Week 18: Finals, a Half-Marathon, and V1S1 Recap!
Updated: Dec 17, 2023
Just like that the first semester is over!
The week started off with a pharmacology review session focused on the basic principles of adsorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination as well as some toxicology. We then transitioned into a lecture on water soluble vitamins followed by the last ethics lecture. This week’s ethics class was focused on recapping ethical dilemmas and moral stress associated with the veterinary profession. The main objective of this final lecture was to understand how to take all of the things that we covered over the past semester and apply it to how we practice veterinary medicine and view our patients. Dr. Kipperman also made a point to ensure that we were well aware of the emotional turmoil that a lot of professionals in this field deal with on a daily basis. He conducted a survey on the prevalence of DVM burnout and found that 35% of those surveyed felt moderate burnout, 40% felt minimal burnout, 14% felt substantial burnout and 11% had not experienced any burnout. It was also interesting to note that time in the profession did not correlate to the level of burnout that veterinarians were experiencing (Kipperman). Dr. Kipperman also emphasized the importance of making sure that we were aware of where we fell on a scale of different ethical dilemmas. One of which was euthanasia and where we considered drawing the line for situations that may fall under “convenience euthanasias”. While different people will have different opinions, knowing where you stand on challenging topics can help alleviate the moral stress of having to decide where you fall in the moment when a hard decision needs to be made. Overall, I am super grateful that UC Davis made it a priority for us to be educated on these ethical debates so that we can start to develop our own ideas and opinions as we progress in our careers.
Tuesday started off with some awesome toxicology lectures! These two were focused on algal and mycotoxins and if you were interested in learning more about why these things are toxic and what clinical signs you should look out for, you can click here! Toxicology had been a challenging, yet super interesting part of the block due to the pure amount of memorization that is involved but it was awesome to learn why certain things are toxic and why the symptoms manifest in the way that they do. The last lecture of the semester was on major minerals which created a nice flow into the afternoon lab. This lab was on diet formulation, and we used a computer program to test out different diets and see how difficult it was to actually balance a diet properly. Most health issues associated with homemade diets are due to them not being properly balanced. Many people think that they can just cook up some meat and veggies, give that to their pet, and they will have everything they need to be healthy. This mindset seems logical, fresh food seems healthier than dry preserved food, but if the diet is not balance in a way that meets all of your pet’s individual needs it can be detrimental to their health. The last part of the lab consisted of us finding a homemade dog food recipe online and running it through the software to see if it was balanced. As expected, most of these diets were grossly unbalanced and multiple ingredients had to be added to make these diets suitable for animal consumption on a long-term scale. I thought this lab was a fun way to emphasize a lot of the concepts we had learned over the semester and allowed me to pull from past knowledge and solidify key concepts.
Wednesday started off with two discussions on small animal nutrition and some of the common dietary issues that we may see with our clients. It was fun to walk through some of the typical situations that veterinarians encounter on a daily basis such as obesity and learn how to address those issues in a professional way. The remainder of the day was spent studying for the final exam and preparing for our case presentations.
Thursday started off with an early run with Churro then the rest of the morning was spent getting some things done around the house before the exam. The exam went well, and it's always fun to reflect back to a week or two ago when I knew much less about these topics! The afternoon was spent packing and then presenting our nutrition and pharmacology cases with our groups. After those presentations were done, Churro and I hopped in the car and headed down to SLO.
Friday morning was slammed with a plethora of fun activities. Since we were only in SLO for a limited time, Churro and I maximized it! The morning started off with a nice long walk with Jenn and the pups, I then got to swim with the Master’s team that I used to coach, visit with Gretchen while Churro ran his brains out with Booker, and then get lunch with an amazing mentor that I worked and learned from during undergrad. Churro and I hit the road by 2:00 and made it home by 9:30.
The weekend was kicked off by running the Holiday Half-Marathon with my dad. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the run finished at the beach. Not much can top being out in nature and appreciating how awesome our bodies are! That afternoon, I was able to see my amazing work family for our annual holiday party. It was awesome seeing everyone and I cannot wait to be in the clinic with them next week! Sunday started off with a nice walk with my parents and our pups followed by a graduation party for my cousin, Sage! The rest of the afternoon was spent getting a Christmas tree and celebrating my dad’s birthday!
Since my first semester is officially over here is a little recap of some important things I learned.
1. Vet school does not need, nor should it be, your whole identity.
You need to balance other hobbies, health, and personal relationships while in school. The course load is challenging, but with a little time management, it is more than doable to take time off and not have to constantly stress about school. Boundaries are key and realizing that the world will not end if a test doesn’t go well. It’s also important to be able to say yes to certain things outside of school such as family functions, time with friends, and time for things you enjoy. Life will continue to fly by while you are in school so make sure to look around and enjoy it. Being a vet is going to be my occupation, not my sole identity so starting that mindset now is so beneficial.
2. You will never know everything and that is ok!
There is so much information that needs to be taught during these four years and no human has the ability to absorb every detail. Just try to absorb as much as you can in a way that makes sense to you and then work with your classmates to build upon that knowledge. Understanding that you are human and realizing that this is not a solo journey is key because everyone in the class is going to have strengths and weaknesses. Having the ability to call on your colleagues and brainstorm together is going to facilitate a higher level of care for our patients.
3. Try new things!
Getting out of your comfort zone and trying new things will make school (and life) a lot more fun! I had never thought that I would enjoy hot yoga and now that is something that I do three days a week! I also had no idea that I would be interested in learning more about the integrative side of veterinary medicine, but I have loved learning about different ways to approach the same issue. It can be hard to branch out from your comfort zone, but being vulnerable and open to new experiences is a great way to get involved and find new things that you may be super passionate about.
4. Don’t compete with your classmates.
We are all going to graduate and get jobs, enough said.
5. Time FLIES, take it in!
I honestly cannot believe that my first year of vet school is half-way over. It is absolutely wild to think about how much I have learned, and I could not be happier with where I am. I am so fortunate to be studying something I love at a school that I love with some pretty awesome people by my side! Not many people get to say that they are exactly where they want to be in life and even when things are challenging, I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Quote of the week: “I’ve always been a troublemaker.” -Dr. Barry Kipperman
We are now on a three-week break so the blogs will begin again in January with week 1 of the spring semester! The website will continue to be updated with notes and study resources over break, and there may be some pre-vet resources added so stay tuned! Thanks so much for following my journey thus far and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
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