Halfway there :)

Short recap of the last week:

- finished my last exam (best feeling!)
- packed up my apartment (always takes way longer than I anticipate - how does one person accumulate so much crap??)
- toga party (the first time all year that we've been able to go to a party and not feel guilty because we have a test coming up)
- came back to London
- slept forever
- got all my marks back and officially passed phase 2!

Work starts Monday and I'm ready to gain more clinical experience and put some of the stuff we've learned this year to the test :)

Yay summer!!

Faves :)

4 more days!

Hey everyone!

Like I said in my last post, nothing has been going on lately beside non-stop studying. Since then, I have survived:

- One written Surgery final
- One simulated client interview
- Three Principles of Disease finals back to back, 3 days in a row (finishing one exam and then having to study the same material only to find all the mistakes you made that morning is not the most fun, but yay to the monster Phase 2 course being done!)
- One Health Management final
- One Theriogenology (reproduction) final

And we only have Anesthesia & Pharmacology (which is one course) to go!

We have fewer finals than we did in first year, but the amount of material tested this year is massive and all of them are worth so much. Today's was Therio and it was worth 70%! So even if you go into the final with a good mark, it doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. Intimidating for sure, especially since our brains are beginning to wear out.

I took a mental break this weekend though; the weather has been gorgeous and Matt came down to take Daisy back to London for me. We got to hang out for a bit and we took a nice long trail walk - it was nice to finally get some sun! I'm feeling like less of a vampire/troll/hermit and ready to get this last exam over with so I can celebrate, head home and recover for a week before starting work.

Almost 50% of a DVM!
Bye for now :)

March Craziness

I'm getting pretty crappy at updating, huh?? This month has been crazy!

Since my last post, I: 

- Checked off another 5 tests off of my to-do list (Monday morning 8:00 am tests are now done for the year!) 

- Went to the beach party, complete with real sand :)

- Got artsy at Play with Clay, a local store where you can either make your own clay piece or make your own, paint it, and then pick it up when it's been baked. I made a cupcake jewelery holder and I want to go back ASAP because it was so fun and relaxing! I was really into art when I was younger and it helped spark that feeling again. Good stress relief :)

- Got super excited about classes finally ending!

- Got a mix of scared + excited - we've had a few talks about how 4th year works and how we already need to start thinking about our plans for externships, rotations, and the national vet licensing exam (NAVLE). Crazy that we are already at that point! Time is flying :)

We have our surgery written final on Monday, and then the rest of our finals don't start until April 7 so Daisy and I are going home on Monday. I figured I'd take advantage of the free food (thanks mom and dad) and give Daisy the company of my family for a bit. I plan on going to the library (at my undergrad, bringing back memories of all the hours I spent there while trying to get good marks to apply to vet school) to get some good studying in before our 8 finals begin.

Cannot believe the end of 2nd year is already coming up! That's all for now :)

The home stretch!

Today is March 1st and I can't believe how fast this year has gone!
Last week we did our first "spay" on our DASIEs (fake surgery models). It was our last lab of the surgery course and a great way to practice our skills on a fake patient before the time comes when we have to do the real thing! 

Looking professional ;)

We also had an intro lecture about the surgery course in third year, and got to pick out surgery groups. So excited to have even more hands on time next year; this year's surgery course was definitely my favourite course so far. 

Yesterday we had a bacteriology exam and then our Clinical Medicine final OSCE. We had one last year as well, but this year involved full physical exams on large and small animals + neurology + medical record and problem lists + radiology. Needless to say, it was a busy weekend of studying and although our lab section had to be the first group to do the OSCE (other groups don't go until Friday), I'm glad I got it out of the way. I think it went well and was a good boost of confidence; sometimes I don't realize how much I have learned until the time comes to put my skills to the test :)

This week is a normal week of class, there's a frat party on Friday that matt is going to accompany me to, but unfortunately we also have 2 tests on Monday. Next thing you know, it'll be April! Time flies.
Bye for now :)

The fastest week ever

Hey everyone! Just thought I'd post a quick reading week recap before I get into what's going on in school.
I went home with a list of stuff I needed to do, and accomplished maybe 2 things? Hahah but it was a much needed week of sleep, friends and family, and Matt's family's new puppy :)
Since daisy is almost 11, I had forgotten just how much work puppies are. The biting, the scratching, the peeing everywhere, the nonstop energy.. It made me second guess my future great dane puppy! But little Sofia is the cutest and it was even cuter seeing matt interact with her and how quickly they've bonded (I have zero maternal instinct in terms of human babies, but puppies are another story). We went to petsmart and I got her a pink identification tag so she's all blinged out now :) 

Look at those paws - she's going to be a big girl!

Not sure who is cuter ;)

My best friend and I went back to visit our favourite high school teacher and gave his Biology class a lecture on life after high school - my friend is in chiropractic school so we have had similar journeys with different outcomes. It made me feel old but also so accomplished; it's crazy that it's been 7 years since I was in grade 12! I think we intimidated them a little but it was also appreciated since high school students don't get nearly as much information as they should about how university works. 

Otherwise most of the week was just spent relaxing which was very necessary since school is back in full swing now. I'll save that info for the next post :)

We got a huge snowstorm but that didn't stop this one from wanting to go for walks :)

Catching up with my lovely friends :)

Update: The Past Month

So the last few weeks have been pretty busy, we had some cool hands on labs and I've also been on the hunt for a summer job.

One of our labs was on bandaging limbs which sounds simple enough, but getting multiple layers of cotton and bandage material to lay nice and flat against the leg while maintaining the proper pressure is definitely an art! We ended the lab by doing a cast and then got yo use some power tools to saw it off once it had hardened. 

We practiced on stuffed limbs, but this is the final product on a real dog (photo from Google)

I had 2 interviews for jobs, one here in the companion animal hospital and another for a vet clinic back in my hometown. There were pros and cons to both but I was leaning toward the London one because:
1. The clinic is my personal vet clinic where I take daisy
2. I volunteered there in undergrad so I am familiar with the clinic and the staff
3. I am in regular contact with the main vet there and he is the best :)
4. I'd be closer to family and friends and get to save on some living expenses for the summer
5. Daisy wouldn't be home alone all day while I am working because my family members are off for various parts of the summer.
Thankfully, I found out that I got the London job before I heard back from the Guelph one so I took it right away. It'll be cool to go back and show the staff that I actually know things now (as opposed to being a little vet student wannabe) and get to practice things that we've learned in school this year. I'm excited to have a busy but rewarding summer :)

My birthday was last week and the girls and I went out for dinner to The Works (an amazing burger place) where I ate my weight in cheese.. Thankfully I wore my stretchy pants ;) it was nice to have some social time since we usually only see each other in class.

Tomorrow night I'm heading back to London for reading week and I'm sooo looking forward to a bit of a break. I haven't been home since new years and going home is even more exciting now, because Matt's family got a golden retriever puppy and I am DYING to see her (but then go home and not have to deal with puppy training.. I'll be the equivalent of a "cool aunt"). Goldens are one of the cutest puppies ever and I can't wait to squeeze her fuzzy little face!

KILLING ME

Little Sophia :) 

That's it for now, my week is already pretty packed with social + school related tasks so I'll definitely post an update once that's all done.

Bye from Daisy and I! :)

SCVMA Conference

Wow has it really been almost 3 weeks since my last post?? Time flies when you're super busy!

This past weekend was the Students of the Central Veterinary Medical Association Symposium and OVC got to host it which was great because I didn't have to pay for a plane ticket :) (shout out to our wonderful executive committee who made the weekend go seamlessly despite running on no sleep!)

The first day started with lectures. I chose the following:

- Minimally Invasive Surgery: how laparoscopic surgical techniques are being used in vet medicine to do procedures such as spays, gastropexies and biopsies. The benefits include smaller incisions and therefore faster healing time, as well as less tissue damage. Starting the day with a video of a laparoscopic instrument suctioning bladder stones out of a bladder was awesome!

- Obesity: such a huge problem in pets nowadays, this lecture was sponsored by Royal Canin and taught us how to discuss obesity with owners and let them know that a 9/9 is not a good thig when it comes to a Body Condition Score. We also got free digital gram scales for accurate pet food measurements :)

- Dentistry: for whatever reason, OVC doesn't have many dentistry lectures so I chose this one to get some extra exposure. It's crazy (and some would say disgusting) how mild dental disease can quickly turn ugly. Free gift = pet toothbrushes (which Daisy will be using because yes I brush her teeth)

Free things!!

Then the afternoon consisted of 2 wet labs, I did basic surgery skills and emergency procedures and got to practice things that I had never done before and probably won't get a chance to for who knows how long! Those procedures included:

- Mass biopsy and suturing
- Chest tube placement: for long term fluid drainage
- Esophogastric tube placement: aka a feeding tube
- Thoracocentesis: quickly draining the chest in an emergency situation
- Urinary catheter placement
- Tracheostomy tube placement (the coolest one!): creating an airway in an emergency situation when intubation isn't possible.

..needless to say my spellcheck is going crazy right now. I swear they're all real words!

The day ended with a country-style dinner and social night at the country bar in Guelph - I despise country music soo I had to drown it out with some vodka-cranberries ;)

Saturday was the best day ever because I chose a tour of the Donkey Sanctuary which rescues abused and unwanted donkeys and mules. I've always had a thing for donkeys and seeing 80 of them in one day just made that obsession grow - I'll try not to overload this post with pictures of them but I can't make any guarantees ;) That evening we had a semi formal banquet dinner to end the weekend.

Seriously.

SERIOUSLY.

Overall the weekend was super tiring but also totally worth it. I'll let you all know when I adopt my first donkey! (only half joking). Daisy and Matt came down on Sunday and unfortunately only one of them stayed. So I'm back to early morning walks and no more lunch talks but I wouldn't have it any other way!

-10 deg out? No biggie!

Back to begging for snacks

That's all for now :)