Another Break Bites the Dust

Sadly, it is the last day of Thanksgiving break. I shopped a little, saw some good girlfriends and family. Ran trails and did some yoga, studied a touch, and lounged a touch. While I could use another week, I am slightly rejuvenated to get back to the grind for just under 3 more weeks. Finals will be hard and as they approach I am getting a little queasy. Compared to the last 3 weeks, however, they should be the same or slightly less stressful since classes won't be getting in the way and thankfully the exams are spread out over 2 weeks.

It will be hard not to focus on my busy winter break. I will going to a wedding, cleaning the house, shopping, visiting veterinary hospitals with small animal internships, entertaining my mom for a week, working 6-7 shifts at the Hope Center emergency clinic, and finishing up the dental modules I signed up for (I only completed 2 of 10 over this break).

Here's to 3 more weeks of the second to last semester of sitting on my butt in class. It's time to push just a little harder.

Made it to Thanksgiving Break!

The 3 weeks of intense examinations finally came to a screeching, exhausting halt on Thursday. For the most part all the exams went well, sacrificing sleep along the way. The night before the neuro exam I stayed up until 1 am studying, the latest I have had to stay up since vet school. It was a true cramming session, but in the end it worked out and I took a nap and watched some tv after the exam.

I am still decompressing and trying to get a few good nights of sleep to become normal again. The past 2 weeks reminded me more of finals than third year, but we have 2+ weeks of reprieve before our hardest final hits, gastroenterology. It is nice that it will be first and we can get it behind us.

Now I have a 8 more days to relax, recoup, cook, eat, train dog, and try to catch up for finals amid other errands and doctor's appointments. Only 3 weeks stand between me and winter break and having 1 more classroom semester to go before clinics.

Happy Thanksgiving bloggers!

Rough Week Ahead, but Making Headway

This week has 2 written exams and the surgery practical final exam in store. While I did not get to play very much this weekend, I did get a lot of work accomplished in order to not fall too behind in my other classes.

I did get to play with Matt and Spokane in the beautiful weather on Saturday. Spokane played with some new dogs running, wrestling and chasing in and out of water. She had fun and got dirty! I have certainly seen some maturity with her in the past 2 weeks, and I am a proud mom.

Next weekend will not be very much fun either, with a gastro exam on large animal diseases and the liver, but I can now taste Thanksgiving break (and to some extent the end of the semester) and it is going to be great!

Here's to studying hard for 11 more days.

Way to Regress Michelle

The more I look at the next 3 weeks of my life, the more depressed I become. Test after test, surgery after surgery. Today I got a pit in the bottom of my stomach I hadn't had in a long time. It felt like the old "can I do this, why must we live apart?, make it stop" feeling.

Matt is taking Spokane during the week the next 2 weeks, so I can study more efficiently and because I have a lot of surgery days where I cannot come home for lunch. I also get at least an extra hour of sleep not having to walk her in the morning. Starting to separate the family again, however, makes me super sad and I am really going to miss her. I hope she will be good through this transition and not drive Matt crazy. He has really started to get attached to her, but I am sure a few horrendous weeks could change that.

He misses his cat buddies, I miss him, and I am just getting tired of the situation again. I also suppose all this emotion could be hormonal or just what it feels like to enter week 11 of the fall semester. I'll go back to the motto of one day at a time that got me through last year. I will focus on my studies and hopefully make it through, even if I am not happy again until November 20. That's only 19 days away right?

On a happier note, Spokane graduated from her second obedience class Saturday. She has a ways to go, but she has made great strides in 3 months. I am proud of her, and I really love her dearly.

A Repeat of Second Year for a Month

Today was my last day to play outside and take the weekend leisurely. Fortunately, the fall foliage has peaked and winter is on its way. Unfortunately, my stress and flashbacks of last year and the impossible hurdles of vet school are back. This week I have a neuro exam and man is this stuff tough. To top it off I don't remember those cranial nerves and muscle innervations as well as I thought I did. Time to break out the flashcards. Next week I have surgery and 2 more exams, and 2 exams per week until Thanksgiving.

Deep down I know it is possible, but it will require another level of focus I haven't had most of the semester. I have not had it because I didn't need it. I have been having enough time to stay on top of things, but not anymore. Luckily it should go by quickly, and here's hoping for success. It was nice to have some pressure off, back to the real vet school I suppose.

On another note, Spokane has been doing well. She has amazing moments of listening, coupled with bouts of being stubborn. She knows her commands, but now chooses when to do them. We have started some off-leash fetching and training, which is exciting. She still has her bad days and way too much energy, especially when it is cold, but she is an amazing dog. I am sure I won't always be thinking that as I embark on a rough few weeks, but in the long run I think we are both happy to have her.

As usual this time of the semester I am tired and starting to get sick of school. I desire to be a 4th year, or better yet be working and living my life again. I will persevere and hopefully make it turkey, holidays and one last academic semester.

Mid Semester Blues

While 3rd year is worlds away better and more manageable than second year, we are all getting tired and the novelty of clinical relevance is starting to wear out. I once again long for more free time and mindless activity. I will admit the semester is going by very quickly and with 8 weeks under my belt, and only 4 weeks left of classes it is a downhill slope. That slope is of course filled with multiple choice tests, hours of studying and sitting, and the intimidating surgery practical final exam.

But the light at the end of the tunnel involves Thanksgiving break.

On a positive note, I have basically worked out my senior schedule and I will be going to the Chengdu Panda Reserve in China, Humane Society lobbying group in Washington DC and the wildlife center of VA as my elective blocks. Pretty exciting. It really does feel like I will be a 4th year, which seemed absolutely impossible just 2 years ago.

The trickier part of registration is figuring out what classes I don't want to take next semester. They seemed to have saved all the fun electives for the spring, but lecture burn out is definitely starting to seep in. I plan to register for a bunch and drop once the semester starts and I evaluate how burned out I am after 5 semesters of vet school.

To the downhill crunch of the Fall Semester!

End of Week 6

This week felt long. It was filled with lots of useful information for preparing for my first job out of school, but that information came with strings attached. It was very intimidating that in a year I will have to start looking for a job and decide for certain whether I want to do an internship or find a practice with good mentorship to start my career. I also thought I had my resume in pretty decent shape, but there are many more changes to make. The idea of negotiating a contract is intimidating. My one experience negotiating a job offer didn't go very well, and I don't know if I will have time to read the recommended book Getting Past No. While graduation and 4th year seem much more real now than they ever did last year, the career development class changed my excitement to stress about when I will have time to do all the leg work to make the right decision and study for boards.

Endoscopy lab was good, I went last in my group and made a few attempts at the pylorus, unsuccessfully. The rest of the endoscopy went pretty well, including intubation and anesthesia.

It seems like the heavier weeks of the semester will be coming late this month until Thanksgiving, but it is nice to enjoy a lighter load while we can. Third year is still my favorite so far, but the prospects of 4th year and after are starting t be intimidating. I know how much time interviewing for jobs required my senior year of college and in many ways these are bigger decisions with less free time to make them. I have also been feeling like I really could use a mentor with varied experience and some good advice on internship vs. first job and I haven't found that yet. The people I have connected with are very busy veterinarians that I have not been able to spend much time with. They just don't know me that well. I hope I find that answer or mentor within the next year.