperactive.  These cats receive an injection of i-131 radiation which basically "kills" cells in their thyroid to give it a more "normal" level of activity (at least that is my understanding).  After this injection these cats are radioactive for about 2 weeks and can't go home.  I go in and feed/water them twice a day, give medication, and dispose of their waste in a special way - because it too is radioactive.   I also am responsible for checking their radiation levels using a Geiger counter to find out when they can be cleared to go home.  It's a pretty small time commitment, the pay is well, and it's something I can keep the rest of my time at the vet school.  I am getting to work with the 4th year who is finishing up his last few weeks here, and then I'll be doing it all on my own.  On my first weekend, 4th year Phil was gone for a family emergency, and therefore I was all on my own.  Lucky for me, the crankiest cat I've ever met gave me great experience on learning how to cat "wrangle."  I ended up having to call my supervisor for help, but now have successfully learned some new "cranky cat" techniques.

Still waiting to hear about some plans for the summer - somehow it crept up on me.  Luckily I still have quite a few options open - and they are some very diverse options that's for sure.  Hopefully, I'll hear back soon.

Nothing else too exciting here.  Just spending all of my time studying and then when I'm done studying.. I study some more :)

Please say your prayers for finals - I'm almost done!!!!

Happy Tuesday,
Alex