Merry Christmas!!

Presenting...

As part of our final year mark, we have to complete a written and a verbal case presentation. This week I presented my case to the year: A dog that ate slug poison and subsequently had seizures.

This was a really interesting case because I hadn't taken much thought that substances may become an issue for us as vets. The dog had eaten slug pellets that had been put down and fenced off in her own garden. The bottle was marked as 'repellent to dogs' however she still thought it was a good idea to jump the fence and eat them. However, on the reverse of the packet the warning read 'harmful/toxic to pets, may kill' This was a good lesson for the manufacturers, owners and vets that initial warnings aren't always as they seem.

Thankfully, the dog in question has made a full recovery and I received a good 8 out of 10 for my presentation.

Two down and time for a wee break

It's 8 weeks into final year and I've completed 2 4 week rotations and end of rotation exams. It's all going very well, I passed all my weeks and the 2 larger exams at the end of each 4 weeks.

Now I have 5 weeks of externship to fill before beginning the farm animal rotation.

I will be doing a combination of small animal practice, mixed practice work and a wee trip down South, home to Tynemouth for a break, a comfy place to revise, some sea-side air and a hug or 2 from the cat. I can't wait!

The cat:

In the pink

One Saturady afternoon in Sunny Cullercoats, in order to raise funds for Breast Cancer Research UK, Newcastle Cloggies and a lot of people gathered to drink teas, eat biscuits and be entertained.

We all had a lovely time and a grand £548 was raised.
These are the bear biscuits I made:

V E T

A sunny afternoon allowed me to catch up with my mates, who are now in other, different rotation groups to me.

It was a lovely day in the pennines:

Finally!

Well, it's finally here... Final year of vet school. After 6 years of university, the end is finally in sight with my seventh and final year. The year consists of weekly rotations in 4 week blocks. We're actually staring with professional skills so it should be an interesting start :)

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):