Final Year is on it's way!

Well, I've made it to final year- I've passed equine and exotics and the CLIC course and there's nothing but a summer break between me and final year.

We got our final year jackets today too and it's very cozy and warm, ready for the Scotish weather

CLIC!

Communication and Learning Integrated Course.. That's quite a module name but we're all quite excited about this one. With the equine and exotics exam over and the results pending we have a 5 week module on communication skills and fianl year preparation. This should be a really useful thing but hopefully a little less intense than the past few months.

It all sounds really good- we have to do mock consultations with clients, teach first years and work with our new final year group. We get to practice lots of essential skills for final year and revise some of the basics that may have slipped our minds from the past few years. I think I'm most looking forward to the lectures from previous graduates too. It will be really good to hear from people who have been in our shoes and to see what really happens when we finally get to the end.

Half way there!

Today revealed the results of the Farm animal course module exam that I sat before Christmas.

I passed! With merit. Hoorah!

I'm really pleased with my result and it's given me a new burst of energy for the coming term. We've started equine medicine now and will soon be moving onto exotics (that's pretty much anything smaller than a cat or dog), all before Easter.



Here's example of an 'exotic'. This my Aunty Diane's rabbit Benny (getting in the festive spirit at Christmas, eating a Christmas Cracker hat):

Happy Halloween!

Can you guess the outfits?!

You got it?

Going clockwise from the top that's:

A Japenese game show host, A witch, Pretty in Pink, Phone-jacker, Witch the second, Edward Scissior hands (my personal favourite), a pumpkin, (, phonejacker again behind) and me, the devil (with my coat on!)

Fourth Year Begins...

I'm not sure I can actually believe it but I'm now in fourth year of vet school. The term kicked off with the beginning of Farm animal medicine, starting with Cattle. Up to Christmas we'll be flying through Cattle, Sheep, Pigs and Poultry medicine. In general I think I know less about farm animals than I did about the cats and dogs, but the more I do large animal work, the more I enjoy it so I'm quite looking forward to the coming lectures. Watch this space!

Dick Vet go to China

After months of anticipation, the time finally came for 35 members of the Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies to take a trip to Beijing and China Agricultural University. We spent a fantastic 2 weeks studying traditional Chinese Veterinary medicine, mainly acupuncture, but also massage and herbal remedies.

This is me placing my first acupuncture needle:

After learning the theory, we spent 2 days doing practical work on both dogs and donkeys. The teachers were excellent and the whole course was an fantastic experience both educationally and culturally.

Throughout the 2 weeks we studied Monday to Friday at the University and crammed in as much site seeing as possible in the evenings and on the weekends. We were fortunate enough to be in Beijing at the time of the paralympic games. This meant an unmissable opportunity to see the Olympic village and go into the Bird's Nest:

Although Britain wasn't competing much on this particular evening, the atmosphere was incredible and we had an unforgettable time.

Not only did we see the Olympics, we went to the Great Wall, Tiananmen square, the Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, The Silk Market and so much more. The students from the University were brilliant at helping us out, taking us to different places to eat, showing us the sites, telling us all about living, and studying, in China.

I had the most amazing 2 weeks and I hope they organise something similar for other students in the coming years. I will be highly recommending it!