Y3S1 Week 4: Neuromuscular Diseases, Neurology final and a Bike Ride!

Week four is now in the books and we have officially completed the clinical neurology sub-block!

Bike ride views!

Due to the Labor Day holiday, we had Monday off from classes. After a short run with Churro, I was able to hop on the bike and get in a nice 43-mile ride around the Davis area. It had been a while since I had done a long ride, so it was great to get in the miles! The rest of the day was spent reviewing for the upcoming neurology exam and getting some things done around the house.

Tuesday morning started off with a quick run with Churro followed by a hot yoga session and brief swim. We didn’t have lab until later in the day, so it was nice to have a slower morning and spend some time reviewing material prior to our laboratory session on spinal cord diseases. This discussion was a fantastic way to tie in the previous five lectures and apply the knowledge in a clinical way. After the lab session I spent the rest of the afternoon with Churro and did some review for the upcoming exam.

Wednesday morning started off with a nice run with Churro followed by three lectures on neuromuscular disease. These lectures highlighted the clinical presentation of different neuromuscular diseases as well as their treatment and pathophysiology. It was interesting to learn how these conditions are managed and what a general practitioner can do to help facilitate patient care, especially when the owner does not have the resources to seek specialty care. That afternoon I did some suturing practice in the anatomy lab to help prepare for the upcoming surgery lab. Our awesome lab manager, Danielle, gave us the opportunity to practice on cadaver limbs which is much more realistic than other models. The rest of the afternoon was filled with a neuromuscular case discussion to help flush out the earlier lectures. After that session I got in a quick swim at the rec pool. The weather has been beautiful, so I have been trying to soak up the opportunity to be outside. The rest of the afternoon included some quality time with Churro on the field.

Thursday began similar to Tuesday with a run, yoga session, and quick swim. We had the day blocked off so that we could prepare for the clinical neurology exam. Most of the day was spent reviewing the lecture material and mapping concepts in different ways to test my understanding. I think one of the most fun parts of vet school has been learning how to improve my own learning capacity and figure out how to interact with the material in a way that makes sense to my brain. Spoiler alert, this is often different every block and is something I am continuously figuring out. There were some Churro breaks during the day and that evening we had our monthly Sacramento Vet Valley Med Association board meeting. This was the first meeting of the new academic year, so it was wonderful to see all the board members and catch up. It was also great to get an update on the current event happening within the medial association and see the plans for the upcoming months. I have been a member of this board since my first year of vet school and it has been a privilege to get to learn from these incredible veterinarians. After the meeting I did a quick review of one more lecture before calling it a night.

Friday morning started off with an early run with Churro followed by some brief review before the exam. I know I say this after every exam, but it always blows my mind how much material we learn (and retain) in such a short amount of time. Heading into this sub-block I did not feel confident approaching neurological cases and now I can happily say that if something neurological came in, I would probably be able to localize the issue and have an idea of the next steps. I think that is a win in itself. If you are interested in learning more about the components of a neurological exam, here is a fun video!

Churro getting his PLRs tested

It is also important to note that this is a hard subject to instruct and the success of the class would not have been possible without the amazing faculty. Each and every one of them gave up a lot of their personal time to be available for students. This is something I have seen time and time again and it is just a reminder of what a privilege it is to be a part of a community that supports each other and fosters growth.

After the exam I was able to head to the gym and do some resistance training. I am getting ready to head into another training block and want to make sure that I am building a strong foundation from the start to prevent future injury. After the gym session I headed to Panda Express to pick up lunch for the Integrative Veterinary Medicine Introductory talk. I have had the opportunity to be the president of the club for the past two years and it has been fun to watch it grow. The talk went well and there was a lot of interest from the first-year class, which is always exciting. After that lunch talk we had our final session of the day which was our law class. This week we covered some information on the Veterinary Medical Board along with licensing and enforcement. Every single one of these sessions is packed with information that I would have to learn on my own and it is so awesome that we are getting this exposure early on in our careers.

The rest of the afternoon included a quick swim followed by some quality time with Churro on the field. I then got some things done around the house before hopping on a Zoom call with one of my dear friends, Lauren. Lauren and I went to Cal Poly SLO together and were in many of the same classes. She is currently in the VMCAS application cycle, and I had the privilege of reviewing her application and personal statement. She is a rockstar and I am so excited to see her succeed as a future veterinarian!

Saturday morning started off with a 7-mile run with Churro followed by a hot yoga session and a quick trip to the Farmer’s Market. This Saturday morning routine is similar from week to week and is a nice way to start the weekend. The rest of the morning involved some catching up on emails and doing some preparation for the upcoming ophthalmology block. I also did some suture practice and started getting some things ready for the upcoming surgery lab on Monday. This will be my group’s first live-animal surgery, and I have the role of primary surgeon!

The rest of the afternoon included some quality time with Churro and another VMCAS application review. We are about one week away from the deadline, so all the final touches are coming together which is exciting for all the students in the upcoming cycle!

Sunday morning started off with a quick run with Churro followed by a hot Pilates class and church. After some grocery shopping I had the chance to catch up with some people and play with Churro on the field. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting some things done around the house and prepping for the surgery lab!

Quote of the week: “I heard something tragic happened in this room this morning… you had your neurology exam” -Dr. Grant Miller

Week 4 mood