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Just Horsin’ Around

A few weeks ago, Texas A&M’s Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (EP, for short), hosted our annual wet lab. It is a huge endeavor, with student participants from more than 20 different veterinary schools participating and more than 100 clinicians, technicians, and volunteers helping make the event possible.

I serve as the logistics co-chair for the wet lab, and getting to see everything come together after nearly a year of working to host the event was incredible.

We had more than 20 labs for students to choose from, with topics ranging from dentistry to hindlimb lameness evaluation.

Sponsors generously provided resources for these labs, and clinics from across the country came to speak with students during the job fair that is part of the event. We always fill everyone up with Texas barbecue and offer a keynote speaker after a morning packed with equine medicine.

I got involved with EP when I was in my second semester of veterinary school. I had made a ton of new friends and they convinced me to join, despite the fact that I am in no way a horse person.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think horses are fascinating creatures; their athletic abilities are absolutely remarkable and their digestive system is possibly even more impressive. However, I never had any intention of working specifically with horses.

So, there I was, a little first-year student, in a room full of horse people in a meeting all about horse medicine. And I was fascinated.

A few weeks into my EP club membership, my new friends were telling me that I should apply to be a wet lab co-chair, a two-year position in which you serve on the planning committee for the largest wet lab on campus.

 

I think my initial response was to laugh because I knew that the wet lab was a huge event all about horses and that my knowledge of horses and horse medicine was slim to none.

Despite all of that, with the encouragement of my friends who had applied, I decided to take on the logistics co-chair role because that seemed like the job that required the least amount of horse knowledge.

Fast forward to this year’s event, during which we ran around like crazy all day but had an incredible turnout and wonderful feedback from participants. I even got to spend considerable time with some really sweet horses, and I have to say, they are growing on me.

I am already looking forward to next year’s wet lab and putting in even more work to continue making this event a huge success.

 

The people I work with on the planning committee and all of the incredible clinicians who assist us in making this event a reality are what make this position enjoyable. Getting to know each of them, knowing all of the hours they spent perfecting their individual areas of the wet lab, and then watching everyone shine on wet lab day was one of my favorite veterinary school experiences thus far.

What I’ve learned is that when an opportunity presents itself to step outside of your comfort zone and you have trusted friends and colleagues supporting you, do it!

You never know when you might happen upon something that you truly love.

Connections for life

In the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, we are committed to the success of each individual who enters our program.

We have many programs implemented to ensure that our first-year veterinary students, especially, feel welcomed and engaged starting even before they arrive on campus.

I have the unique opportunity as the vice president of the Class of 2022 to oversee the Mentor/Mentee, or M&M, Program. This is a program in which second-year veterinary students volunteer to serve as mentors for first-year students.

The program is very informal and is meant to give participating first years a chance to meet another student who had made it through the first year of veterinary school and can give meaningful advice.

Often a mentor is simply a friendly face in the sea of unknown that students often find themselves in that first semester.

The program involves typically a cookout, a few “good luck” gifts throughout the semester, and an encouraging message every now and then.

This past week, we had a M&M Pizza Party in which all of the mentors and mentees were given pizza and a set aside lunch hour to just chat.

After helping serve the pizza, I walked outside and was blown away by the incredible community I could see happening around me. Students were supporting one another, giving advice, asking questions, and just enjoying one another’s company.

Veterinary school is a unique environment because everyone around you is not just a classmate but a future colleague.

The connections we make in veterinary school don’t end when we cross that stage or move out of College Station; they will follow us throughout our careers. We are together in this place to learn from one another and to build a solid foundation on which to continue building this incredible profession.

Preparing for the New Class

I have the honor of serving as the vice president of my veterinary school class and part of my job is to facilitate the mentor/mentee program that pairs second-year mentors with incoming first-year students.

Now that interviews have passed and acceptances are looming, I have begun planning for how to implement this program next year. I have a stellar committee of my peers who are excited to help make this program the best it can possibly be for the incoming students.

Here at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, we are a family and we want to ensure that first-year students feel welcome.

The first year of veterinary school is hard—it is different than anything most people have ever experienced. Having a mentor to answer questions, give study tips, grab dinner with, and just to be there and help you through the hard times really makes a difference. I have an incredible mentor who helped me adjust to vet school and continues to answer questions and just serve as friendly face in the second-year class.

This is similar to the relationship that any people seek after veterinary school. Most new graduates lack self-confidence in some of the skills and want guidance as they build that confidence in practice; they seek employment opportunities that provide helpful mentorship from someone who has already been in that situation—a seasoned veterinarian.

Here, we want to mimic this type of mentorship by providing first-year students with older vet student mentors.

The mentor/mentee committee is working hard to pair our classmates with interested first-year students. We try our best to pair students with similar career interests, hobbies, and personalities to create successful mentor/mentee pairs that can blossom into friendships.

This is no small feat and requires a great deal of time and thought from every member of the committee.

We are also planning an awesome cookout to welcome new students and help introduce them to their mentors, as well as a few other ideas in the works…but I can’t spoil the surprise!

We will continue to be hard at work throughout the summer, along with many other student organizations, in order to welcome the new class. So, Class of 2023, we cannot wait to meet each of you and we are excited to welcome you to the family!

Vet School: Myths vs. Reality

So, you want to go to veterinary school?

If, like I have, you have been dreaming of being a veterinarian for basically your entire life, then I’m sure you’ve heard all sorts of things about vet school.

Now that I’ve finished my first semester at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, I wanted to debunk two major myths I had heard before starting vet school.

Myth No 1:

Vet school is extremely competitive and cutthroat. No one will want to help you, and it will be really hard to make friends.

Reality:

This is FAR from the truth. In the past four months, I have made some of the best friends I have ever had—something about spending 12-plus hours together every single day really does it to you.

Our class Facebook page is FULL of shared study materials, reviews people have made, online flashcards, reminders, and important information professors have mentioned in classes or review sessions.

We all want each other to succeed and we try our best to help one another whenever possible. We are focused on collaboration not competition.

At the end of these four years, we are going to be colleagues. Together, we can make this profession better and provide the best care possible to our respective patients.

Myth No. 2:

You do nothing but study and have absolutely no free time.

Reality:

This myth holds some truth…veterinary school is HARD. You are going to study A LOT if you want to be successful.

However, you can make time for other things. You have to find an effective method to study that works FOR YOU.

Some classes require more time than others and some topics will naturally be easier for you to understand than others. This is normal.

There is no “right way” to go through vet school, but there are many wrong ways. So, find what works for you. Everyone needs to study for a different amount of time and that is OK.

You have to give your brain a break and do something fun, hang out with friends, exercise, go to a movie, or just relax. Your brain functions better when you allow yourself breaks, and you will be much happier. Sometimes you have to make time for yourself and not allow studying to completely take over.

You can study every second of every day and I promise you will STILL not know every single thing that you are supposed to know for all of your tests. Know your limits, plan accordingly, and give yourself some grace.