Home Stretch

Good Morning, Mom!

Holy Cow - I just finished my 15th week of vet school.  Is this real life?  Only one more week of classes left, a week of finals, and I am 1/8th of the way toward being a doctor!

Here are the updates...

Physio -- Successfully got a B on the ridiculously long, 12-page, short-answer test right before Thanksgiving (despite my fever).  I was so proud of my grade - considering I felt like death the day before - but I kind of get the feeling I wouldn't have done any better even if I was as healthy as ever.  We also had another physio test this morning and I got an A.  This test was only 35 multiple choice questions - much more my style :)  After calculating my grade, I have to get a 100% on the final to get an 89.5% in the class - enough to hopefully round to an A.  Maybe I'm crazy - but I'm going for it :)

Microanatomy -- Meh.  Definitely ready to be done with this class.  We're currently learning about blood cells and hemopoeisis, which is essentially the formation of blood cells.  We are done with regular tests in here and just have the final left.  I'm at the point, where even if I get a 100% on the final I can't get an A, but I would pretty much have to bomb it to lose my B.  I guess that means I should be happy and not stress about the final? - yeah right.

Our perfect patient, Lark!

Gross Anatomy -- Still by far my absolute favorite class, and my highest grade.  Dissections of the head were kind of a disaster before Thanksgiving, and everyone is so behind in lab, but at least we're all at the same level right?  This week, we've done my favorite thing so far - Live Dog Labs.  Essentially its a room full of dogs, that the vet students can bring, and we work on palpating and identifying all of the structures we've dissected this semester on real dogs.  At the end of both lab periods we've had 50 point quizzes over what we've found.  And now I am going to brag about how I got 100% on BOTH.  Naturally I think I'm a genius now, because isn't working on live dogs what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life?  I probably don't even need to study for the final, I could be a vet right now-- kidding Mom, I'll study lots :)  Also - I had to look up how to spell genius, so maybe a few more years of school wouldn't hurt.

Is the flash too bright?... Sorry Cole, I had to :)

Life outside of vet school -- Spent Thanksgiving relaxing with the family.  I had high hopes of everything I was going to accomplish over break, and successfully accomplished absolutely nothing.  But it was an absolutely phenomenal break.  I spent some time with my sister and her husband, my dad's side of the family in Plainville, and Cole and his family.  I also spent all week snuggling with Little Bear and started season 3 of Big Bang Theory - does it get any better than that?  I think not.

So that is my life in a nutshell.  Next week is considered "dead" week, but let me tell you - it is alive and kicking.  I have 3 tests and a paper and presentation due, BUT all of my classes are wrapping up - some of them I don't even have next week.  A 5-week Christmas Break is the light at the end of the tunnel, so let's just pray I make it through these next two weeks :)

Thanksgiving is Here!

Welcome to Thanksgiving Break! What am I doing right now?  Relaxing on the couch and watching TV for the first time in a long time.  And it is absolutely magical :)

Dr. Bear

It's been a pretty interesting couple of days.  I woke up in the middle of the night Wednesday with a fever and all of the fun cough/congestion that goes along with that.  So, in the interest of my well-being (and to save everyone else from getting sick before the holidays) I stayed home all day Thursday.  It finally broke my perfect attendance record, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  After a day of recuperating (and attempted studying) I had to get up this morning and go take my 130 point Physiology test.  Let's just say, it could've gone worse (it also could've gone better).  Luckily though, I have a stable grade in that class that hopefully won't be too affected by one test.

Best Lab Group Ever :)

Other than that school is pretty boring.  We have been dissecting brains in Gross Anatomy lab and looking at the kidney in Microanatomy.  Now for the next few days, my goal is to not think a single thought involving school -- and then maybe start cramming for finals :)

Lucky Week 13

Today marks week 13 of vet school.  I can't believe this is our last week before Thanksgiving Break (I'm not complaining).  Here's a summary of last week/this week:

I'm excited to say I got an A on both Gross Anatomy lab and lecture test!  It quite possibly could be my greatest accomplishment of the semester, and finally brought my grade up to an A in the class overall.  It's a nice feeling - especially knowing our next test in the class is the final :)  Now that we're done with a majority of structures and systems in lab, we've moved on to just the head and the spinal column.  While the head is a small part of the body, it's one of the most complicated parts.  We've been working on muscles and nerves of the face and the eye this past week.  The week after Thanksgiving we have two "Live Dog" quizzes.  Students get to bring in their dogs, and we will practice palpating the dogs to identify organs and structures we've dissected in lab.

Neurons in Nervous Tissue

Microanatomy is the class we had our test in this past Friday.  This test was over Female Reproduction, Nervous System, Integument (Skin), and Arteries, Veins, and Lymphatic Vessels.  I'm still waiting on lab test results, but got an A on the lecture part!

Physiology is the test this Friday :(  We've been learning about different types of channels involved in action potentials of the nervous system.  It's about as exciting as it sounds.  I tend to go back and forth between Physiology and Microanatomy over which is my least favorite class - this week, it's Physiology.  Luckily, studying hasn't been so bad (yet).

Outside of school, it's been a busy few weeks/weekends.  Cole and I went to Kappa's "America" themed date party.  Naturally we went as "spirited Republicans."  This involved me wearing a red tutu - because honestly, when else do you get the chance to do this.

Don't worry, Mom - I couldn't see the TV

After voting last week, I also got to spend election night babysitting my favorite little boy.  We read stories and played with our feet.  He even wore his "I love my auntie" onesie just for me :)

This weekend Cole and I went with my parents to see K-State's production of The Music Man - I love musicals.  We also went to a wedding with his parents. The time off was much needed after a crazy two weeks, and I even got in quite a bit of studying on Sunday.  It was quite possibly a perfect weekend :)

I'm baaaaack :)

After a 4 week hiatus - I have returned.  School has been a little crazy and the blog had to be put on the back burner for a while.  Here are a few updates on what has been going on in the past month...

Let's start at the beginning.  I first had a week off from having a test and it was the most magical and chaotic week ever.  It was so nice getting to sleep in Friday morning and not be working my butt off all week for a test; however, I am becoming very used to my routine and anything that deviates from my weekly schedule throws me completely out of whack -- it was a pretty unproductive week.

The week after that I had a Microanatomy Lab and Lecture test.  I have definitely improved in that class since the first test.  This test was over bone, cartilage, respiratory system, liver, pancreas, and male reproduction.  I was so so so close to an A on the lab test (89%) which is almost 20% better than I did on the first one - so I'm definitely headed in the right direction :)

Following that came Physiology.  I've decided physiology isn't so bad because our final in that class is not comprehensive.  Basically, even if I am not 100% confident on a topic, I really just need to know it well enough to make it through that test (is this a bad philosophy to have?)  The test that we most recently had in that class was over cell receptors, radioactive oxygen species and free radicals, oncogens (what causes cancer) and eicosanoids (I still can't explain to you what this is).  That test went phenomenal - I couldn't have been happier!

That brings us to this week.  This quite possibly has been the busiest week I'll have this semester (except for maybe finals week).  We had a gross anatomy lab and lecture test.  Where do I begin?  Lecture was over the thorax, abdomen, arteries, nerves, and veins, as well as the entire nervous system and it's function.  That doesn't seem soooo bad; however that brings me to lab.  Every structure that was not a muscle, bone, or part of the head was on this lab test.  Let me just explain to you what that means.  I had to know every nerve, artery, vein, lymph node... AND all parts of the heart, lung, thymus, diaphragm, liver, stomach, pancreas, spleen, large and small intestine and their subdivisions, kidneys, both male and female reproduction, and all parts of the rectum and anal canal.

Did I even list them all?  I can't remember.  This week has been an absolute blur.  The lab test also included questions from the radiology lectures that we've had.  The newest trick I've mastered is to look at a radiograph of the chest or abdomen and determine whether the x-ray was taken on the left or right side of the dog or from the back or stomach - it's not as easy as you'd think!  Give it a try?  -- Answers will be at the bottom :)

A.

B.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That brings me to right now - this very second.  I'm sitting in my newest elective "3-D Imaging of the Dog."  In this elective we look at radiographs, CT scans, and ultrasounds.  It took the place of my medical vocabulary elective, which ended a few weeks ago - giving me my first A in a class in vet school.  Not as impressive as it sounds, considering it was a piece of cake class and only worth 1 hour of credit, but I'll take it :)

That's all for now - sorry for the overload of information.  I promise to make a better attempt at keeping up with this weekly again, now that my life has settled down a little.  Tonight, Cole and I are going to a Kappa date party - my one and only of the semester..  The theme is America, so we really couldn't skip it.. and naturally we're going as Republicans :)

Have a happy weekend :)

Answers to the quiz?
A) Left
B) Right

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 :)