Smile!

I can't believe it but I've only got 2 blocks of rotaions left! I've passed all my monthly exams so far and got a really pleasing mark for my case presentation so I'm right on track.

We have a few study days this week so I'm at home and reading up for my next rotation: dentistry and opthalmology. I'm not that keen on dentistry really but I reckon once we get into it it could be really rewarding as a lot of owners don't really realise how bad their pet's teeth are as they often cope so well with dental disease. My cat has always had really bad teeth and only has about 5 left in her mouth (which makes playing with her a bit less painful sometimes if I get in the way of the toy mouse!). I think dentistry could be a big part of being a general practicioner so I'd better go and swot up.

Smile! (This is Troy, one of Beth & Danny's dogs)
As for the opthalmology, I think working in an optician's, even though it's humans, has helped me quite in a small way. I got to practice using the scope on my fellow unsuspecting colleagues and it's nice to try it on something/one that knows to sit still first!

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):

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!

I Passed! On to the Penultimate

Third year 'Clinical Dog and cat Course' is all over and I've passed third year. Hooray! I reckon I'm almost on the home straight.

Easter EMS

The holidays are here, exams are over for a few weeks and we're all off to do some clinical work experience. I went to a local small animal practice in the centre of Edinburgh and had a brilliant time.

I saw everything from cats and dogs to rabbits, hamsters, rats and budgies. There was a nice variety of cases in and I did a lot of listening to hearts, feeling pulses, palpating of abdomens etc. I think I found the surgery most interesting, but enjoyed the mix of people that came through the door. I wish I could have had more time to follow some of the cases through further as a lot of them didn't resolve within my 2 weeks.

Oh, I saw my first Labradoodle puppy on my first day. For those of you who have no idea what this is, it's a Labrador cross Poodle. Sounds interesting? Well here's a picture to satisfy your curiosity:

I was really pleased to be able to put some of my knowledge into practice and see lots of other things we have been learning about actually working. I'm itching even more now to be able to acquire the skills further and use them myself. My next ems is already booked for the summer. Not long to go really!

Fun, fun, fundus

Have you been for an eye test recently? Well, at work we now have the technology to add more to our eye tests with our retinal imaging fundus camera. It's basically a digital camera attached to a clever machine, which lets us take a picture of the back of the eye. And here's mine!:


Pretty aren't they? I think they look a little bit like planets actually. This is also quite beneficial for one of my current modules at vet school. We recently did some ophthalmology and it helped to make a comparison and look at a few human cases.

On the pics above you can see my retina with a white-ish circle, which is the optic nerve taking info to the brain, the dark spot of the macula and all the red lines, which are blood vessels.

During lectures we were taught the theory of various methods of looking at the back of the eye with a scope. These proved a lot more difficult in practice (and that was just on humans that stayed still). Thank you to a few of the optometrists for helping my with this direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy practice (as well as my long suffering, unsuspecting colleagues acting as patients!).

The Foundations are set

The results are finally out... I passed the Clincal Foundation Course written exam I sat way back before Christmas. Very relieved because that was a tricky one!

Have you ever seen a hedgehog roll?

Look what I created! After santa was very kind this year in delivering my new toy of a breadmaker, I have been creating ever since. Until today, I have only made loaves. Today I made buns/baps/rolls. They were very tasty, even if I do say so myself.

Now, you're probably wondering what the strange looking one on the right is? Well, that is supposed to be a hedgehog roll. According to the destruction manual, this seemed a faily simple task involving slight stabbing with a pair of scissors and careful placement of 2 raisins as eyes. It just wasn't that simple, hence the lonely, slightly evil looking 'hedgehog'. Still did the job though. As a vegetarian, I actually found buttered hedgehog quite a delicacy.

Bye Bye Brian(y)

Brian(y) went to his/her new home today. After hatching, nurturing and loving wee Brian(y), the time came to find a better home for him/her. Unfortunately, I felt Brian(y) needed more space and love than I could offer, so he has been re-homed with a fantastic vet student.

(S)he did get a fun trip to Easter Bush though, complete with oncology lectures, where no snail has been before though. Look how happy (s)he looks:

I miss Brian(y) but know (s)he's gone to a better place, and perhaps a bigger jar...

(P.S. For those that don't understand the brackets: As a hermaphrodite, Brian(y) is both a he and she. There's my snaily fact for the week!)