Semester 4, The Wrap-Up

Movin' on up yet again!  It was a nail-biter to the end (stupid pharmacology)... but I made it into 5th.  Still with the Greenies (I guess it has to be my lucky color or something).  Didn't do as well as I would have liked, but then again, who ever does during finals?

• Epidemiology - B+
• Clinical Pathology - B
• Pathology II  - C+
• Mechanisms of Disease - C+
• Pharmacology II - C

Looking forward to this new semester... we start getting clinical finally!

• Anesthesiology
• Small Animal Medicine I
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Intro. to Clinics I
• Toxicology
• Clinical Nutrition (elective)

Semester 4, Finals Week

Other than the studying another day after another day after another day, not very much has been going on down here... minus the giant 8" centipede that Jen and I took out one night after studying.

On a more interesting note, the university is under "attack" (in the reputational way) by yet another colleague.  Reader's Digest posted a list of the "Top 50 Things Your Vet Never Told You..." and #20 was appalling:

"20.  "Your vet may not have gotten into vet school!  Vets who can't get into traditional US veterinary programs due to bad grades and poor test scores often go to for-profit schools in the Caribbean, where, basically, if you can pay the tuition, you get in."  --A vet in California

The AVMA has also posted a response in defense of our school (link here).

I, like many of us down here, was outraged and posted my own reply to the article:

"I have worked alongside many great vets that have come from Caribbean schools, and am currently a student at Ross University myself.  Our education is no less challenging nor is our curriculum inferior to those at American schools.  As a matter of fact, our passing grade is a 70%, not a 60% like some American schools are!  We are held to just as high of a standard and don't take our oath any more lightly than our American colleagues.  We have just as much hands-on experience, if not MORE than some schools. 

What Ross provides for us students is a great opportunity to live and grow both personally and professionally with a wide array of experiences that we never would have had if we had attended schools in the US.  I would never have had the experience to work alongside the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network to help preserve the breeding population of leatherback sea turtles had I gone to an American school, for example! 

If #20 were true, the AVMA would not have accredited the university.  Accreditation implies that our institution meets or even exceeds the same standards that all accredited US veterinary schools are also held to.  There are even some schools in America that have limited accreditation status.  What I'd like to know is how the author of #20 feels about foreign graduates that have passed the PAVE or ECFVG (in addition to the NAVLE and their state boards) to get full licensure in the US if they have relocated to the States. 

I am proud to be a Ross vet student, and I am thankful for the opportunity that the school has provided me. I know many of us down here would agree! We're a dedicated, passionate bunch of students who have a lot to bring to the field of veterinary medicine, and I feel as though our commitment to the veterinary oath shows with the sacrifices we made in our own lives to get to this point."

And on that note, on to the finals freak-out, frantic studying phase:
* Monday:   Pathology II - 5:30-7:30pm
* Tuesday:  Epidemiology - 12:00-2:00pm
* Wedenesday:  Pharmacology II - 8:00-10:00am
* Thursday:  Clinical Pathology  8:00-10:00am

*panicpanicpanicpanic*

In that image, kitty = vet school... and, yeah, stress has been doing that to many of us.  ;)

Semester 4, Week 8--CHAOS ENSUES!

Well, hard to believe a month has flown by since I last had time (or energy) to update this thing... and I apologize.  I've been joking with my friends about what this entry would be like:

"Today I woke up... went to classes... went to the gym... went home and studied... and then slept. Tuesday, I did the same thing... and on Wednesday..."

For the most part, that is the life of a veterinary student.  That, wrapped with a crippling fear that nothing you do to prepare for exams is good enough--you study for hours, pull all-nighters, and still fail the exams.

Midsemester break was last weekend--and we had a wonderful 3 days off.  Saturday night, we went on a night catamaran trip out to Nevis.  By "we," I mean 20 of my closest friends down here.  Luckily we're Rossies and can make the best of bad situations:

• We were told there would be a bonfire once we got to the beach.  We ended up toasting marshmallows for s'mores on a candle...
• A friend almost got into a stranger's car... but luckily was around some of the rest of the group that advised her against that decision.
• The battery on the boat died and we got stuck on the beach for an hour with a rather creepy rastafarian who wanted to flirt with all the women in the group.

Needless to say, I think I'm done with catamaran trips for the duration of my time on the island...

This long weekend also marked our "halfway day" in the curriculum.  WOO!

Our professors were quite kind to us the duration of the week and actually gave us Friday off as well, so we had two 3-day weekends in a row.  Well, they were kind in that respect... but exams have been rather difficult on us this semester so far... so let me just say I have a LOT of work for the finals.  

On Saturday, Lexi, Steven, Robert, Liamuiga, Gus, and I hiked up Mount Liamuiga--the volcano on the island.  It was a grueling 2 1/2 hours up to the crater and I wanted to quit on several occasions on my way up there (especially after slamming my knee into rocks multiple times), but Steven made a promise of a lobster dinner if I made it to the top.  And, that I did.  (Pictures forthcoming.)  According to DailyBurn, a 4 1/2 hour hike burns 2500 calories, so it's no wonder I ate everything in sight that night... and boy was that lobster dinner delicious--even more so because I didn't pay for it.  

Today, I was catching up on my blogs between classes (and procrastinating from studying some Mechanisms of Disease material despite our test being tomorrow), and came across this little gem on one of my favorite ones:  Veterinarians Behaving Badly.  It chronicled the story of a veterinarian who started treating a duo of dogs fresh out of veterinary school... and followed the family as it grew--from puppy to adult dog, with additions of human children into the household, and straight through to the end, 10 years later.  What struck me so poignantly about this post was at the end:

"We have this life, and ONLY this life. Enjoy it. Make the world better for yourself and the others around you. Heaven is not some mystical reward to be given to you in the afterlife. It’s an ideal, a dream, a goal. It’s something we all need to work together to MAKE for OURSELVES. Love well, love deeply, love many. Find humor. Find beauty. Find joy. SHARE it. Share your defeats and tragedies as well, for without sorrow there is no joy, and pain shared is pain halved. Smile, laugh, cry, dance. Live."

This is why we followed our dreams to come down here--to make the world better for ourselves and the animals that enrich everyone's lives.  This is why we're here, pushing our minds (and sometimes our bodies) to the limit.  This is why we're fighting through to the end.

And on that note, I'm going to study for tomorrow's exam.

Semester 4, Week 3--Life Takes a Turn...

The rock sure finds a way to beat you down emotionally and mentally sometimes... even with things other than school and life down here.

JoBeth left the island a few days before her birthday.  It was a very sad time for Jen and myself, as we lost a close friend to the rigors of veterinary school.  I have absolute faith that she'll find something to do with her life that will make an impact, though.  For those of you who know her--keep her in your thoughts--she undergoes surgery for a torn rotator cuff tomorrow morning.

The AAFP brought down Dr. Maza, a Ross University graduate that now works at Cornell, the week that JoBeth left.  It kept us busy, running to dinner with him every night and attending his lectures on spaying/neutering and feral cat management.  I have to admit, I had a few moments of thinking "OH CRAP!  I'M GOING TO BE DOING THAT SOON!?!" during his surgery talks, but it somehow seemed a lot less scary having a stronger understanding of anatomy than I did a year ago.

I also found out a week or so ago that a very close friend of mine in England has cancer and is undergoing radiation therapy for it.  Luckily, it's only stage 1 ovarian cancer, but it's still a scary fight for all of us involved.  I have the utmost faith in her to pull through, however--she's a very strong fighter although she doesn't like to admit it.

The school recently began offering a business certificate program through the VBMA (Veterinary Business Management Association), which is a 15-credit hour program that involves sitting in on lectures that fall within certain categories, like employee management or personal finance.  I figured it's the closest I can get to an MBA while down here, so it couldn't hurt--especially since I hope to open my own practice someday.

Bonnie, Robert, Jen, Mia, and I have all united to work on completing the P90x program this semester as well--we just finished week 3 and are almost into our "rest week."  Man, it's exhausting, regardless of HOW many times you've made it through the whole thing.

The only other really noteworthy bit of news was that Elvis, the owner of one of the main bars on the strip (the area where we play volleyball) was shot and killed this last week.  Volleyball was cancelled, and many of the students went to the bar to have a drink in his memory.  I may not have known him as well as some of the Ross students did, but he was always happy to be there when students were around.  He was one of the guys that made everyone feel welcome on the island and jumped out there to cheer on everyone.  Volleyball won't be the same without him...

I guess that's about it for the time being--so, until next time, keep my friends in your thoughts (or prayers if you're more apt to that).

Semester 4, Week 0.5--And So It Starts... Again...

Study fun-time with Jobeth and Jen, now with
super-strong coffee and queso!

It was a rough nail-biter waiting for those exam grades to be posted, but I came out with three B's and one C (in pharmacology I) at the end, which means I made it on to semester 4!

Did you know that by the end of last semester, we lost power a total of 27 times with only 15 days as our longest stretch with power?  We made 93 days without a centipede sighting.  I'd be interested to see how this semester ends up, but this time we're also watching how many times the ATM on campus breaks as well.  (I'll have a picture of the new board up soon.)

I went home this break to see the family for the holidays--it was nice.  Busy and a bit too warm after spending 6 months straight down on the island, but nice.  I had a decent amount of things to bring back as gifts and needed to return with two bags despite telling myself I only needed the one.  :(  Honestly, it gets harder and harder to come back here each time. 

Nicholine moved on to her clinical year at Purdue, which left Jackie to move in.  She's a fun roommate so far--very laid-back.  I enjoy having her in the house... and (sorry, Nicholine... I mean no offense here) I've gotta say that having the big room is pretty nice.

Classes so far (although it's only day 2 of this term) are AWESOME.  There's a shift from not knowing much to being treated almost like an equal.  The instructors expect you to know so much already and it's amazing to see how far  you've come.

Sorry for keeping it short--I'm pretty drained tonight, and will have to see how my friends fare with their appeals tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep in, because I'm sure some will need consolation.  :/

See you guys on Sunday!