I am writing this blog after enjoying a much needed weekend of
relaxation. I am in the sixth week of school as a
3rd year student and am realizing that this year is
quite different than the two prior years. In one word I would
describe it as "hectic." Most of our days are spent in class
from 8-5, and some days tend to go beyond that as we are now
performing surgeries one day a week. While this schedule
leaves much less time for studying in the evenings, I feel as if I
am getting a better taste of what 4th year will be like
and am enjoying being one step closer to being a
veterinarian. For the first time, professors have begun
saying in class, "be sure to know this, you'll probably see it on
board exams." While that line can be a terrifying thing to
hear, it also helps me realize that we are not too far away from
that point in our education.
One of the best parts about 3rd year is that you get
to begin taking elective classes. These classes are
opportunities to learn in greater detail areas of veterinary
medicine that may be a completely new subject, or areas that one
wishes to pursue in greater depth upon graduation. I am
taking small and exotic animal electives this year and have loved
the one-on-one interaction these smaller classes afford. Many
professors in elective courses want students to soak up all the
information and be more concerned with learning the concepts rather
than worrying about exams and grades. Don't get me wrong,
some electives do have difficult tests, but most of these
professors offer a more relaxed approach.
I am in an elective called "Pocket Pets," which has been a
pretty eye-opening course. We go through the various lab
animal species (such as mice, rabbits and gerbils) and learn about
the many diseases and special husbandry considerations for each
species. You can imagine the large demand for lab animal
veterinarians when there are approximately 13 million mice involved
in animal research! In this course, we have learned the
importance of veterinarians in keeping these research animals
healthy and how that also translates into the care of "pocket pets"
that are kept as pets in the home. It is interesting how
different (and similar) these creatures are to our usual domestic
animals. Did you know that in the wild, gerbils don't always
have to drink water, and that they can get enough moisture from
their food? (Disclaimer: give your gerbil pets water,
they need it because their diet is different!) Did you know
that a Jack Rabbit isn't actually a rabbit? It's a
hare! Did you know that Chinese hamsters can get
diabetes? These facts can make for very interesting
conversation starters!
I am looking forward to the many more interesting bits of
knowledge I will gain in the elective courses like dentistry,
emergency medicine and avian medicine. Of course, this is why
most veterinary students are here-to learn about the many
wonderful creatures on this earth (both large and pocket sized) and
how to give them the best veterinary care possible.