What can we help you find?

Keeping Perspective for the Spring

Being a biomedical sciences (BIMS) major, it is fair to say that most of us want to eventually go to professional school.

Most schools take holistic approaches in evaluating their students, so we applicants try to make ourselves as well-rounded as possible. As much as we don’t like to admit it, this leads to a certain amount of competitiveness between us.

Shadowing, volunteering, working, or research—these are all experiences that we all try to stack up. And I find myself comparing what I’ve been doing to what my peers are doing: She’s volunteering at St. Joseph’s Hospital and doing research! He’s shadowing in the operating room over winter break! These thoughts constantly pop up.

Last semester, I worked two part-time jobs, one as a lab assistant in Texas A&M’s health and kinesiology department and the other here as a BIMS Ambassador.

Academically, I was also taking “Organic Chemistry” and “General Biology II,” along with six other credits, while doing research as part of the Biomedical Research Certificate Program.

Time management skills were crucial. I learned the hard way that studying ahead of time was the only way for me to be successful in really understanding the material from my classes for exams.

I learned to take deep breaths and pace myself when things seemed overwhelming and like they weren’t accomplishable.

I have learned to accept that I am already trying my best and doing what I can as an applicant. Comparing and worrying will do me no good, thus my goal for this semester is to start out with a different mindset.

Everyone is striving to reach their own goals and working hard for themselves, but we can all be in it together and help each other get through the rough times.

I can already feel a portion of the weight that has been on my shoulders lift with this change of perspective of things!

Life Lessons in Veterinary School

cortney-peaseThe veterinary school curriculum is designed to teach you many things. Yes, you will learn plenty of anatomy, physiology, and pathology, but there are some things that aren’t part of the curriculum that vet school teaches you, as well.

I feel like each semester I have learned at least one very important lesson that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

In my first semester, that lesson was that failures are a part of life and everything will be OK afterwards. My second semester, I learned that hard work pays off, and my third semester, I learned that it is OK to take the time to take care of yourself.

This semester—which is my sixth, and final, semester of coursework before starting clinical rotations—has already taught me so much in such a short period of time.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the fragility of life and the most important things in it, and there is really only one answer that I keep coming back to—people. I can honestly say that if it weren’t for the incredible people in my life, I would not be counting down the months until graduation (15, in case you were wondering).

My classmates and friends have been a huge driving force in my life these past three years. They provide support and encouragement. They share in my struggles. And, in the end, we all earn our victory together.

There have been many times that I have felt defeated and one of my friends reminds me that it might be one failing exam grade but it does not define me as a person.

There’s also my dad, who calls at least once a week to ask me how my week is going and to make sure I get a healthy dose of “dad jokes” and my mom, who always keeps me in the loop about what’s going on at home and reminds me that there is a world outside of vet school.

My two sisters are a constant source of love and always bring a smile to my face. My nieces look up to me so much—one even says she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up—and that is enough motivation to keep anyone going.

Last, but certainly not least, my husband goes above and beyond to take care of me and support my dreams. He deserves a gold medal for all that he does on a daily basis.

These people have all done their part to make me successful, and I hope I do a good enough job of returning that love to them. I hope that I never take any of them for granted.

All of this to say, whether you are focused on trying to get into veterinary school, struggling through vet school, or trying to advance your career, never forget to take the time to nourish and appreciate your relationships. At the end of the day, the people in your life are what matters most, so make sure that they know that.

A Little Perspective

Emily T.It’s hard for me to believe this, but I am now just a few weeks away from completing the first semester of second year of veterinary school!

My friends and family love to ask me, “How is second year going?” And my answer to that has been, “It’s going much better than first year!”

Their reactions are always a mixture of surprise and wonder. Is it an easier semester? Are there fewer exams? What’s different?

Well, the truth is that veterinary school is still extremely difficult, and the exams are still just as stressful and overwhelming as ever.

That hasn’t changed, but my perspective has.

See, there were several times throughout first year during which I felt like my life had been put on hold. I watched as my friends from college moved to new places, accepted full-time adult jobs, and traveled to countries around the world, all while I was sitting at a local coffeeshop studying for my upcoming exams.

I had fallen into what seemed like an endless routine of wake up, go to school, study, sleep, rinse, and repeat. I found myself wishing that I could just skip to graduation and become a veterinarian, so that I, too, could start living my life. But then I realized that by wishing that, I was wishing time away.

Oftentimes, we let ourselves be blinded by our goals and the finish line and we don’t realize that life is happening at the same time; I realized that I am never going to get these years back.

It struck me that my life is happening right now—I need to be present in the moment and I need to live it.

So, this past semester, I made a conscious effort to lead a more balanced life. Of course, I still spend the majority of my time either in class or studying, but I made time for myself.

I started exercising regularly again and I didn’t let myself feel guilty for taking breaks and spending time with my friends. I deliberately set aside time for loved ones back home.

Every time I take a little bit of time away from studying and from school, I come back rejuvenated and excited to learn again, and it has made vet school so much more enjoyable than when I was just consumed by its stressful rigor.

It’s amazing what a little change in perspective can do.

Ready for a Good Day (Lessons Learned from Bubba)

Mary W.Veterinary school is hard.

If you’ve been talking to vet students or graduated veterinarians, you’ll hear this phrase pretty often. People will first congratulate you on the path you’ve chosen, and then try to warn you of its steepness. You won’t believe them, even when you’re filling out the extensive application, or prepping for the nerve-wracking interview, or just trying to get your hands on as many sick or broken animals as you can and realizing its impossible to help them all.

Well, maybe you’ll believe them a little, and steel yourself against the stress, but it won’t really sink in until that first week of vet school bowls you over and leaves you buried in the dirt. And then the next week does the same. And the next. Over and over again for four years.

As you can imagine, this takes a bit of a toll on a person. To keep our heads above the rising tide of stress, we vet students learn a couple of coping mechanisms. Maybe it’s exercise or hobbies that have nothing to do with school. Perhaps it’s something small, like setting aside all study materials at meals. Many students lean heavily on their families, friends, and partners.

But one coping strategy we all seem to pick up in the first month of school is complaining. We vent our frustrations to our classmates almost constantly. Maybe it’s a poorly written test, or a difficult skill to master, or we don’t agree with an administrative decision; the subject doesn’t really matter—we will find fault with something in this stressful experience  and will kvetch about it until we have run out of words. This strategy is so pervasive throughout school and the profession that it’s one of the strange things that draws our community closer together.

This is why Bubba stands out.

I first met Bubba working the morning shift at the ambassador desk. After a series of halfhearted “good mornings” that were responded to with a grimace and a mumbled greeting, here comes a man who looks like the sun grew legs and started walking. Big smile on his face, a spring in his step, eyes so cheerful they’ve almost disappeared, Bubba radiates joy. He greets everyone he sees with a smile, a “how’re you doing today?” and a few questions about their lives.

He seems to know something about everyone and delights in getting to know a little more every time he sees them. Just this morning he asked me about the exams I was getting ready for, and he was more than confident that I would ace them all. But what really stuck with me from talking with Bubba this morning is when he asked me if I was ready for a good day, as if the good days are all around us, just waiting to be found.

What a different perspective to have! In vet school, we condition ourselves to expect little more than stress and frustration from everyday life, that we aren’t ever truly “ready” for good days. We don’t expect to find joy in school, and, so, we don’t.

I want to say thank you to Bubba for reminding me at least once a week that there are good days to be found in vet school, if only we are ready for them to happen.