Sleep, Study, School, Study, Study, Study, Repeat...

I've just finished my 7th week of vet school and am over half way to Thanksgiving break (6 more weeks)  I cannot even begin to express how excited I am for an entire week of sleeping past 6 AM.  However, until that glorious lights at the end of the tunnel (more like middle of the tunnel), I get my first "break" in school next week.  Next week is the only week we do not have a test on Friday and I feel as though it's nearly as wonderful as Christmas morning.  This next week will be spent going to bed by 11, catching up in all of my classes, and attempting to salvage any social life I ever had to begin with.  Here are some updates of my life (aka - vet school).

Gross Anatomy:  Still hanging out with "Bud" (my cadaver) almost every day.  This week we learned about the structures of the internal thorax (heart and lungs) and we also have begun dissecting the nerves of the brachial plexus (armpit).  We are also doing veins and arteries right now, which I find much more difficult to locate than the nerves.  Again, this is still my favorite part of school!

Microanatomy:  This was the test I had LAST Friday, and well - I'm very glad it's over.  I've been told that everyone in vet school will flunk a test at some point in their 4 years.  I chose to get mine "F" out of the way early :)  Kidding - I passed.. barely.  Anything less than a 70% in vet school is considered "failing," so after the professor entered in the extra credit points I squeaked by with a 70%.  I'd like to think of this as my "failed" test and therefore, never ever repeat this experience again.  We have moved on from glands, lymphatic system, and digestive system to respiratory system and bones this week.  Both I find much more interesting than glands - so let's keep our fingers crossed for the next test.

Beta-oxidation: How did you think your fat got broken down?

Physiology:  This used to be my least favorite class until I did poorly on the test in Micro.  This is the class I had a test in this morning and I'm so so SO excited to say I got an A on the test!  Friday's are much more enjoyable when you don't feel miserable about your test scores :)  The test was over:  vitamins, minerals, what happens to your body when you exercise, what happens to your body when you reach starvation, how your body breaks down fats, and how your body defends itself against bacteria and viruses and the urea cycle.  Pretty much every random topic you can think of.  I was a big fan of the urea cycle, and for some reason it just "clicked" for me.  If you're ever interested in how your body forms urine, I'd be happy to explain it to you in a very detailed way with many many diagrams :)

"Oh, hey Mom! Were you studying?"

That's all for school right now - except for my electives (but really who cares about that anyway).  In my life outside of vet school (which is pretty nonexistent) I have started taking a water aerobics class through K-State at the natatorium twice a week.  I went with a group of girls from my lab group and it's been such a great stress reliever.  It's hard not to laugh at yourself when you're doing flutter kicks in the deep end of the pool :)  I also went with Cole to see Seth Meyer's from SNL who came to speak at K-State last weekend.  Really, anything that makes me laugh now-a-days is high on my list of things I want to do :)

The picture to the left is me attempting to study with Little Bear.  Please note the location of the cat vs. the location of my study materials.  He is not a very good study buddy :)

Happy Friday!

6 weeks in...

I'm in my 6th week of school and here are the recent updates:

1. Last week was rough - hence no blog post during class on Friday. I had three tests on Friday: Gross Anatomy lecture, Gross Anatomy lab, and Etymology and Cognates (Veterinary Medicine Vocabulary).  Overall the scores didn't turn out awful -- let's just say all three averaged out to a B -- but definitely learned some about time management and balancing my studying when I have so much in one week.

2.  Our lab test last week was over all of the muscles in the dog - this week we have moved on to dissecting more internal structures.  Coming into school, I thought that dissections and the more "hands-on" things were going to be the hardest part of school for me - I'm learning that this (weirdly) is my favorite part of the day.  I find gross anatomy lab the most interesting and most applicable class I'm taking.  The smell of formaldehyde no longer makes me nauseous and I have now used bolt cutters to cut things other than bolts (use your imaginations).  This week we are learning about the thorax - the heart, lungs, and veins and arteries that lead to and from them.

3. Physiology is the worst class ever.  For some reason glycolysis and lipid synthesis and all the microscopic things I can see just don't really interest me whatsoever :)

4. The test coming up tomorrow is Microanatomy lab and lecture test (200 points total).  It's a little overwhelming, with 6 weeks of material in one test.  The organs/tissues we're supposed to be capable of identifying in the microscope are endocrine glands (adrenal gland, thyroid gland, pituitary gland, etc.), muscle types (skeletal, cardiac, smooth),  lymphatic tissues (lymph nodes, spleen, thymus), and digestive tract (salivary glands, teeth, stomach, large and small intestines, rectum, etc).  We are to know all of the types of cells in these organs, what their functions are, what hormones they secrete, etc.  Basically, it's not fun stuff. 

5. I mentioned in my last post, I joined Food For Thought.  Check out their blog -- bloggingfoodforthought.blogspot.com

That's my life for now - say your prayers for the Micro test tomorrow :)

Week 3: Done.

I'm sitting in my last class of Week 3 of vet school (I'm obviously paying attention).  This is one of my electives, Etymology and Cognates, so basically we go through the origin of words and their definitions.  Every couple of slides there is a question that we answer in class - these questions will be our test.  These questions will be the ONLY questions on the test - hence my lack of concern for 100% focus in this class.

The past two weeks have seemed like the fastest and slowest two weeks of my life.  I turned 22 last week (which is much less exciting than turning 21).  I also found out I got an A on my first Gross Anatomy test over the bones, a B on my first Physiology test (I'm still not sure what that was over), and took my second Physiology test and am anxiously awaiting my grade. 

Milestones of the past two weeks:

1. I'm learning how to dissect! As an undergrad, I didn't get a ton of dissection experience, and am now learning a ton in my Gross Anatomy class.  We got our cadavers the Wednesday after Labor Day and work with them 9 hours a week (during class).  I'll spare you graphic details (not because I want to, but to comply with University policy), but we are currently learning the muscles of the thoracic limb and pelvic limb.  We will finish learning the muscles (locations of origin and insertion) this next week and have our test over all of the muscles next Friday.

Typical Thursday Night.

2.  I've made so many great friends!  It's amazing how studying at the library every night for 4 hours can help you get to know people :) There are typically 3 of us that get together almost every night to study, although on Thursdays (the night before tests) our group suddenly seems to triple :)

3. I love Hills Science Diet, Purina, and Bayer Animal Health.  I now have a new backpack, a new lunchbox, a new cup, chip clip, and free Little Bear food.  Seriously though, it's so great to get free things when I'm spending my entire life's savings (or about 6 times that) on school right now.  I know they are just trying to get us to eventually sell and promote their products... but it's working.  I support them :)

4. Twice a week I have Microanatomy lab.  Some days I can tell exactly what I'm looking at.  Others? Everything just looks like a bunch of pink and purple blobs.  Unfortunately our first test in Micro isn't until the end of September and therefore will have 2 months worth of material.  To the right is a picture I took on my cell phone through my microscope and surprisingly it turned out pretty good!  It's slide of a salivary gland and the big white/pink looking blobs are striated ducts, compared to the little darker purple outlined blobs to left, which are intercalated ducts.

5. I have joined two clubs in the vet school.  The first is the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SCAVMA) and the second is Food For Thought (FFT).  I haven't done anything yet for either club, but have my first meeting for FFT is Monday, so we'll see how it goes!  FFT is an agriculture group that basically promotes agriculture and discusses current issues in ag.  My brother-in-law, Brandon, was one of the first members in FFT - so hopefully I'll make him proud!

That's all that's been going on with school.  Tomorrow I'm going with Cole and his friend Devin to the Kansas State Fair.  They've never been before (pathetic, I know) and so I'm taking them to spend the day away from vet school, studying, cadavers, books, and anything that makes me think too hard.  We're ending the day by going to the Jake Owen and Billy Currington concert :)

Test Score!

I'll be able to judge if my parents actually read this, by how long it takes my mom to acknowledge my test score :)

Our grades for our first Gross Anatomy test have been posted as of this afternoon - I got a 98% :) We should get back the hard copies of our tests tomorrow before class.  Hopefully this is the start of an amazing semester (keep your fingers crossed).

Happy Labor Day!

Week 2

I've made it through the second week and my first test and I'm still alive!

Yesterday we had our "bones" test and while my grade hasn't been posted yet, the answer key to the test has.  I'm hoping for an A, knowing I missed a couple, but did get the extra credit question right :)

After our test the second year vet students throw us a party to celebrate us making it through our first test.  It is called "Shaft" and is a dinner and party for all vet students and faculty, but the best part is that it's free for the first years.  Our gross anatomy professor even sang us a few songs, changing the words so they would be about bones!

This next week will entail a few exciting things.  First off my birthday is on Thursday - the big 22!  Second, I actually have to acknowledge the fact that I have classes besides anatomy.  I have my first Physiology test on Friday.  I haven't been a huge fan of our professor for that class, so luckily the professors have rotated and we have a new one for the next few weeks.  The unfortunate part is that the test is only over the previous professors materials :(

On a deeper topic, yesterday marked an important day in my life.  Five years ago, during my junior year of high school, one of my good friends passed away.  While it was a horrible event that has forever changed my life, I've learned so much because of it.  First, it's a constant reminder to value your family and the friendships you have because you never know how much time you have to spend with someone.  Second, even though someone may seem to be happy or have it all, you never know what they may be struggling with.  When I get frustrated or critical of others, its a good reminder that there is so much more to them than what's on the surface. Lastly, it is something that has bound my high school friends together.  While we all have gone our own separate ways in college, it's an experience we all share and something that brings us together, even if only for once a year.


And on that note, everyone have a wonderful, safe, and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

Week 1

First Day of School

I've officially made it through the first week and am barely into the second, even though I feel as if I've been in vet school for years.

Where do I begin? Let's start with the less than positive stuff and then I'll tell you how great it all is :)

1.  I have all of my classes in the same building.  In fact, all of my classes are on the same floor.  All of my lecture classes are in the same room and for lab I walk right across the hall to the only other room on the floor.  Not only are we confined to these two rooms - there are no windows in either of these rooms.  Not much for scenery :)

2.  We are supposed to dress "business casual" for classes, and dress up for "Professional Monday's."  This has required me (really, my mom) to invest in almost a completely new wardrobe.  The Nike shorts and Kappa tanks I used to wear to class won't really cut it here.  However, I'm finding that they really are pretty lax about the dress code.  Nice jeans or khaki's and a dress shirt are my typical apparel.  I'm starting to get used to wearing makeup everyday (but not quite).

Lab: Night 3.

3.  When they say most first years study 4 hours a night - they aren't exaggerating.  I've never felt so busy or so overwhelmed.  We have tests every Friday (starting this week) for the rest of the semester.  Our first test is over the entire skeletal system.  It didn't sound bad to me at first... scapula, femur, radius, etc.  Little did I know all of these bones have at least 20 different nooks and crannies that all have their own specific names.  Last week we spent all of our Gross Anatomy labs looking at the bones of the thoracic limb, pelvic limb, and vertebral column, and identifying on our own all of the parts.  This week we are solely studying the skull.  I can honestly say that by the test on Friday, I will have learned at least 500 new vocabulary words.  I've spent a good couple of hours each night in the lab working on memorizing all of these parts (and keeping them straight... tuber? tubercle? tuberosity?)

Before...

...After!

4.  Each freshman is assigned a "second year buddy."  After being in a sorority, I naturally think of pledge mom and daughters... This? Not so much.  My second year is a boy.  He was nice enough to give me copies of all of his old tests to study, however, he had about 10 years worth of tests in no order what-so-ever, shoved into 2 three-ring binders - not in the rings.  I've managed to at least sort them into what classes they are from (most of them) :)

Now that I'm done complaining (that wasn't complaining, was it?).  Here's all of the great stuff :)

1. I'M IN VET SCHOOL!  Sometimes when I'm sitting in class, I wonder if this is really my life.  I definitely don't feel old enough or smart enough to be in these classes.  Less than a year ago I was still working on my application.  I'm so blessed to be able to be learning about what I love and to have a career doing what I've always wanted.  (I try to remind myself Cole reminds me that when I get cranky).

2. I've met some really wonderful people.  This group of 112 students is honestly the most diverse group I've been in.  Someone in my class was a stay at home mom for 9 years and taught day care before coming back, there are people from New York City, people who've never seen a cow in real life.  As many "interesting" people as there are, there are so many amazing people I'm really looking forward to getting to know better.

My study buddy - so distracting.

3. When we study in lab at night people are allowed to bring their dogs!  Correction: they're not actually allowed, but they do because no one is going to stop them.  I mean, if you're in vet school, chances are you like dogs.  It's kind of nice to see real live dogs - considering the only dogs we'll be working on for the next two years won't exactly be fidgeting patients :)

I know there were fewer great things than not-fun things - but the greater things are SO great they make up for it... AND I only have so many hours to "relax" in a day.. (like 1).

Happy Monday :)

Information OVERLOAD

I've successfully made it halfway through week one.  Let's just say you probably won't hear from me again until Christmas Break (just kidding.. but maybe).  I've spent almost every day in class 8-5 and then give myself an hour of relaxing/dinner before I start studying again.  So far - I haven't been getting nearly enough studying, and maybe too much sleep (even though it never feels like enough).  So tonight my plan is to be studying a good 4 hours in lab.  I'll try to update more on everything this weekend.

Sneak preview: I will have every nook and cranny of the skeleton memorized for next Friday. 

Happy Wednesday :)