Skip to main content
What can we help you find?

Transitions

If you’ve been following along at home, you’ve likely noticed that as springtime hits the CVM, our ambassadors have lots to say about the upcoming summer and year ahead.

Chelsea and boots celebrate her receiving her Aggie Ring.
Chelsea and boots celebrate her receiving her Aggie Ring.

Our BIMS students are excited to attend study abroad and internship programs. Our first-year veterinary students (1VM) have their eyes set on some well-deserved rest and relaxation after enduring the most rigorous year of schooling of their lives. Many of our second-year veterinary students (2VM) will try out different clinical externships to help flesh out their career goals. And, finally, our third-year veterinary students (myself included) have a major space-occupying lesion in our mind—fourth-year clinics.

You’ve heard it before—this is our final year of veterinary school, during which we become immersed in the activity of A&M’s elite referral large and small animal hospitals.  If you’ve attended one of our tours, you’ve likely seen current fourth-year veterinary students (4VM) dashing about in white or green coats.  Our job in the fourth-year is to work alongside board-certified specialists to help guide clients through the diagnosis and treatment of their animals’ medical conditions.

I have several friends in the current 4VM class who are now solidifying job offers and planning their move from veterinary student to veterinary practitioner. This process also includes acquiring appropriate licenses and insurance policies necessary to practice.

As you can imagine, summer is a time of transitions, and we are all excited and anxious to step into our new roles.

Recently, I had the great honor to receive my Aggie Ring. Most veterinary students, if they didn’t attend A&M as an undergraduate, apply to receive their ring in the middle of our 2VM year, around the same time as our White Coat ceremony.

I waited until my third year because I decided that it would be nice to have another milestone right before I head into clinics and also because it was a great opportunity to see my parents, since it’s going to be several months before I return home.

Group making gig'em signs and showing their Aggie ring On Aggie Ring Day, we had a lovely dinner at Madden’s in Bryan (definitely recommend), and three of my close friends joined us for my ring ceremony. The evening was filled with love, support, and pride for all of the hard work that underscores the journey to receive one of these rings.

I received my first Balfour ring when I graduated Bucknell University in 2013, and it seems fitting to have a second one to commemorate my time as an Aggie veterinary student.  I’m not one for a ton of jewelry in the first place (it all has to come off for surgery!), but I do love what these rings represent and cherish the education I’ve received from both institutions.

Another important milestone to consider is that I have to say goodbye to my time as a CVM Ambassador.  I have worked in this program since 2015 and have held the position of lead ambassador for the past two years, managing the logistics of providing tours of the VBEC and our teaching hospitals.

It’s been a great honor to hold this leadership position—I’ve worked with some wonderful students with so much passion for the A&M community. Furthermore, with the incredible support of a dedicated supervisor, I have gained many skills in communication and team management.

Chelsea, as a child, with her mother and her horse Sparkle.
Chelsea, as a child, with her mother and her horse Sparkle. Horses have always been a big part of Chelsea’s life and are part of the reason she pursued veterinary medicine.

The next generation of this program is going to have so many exciting features for our future guests, and I can’t wait to see our new lead ambassador walking through the hospitals training new guides!

As I wrap up my swan song, I’m inclined to think about when I was about 8 years old, visiting Texas A&M for the first time—it was the first veterinary school I had ever seen.

While my pony was being treated for a soft tissue injury, my mom and I were given a tour of the newly built Large Animal Hospital, and, in only the way that a child can, I declared something of a premonition—this is where I would become a veterinarian.

Shortly after that time, my family moved to England, and I wasn’t sure when or if I would be returning to the States. I haven’t the space to thank everyone who has played a role in my journey back to this school, but as I transition into my final year as a veterinary student, I think of them daily and am so grateful to be here, watching my childhood ambitions mature into a promising career as a DVM.

Fourth Year is Almost Here!

rebecca gooderIn just 15 months that are sure to come and go in the blink of an eye, I will officially be a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine! We are currently about halfway through our sixth and final didactic semester of veterinary school, and I must say, the light at the end of the tunnel is shining bright!

Come May 6, it’ll be time to pack up all of the knowledge I have gained and make that highly anticipated journey from the Veterinary & Biomedical Education Complex (VBEC) over to the Large and Small Animal Hospitals to begin clinics.

Clinics span an entire year; we spend two weeks on each rotation collaborating with classmates, technicians, residents, and clinicians in a quest to apply our veterinary knowledge in a clinical setting with real patients.

Core rotations that we all must participate in include small animal emergency & critical care, veterinary radiology, anesthesiology, and equine medicine & surgery, just to name a few. My very first fourth-year rotation will be small animal emergency & critical care, and while it certainly sounds intense, I am looking forward to jumping right in.

At Texas A&M, we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to “track” during our fourth year, which means that, in addition to the core rotations that all veterinary students must participate in, we can focus our remaining time on either small/companion animal, equine, mixed, food animal, or alternative rotations.

Considering my dream of becoming a dairy veterinarian, it is no surprise that I chose to track food animal.

Preparations for this began last year, as students choosing this track are required to select a mentor and enroll in food-animal focused electives during our third year; some of these elective classes include “Advanced Food Animal Medicine & Surgery” and “Advanced Herd Health Production.”

For me, a big advantage of the food animal track is the opportunity to participate in off-campus production rotations, which count as two of our track-specific rotations. Both of my production rotations are scheduled with dairy practices—one in Dexter, New Mexico, and the other in Los Banos, California—and I cannot wait to gain more experience in my field of interest.

Other benefits of the food animal track include having three food animal medicine & surgery rotations (for a total of six weeks!) in the Texas A&M Large Animal Hospital and a rotation with the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

It is very surreal to think that I am almost 75 percent of the way to being all done with veterinary school. With clinics, NAVLE (the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination) studying, and job searching coming up within this next year, it is sure to be very busy.

But as busy as I will undoubtedly, I am so excited to being so close to realizing my dream.

As I finish writing this, I realize that this will be my very last blog as a CVM Ambassador. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to represent our college and guide tours for prospective students and guests and I value all the memories I have made!

Big Decisions

Karly B.I have recently been tasked with submitting my fourth-year rotation preferences for our next, and last, year. I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed. I was so overwhelmed when the administration first introduced this process to us.

The way our fourth year of veterinary school works is we enter into the Small and Large Animal Teaching Hospitals from May 2019 to May 2020. During this timeframe, we spend two weeks’ time on each of a series of rotations to gain experience in a clinical setting, making our own decisions, and taking care of patients.

It is our last step to becoming a doctor, other than passing the NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Examination), of course.

The first decision we must make for our fourth year of veterinary school is choosing a track. These tracks include small animal, large animal, mixed, or alternative track. I settled on doing mixed animal, which is a combination of small and large animal track.

Although most of my experiences outside of school are small animal related, I have found a passion and interest in ruminants and chickens that I would like to continue to pursue through my education here at Texas A&M.

Then, we are given a choice of our rotations; some are elective and others are required. Of some of the required rotations, we have a month of anesthesia, two weeks of surgery, and two weeks at the Houston SPCA. In my chosen rotation selections, I chose community equine practice and the exotics rotation.

We also select a month to do externships at other hospitals and clinics. This was my most stressful decision. It’s so difficult to decide a timeframe to commit to going to another clinic when it’s so far away.

All in all, I believe I chose the right rotations, externships, and track to make the most of my remaining time here at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine.

Innovation, Diversity, and Fourth Year

TaylorI attended part of the second annual Veterinary Innovation Summit (VIS) that was held over the weekend here at Texas A&M. Veterinarians, veterinary students, and other members of the veterinary industry from all over the United States descended upon the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences for three days to talk about the future of veterinary medicine and what we can do to advance the profession. There were talks and panel discussions on a variety of topics, including the human-animal bond in the 21st century, one health, on-demand veterinary services, telemedicine, and the future of practice models and ownership, to name a few.

I attended a panel discussion where the deans from Texas A&M, Florida, The Ohio State University, and UC-Davis veterinary schools discussed the different ways they are trying to better prepare their new graduates through their respective curricula. There were mentions of business courses, communications training, and other things of the like. But diversity was a common theme.

The deans discussed their commitment to the further diversification of their veterinary school classes. Diversifying the veterinary school classes can help to create even better veterinarians and vet clinic environments in the future, as people from a wide variety of backgrounds can all bring experiences and perspectives to the table. It will also help the veterinary profession to better serve a diverse group of people and their pets in our ever-diversifying country.

I think the VIS is a great networking event and a great way to gather up veterinarians, innovative technology, and other companies to exchange ideas and push the veterinary profession into the future!

On a side note, it is now only 28 short days until I start my clinical rotations as a fourth-year veterinary student!!! I really cannot believe how fast this year (and all of vet school) has flown by, and I am a bit intimidated by the responsibility that comes with being a fourth year. I’m slowly mentally preparing myself for the change to come and am SO excited to be done with the constant studying and exam-taking portion of my veterinary studies.

I’m especially excited for all of the hands-on learning I’ll get to do, new challenges I’ll face, and interacting with clients and patients!

Receiving Our Fourth-Year Schedules

TaylorLast week we received our fourth-year clinical rotation schedules! During your fourth year of veterinary school, you complete 24, two-week clinical rotations throughout the different services in the Small and Large Animal Hospitals and have some time set aside throughout the year for externships and vacation.

We third-year students selected our tracks (small animal, large animal, mixed animal, food animal, or alternative) back in November and ranked our preferences for some of the services in the Small and Large Animal Hospitals. Needless to say, we’ve all been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our rotation schedules for the past three months! As soon as we got the email that our rotation schedules were in our mailboxes, most of my classmates excitedly ran over to get our schedules and immediately started comparing them to see which rotations we may have together. The whole class was abuzz with excitement! To be honest, I could barely pay attention in class the rest of the day because I was just too excited to focus!

In my fourth year, I will start out in general surgery and then go to the Houston ASPCA for my first two clinical rotations. I’m very excited to start on these rotations because I will gain further experience spaying and neutering dogs and cats, which will give me great confidence and allow me to apply these skills during my externships later in the year. I’m also excited to complete the small animal emergency/critical care rotation, because I have not had a lot of experience with emergency cases in the past and am interested to learn more about how to stabilize and treat emergent patients. I’ll also rotate through many other services in the hospitals including cardiology, radiology, food animal medicine, equine field services, dermatology, and anesthesiology, just to name a few. I’m so excited for fourth year, and I can’t wait to see cases, interact with patients daily, and finally get to put the knowledge and skills that I have learned for the past three years into practice!

I honestly cannot believe that I’m in my final semester of classes before entering the clinics! Vet school has really gone by fast! It’s scary and exciting to think that in just a little over one year I will graduate and finally achieve my lifelong goal of becoming a veterinarian!