Learning new things

Everyday I am learning new things (go figure a veterinary student learning new things!). But this week at work, I got the opportunity to learn how to drive the fork lift! I know, sounds kinda crazy and strange, since I know how to drive a car, but the fork lift is nothing like a car. And to make things more complicated, when driving the fork lift, there is usually a big muck cart attached to the back. 

I learned some very important lessons in my 3-4 hours of learning how to operate the fork lift. My co-worker that trained me has been working at the VMTH for many years and has a large breadth of  knowledge to offer me. Sometimes I wish I could just tap her brain and know everything she does, but I have to learn it a little bit at a time from her. 

The most important lesson I learned was that I am my own worst enemy. As I was learning how to back up the cart into a parking space with the fork lift, I would make drastic movements with the steering wheel when I was trying to avoid jack-knifing or going over the parking space lines (which were supposed to represent a barn)...lets just say if it had been a barn, it might not have remained standing after I was done with it. Anyways, until I learned to train my mind to communicate to my hands that I only needed to compensate for the movement of the trailer a little bit, I struggled and became very frustrated. My co-worker sat on her stool with her arms crossed shaking her head. She was like the wise woman that was trying to teach me a great lesson. Finally after seeing me fail to accomplish the task three times in a row because I was making the same mistake, she came over and turned off the fork lift. I told her maybe I'd had enough for the day and we should do fork lift training another day. She smiled at me and said, "well maybe, but do you realize what you are doing?" I shook my head and said, "I'm over-correcting, I'm not that great at this!" She said, "you know what, you are your own worst enemy, I hope you'll be a better vet than you are at learning how to drive a fork lift." That stung a little bit cause I felt like I was REALLY trying. I was so frustrated, but I took a deep breath and said to myself, "I can do this!" My co-worker fired up the fork lift and said, "give it another try, watch your wheels!" she said over her shoulder as she walked back to her perch on the stool. 

Something in my mind clicked, I had been over-doing it entirely...by just looking at where my cart was going, when I finally took a second to look at the wheels on the fork lift, I saw a pattern...I was finally able to park the muck cart without taking down the imaginary barn. I couldn't believe it, why had I sat there beating myself up when I hadn't researched every option?  I think this is a very common occurrence among veterinary students. We get our minds going down one path of diagnosis, but then when that is proven incorrect, we back-pedal as fast as we can to go down another road of diagnosis. However, if we had just considered a broader range of diagnosis in the first place, we might not hit so many dead ends and we will be able to think through each potential diagnosis carefully. 

I never would have thought that learning how to drive a fork lift would teach me such an important lesson. I'm sure it won't be the first time I experience it, since I am so strong minded I will probably forget this very important lesson. But I hope I think about it every once in a while...

 

Tails from the Trenches

I love the VBMA (Veterinary Business Managment Association). They give veterinary students such wonderful experiences such as their panel discussion at Sudwerks "Tails from the Trenches." The panel consisted of five different successful veterinarians who were very open about their experiences. They answered questions regarding their experiences, career choices, personal achievements, as well as their adversities. I love going to discussions and lectures like this one because I learn so much about my profession and often discover something I had never thought about before. There are so many avenues that this profession has to offer and everyone in it is happy to share their pathway to their contribution to medicine.

The benefits and downsides of going into internships after graduation from veterinary school was debated. I feel it sometimes seems like internships are the thing to do after veterinary school, but according to the panel, in the past, internships were usually reserved for the really smart, high GPA graduating veterinarians and the others typically went right into general practice. Internships offered them a chance to get more advanced skills and training than the average veterinary graduate. Internships were highly competitive and some still are, but there are many mor to go around. 

Times have changed and people are demanding more advanced care for their animal companions. They often want someone who is experienced and will offer the best quality of medicine to their pet. I believe more veterinary students are leaning towards completing internships upon graduation because they feel like they are not confident in themselves as a starting veterinarian. I also think a lot of people take internships to gain valuable experience working at prestigious clinics with some of the most talented doctors. I think internships can go both ways, it depends on the internship and what the new graduate wants to get out of the experience. With more internships now available, I think that graduating veterinarians seeking internships need to be more careful about the internship they select. Not all internships provide an ideal learning environment for recent grads, many of them do not pay very much at all. I think it is really important to have at least done an externship at the practice you select for your internship because you want to make sure you get the experience you need out of it. 


One of the panelists from the VBMA talk was a graduate from 2009 and had completed an internship after graduation. We were very lucky to have such a recent grad willing to share personal experiences with us. When looking for jobs, many of the practices glazed over her experience at an internship, it did not seem that important to many of them. However the one that she ended up getting a job at did care about her internship. They were thrilled to have someone with that experience. 

 

Welcome to Spring Quarter

It's the beginning of Spring quarter! Days are longer, class hours slightly shorter, and best of all, we have several Fridays off! 
I've started my first week off in the wildlife/companion animal nursing rotation in the hospital (also known as CAPE). They basically see anything that is not a dog, cat, horse, llama, alpaca, or food animal. I got to give several injections SubQ to a hawk, which was really cool. He seemed to be doing well and will probably be released into the wild soon. I never thought I would do much with birds, but maybe someday I can help injured wildlife (only when I know how to properly restrain them) without injuring them...which is easy to do! Or injure myself for that matter...

Since I started training for my new job this week, I've been at work a lot outside of class. I'm here at 9am in the morning and I head home around midnight. Keep in mind that this is not going to be my regular schedule (I think I wouldn't be able to keep that up), but I will be working 25% of the time. I sleep about 7 hours then wake up and study/prepare for the day in the morning. So far the green tea has been working very well, but many say I will soon be addicted to coffee. :)
Here is what our schedule looks like this quarter:

 

My goals this quarter are to have fun, enjoy my courses, and get better grades. I have several obstacles in the way of these goals, however, I feel if I try hard I can overcome them. 

I've recently started training as an Equine Intensive Care Unit Technician. Soon I will be a Equine ICU technician in the hospital. I am very excited to start such a great job where I will get valuable experiences taking care of critical care patients. I feel as though giving up some of my spare time will be well worth getting hands on experience in the equine hospital. 

I just have to keep up on my grades and studying since they are vital to my education. I hope to find a happy medium between balancing school (usually from 9-5 each day), work a couple times a week, usually 6-8 hour shifts, and studying outside of class, and oh yeah...fitting in some time to spend with my family and boyfriend. *Sigh....you gotta love veterinary school combined with an over-achiever personality. I almost went one year without a paid job, however, I happened to find myself in one. I am very grateful for the opportunity and hope to gain valuable skills for my future career as a veterinarian. I think the best part will be not only helping the hospital's equine and camelid patients, but learning what a good technician can contribute to my career as a vet. Many vets are only as good as their technicians because they rely on them for their bread and butter...to draw blood, run blood work, execute a advised medical treatment plan and notify the veterinarian when it might need to be changed accordingly. A vet is lost without their technicians when case load becomes high, they need to be able to trust their techs to help them get through the tough times. 

I am very excited for some of my courses this quarter, especially parasitology and immunology. My immunology course is taught by my mentor, Dr. Laurel Gershwin, a very well know and respected immunologist and wonderful professor. 

I expect great things of myself this quarter and it is already flying by, less exams, less finals, but a whole lot of interesting material to cover! 

I shouldn't forget to mention another personal goal of mine is to become one of the head coordinators for the Mercer clinic when our class takes the reins this May. I really have some great ideas to make Mercer run smoother and provide high quality veterinary care to the pets belonging to the homeless. I also plan to continue volunteering at the occasional spay/neuter feral cat clinics, hopefully setting myself up to help to be a volunteer coordinator at the Sacramento clinic during my third year. 

Also, I learned that research shows that meditation provides you with many health and wellness benefits, so I hope to continue my meditation practices and improve my well-being.

   

Welcome class of 2015!!!

 

The Class of 2014 UCD SVM

Just under a year ago, we took our oath at our white coat ceremony after completing our orientation to veterinary school. The beginning of our veterinary medicine education and the start of a career for the rest of our lives. 

I cannot believe it has been a whole year since I received my letter informing me that I had been accepted to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine! I remember there was lots of celebrating involved and I still couldn't believe it had actually happened. Well let me tell you, It HAS HAPPENED! You have been accepted to one of the greatest vet schools in the US, congrats on getting into UC Davis! 

If you guys have any questions, especially only ones current veterinary students can answer, I'm all ears: feel free to comment on my blog, facebook me, or email me. Heck if you even want someone to show you around Davis, let me know :) and WELCOME!

 

White Coat Ceremony: Reading our oath

My first real white coat! With the UCD logo! 

Round 2: Applying to Veterinary School the second or multiple times

"I applied to Davis this year but didn't get in. I was expecting it though,  I'm pretty sure it was because I have so little experience but I have to wait to schedule a phone interview in April to figure out. Did you do the phone interview after your first application? Any suggestions on questions to ask?" 

This is a great question I recently received from a UC Davis SVM applicant, talk about perseverance, this person is all over it! Way ahead of the game by thinking about these things early. 

Personally, when I applied to Davis the first time, I didn't expect to be admitted, but I did hope to learn a lot from the application process and I sure did! 

I have to say, I am not one of the ones that actually did a phone interview to find out why I had not received admission, but this is NOT advisable. Looking back, I honestly do regret not having done a phone or in person interview with the admissions committee to find out what I could improve, but I was a little scared to have someone point out my "faults" (If you could even call them that...). I guess I felt I knew what I had to do to improve and didn't want it driven into the ground. 

I realize now, that it was NOT the best decision I have ever made, and I think I could have probably been a stronger, more competitive applicant had I chosen to reflect on my "faults" and sought out specific places my application needed improvement. That is the whole basis of the veterinary profession, to learn from your mistakes and be a better person/veterinarian because of it. No one is perfect, so we might as well get comfortable with that fact and do our best to get close to it.  

In response to the question, what can you ask the admissions committee (whom are very friendly people at least at UCD I must add) is that ask them anything you would ask someone you consider to be your mentor. First of all, make sure you care about what you are asking, if you don't at least pretend to care. They don't want to waste their time talking to you if you don't really care what they have to say. I think it is important to keep in mind how many applicants they talk to every year including those that are selected for interviews and those who are not. To be quite frank, to them, you are just another applicant, when you call to find out why you were denied an interview, I believe it is also part of your application process (although I doubt they write anything down, they may remember talking to you next year when they select the new interviewees). I'm just saying it is important to act professional at all times when applying to such a competitive program, I wouldn't let my guard down.

When assessing what went well and what could be improved in your application, I would begin with a "self reflection." Look over your application and pretend you are the admissions committee, what really stands out that convinces them you are the right person for their veterinary school? What do you feel are your strengths and weaknesses. 

When I did this for example, I was almost rolling on the floor laughing when I re-read my personal statement that I had submitted with my first application, it was pretty bad. It was a good start, but definitely lacked individuality. I also realized what little experience I really had in vetmed and knew I was already improving those experiences by getting involved at the veterinary school in research and internship positions. Another weakness I had was the GRE, my scores were not great. My strengths were that I was determined and worked hard to do better my second go around. I also had a lot of experience working with horses and I knew that veterinary medicine was my passion. 

After the "self-assessment", I would recommend discussing your application with your mentor, close friend, or family member (or all of the above). Just having an outside opinion comment on your thoughts about your strengths and weaknesses will really help identify things you might have missed or overlooked. 

The second personal statement I wrote, I had to work very hard to articulate what I felt in a 1500 word essay. I had to convince the committee that they wanted to interview ME. It was about a three month process and I really got tired of reading about myself! In the end, I think it turned out fine though and I did land myself an interview.  

I don't think you need to wait to April to figure out a game plan for next year's application (which I already know you will start EARLY). I don't think it would hurt to make a plan now and then discuss your plan with the admissions committee in April. You can always edit the plan later and go from their if they give you additional advice. 

The best advice I can give personally is it really is sometimes about WHO you know and WHAT you have done. Who wrote your letters of recommendation? were they good letters? were those people dependable and influential in their field? That was one of my biggest improvements, I had done research with a UCD SVM faculty member who is a highly respected professor/veterinarian/researcher and just a wonderful person who wrote my third letter of recommendation. Among the other two letters, one was from the same person who had written my first letter and the other from a horse trainer I had know and worked for for almost 8 years. 

Don't underestimate your experiences, don't sugar coat them or exaggerate them. If you really haven't gotten the experience to confirm you want to and can be a vet, I think you shouldn't apply to veterinary school. These pre-vet experiences are vital to your success in veterinary school and in the profession.

Lastly, I encourage you to look at the link below to maybe answer some of your questions. These are common questions asked by applicants every year. Make sure you try not to ask these questions when you have your phone appointment with the admissions committee, unless you need more details. Again, remember how many people they have to talk to. 

And even after that, don't give up on your dreams! You can improve, just have perseverance!  

UC Davis Frequently asked Questions

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine 2011 Interview Workshop

I was on the panel for the UC Davis interview workshop. I had a great time answering questions about veterinary school and the vet school interview process. Our student panel and interview workshop was recorded, as well as a talk about the new curriculum. I even had the opportunity to eat lunch with interviewing applicants for the class of 2015. Looking at my blog, I realized I had not finished my "How to Rock Your Vet School Interview Part 2", so I thought the student panel I was on could help answer your questions if you are still wanting more of an explanation of how to "rock" your vet school interview.  

SEE OUR VIDEO RECORDING OF THE INTERVIEW WORKSHOP VET STUDENT PANEL HERE