There are 4 countdowns on my computer desktop. Sometimes I like
to look at them consecutively, the numbers inching slowly towards their
respective goals. Or, without warning, I open my screen, and the seconds have
rapidly ticked away, surpassing weeks and months, until that long awaited time
and date looms before me.
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| ME! Post White Coat Ceremony |
One
reads 3 days. In a mere 72 hours, less by the time you’re
reading this, I will be sitting in orientation to begin my clinical year at
Purdue’s College of Vet Med. 80+ student bodies will gather in 1136 of Lynn
Hall, the room which it all began. I can see it now: we’re wide-eyed, some of
us self-doubting, still a little fatigued from our LAST FINALS WEEK EVER, yet
anxious to make first impressions our clinical professors. Pagers, emergency
schedules, new lockers and new protocols will be thrown at us and it will feel
like 1st year all over again.
“Do you feel ready?” my mother asks. No, I really don’t. She
reminds me that I probably know more than I think I do. And I REALLY, REALLY
hope that’s true. I will at least look the part, the attire for the large
animals is a black polo and khakis. 5 polos and pants hang in my closet, and
maybe eventually I’ll grow accustom to wearing black every day. I don’t think I’ll be wearing my white coat
much, but that hangs in my room too. A stark reminder of my passage from
classroom to clinics. Approximately 3 weeks ago, I, along with each of my
peers, took part in the iconic “White Coat Ceremony.” We each received the
coveted white coat, a symbol of our soon to be doctor status and a hallmark for
the patient-doctor relationship.
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| My parents and I, post White Coat Ceremony |
The
second one reads 191 days. When I said finals week was over, it meant
that we were free from 5 consecutive days of torturous, 2 hour finals. We still
have tests and in approximately 191 days, the NAVLE opens and we will face SIX
CONSECUTIVE hours of one single test. The NAVLE, or North American Veterinary
Licensing Exam is just one of the hurdles to becoming a fully licensed
veterinarian. Consisting of 360 multiple choice questions, the NAVLE is
comprehensive across species and general veterinary medicine. I can’t wait to
take it.
The
third countdown is 230 days. That’s when Christmas is. And I
love Christmas, getting together with family, making delicious food, celebrating
Jesus’s birth, lights, snow, cold; I really could go on and on. During my
clinical year however, I may be working at the hospital instead of coming home
for Christmas. Guess those cows and horses can’t save themselves for one day!
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| Me, Liz, Edith: my girls from the very beginning. |
372.
The fourth and most sought after deadline. GRADUATION!!!! It’s
hard enough to believe that in a few days I’ll be applying the skill set I’ve
learned in the classroom, to real-life practice out in the field. But at least
next week, I’ll be under the watchful eye and proctorship of a licensed
veterinarian. But NEXT YEAR? I will BE a licensed veterinarian. 17 rotations, a
few more exams, countless patients and clients away, I will arrive at what my
father calls “The Promised Land.” (The Promised Land has a different meaning to
him. Haha.)
Clinical year at Purdue is somewhat different than other
veterinary schools. Here, we track a specific pathway, and take rotations
tailored to that pathway. I will be tracking Large Animal, so a majority of my
rotations will take place in the Large Animal Hospital (LAH). I think I’ll
enjoy it, because anyone who doesn’t think spending the day with cattle and
horses is fantastic is the crazy one. My block schedule is as follows and I
hope along my journey, I’ll be able to share my experience with you.
Block 1:
Bovine Therio Production Medicine
Block 2:
Ancillary (Consists of 1 week each working in necropsy, clinical pathology, and
clinical microbiology)
Block 3:
Externship at Conly Koontz in Columbia City, IN
Block 4:
Externship at 3H Veterinary Service in New Hill, NC
Block 5:
Large Animal Surgery I
Block 6:
Swine Production Medicine
Block 7:
Large Animal Medicine I
Block 8:
Equine Community Practice
Block
9: Large Animal Surgery II
Block
10: Diagnostic Imaging (radiographs, ultrasound, MRI, etc)
Block
11: Large Animal Medicine II
Block
12: Off campus with Board of Animal Health in Indianapolis, IN
Block
13: Large Animal Surgery III
Block
14: Ruminant Production Medicine I
Block
15: Vacation and possibly an externship at University of Penn Large Animal
Neonate Center
Block
16: Diagnostic Path
Block
17: Anesthesiology
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| Dr. Salisbury, Me, Dean Reed; Post White Coat Ceremony |
