Last Friday we finally received our scores from both final exams and the palpation quiz and I must say I am extremely happy with both of the grades. I put many hours into studying for it and I am glad it has actually paid off (who’da thunk). After my day 1 final, I felt pretty confident in how I did but I definitely felt like I was lacking in the histology/imaging section (spoiler alert: I only missed 2 out of 50!). Let’s just say that I did not feel confident after my Day 2 final. All together there was only about 50 questions and the first person finished about an hour in and nearly everyone else at the 2 hour mark. I probably left 5 minutes before time was up. I walked out of the testing room and felt thoroughly wrecked by the exam. However, I apparently used my critical thinking skills very well (or I over-estimated what they wanted on the exam and was too hard on myself) because I got a pretty decent grade! Overall I did much better on my final than my midterm. Long story short, I am in good standing with the school after my first quarter!
Now I am in the second quarter of the semester which consists of our clinical rotations and is so much more relaxed than the first quarter. I have actually had time to go workout and actually make a balanced meal *gasp*. My first rotation was surgical skills in which we learned suture patterns, types of suture material, commonly used surgical instruments, dehorning/castrating methods and instruments, surgical prep, and sterile techniques (i.e how to scrub in and gown for a surgery). I’m pretty glad that I had this rotation first because it provides me with a good base knowledge that I can apply to my 7 other rotations. This past week I just finished my equine medicine and surgery rotation. I’m pretty pleased with how this rotation turned out since I didn’t know what to expect as my horse experience is pretty limited. I got to observe enucleation (removal of the eye) surgeries, arthroscopy (visualization of the joint spaces) surgery, and a debulking/exploratory surgery on a horse with a large mass on it’s head. I also got to see radiographs taken, ultrasounds on an eye and thorax, and countless of other general medicine practices. Unfortunately I cannot tell you much or show you any pictures to keep client confidentiality but you can just believe me when I say it was cool. I honestly cannot stress enough how beneficial it is to have clinical rotations starting your first year in vet school. Other vet schools don’t have any sort of real clinical experiences until the fourth year which is a year of clinical rotations. I could honestly say that this will allow me to be much more comfortable and confident during my fourth year.
On an unrelated topic, I have been extremely spoiled in how much I get to see my man. I had plans to see him last weekend which fell through but he was able to finagle it so that he could visit for a night while he was passing through. Plus I got to see him this weekend as a reschedule from last weekend and I will get to see him next weekend also since he has a job interview on Friday (I’m so proud of him!). Then it i just the wait until Thanksgiving break where I will get to see him for a week. I never would have imagined that I would get to be with him this much during our long-distance semester. Of course the visits always seem to pass too quickly but I really can’t complain as some of my peers in long-distance will only get to see their significant others over breaks for the next four years. I really am a lucky gal.
heycorgeous 