12:00 am: Lying wide awake in bed. Can't fall
asleep. Thoughts of tests, homework, horse shows, and Aggie
football keep my mind racing. Can't believe the Aggies lost
to OSU. Give in. Get up. Start cleaning the
apartment and packing my bag for the weekend. Judging a horse
show on Saturday. My personal escape from school and Aggie
football.
1:00 am: Finally feeling tired. Fall into bed.
6:30 am: Alarm goes off. Get up. Pull out
pharmacology and finish the readings. Test looming on Monday,
midterms the week after, 2 horse shows in between.
8:30 am: Just saw the clock. Class starts in 30
minutes. Close the books. Shave and dress in a
hurry. Drive to school.
9:00 am: 50 minutes of clinical correlates. Learning
about physical exams on birds, lizards, and snakes. "To
perform an oral exam on a snake grab the base of the
head." WHAT????? I am terrified of snakes.
9:45 am: Class gets out 5 minutes early. I have 15
minutes to sprint to the computer lab and print off notes for
afternoon classes. Discovered in midnight rummaging that I
have run out of ink. Always something. Wait, now the
school printer is jammed. Go to examine the printer with
another student, 5 minutes until class starts. We diagnose
and remove the paper. Nothing. Found another piece of
paper, remove, nothing. Our 2 years of veterinary medicine
are no match when trying to triage a printer. Time to get
back to class.
10:00 am: Pharmacology, clicker questions. Glad I
finished my readings as these are for a grade. Buzz, my phone
vibrates. Check the email. I forgot that my article was
due to the national online vet student publication, part of the joy
of holding a national committee chairmanship. No sweat,
already finished just needed to forward it on, now if I can only
pull it off my iPhone…..wait….another email, I have to write the
blog you are reading by Monday. Boy this day is getting out
of hand in a hurry. Wait, what did the prof say? Did
that drug relax or constrict the external urethral sphincter?
10:50 am: Class over, run to the other computer lab in the
basement. Got to print of these notes, I will have no time at
lunch. Why is the computer so slow to load? Okay, at
least this printer works. Got my notes. Rush back to
class.
11:00 am: Whisk into class right before the pathology
professor dims the lights. We are learning about liver
pathology today. Coagulative necrosis, liquifactive necrosis,
caseous necrosis, okay I have heard this before. Things are
quiet for this hour, and I can focus on the material.
12:00 pm: Off to the apartment, I am glad I only live 2
miles from the school. Grab a quick lunch. Review the
rulebook for the show that I am judging tomorrow east of
Dallas. Wait….do I have a stop watch and whistle…..
12:30 pm: Going to the sporting goods store. Got my
whistle and stop watch and headed back to class. Where did
all of this traffic come from? Have to make it back for
correlates lab.
1:00 pm: Arrive in the basement of the small animal
clinic, a little out of breath, but I made it. Going to
practice physical exams, injections, feeding tube placements, and
blood draws on pigeons and turtles. At least I am getting my
hands on some real live animals. This is what it is all
about.
2:30 pm: Taking a rectal temperature on a turtle. I
would have never guessed I would be taking a temperature on a
turtle, but that is the joy of vet school. Turtle wiggles and
defecates on me. Another joy of vet school.
3:00 pm: Out of class for the day, WHOOP! Back to
the computer for the third time of the day. Finish printing
off stuff for the horse show tomorrow. Head to the store for
a new writing pad.
4:00 pm: Pack my bag, wife isn't home yet. Grab the
computer, sit on the couch and pound out this lovely piece of work
you are now enjoying.
(Hopefully the rest of the day goes as follows, but as you can
tell, anything can happen in the day of a vet student.)
5:30 pm: Throw the bags in the truck and head towards
Dallas. My wife has graciously offered to drive so I can
study for my Monday pharmacology test. She is the
greatest.
8:30 pm: Arrive at the in-laws, and go out to eat. I
finally start to relax. Hope nothing else comes up today, but
I am ready for anything.
Did I mention that I am fighting a head cold?
This is probably the weirdest blog post that you have ever
read. When I received the reminder e-mail earlier today to
write my entry by Monday, I figured I would try something a little
different. Veterinary school is one of the most intense, fun,
frustrating, and gratifying experiences. As students, we joke
that it is a marathon at a sprint pace. For that reason, I
wanted to give you a peek into my day.
My name is Joe, and I am a second year veterinary student from
Canyon, TX. I am married to a wonderful woman that I met in
class as an undergrad at Texas A&M. We have been married
almost a year and a half. I grew up showing horses, and I
hope to have an equine practice. With that said, I do love
dogs and other animals as well. Each species has its own
challenges and rewards, and it is all fun. Most of all
though, I am just focused on getting through the next 2 ½ years to
graduation.
My life is not all about vet school. Obviously, I am
married, and I thoroughly enjoy spending time with my wife. I
am one of a few married vet students. I don't know how I
could possibly handle vet school and the dating scene all at the
same time. My wife and I are both huge sports fans. We
enjoy, although after the A&M/OSU game, that terminology may
not hold true, watching and attending games. We have tickets
to all home football and basketball games. That is our little
escape from school and work. I firmly believe that every
student needs to have some sort of an outlet.
In reference to that horse show I kept talking about, I am an
AQHA approved judge. This weekend will be my first AQHA
approved show, and so I have been juggling school and preparing for
the show. Judging keeps me "in" the horse world even though I
am not showing while in school. It also gives me a way to
earn a little money on the side.
Lastly, I am the chairman of the Government Affairs Committee of
the Student AVMA, a national organization of veterinary
students. Like I needed another thing to do, but I am a
glutton for punishment. Just another piece of my wild and
crazy life as a student, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in
the world.
Thanks and Gig'em,