Monthly Archives: February 2012

This past Saturday, the vet school held its annual See Spot Run 3k/5k! I was lucky enough to volunteer for the event, and I had a lot of fun. As a little background, See Spot Run is an annual run/walk put on by the SCAVMA (Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association) chapter at Texas A&M. We had close to 300 people sign up to participate this year, and proceeds go to helping veterinary students pay for things like externships (learning opportunities outside of Texas A&M). People sign up, show up, and run or walk with their favorite four legged friend(s). It's such a fun event, and it's one of those times when you get to experience how much fun it is to be involved in the veterinary community outside of school. This year's event was no exception. We were a little worried about rain, since we had thunder and lightning all night before the event. But even though we had to change up the route a little (part of it was floo... (Read More)

Well, it is hard to believe that the spring semester of my second year is nearly half way over.  In two weeks we will be at the halfway point of the semester, and it has been a whirlwind of a semester!  Life seems to get progressively busier as we continue down this road to our DVM.  There is always something going on, a test coming up, a club activity, or a meeting to attend.  It is hard to believe that I in two short months I will have completed half of my vet school curriculum.  Second years will be sorting through and signing up for electives very soon, a daunting task for most of us!  However, it is an exciting step to be taking; a step towards an education personalized to each individual interest.  This semester has been filled with fun activities, like TVMA convention, club activities and as always interesting classes.  Sometimes it is hard to keep focused on how lucky we are to be able to listen to ... (Read More)

This past Wednesday morning I woke up at 8:10 am, which is unfortunate because my Anesthesia lab started at 8:00.  But let's back up a bit.  To understand the circumstances that turned a simple instance of over-sleeping into full-out, blinding panic, you need to know two things: this past week was already extremely stressful, and I love goats.  For second year students, this week was our first of three rounds (better words might include storm, blitz or barrage) of tests this semester.  Now, I've been in school for a while, so I've got the strategy down: hunkering down in the trenches, turning from one subject to the next, taking enough breaks to stay sane.  At the beginning, it's not so bad; you feel good.  But towards the middle (for me Tuesday night) it starts to take a turn.  The second test of the week was on Wednesday in Pathology, the study of disease and disease processes, a class that always provides p... (Read More)

A few weekends ago, ten Texas A & M veterinary students joined students from twenty-eight veterinary colleges from all across North America to learn more about the veterinarian's role in public health.  The "2012 Day at the Center for Disease Control" in Atlanta, Georgia brought together students and practitioners to celebrate the One Health concept.  Besides getting the opportunity to see a gorgeous complex, we were able to hear from many different veterinarians and medical doctors about their career paths in public health.  Public health, from the veterinarian's perspective, is the "sum of all contributions to physical, mental, and social well being of humans through the application of veterinary science."  By applying what we know about diseases shared by man and animals, we can contribute to the health of the human population. Have you seen the movie "Contagion" yet?  There are actually people, just like Kate Wi... (Read More)

During the first hour of radiology class last Friday the class of 2013 received an e-mail that our 4th year clinical rotation schedules were in our mailboxes. Lets just say it was hard to concentrate for the last hour of class! I can't believe fourth year is going to start so soon, I feel like I just started vet school. After three years of classroom-based learning you transition into 11 months of clinical rotations in the Texas A&M small and large animal hospitals and one month of externships at a veterinary setting of your choice. While there are several required rotations, you can chose to track small animal, large animal, mixed animal or an alternative track, such as exotics, research or a specific aspect of the cattle industry (dairy, feedlot, stocker, etc.) I am tracking small animal medicine so my rotations consist of small animal cardiology, canine and feline internal medicine, oncology, neurology, dermatology, dentistry, just to ... (Read More)

That's what the 3rd years have been hearing the past couple of weeks in our small animal medicine class. We just finished up one of my favorite areas of medicine: dermatology! I know, I know, dermatology is sticky, smelly, itchy, bloody, contagious, flaky, crusty, frustrating, scabby, and all around gross…but I absolutely love it. As Texans, allergies and itch are second nature to so many of us. Whether it's you or a family member, we all know someone who's seen a dermatologist for allergies, acne, bumps, lumps, etc. What many people don't know is that our pets suffer from the exact same conditions! So, what's there to like about dermatology?  Well, dermatology simply relies on your basic senses: sight, smell, touch, and hearing (absolutely NEVER taste). For instance, in internal medicine we don't necessarily know by seeing or touching the patient if he or she has a liver condition. However, when a dermatology patient walks in the door, th... (Read More)