2011. Yep, it’s pretty much over, and it seems like the first half of the year was a whole other year in itself. Once I left Michigan State, and started at Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine, time seemed to stop and start over. I think I will reminisce about my first semester in vet school as my closing post for this year. I’ve decided not to put writing more on my resolution list, as I would hate to break it (and this is probably inevitable as much as I would want to try).
Classes
Applications and Integrations: Thankfully I didn’t mind this class so much since I have several more semesters of it. As a case-based class, we used everything we learned from our other classes to evaluate cases that were once seen in the PU hospital. In a group of 7, with a doctor as our tutor, we would start by learning about the animal’s problems, move on to interpreting test results, and eventually would determine the animals’ diagnosis. In between classes, we would have to look up our ‘learning issues.’ These were terms, procedures, or boat loads of information that we did not yet already know. Often times three hours spent researching did not lend us much more insight. By the end of the semester, I’m confident half-a-dozen trees are neatly packed into a teeming 3” binder.
Anatomy: To the class I love so much! Definitely a highlight of each week, the preserved dog on the stainless steel table provided the best hands on learning one could ask for. The first dog our group had was Chauncey, (lovingly named for a street mid-campus). He was a white and brown spotted dog, with a perpetual grimace on his face from preservation. One often wonders what causes the dogs to end up on our table; from Chauncey we speculated several things from the BBs we found in his body. From him I learned muscles, nerves, and veins/arteries of the forelimb, as well as muscles of the abdomen. The group then moved on to a dog we just referred to a Big Girl or Girl. She was a young, sleek, brown pit mix. I spent the majority of my time with her. Glorious was the day we got to split open her rib cage. After removing her lungs, the intricate highway of the veins and arteries running to and from her heart was something to be in awe of! Each chamber of the heart was opened. It turned out that Girl had a foramen ovale, an opening between her right and left atrium. This was something that should have closed after she was born. While looking at her other organs, it was clear that she had splenomegaly, or enlarged spleen. We speculated that this could have been the cause of her, unfortunate for her, fortunate for us, demise.
Behavior: Not initially a favorite for many, behavior consisted mainly of dog behavior. Conflicting views between our instructor and our class proved interesting, as we struggled to be convinced that dogs do not feel jealousy, nor do they display dominance. The end of the semester was more what most of us expected, with behaviors of specific species explained. It was most interesting to see the differences between feral and farmed behaviors of swine and cattle.
Histology: Histology, histology, how horrid were your exams. I truly did enjoy this class, what with its microscopic images of our tissues, and endless names for the numerous cells. The quantity of information proved most difficult, along with conquering the ability to distinguish between reticular cells, Golgi cells, acinar cells, etc. The list really does g0 on. The slides we saw week after week were intricate and colorful to say the least. Really intriguing. In Dr. Hullinger’s words: “Better tie your shoes tight, because this is going to blow your socks off!” The image below is of a pig embryo.
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| Pig Embryo |
Husbandry: Another hands on class, I found husbandry to be extremely enjoyable. I think growing up on a farm gave me a great background, especially when it came to working with the large animals. For someone who had never worked with cattle, swine or sheep, the work tended to be a little intimidating. The cattle we worked with were some sweet old dairy cows; their doleful eyes just watched us as we clustered around and listened to their hearts, learned to tie makeshift halters, restrain them with nose tongs, and tied their tails up. The pigs were slightly less enjoyable, yet still entertaining. Their ear piercing squeals is what bothered many. They tend not to like being snared much. The sheep were super fun; I found it amusing to watch my classmates struggle to restrain them and set them on their rumps. I guess growing up with sheep since I was six provided me an edge!
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| Buttercup |
Neuroscience: I found this an extremely challenging class, yet so interesting. Nerve after nerve, and what they affected took a lot to learn. The detail was massive, and it really helped to have this topic spread between several classes. In A & I as mentioned previously provided several cases to review neurology, as well as husbandry, where we learned to perform a neuro exam and interpret our results. It continues to amaze me on how information is passed from the brain to our needed life actions.
Physiology: I think I have a love/hate relationship with this class. Hopefully next semester’s physiology won’t make me lean more toward hate. This class was twice a week, with a lab once a week. Not much right? Ha. In order to fully understand this class, I think it was necessary to continually look over the information, and repeat it as often as possible. I don’t think I can forget now that the body is 60% water, with 40% as intracellular fluid, 5% in plasma and 15% as interstitial fluid. I know physiology is needed to understand much of the problems my patients will face, and it was exciting once I understood a topic, to apply it to our A & I cases, but sometimes completely understanding how the body worked was a challenge.
Principles & Ethics: I loved this class; it opened my eyes to the many dilemmas I will face as a veterinarian. As one guest speaker put it, we will continually be victims of moral stress, and as professionals and human beings, we must be conscious of how we deal with it. For several weeks, we spent our class time just going over different issues we might face, and how we might deal with them; issues such as a patient wanting certain procedures, or extra drugs, or malpractice. There are so many different variables that will play into our decisions: the time we have spent with the client, the money we may or may not make, the welfare of the animal, the consequences of doing said procedure, or supplying said drug… There is so much to think about while we try to uphold our oath and our personal morals.
Finals: What to say, what to say… Finals are finals. I think we got lucky this semester, with one final per day, and with several finals before the end of the semester. I’m sure this won’t happen often. All I can remember is that by the end of finals week, I didn’t think there was much more I could shove into my brain. It actually felt full, if not overflowing. I think if brain could physically vomit, mine would have. Thank God for a 3 week recovery period!
Classmates: Oh, dear lovely classmates. What’s not to love about 83 other people that you spend 6-8 hours a day with, often crammed elbow to elbow? Hmmm, I can think of a few things. As part of our Applications and Integrations class, one of the goals is learning to work well with others. One might think that by professional school time, one should have learned how to do this well. Not the case. As an owner is the only verbal means of understanding a patient’s signs, ability to communicate well is extremely necessary. The whole class took a personality test so that we learn more about ourselves, and how we can better work with others. I’m sure we all took this information to heart in order to better work with our classmates in the time being. Time and time again, we’ve heard the saying “veterinary medicine is a small profession,” so I probably will see them again, or use their infinite knowledge as we each go into our different areas of veterinary medicine. Of course, I am sure I get on some nerves, as well as the next kid. For the most part, my colleagues are top-notch and I look forward to working with them in the future.
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| Kyle, Me, Chico, An, Edith and Liz at the Dairy Farm |
Well, that was my 2011, in the world of veterinary medicine. I can only hope that 2012 will go just as well, or even better. In a little over a week, I start my new classes, with my fellow classmates. I am looking forward to the many new opportunities it has to offer, the new people I will get to meet, and the new cases I get to research. There is so much on the horizon! Happy New Year to all!
