Sunday, April 26, 2009

A beautiful weekend

With no exam for 1 full week and beautiful warm, sunny weather finally, I took Friday afternoon off to play/run outside and Saturday involved little school work as well. It did involve sunshine, the VT spring football game, and playing in Target. For one of the first times during a semester I did not feel guilty about not studying. A sign that I must have needed the mental break.

Now it is Sunday evening and I am feeling the final exam preemptive stress kick in. I am trying to think of this as good stress, stress to propel me through the next 2.5 weeks, and not focus on it as panic attack time. I can only do the best I can from now until exams and I plan to be super productive from here on out, with some minor intermittent packing/cleaning. If the packing/cleaning cannot get done until after my last exam that's okay too.

So here's hoping I make it to 3rd year the first time around. 6 exams/classes to go!

Friday, April 24, 2009

2 Classes Down and Finals Begin

Well respiratory medicine and musculoskeletal, two of the 3 credit classes are done. Next exam is anesthesiology on Friday, so we have some time to study, prepare, and finish up strong, I hope. Today was fun, but the last 24 hours were an emotional roller coaster.

It began yesterday at 2pm. I was in the library, focused and studying for my musculoskeletal final and then I got the email from Matt, "I can't telecommute Monday." I was heart broken since I hadn't seen him in 2 weeks and was looking forward to the extra time together. After that my focus was hazy and I was sad. Then in our last clin path lab, my teacher started crying telling us she'd miss us, and I started crying.

I fought through the disappointment and kept on studying. On this morning's exam, despite having studied for over a week for the exam, I still didn't know what was going on and had to guess on a number of questions. I hope that's not an omen for finals. The past few tests I have been studying and studying and then I am clueless on the exam.

After the test the day got brighter. My last class ended an hour early, I had a great meeting with my toxicology professor and met a friend for a picnic lunch in a tree by the Duck Pond on this beautiful day. We made our "next 30 Year's" list of things we hope to accomplish and played with her super fun dog, Diego.

Right as we were finishing my running buddy called to go for a run, perfect timing. We had a great run with her 2 dogs, then got back and did some online shopping, always fun. Then Matt met me at home and now here I am.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Less the 1 month until second year is complete

People keep telling us we're on the home stretch, downhill slide. I feel like the next few weeks are an uphill battle through 1 more week of class and many final exams. The memory of last semester's final exams looms in my head like an ugly cloud. While I hope that these exams will go by quickly and I will be prepared, I cannot help but think that getting to May 13 could take forever.

On the bright side, my wildlife medicine class had a fantastic lab Saturday at the Wildlife Center of VA in Waynesboro. We practiced restraint, BCS and PE on different birds, toured the amazing facility, looked at bird/raptor radiographs, and practiced common bird bandaging techniques. I plan to go back for an externship 4th year and to shadow the vets for a day this summer.

So far second year has been more practical and I am starting to put things together and think like a doctor, but remembering all the differentials for each clinical sign for each of the species is still rusty. With each new concept that sticks in my brain, something definitely falls out.

For now we must keep trudging along and fight for our last summer break.

Friday, April 3, 2009

It's been a long time

Since my last entry spring break came and went in a flash. It was a combo of yard work, clinical pathology, a SAVMA road trip to Ohio State and extracting my first tooth (harder work than you think), and a little more sleep than I am used to, but not too much.

The week back has been rough, 2 tough exams and our second go at being anesthetists, which is an exam in and of itself. I made it alive and tired. Not sure how the exams went, but that's the beauty of vet school there are always more exams...

I also pulled a back muscle Wednesday, which hurts terribly for those of you that have been blessed with never pulling muscle. I had never pulled one before and the shooting pain drove me into the arms of the doctor, NSAIDs and Vicadin. It feels much better now.

Most of my classmates are pretty tired and ready for the rat race to end for summer. I will just be patient and take it day by day. One month and change is not far away.