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

I'm going to HAITI!!!

So I had planned for over 2 years (since before I even found out I was accepted to Ross) that while I was in vet school I would  go on a short term mission trip.  Let me back up and give you some background information on my thought process.  It started out as an interest in joining the military because of the tremendous humanitarian missions that they do.  I was hesitant because there's never any guarantee that you get to choose where or how long you get to go and it what ways you are able to help.  My passion truly lies in being able to use my degree as a veterinarian to help the animals' human :-)

Most students going into vet school think, "I don't want to work with people, that's why I'm going to vet school!"  Well, that's kind of backwards because without the owner the animal would probably never make it in to see you and animals can't pay the bills (for those wanting to go into clinical practice).  After going through Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology last semester, the topics discussed in the class are definitely the direction that I want to go.  My heart hurts for those that cannot provide quality protein sources and clean water.  I feel I can have the most impact and hope to help those that want help and allow them to sustain any changes implemented that improve their quality of life through long term missions.  I say this with some hesitation because of the connotations and negative experiences that some may have had.  Someone once said that "being a Christian missionary is just another form of cultural imperialism".  While this may have been their perspective and this person's experience, I pray that this is not how any work I do would be perceived.  I don't want to force people to be like me in culture, practice, or even religion - I just want to use my knowledge to work with them to improve their health.

Well this semester has been a roller coaster, I was planning on going to India to work with Christian Veterinary Missions on a rural project of spays/neuters and vaccination/de-worming of cattle.  My aunt and uncle were missionaries for 30 years, 12 of which were in the same province I was hoping to go, Tamil Nadu.  I signed up for the trip but due to lack of interest, the trip was canceled.  I was heartbroken to say the least, as this semester break is likely my last opportunity to get experience outside of school before I start my clinical year in April (hopefully). 

I say all of this to share some exciting news, I will be embarking on a short term mission trip to Haiti for this semester break! This trip fits perfectly into what I envisioned and exceeds many of the items I wished for in an experience.  I will be joining CVM long-term fieldworker, Dr. Kelly Crowdis who facilitates a sustainability project called "Give a Kid to a Kid".  Here is a video that tells more about her program:

This project is used to help the children gain confidence, instill a sense of responsibility, and educate them on how to care for and profit from their livestock.  The children are able to provide for their families through the products of the goats.  The people of Haiti use the animals as a bank account, so having healthy productive animals ensures they have a better quality of life.  The goal of this program is to be sustainable, so the second kid their goat produces goes back to the program and is given to another child.

Here is my video requesting support:

The total cost for the trip is $2000 which includes transportation, lodging, meals, and project expenses.  I am hoping to raise the money before August 1st. 

You can donate either via:

-Christian Veterinary Missions
 https://www.cvmusa.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=3161 
(if you would like to claim your donation as a tax deduction)

-Google Drive document
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Haw4FHdzJEMll3SXpsYWFMQmc/edit?usp=sharing
(to mail a payment to CVM)

-You Caring Donation Site
https://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/destination-haiti-sustaining-kids-with-kids/64563
(for credit card donations or smaller amounts)

Any contribution, large, small or through prayer is appreciated!  If you have any questions, please ask!  I may not know the answer but I can ask Dr. Crowdis or my folks at CVM and we'll learn together.  I am so excited!!!

4th Semester in a Nutshell

So I finally let loose...4th Semester was the semester I finally got a little (ok A LOT) crazy, joined some clubs and decided to enjoy school and island life.  Terrified that I would fail out of vet school, I limited my participation in clubs and other extracurricular activities in semesters 1-3 (translation: I didn't do anything but study for my first year here).  I went a little overboard though, this was just a glimpse of what I was able to be a part of last semester:

Pathology Club

•  Weekly club meetings
• 2 necropsies
• Cake off

Rabbit Pathology - Uterine Adenocarcinoma

 - 1st Place!!!

ZEW (Zoo, Exotics, and Wildlife) Club

• Zoo Clean up (Fecal/Mite sample collection)
• Fecal Exam Reading (from samples collected) - My Valentine's present to myself :-)
• Dirt Cup Fundraiser Sale (vanilla/chocolate pudding with oreos and whipped cream with gummy worms on top, ohhhhh yeah!!!)

Small Ruminant Club

• Sheep Processing
• Administering Coccidiostats
• De-worming
• BCS Scoring
• FAMACHA Scoring
• Hoof Trimming
• Horn Trimming

We can't take pictures on campus, but these are the sheep

• Women's Bible Study (weekly on Sunday nights)

• Discipleship (Theology/Apologetics) Bible Study (weekly on Thursday nights)

• Short term Mission Trip preparedness meetings (with a group that was preparing for their April trip to Nicaragua) and to prepare for my trip in August :-D (weekly on Monday nights)

• Good Friday Beach Church Service

• Children's Church Teacher (just for one Sunday)

• Planning for Real Life Real Impact (see this post: http://justanotherrossvetschoolstudentblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/its-been-while.html )

• SCAVMA Meeting to get approval for Christian Veterinary Fellowship (see this post: )

Research Assistant for “Does pain perception and response to pain relieving drugs differ between horses and donkeys?” research project (25 hours for the semester)

• administered dosages of phenylbutazone/placebo (molasses)
• tested their nociceptive responses

I got to wake up to 20 of these faces!!!  I would treat at least one morning/week, treat a few afternoons/week and test one morning/week last semester:

Donkeys!!! (I wish I could take a picture of the actual donkeys, they were so adorable!

Abbatoir visit with the Public Health Club - so much fun!!!  Learning about Meat Inspection

As a part of our semesterly duties we were required to:

• bathe 2 of the kennel dogs (one Saturday morning of the semester)
• clean the aviary (one day of the semester)

Clinic Volunteer day (at the VTH) - As 4th Semesters we get to work one morning in the hospital with our professors/clinicians.

Clinical Skills I learned this past semester:

• Square knots (hand ties and with instruments)
• Surgeon's knots (hand ties and with instruments)
• Miller's knots (hand ties and with instruments)
• Ligatures of large and small vessels/structures
• Simple Interrupted Suture Patterns

This semester was FULL of exams.  Don't get me wrong, I love having lots of opportunities to do well in a class but in a period of 14 weeks we had 14 EXAMS!!!

Not only do that leave less time in my schedule to stay caught up in classes, but each exam also comes with a review session that takes at least 30 minutes.  These are good because you get to determine where you went wrong with the concepts, just do the math 14 exams, 30 minute exam review = 7 hours of just learning from my mistakes!









For my Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology course I got the first step of my USDA Accreditation (about 10 hours of modules with quizzes).


To top this wonderful and challenging semester off, I was able to visit South Africa for a trip with WildlifeVets to learn about Wildlife Conservation Medicine (see this post:  ).  Such a great experience I had to make a whole separate post about it!

Such a busy semester, but I wouldn't trade all of the practical experience for better grades.  I finally feel like I'm able to connect some concepts with clinical applications and it feels GREAT!