Transitioning from second to third year of veterinary school is a huge milestone because it means you are halfway to getting your DVM! It’s also the point when students choose a track that best matches their career goals.

“I chose to follow the small animal track, which means I take electives that will help prepare me for life as a small animal general practitioner,” said third-year veterinary student Hannah J. “These electives are designed to strengthen our abilities to write medical records, assess a patient based on their history and physical exam, and workup a plan for diagnostics and treatments. They also explore the different specialties available to pursue as a residency, such as ophthalmology, diagnostic imaging, and surgery.

“Going into third year also means I just had my ‘last’ summer of vet school,” she said. “In between third and fourth year, veterinary students go straight into clinical rotations at the small and large animal hospitals. During my last summer, I made sure to gain lots of hands-on experience at externships while still taking a well-earned break by going on vacation to the North Carolina coast.”

“My group of friends and I taking group and celebratory photos in front of the vet school after finishing our second year. We were all so excited to have reached the halfway mark! My group of friends is a mixed bag as far as our planned career paths in veterinary medicine go. Some of my friends are tracking small animal like me, while others are tracking mixed animal, or equine-only focus.”

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“Photo of an abdominal ultrasound of a cat, evaluating the small intestines. This was a case I saw over the summer while on an externship. We just learned about GI tract evaluation using ultrasound in our diagnostic imaging class in third year.”

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“Photo of a thoracic radiograph of a dog, evaluating the lungs. This was a case I saw over the summer while on an externship. We started off the semester learning about lung patterns in our diagnostic imaging class in third year. It was fun to get to pull up examples of radiographs I had seen over the summer to incorporate into my educational experience in class.”

Abbie M. and fellow third-year veterinary students learned about repairing turtle shells and practiced techniques on donated empty shells in a recent class activity (see the before and after photos!).

“Wildlife veterinarians often receive turtles in need of shell repairs. After a turtle suffers trauma, such as being hit by a car, a veterinarian can use a variety of repair styles to assist in healing,” Abbie said. “During the Zoo, Exotics, and Wildlife Techniques elective in third year, veterinary students have the opportunity to practice these repairs on turtle shells.

“Pictured here you can see screws and cerclage wire, hook and eye closures, zip ties, and even gel nails,” she said. “Each repair type has its own advantages and uses, so its important to know how to use what you have!”

Before and After

Meet Alyssa, a third-year veterinary student who loves birds and has an interest in avian and exotic animal medicine.

One of the ways that Alyssa is exploring this interest is by serving as a member of the Schubot Aviary Veterinary Student team that helps care for birds at the Schubot Center for Avian Health.

On any given day, Alyssa helps perform physical exams, collect diagnostic samples, medicate birds, and perform other routine care practices like preparing diets and maintaining proper husbandry. Learn more about the Schubot Center and its opportunities for students at https://vetmed.tamu.edu/schubot/

By Elizabeth G. ’25, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Student

In less than two months, the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ Doctor of Veterinary Medicine class of 2025 will begin their clinical rotations at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital! This is a very exciting time for third-year veterinary students as we get closer and closer to finishing the classroom portion of the curriculum and start applying our knowledge to real-world situations.

Last fall, in November of the third year of our DVM studies, we selected which clinical track we wanted to participate in for fourth year, which decides the types of two-week rotations we take during our final year. We were able to choose between small animal, mixed animal, equine, production animal, as well as alternative. I chose the small animal track. 

Throughout our fourth year we are also allowed time off-campus for externships. Externships are a great way to visit prospective clinics where we may want to apply after graduation or gain unique clinical experiences. For example, I have an interest in small exotics and have decided to visit small animal and exotic animal veterinary clinics for my upcoming externships.

At the beginning of the spring semester, we received our fourth-year clinical schedules.  It’s an exciting time to find out which rotation will be your first, as well as comparing with friends to see whom you will be working with throughout fourth year. As a part of the spring semester leading up to clinics, we are also enrolled in a course called Clinical Experience. This class allows us to get familiar with the many moving parts of our clinical year so that we’re better prepared when we hit the clinic floor!

Most recently, on Saturday March 23, the class of 2025 received their white coats, signifying our transition into our clinical year. The ceremony was such a wonderful and happy time as everyone’s loved ones came to cheer us on.

I’m excited to see what the future holds!

By Marisa M. ’25, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student

In the middle of the fall 2023 semester, I had a very unexpected injury. I broke my hip and was out of class for a month. When I was finally able to join my classmates again, I was in a wheelchair for the remainder of the semester.

As a third-year veterinary student, this sort of unexpected disability threw me for a loop. I didn’t even know where to start in order to continue on in my veterinary school curriculum. Thankfully, Texas A&M made it possible for me to 1) finish my semester without delay and 2) gain the same education as my veterinary classmates!

In light of my experience, here are a few tips to help you if you run into anything unexpected, including a disability, while going through veterinary school.

Tip No. 1: Communication Is Key

The first step in adapting to vet school in my wheelchair was communication, which also happens to be one of the most important skills in veterinary medicine! Whether you are communicating with an owner or with colleagues, making sure everyone is on the same page is critical to ensuring animals receive the best care.

This injury allowed me to practice communicating with colleagues on a massive scale, and fortunately, Texas A&M professors and staff are extremely receptive to open communication.

At first, I was worried the school would tell me I would just have to postpone my education until I had recovered. This was never the case. Every single professor, associate dean, and staff member I talked to was open to making things work for me.

As long as everyone was in the loop, we were able to work as a team to get me caught up on exams and the material that I missed while in the hospital.

Tip No. 2: Be Flexible

Veterinary school is often a practice of being flexible! Regardless of disability, unexpected schedule changes and the multitude of different teaching styles one encounters in veterinary school ensures you are ready to take on whatever walks into your practice.

My injury reinforced the lesson that there is always a way to continue on, as long as you are willing to adapt!

For example, one clinical skill we learned this semester was how to “pull a calf.” This means to help a mama cow deliver her baby if problems arise during labor. This is typically something done standing in order to manipulate the calf how you need to. Working with my professors, we were able to modify how the teaching model was set up to ensure I could learn the same skill while sitting in my wheelchair. This minor adjustment and flexibility by all involved meant I didn’t have to wait to learn an important skill!

Another way we were able to adapt my learning was via Lecture Capture. This is a system that records all veterinary school lectures and makes them available to the class afterward. Many vet students use it as a study aide to go back to portions of lectures that they didn’t quite understand. This was very favorable for my situation because the school allowed me to watch lectures through Lecture Capture while I was in the hospital. This ensured I kept up with material and got the exact same education as my cohort, rather than falling way behind.

Tip No. 3: Lean On Your Support System

It is often said that your veterinary school friends will be friends for life. We go through a lot together. Between stressful exams, tough labs, and spending all day together, we become extremely close. Of course, we also do a lot of fun activities together too outside of class.

I always believed that having this support system while in school was important, but now I have proof that it is more than that. It is 100% necessary. While I was out of class, they visited me in the hospital to keep my spirits up, planned a coming home party, and brought teaching models for me to practice skills I had missed! One friend even made mini videos of how she learned a specific knot tie to make sure I was able to master it.

Once I returned to school, they pushed my wheelchair through the halls to give my arms a break and helped me at every turn when things got challenging. Texas A&M students are some of the most caring and genuine people I’ve met, and their support was invaluable during this unpredictable semester.

So, if you are going to take one thing from this blog, remember this: when you get to veterinary school, build that support system, or better yet, become a part of someone else’s, because you never know when you (or they) might need it. 

Tip No. 4: Accessing Disabled Parking

Lastly, one very practical aspect of returning to the school was where I was going to park. All students get an assigned parking lot with their parking permit. My lot was about a five- to seven-minute walk from the school.

I usually enjoyed this time to be outside and get a little exercise. After my injury, that far of a walk (or roll, which would be more accurate for my wheelchair) was going to be a challenge.

Fun fact: If you have a valid Texas A&M parking pass and a disabled parking placard, you can park in any disabled parking space across campus!

Unfortunately, it took me a while to get my temporary disabled parking placard form the DMV, but once I was able to return to school, our Dean’s Office helped me get access to a much closer parking lot until I received my placard. This enabled me to be much closer to the building and not have to worry about getting to class on time, since rolling takes a heck of a lot longer than walking!

While I know, in general, most people going through veterinary school won’t become temporarily disabled, a lot of my classmates have dealt with uncontrollable life hardships that had the potential to derail their schooling. I am proud to say that, using the skills I formed in my first few years here (such as communication and adaptability), Texas A&M was able to help me through my tough time without impacting or delaying my veterinary degree.