Just 3 more months of life as I know it Permalink | 1 Comment
I managed to survive the test week from hell - 8 tests in seven days. In retrospect I can’t say I survived it particularly well - the 4 hour clinical correlate test for small animal gastroenterology, for example, was a classic exercise in pain. It was so challenging that when the instructor encouraged us to take a bathroom break two hours into the test, almost nobody moved for fear that the few minutes “wasted” to go the bathroom could mean not completing the test on time.
Other than the onerous testing at the end, I thought the semester was rather interesting and relatively stress-free. I spent a lot of time palpating cows and horses, which many non-veterinary people might consider disgusting, but which was actually quite useful and interesting. “Palpating,” in these instances, meant sticking my arm up their rectums and feeling for the reproductive tract in an attempt to find the ovaries and figure out if the cow/horse was pregnant. They say you don’t really get good at this until you do about 1000 cows or horses. Overall, I probably did about 35 cows and 15 horses. So, no, I’m not good at it. We also used ultrasound, via the same route, to “inspect” the reproductive tracts. Unlike the ultrasound images of human babies where you can pretty easily make out the images of little limbs, heads, and bodies, ultrasound images of cow and horse uteruses and ovaries are quite non-descript. It, too, is an acquired art. I guess I will have to keep practicing.
If I could sum up the semester in one word, that word would have to be “reproduction.” No, I didn’t produce any offspring personally. Rather, I was immersed in a seemingly endless run of reproduction classes. There was small animal reproduction, equine reproduction, small ruminant reproduction, and large animal reproduction. That’s a lot of naughty bits to learn about. The highlight had to be the lab in which we collected semen from a stallion. If you’ve never been witness to such a thing, let’s just say it is a highly energized and potentially dangerous affair (pun intended). We also collected semen from a goat, which was a decidedly less dangerous affair, but only less dangerous based on animal size, not animal intent.
The semester started off with a trip to Lexington, Kentucky to learn about opportunities in equine practice, and ended with a trip to Las Vegas in December to attend the American Association of Equine Practitioners conference. I can say without reservation that I prefer Lexington to Las Vegas.
During the semester, we also said goodbye to our long-term foster dog, Morgan, who found a great new home with a little girl that loves the heck out of him. We then fostered Gretal, a slight, young, German Shepherd who found a great new home after only three weeks with us. And currently we have Bernie, a most awesome 1 year old Saint Bernard who we’ve found a great home for in just a matter of a week and a half.
From the very beginning of my vet school career, I’ve talked about the fact that everyone says it goes by extremely quickly. I can certainly add my voice to that chorus. We start back to class next week and as a third year, our spring semester lasts a mere 3 months. Come April 12, we begin our year-long clinical rotations. I’ve come to know the 89 other people in our class pretty well over the course of the past two and a half years, and it’s difficult to fathom that in a mere three months, we’ll all essentially be going our separate ways. As much as I’m looking forward to moving away from lectures and towards actually applying what we’ve been learning, there is a certain sadness that comes with knowing that the camaraderie that we have all shared over the past few years will soon end. And of course, vet school being vet school, there will be no time to relish these next three months. But I will try - I will certianly try.