Archive for tag: fourth year

Well, here it is, the evening of May 5, 2013 and the class of 2014 has reached the end of classroom work and is about to enter the world of clinics.  Tomorrow morning at 8am a brand new set of 4th years will begin to care for patients, talk to clients, and take the last step to become great doctors.  This is the last that you readers will be hearing from me, as I am entering that new world with the rest of my classmates, and I will no longer be blogging and giving tours of the College.  It has been a fantastic two years of sharing my passion for veterinary medicine, and I thank all of you out there for your tolerance of my rants, and for your support for all of us students.  There have been so many adventures, highs and lows in the last three years, and it is my classmates who have always been there pulling me through.  2014 is a stellar class, a family in its own right.  We have finally made it, and I know our bonds ... (Read More)

Today, one of my best friends from undergrad and vet school, a fourth year named Melanie, takes the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE), arguably the most important test in a veterinarian's career.  This is the test that, if you pass, allows you to actually practice veterinary medicine.  Spread out over about a month in November and December, the fourth year students are divided and assigned a date to take this day-long test.  Now, to be honest, I don't know the details of the test-how long it is, how many sections, etc.  I just know that it covers everything I have been learning these past three years and that I will be taking it in about one year from now.  It is the one part of fourth year I am not looking forward to. Otherwise, I can't wait until I start my fourth year.  For those of you who don't know, the fourth year of veterinary school takes place in the clinics.  For the most part, there i... (Read More)

With this semester well underway and more than half over, I find myself excited yet slightly nervous and uncertain about the future. So far, third-year has been quite demanding. In retrospect, first-year pales in comparison in regards to the amount of stress, studying, and time constraints that seems to be a cornerstone of third-year. Don't get me wrong, though. First-year was tough. Studying bones, muscles, physiological processes, and hundreds of microorganisms kept me quite busy.However, for me, the most difficult part of first-year was adjusting to the heavy course load and copious amounts of information and ultimately being able to develop effective study habits and a workable schedule. In contrast, third-year is much more involved. If I'm not in class from eight to five or studying for weekly exams, I'm either performing a four to five hour surgery, working on different projects for my elective courses, collaborating on clinical case write-... (Read More)