Oh Sandy...

Hurricane Sandy is currently ravaging the New York and New England region. My home state of RI isn't faring too terribly, but some of my favorite beaches are probably eroded to bits. Rumor has it the Narragansett seawall is falling apart under the tidal surge, but I'm not sure if that's true. My cousin at Johnson and Wales in Providence got evacuated yesterday afternoon. It's really crazy.

Long Island, where most of my family live, is also getting hit pretty hard. Another cousin got evacuated from her dorm on LI, but she's safely at home. I keep looking at pictures of places around LI and RI and it just breaks my heart. So far no lives lost in Rhode Island, and I hope it stays that way.

On a school note, week 3 of PMVPH is killing me. I'm bored out of my mind because it just doesn't interest me one bit. But at least I'm getting a lot of revision done on the side!

Fresher's Flu

As a reminder to all: you can definitely get Fresher's flu without actually being a fresher. I am living proof of that.

Seriously. I went to one Fresher's Week event, ended up staying out way past my normal bed time and voila! Fresher's flu. It's really only coughing and sniffly nose at this point, but it's driving me crazy. I've got a self-imposed restriction to my house/bed this weekend in hopes that it helps me get better faster. Although I am volunteering at the Dog Olympics (it's a fundraiser for one of the college's charities) on Sunday, but only for a few hours.

On a different note, we had our last Dermatology lectures today. Really, they were endocrine lectures about hyperadrenocorticism in dogs/cats and PPID (pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction) in horses. Interesting, especially since I want to do my final research project on PPID in horses.

Also, we FINALLY got our sub-groups for our rotation groups, and I really do have a fabulous set of people in my group. Thank goodness for some semblance of good luck or whatever it is. Makes me more excited for rotations to finally start!

Long time no post.

I have a feeling that the closer I get to clinical rotations, the harder it will be to post here. So bear with me.

Right now, school feels like a long slow march to 4th year exams. We've been doing dermatology for the past two weeks, and I've come to the conclusion that it's probably the only thing that would tear mea way from equine/large animal medicine. But then I'd probably be stuck inside all day and, well, I like being outside.

This week we get our final sub-groups for our rotation groups, which means I'll be able to figure out when I can go back up to Yorkshire/Lancashire for another week or more, and start planning out when and where I want to go to placement for, well, the next year and a half. Because really, when you think about it, I only really have a year and a half left of teaching/rotations before I have to start studying for final year exams. And that's a bit scary.

On a less traumatizing note, my sister has found a place! She and her boyfriend are moving into a flat close to her school in London, which means I have to find a bag large enough to fit a change of clothes, my iPad and my Macbook. It's a relief that she's here, because now I can have downtime without having the constant reminder of vet school all the time. As much as I love all my friends here, it's nice to get away from it for a little while. Even if I am going to bring all my work with me and probably study at her place. Plus, sister time!

Fun in the North.

I got back yesterday from my placement in Lancashire and I have to say that I loved it up there. The practice I went to was absolutely wonderful; I got to do a lot while I was there, and I definitely feel more confident about my developing skills. They were super encouraging, and I really got on well with two of the vets (one of which is leaving, unfortunately). On the weekend, I took out the trusty TARDIS to check out the countryside. I lucked out and it was beautiful.

Also, the practice wasn't too far from the Yorkshire Dales, so I took a drive to Thirsk to check out the World Of James Herriot museum.

First of all, I was completely star struck.

I mean, seriously. I still remember the day my mother gave me "All Creatures Great and Small." We were living in Wisconsin then, and I was home from school (either because it was too damn cold to go or because I was sick, I can't remember which one it was). I was bored out of my mind and probably being annoying, so, in exasperation, my mother handed me the book to keep me quiet. Well, it worked. I didn't stop reading it until she took it out of my hands at dinner, and again when I went to bed. I fell in love with it. I mean, who hasn't? He was a wonderful storyteller. 

And so began my fascination with veterinary medicine. Walking into his old practice in Thirsk was like walking into the books. I'll admit, I got a little verklempt. After Alf Wight died in 1995, they refurnished the practice to look like it did back in the 1940s. It was so amazing. The rest of the place is basically a museum of the history of veterinary medicine. They have a bunch of old instruments in there, and also there's a section for kids (and vet students). One of the exhibits was mishandled a bit by an over-enthusiastic "trainee vet" and was out of commission (I got a kick out of that). 

So all in all, I had a fabulous time on my last summer placement. I liked it so much I'm going back in February for lambing/calving season, and I've been promised that I'll be assisting with Caesarian sections and all the fun stuff. Can't wait!

And tomorrow, 4th year begins. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm definitely ready. Only 2 more years left!

2 weeks left.

I'm heading up to Lancashire soon to start my final two weeks of EMS for 3rd year. I'm kind of excited, because this placement is 50% equine, 50% farm animal work. I'll get more experience working with the two fields I'm most interested in!

Also, lectures start back up two weeks from tomorrow. Didn't really give myself that much of a breather, did I?

Also also, my sister moves to the UK in (less than) two weeks.

So...lots of big things happening in two weeks. I'm getting nervous for 4th year, but looking forward to finishing the lecture portion of my schooling and going on to the rotation portion. So close!

Mixed animals.

Only one more day left of my mixed animal placement, and I have to say that I do like it. The variety keeps you on your toes (especially the occasional ferret that reminds you that yes, they bite, and yes, it hurts when they do). I've not seen too much large animal work here, but I have been to a TB test and that was kind of fun. The farm we went to had a bunch of Charolais cross calves that were wild (and when I say wild, I mean, OUT OF CONTROL). Two of them managed to rush the crush (unintentional rhyming) and move it forward about a foot. That was exciting. Most of them decided they wanted out from any point except the front gate and got their heads stuck a few times in the bars. Silly things.

Apart from that, they've actually allowed me to do things! This is the first time I've had truly hands on experience in surgery, even if it was only two cat castrations. I still feel a bit out of my depth with the small animal side of things. There are times where I revert back to my vet tech days, when I was so timid and lacked confidence in myself when approaching problems...and also did all the tech duties of drawing up vaccines and holding animals. It's almost like my brain hasn't realized that I'm in vet school, and I know a lot more than I did 3 years ago, which should translate into more confidence about my abilities.

Anyway, this weekend I'm taking my friend J to Isle of Wight for her birthday, because no one should be alone on their birthday. I've got candles and some animal shaped balloons from Sainsbury's to celebrate. Hopefully it doesn't rain the whole weekend!

Still on an Olympic high.

I meant to post this sooner, but alas. Placement got in the way. 

On Thursday, I got to go see history being made at the Dressage Gran Prix freestyle event at the Olympics. It was a once in a lifetime event, and I had THE BEST time. I went with my friend A, who was the one who managed to get the tickets for the event. And although the USA rider Steffen Peters didn't manage to get a medal, it was still amazing to watch the top riders of the world compete for the gold. I feel very blessed that I was able to go. 

Anyway, my second placement of the summer is now over. I had a wonderful time, although I didn't really get to do much. I'm finding that is a trend with my placements thus far. I wasn't entirely bored out of my mind, but when I'm seeing facebook statuses of "I just performed a castration!" or "I just watched a _____ surgery!", I kind of want to pull my hair out. 

Oh well. I still have two years left of school (YIKES) in which to do all these things. I suppose I'm not in a rush. 

I've got two more placements left this summer; one mixed animal practice and one farm animal practice. We'll see how things go.