Vet school isn't anything without a little...Drama

Well, thank you for all your thoughts this past weekend for my pharm exam.  I did extremely well on it, which helps since it was worth 50% of my grade.  In fact, it is my highest grade in vet school thus far.

 I was very excited about my grade and wanted to let my friends back home know so I posted it as a facebook status.  Well, a bunch of my classmates thought it was rude and unprofessional and really attacked me.  In no way was the status meant to make others feel inferior.  I apologized to them, as it was not a post to gloat or put others down but simply to let my friends 3,000 miles away know that I am kicking butt at school. 

Sad we cannot celebrate one’s successes without attacking them.  Was I the best student in undergrad…NO.  Was I on academic probation from time to time…YES…did I attack my friends that were doing well…HELL NO. 

It’s like an agility trail you celebrate for the winner- you don’t go beat your dog because it didn’t run fast enough.   

If you know you did everything in your power to get the grade then you should be happy with the outcome.  But if you slacked, ditched class, watched a movie instead of studying then blame yourself and not attack the people that work their ass off.

I am extremely proud of my accomplishments and I won’t let anyone take that from me.   

 

I am done with that topic. I know those that are mature will accept my apology and put it behind them and those that don't...well no loss to me. 

We have 2 more exams left of the semester (clinical pathology next week and mini blocks the week after that).  Like I said before 4^th is a marathon of exams starting week 3 and going to the end of week 12. 

Brittany and I are watching “Boomer” this week as his mom is going to the states.  I know Kitts will love having a playmate again.  She misses the other Dome Dog (Addie) but I just hope she doesn’t inherit the Border collie’s energy.  

Like I said wish I had more to report but you can tell by white skin I have not seen the beach or sun in a VERY long time. 

Half way done...with 4th semester and the Island of Saint Kitts

Half Way Done...but will NEVER get tired of this view and sunset

Well this weekend marks being half way done with my 4^th semester of vet school but also half way done with being off this island.  For those that don’t know, we spend 7 semesters on this island.  We have 15 weeks of school and then a 2 week break and then back at it for another 15 weeks, etc.  We do have a 3-week break at Christmas but the breaks NEVER seem long enough.  By being in the middle of my 4^th semester I am officially halfway done on this island.  There are times I wish I was anywhere BUT here.  I always tell people it is a great place to visit but a REALLY hard place to live.  Maybe one day when I have more time I will make a post about “island life.” 

I have “booked” my other breaks for the rest of school though.  This December break I am going home (with a few day stop in Orlando Florida to attend the AKC Eukanuba Classic).  I am not showing any dogs but I am super excited to see some old friends and watch the beautiful purebred dogs (sure miss those on this island).  April break  my family is coming to the island for a few days and then we are all going island hoping on a cruise ship this time.  I will be visiting Barbados, Saint Thomas, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, and Saint Kitts (what shall I do here).   Then my August break I will hopefully be in Africa doing a Vets in the Wild program.  I am still figuring out a few details for that trip but SUPER excited.  Now to just pass all my classes!!

I wish my life this semester was more interesting but it has only consisted of studying for endless exams.  We have 5 classes this semester and ALL of them have multiple exams or quizzes.  This means we end up having at least one exam every week (if not 2).  

All we do is study...Not sure why Brittany needs 3 computers though

This semester started our rough with my first experience of mini blocks. Mini blocks is where you have an hour to take 2 exams from 2 different classes each consisting of 20 questions each.  The subjects are Pathology 2 and Epidemiology/Public Health….2 VERY unrelated topics.   I didn’t find it difficult studying for 2 subjects but I had a hard time on the exam switching my brain form on question to another.  Each test was VERY difficult with very wordy questions and very specific details being tested especially in Pathology.  The professor (who we had previously in pathology 1) usually tested on big concepts so that is what I focused on…not the little details.  Well, that is where I got into trouble and sadly missed a few questions.  Also bad about Mini blocks you miss 3 questions and you are already down to a 85%.  I ended up getting a B on epi and a C in path (I haven’t gotten a “C” since my first parasitology exam in 2^nd semester.  Our class average was a 78 (a 73 before we were given a question back. These results certainly kicked me in the butt to study some more.

Next exam was MOD (Mechanism of Disease) which we call our ADD class because it is a bunch of random diseases thrown together.  One day we will learn how the cranial nerves work and the next day about diarrhea and the next about alopecia.  I enjoy the class but there is no flow.  But pulled an A off on that exam so I am happy.

Next exam was Clinical Pathology, which I LOVE.  It is taking blood , urine, etc results and interpreting them.  The actual test  started off quite rough.  We walked into the exam center and the test was laying on desk.  Well, the professor took the WRONG test to be printed and wasn’t sure what we were going to do.  Of course that second 5,000 things flew through my head, we were going to have to take it another day, etc.  Luckily we were able to pull the exams up on the computer and take it that way.  It was hard reading the CBC results and making sure the lines were correct but even with all the test anxiety I only missed 1 question.  I will take that A and run

Next was our 2^nd Epi/Public Health exam…perfect time to raise my grade.  This class shouldn’t be that difficult but this is the first time teaching the class for one of our professors and the other one is completely new to the island all together.  Test went well and got an A on it.

3 days later (today) was our second pathology exam.  I NEEDED to do well to raise my grade from a C.  Well, happy to report I was able to get a B+ on that exam and pull my grade to a solid B.  But that was probably one of the HARDEST tests I have taken here thus far.

I am now on midsemeter break…yeah party time…NO.  We have our pharm exam Tuesday that is worth 50% of our grade.  So this weekend will be locked in my room memorizing all these drugs.

Like I said I wish I had more interesting things to report but my life has been consisted of studying, tutoring, and getting some sleep.  Sadly I have only been to the beach one time this semester (to let Kitts have some fun).

Kitts at our ONLY beach day thus far

Any extra wishes/prayers/ etc will be greatly appreciated for my Tuesday exam.