Time flies!!

So 5th Semester down, 6th Semester is up next!  Things got crazy last semester and I wasn't able to update.

We took the PAVE (Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence) http://www.aavsb.org/PAVE/-  the test that used to be required of foreign graduates, but is no longer.  However, for some Federal jobs the exam is required.  The school paid for our registration and wanted to see how well we performed on the test (they say it correlates with how well you do on the NAVLE which we DO have to take).  It's divided into 5 sections:
Anatomy (22%) 
Physiology (23%) 
Pharmacology (14%)
Microbiology (20%)
Pathology (21%)

I PASSED!!!  I performed above average for all sections, I'm still in shock!

Anesthesia was by far the favorite class for me that semester because of all of the hands on experience we were able to have.  We got to anesthetize both a dog and a sheep!  Both were HUGE learning experiences.  They say you learn from your mistakes and boy is that true!  There weren't any major mistakes but we were supervised the entire procedure and that helped to avert disaster.  We were divided into groups of 4 and we assigned the tasks amongst the group.  We knew our dog and her weight a week before the procedure and performed our initial calculations for drug dosages.  The day of we started off by doing a physical exam including weight then calculated the drug dosages and obtained the drugs from the pharmacy.  After administering the pre-meds we placed an IV catheter and gave the induction drugs then started the fluids.  It sounds simple and it is but there's so much pressure to do everything correctly and you feel like the life of the dog is in your hands.  We then intubated and started the inhalant anesthetic and began monitoring the patient.  We had many tools to monitor our patient:  Pulse oximeter, Oscillometric blood pressure cuff, Doppler monitor, Esophageal Stethoscope, Capnographer, EKG and a temperature probe.  Almost everything during the canine anesthesia went according to plan, except our Doppler monitor (which monitors the systolic blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer) didn't want to work, neither did our blood pressure cuff and our monitoring sheet was filled in wrong. 

The sheep anesthesia on the other hand did not go according to plan.  For sheep you have to place a jugular catheter which we got in but became dislodge soon after.  After 2 more attempts and the use of the other jugular we finally had a patent vein.  We administered the induction agent but he had pretty severe laryngospasms (we just thought we were bad and intubating).  Well intubation took too long and while we though the inhalant anesthetic would maintain our patient he was awake enough to chew through the tube to the inflated cuff.  We were unable to get another endotracheal tube in before he started regurgitating.  We followed procedure and made sure he wasn't in position to aspirate the regurgitated contents and put him in sternal recumbency.  The remainder of the procedure was then cancelled.  I still wanted to gain the experience of monitoring the sheep under anesthesia so I ended up joining another group a week later.  It was a good thing because I learned so much!  That sheep bloated during the procedure so I got to help reduce the bloat.  Both sheep recovered without any further complications.

Our other major practical exam was the OSCHE which is where we have to demonstrate how to do portions of the physical exam for Canine, Sheep, and Equine.  This was a pass/fail grade.  You NEVER want to fail!  The exam only lasted for 30 minutes, you had 5 minutes to perform 5 tasks.  Professors just stand there while you explain and demonstrate the tasks.  It wasn't difficult but just that feeling that you forgot to say something in your explanation terrifies you.  The stressful part dealt more with a communications module where you simulate a client/doctor interaction.  Ugh, such a tough scenario and you are supposed to use the Calgary-Cambridge Model.  Again, just the thought that you've forgotten to say something basic that could cause you to fail is overwhelming!  Then we had to wait until 5p the next day to find out if we passed.  So nerve wracking!!!

Diagnostic Imaging was another one of my favorites.  We learned so much about radiographs, Ultrasound, CT, and MRIs.  There were even practical portions of the labs where we got to perform ultrasounds and echocardiograms on dogs.  Makes ya feel like a REAL doctor!

Toxicology was interesting but it all kind of ran together in my head, it seemed that every animal for every toxin just had convulsions.  The really cool thing is that our professor maintains a Toxic Garden on the school's property and we get to see all of the plants.  You don't want to touch them because some of them are toxic to humans as well.  There's one tree, the Manchaneel tree, that if you walk under it when it's raining it can cause blindness!

Small Animal Medicine was interesting and for the first time we started discussing specific treatments as we discuss the diseases.  It was extremely challenging, especially the cardiology section.

CVF kept me busy, we gave talks about Stress and Anxiety throughout the semester as well as a food and clothing donation drive; so as the 7th semester students leave the island, inevitably there are things they can't sell.  So I thought it would be great to donate them to people in St Kitts that are in need rather than people throwing it away.  I think its safe to say that we have around 5 car loads of clothes, shoes, and housewares.  The leadership of CVF spent one whole afternoon just sorting through everything (separating women's from men's, shirts from shorts, etc.).  I'm so excited about this adventure because we paired up with the neighboring medical school (UMHS)  who will be doing a health fair at the same time!  Hopefully plenty of people come out from the community in Middle Island :-)

I took my final exams, sorted through the donations and then it was Saturday and the day to leave for Haiti!!!  I was beyond ecstatic but a little anxious too.  Especially when LIAT cancelled my flight from St Kitts to St Maarten.  Talk about going into a tail spin!!!  I called one of my professors to see if they knew of any other way I could get off the island.  Lo and behold I got the name and number of a pilot that does charter flights.  Divine Intervention!!!  I ended up making my flight from St. Maarten to Haiti.  Next update I will tell you about my amazing experience while in Haiti :-D