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Y2S2 Week 3: Infectious Diseases, Gram Staining, and New Trails!

Writer's picture: Izzy PulidoIzzy Pulido

Due to the three-day holiday weekend, Monday was kicked off in San Luis Obispo with an early morning walk with Jenn followed by a beautiful and hilly 8 mile run with Churro at the Pismo Preserve. I swear he knew that we were getting ready to leave SLO because he tried to take every possible turn to make the run longer! Once he was tired enough, we grabbed some breakfast and made our way back to Davis. We got back in the early afternoon and had some time to clean up and grocery shop. Churro was also the lucky recipient of a bath since he was absolutely filthy after his fun weekend away!

Pismo Preserve!
Pismo Preserve!

Tuesday morning started off with a nice hot yoga session followed by the start of our infectious disease block! We had an introductory lecture followed by some bacteriology and an overview of the immune system. This is a notoriously difficult block due to its extended duration and comprehensive final exam, but the block leaders are passionate about their topics and want us to enjoy the course as much as possible. At lunch CVF had a nice Bible study session and then I had a little break and got to stop by the clinic and say hi to Madeline before lab. Our afternoon lab was centered around bacteriology so we learned how to perform gram stains and Diff-Kwick stains, both of which can be used as tools to help identify bacteria and determine the most effective treatment. During the lab we were presented with 5 distinct types of bacteria and got to stain each one and look at their characteristics. This was a fun way to bring the lecture material to life and help cement some of the concepts from the morning lectures.

 

That evening, I took Churro for a nice stroll and then worked on some Symposium activities and reviewed some lectures.

 

Wednesday morning began with a nice run with Churro followed by some puppy playtime on the field with his buddies. We then had two immunology lectures centered around T and B cells followed by a parasitology lecture on nematodes! That afternoon we had an end-of-life discussion. We were given a scenario regarding an older dog with severe osteoarthritis and were then given a list of discussion topics to walk through. These topics included potential treatment options, hospice, and euthanasia. We walked through multiple scenarios with our classmates which was a nice way to start to prepare for our upcoming end-of-life client simulation. The rest of the afternoon included a nice walk with Churro followed by some studying.

 

Thursday morning began with a hot yoga session followed by some lectures on virology, parasitology, and mycology. This is a block of all the “ologies” meaning that there are a lot of interesting things that need to be memorized! The afternoon continued this trend, and we learned about subcutaneous and systemic fungal diseases before starting immunology group work. As a team, we were given a list of questions to work through to expand our understanding of basic immunological concepts. Since this is a comprehensive block, it is important to build a solid foundation before moving on to more complex ideas.

 

That evening, I had a meeting to go over the Symposium app and understand how to utilize it to recognize sponsors and promote different events during that weekend. I ended the night with some studying and time with Churro.

Snazzy Churro!
Snazzy Churro!

Friday morning began with a nice run with Churro, he was extra stylish (and safe) while wearing his new light-up vest that Madeline bought him! The morning continued with a parasite lecture followed by two more lectures on fungi and bacteria. After a quick lunch meeting with the Symposium event team, we transitioned into a team-based learning activity or “TBL”. This is a three-hour session involving an individual quiz, group quiz, and team activity. The group quiz has the same answers as the individual quiz and is a way to talk through the answers while correcting any misunderstandings. To add an extra level of fun, the group quiz is answered with a scratcher so if you scratch off the answer and see a star, that means it is correct, if it is blank that indicates it is incorrect, and you must try again. Every additional scratch box results in a deduction of points. This session was a great way to hammer down the immunology concepts form the past week and make sure that everyone is on the same page before we dive into deeper topics next week! Friday night consisted of a walk with Churro followed by some studying.

Vacaville Hills
Vacaville Hills

Saturday morning began with an 8-mile run in Vacaville with Churro. This was the first time that Churro and I had run out there and it was beautiful! There were lots of rolling hills, cows, and other wildlife to observe. During the run, Churro tapped into his herding genetics and decided that it would be a good idea to bark at the cow that had crossed the path and was eating from a tree. Luckily the cow got the memo and moved out of the way and we were able to finish our run. After the run we stopped by the local farmers market to buy some fresh veggies and then headed home. The rest of the day was spent studying and working on some symposium things.

 

Sunday started out with a quick three miler with Churro followed by some studying, laundry, and a Symposium meeting. These meetings are becoming more and more frequent since we are officially 52 days away from the event!

 

Quote of the week:“As a pathologist, ascarids are about the only thing that trip my puke switch”

-Dr. Michael Keel

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