Adventures in Grenada

Hi I'm Sydney! I'm going into my first year of veterinary school at St. George's University. I'm making this blog to update my friends and family about my life in Grenada. Feel free to ask me anything about vet med, public health, or Grenada. 

[sfriedmansgudvmmph]

Ray Ban Sunglasses Official Charity Event!

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[lizziedoesvetpath]

How I Survived 4 Exams in 5 Days... And How You Can Too

I’m not quite free from exams, but as a short procrastination technique/brain break I thought I’d share how I managed to not cry at all while also preparing for and sitting 4 exams over the span of 5 days (because… vet school).

1) Preparation is key - The very first thing I do before any exam period is sit down and make a timetable and a master list. Your timetable should have all the days from the day you are making the timetable on through to the last exam you have mapped out. I divide each day into morning and afternoon slots (although because I tend to study from 8.30am - 9.30pm I don’t stick to the strict definitions of “morning” when I’m actually working, more on that later). Then, do your master list. Take each paper and write down every topic you have to cover before the exam (I split mine by lecture, but depending on what you’re studying, you may prefer to do this as chapters or modules etc etc). By looking at how many topics I have to cover and how many days I have before a particular exam, I divide up the half-days proprotionally so that in theory I can get everything done.

2) Sleep - The best step, right? Sleep is so important if you want to retain information and not be a sobbing mess at the end of the exam period. I know that I need 8hrs to work effectively, so I have a set time that I need to be in bed and an alarm that goes at the same time every day that leaves roughly 8.5 hrs (the extra 30 mins takes into account getting to sleep, disruptions, etc.). Work out how much time you need, and make sure you get it! And not the bare minimum either, I’m talking proper refreshing, ready to go when you wake up, sleep. Treat yourself!

3) Work out how much you can do in a day, and do it - It sounds simple, but it isn’t always. The first couple of days of study break I’m always finding my feet, working out what I can actually do with a whole day to just study. Push yourself in these early days to see what you can get done, while still taking breaks to eat, relax, and procrastinate just a little. I usually have one day where I definitely don’t get enough day, then a day where I try and compensate and push myself too far, and then for the rest of the exam period I manage to settle into a nice medium of the two. Work that out, schedule it, then adjust your overall timetable if you need to.

4) Plan what you’ll do each day in advance - I always feel so much more productive if I can wake up, have breakfast, and then just kick into it, without having to think about what needs to be done. I finish every day by getting out my planner and setting myself tasks for the next day. It helps me sleep better, and it helps me work better. This way you also have goals for the day, so you know exactly what you’re expecting of yourself for the whole day.

5) Believe in yourself - So cheesy, I know, but necessary. I am incredibly good at doubting myself and despairing, so I have to have little mantras prepared for when it feels really hard and I can’t get everything that I need to done or something takes longer than I thought it would. Pick something that works for you, but have something to tell yourself when it gets hard. 

6) Don’t use a screen as a break - TV and YouTube videos are not good for breaks. I don’t know about you, but if that’s what I’m using as a break my mind is usually wandering back to what I was working on, and then I’m not actually resting my brain. Rest is so important, but blank staring just doesn’t work! Try to do something that engages you so your mind is actually diverted. I crack out some of my favourite books at exam time because they’re excellent for taking a break. I also use my break time to listen to podcasts, fold laundry, go for a walk (see my Exercise and Study post) craft, play with my dog, etc etc. Get out of your study space, stop looking at your laptop, and do something you genuinely enjoy that you can’t think about studying while doing. It’s so important! Hannah Witton (a YouTuber I love, check her out) says she would learn something new during exam periods as a way of exercising her mind in her break times. That’s such a great idea, I’ve been giving it a go myself learning to embroider, and it really works!

7) Celebrate your little wins - You are allowed to be excited about getting a topic done in less time than you thought it would take - it feels awesome when you’re really productive! Allow yourself to stew in the happy a little and take those moments to take a break, do something fun, get a snack etc. Adding something extra fun to the pleasure of being productive reinforces it - you can train yourself to do what you need to get done, and you really should.

8) Last, but not least: never underestimate the power of dancing it out - I am a huge Grey’s Anatomy fan, and if there’s one thing Meredith has taught me it’s that dancing solves so many things. I have a ritual where when I get home from an exam, I dance it out. I shut the door to my room, find a song I love to dance around to, and just let myself be an idiot for the next 4ish mins. It’s so good, I feel like I can get back into study so much faster when I do it. Pick an upbeat, fun song that you can really get into, and just let loose. You’ll feel so much better, and it can even make an exam that didn’t go that well feel a lot better. At the moment I’m using “Nervous” by Shawn Mendes, “Feel it Still” by Portugal the Man, “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins, and “High Hopes” by Panic! at the Disco, but it can really be anything that you’re feeling at the time.

TL;DR: Exams are hard, but if you prepare, sleep, work hard, and dance like an idiot you can do it! Trust me, I just did.

[booprenorphine]

When you are selecting an antibiotic: do not use a mallet when a small hammer will do the job.

Antibiotic resistance is serious business.

[soontobedvm]

The Two Most Important Things I Learned in Parasitology:

1) Don’t eat raw meat.

2) Don’t eat poops. 

[vetisntdead]

3) don’t let your meat eat poops

[lumpatronics]

SERVICE DOG PSA

So today I tripped. Fell flat on my face, it was awful but ultimately harmless. My service dog, however, is trained to go get an adult if I have a seizure, and he assumed this was a seizure (were training him to do more to care for me, but we didn’t learn I had epilepsy until a year after we got him)

I went after him after I had dusten off my jeans and my ego, and I found him trying to get the attention of a very annoyed woman. She was swatting him away and telling him to go away. So I feel like I need to make this heads up

If a service dog without a person approaches you, it means the person is down and in need of help

Don’t get scared, don’t get annoyed, follow the dog! If it had been an emergency situation, I could have vomited and choked, I could have hit my head, I could have had so many things happen to me. We’re going to update his training so if the first person doesn’t cooperate, he moves on, but seriously guys. If what’s-his-face could understand that lassie wanted him to go to the well, you can figure out that a dog in a vest proclaiming it a service dog wants you to follow him

[gifsofprocesses]

Cat Claw retraction 

[gettingintovet]

#declawing #catclaws

[drferox]

So, I was chatting with my good friend Satan the other day, who is an unstoppable punster, and I may have accidentally been a little too literal when asked a question.

The question, in case the image doesn’t load, was “What do you call a fly with no wings?”

The desired answer was “A walk.”

Instead the vet brain jumped up and down because it was excited to remember something from second year parasitology that it thought was cool at the time and proudly declared “A KED!”

Melophagus ovinus, the humble sheep ked, is a fairly useless insect. It’s a fly that took  wrong turn on the evolutionary tree and somehow ended up losing its wings to instead live its entire lifecycle on the backs of sheep, eating their blood. It’s a fly trying its darnedest to be a flea. It is the Fly That Does Not.

They’re also apparently almost extinct in places, because they live on sheep their entire life cycle and widespred use of ivermectin has been very effective at controlling them.

I’d be kind of sad to see these sad little creatures go extinct, but they’re not exactly a high conservation value species.

So here’s to the Keds, the flightless flys, while they’re still with us.

And to me completely not realizing a question was a joke and making it awkward.

[vetisntdead]

I’m so glad this doesn’t only happen to me. My vet humor has ruined many jokes and family dinners

[soontobedvm]

What I Learned on my Oncology Rotation:

-> In general (yes, there are exceptions), chemotherapy is less harsh in our pet population. Therapy is more targeted toward quality of life, so the majority of patients may not even show side effects of treatment. (Though some still do). 

-> Common side effects of chemotherapy are often referred to as BAG. Bone marrow suppression, alopecia (hair loss), and GI signs. 

-> Chemotherapy is commonly calculated not by pounds, or kilograms, but by meters squared. And I thought basic drug calculations could be complicated…  

-> Median survival times are just that. A median. If someone says this disease has a median survival time of 6 months, that means 50% of pets are alive at 6 months. So some will die before that, and some after. It’s not an exact science, though we all wish we could know exactly how much time is left.

-> Strangely, Oncology was not the saddest rotation I have ever been on. Are there sad moments? Of course. But I saw some really sick dogs that bounced back and was truly enjoying life after radiation or chemotherapy and you know what? There were some happy times too. 

-> And finally… 

Cancer is the worst and can suck an egg.

[veterinaryrambles]

Why am I a veterinarian?

Last week was one of those weeks that exemplified why I became a veterinarian.  All of the following occurred:

A baffling diagnosis, one which inspired and encouraged me to research, hypothesize, investigate, and share the findings with the owner in a way that they could understand; one that lit the fire in me to solve the puzzle, to save the day

A struggle to fight through contradictory symptoms and arrive at a correct diagnosis, allowing me to treat the pet and see a recumbent, weak dog I worried might die go home wagging his tail

A burning desire to Do Good and save my patient, with hospitalization and detailed treatments

A brutal reminder that sometimes the house wins, and our animal friends, family, charges, can fall despite our very best; that nature is inexorable and sometimes making sure a kind person is there at an animal’s last breath is all that can be done

An exercise in guiding three sets of owners through grief and loss, through coming to terms with the deaths of their beloved pets, some at my hand, others at nature’s.  In those moments I feel like a shepherd, bringing those pets beyond with kindness and gentleness, and yet I feel the weight of every small body in my arms

These things are powerful.  They carry weight.  Sometimes they hurt, brutally so.

But this is why I became a vet.  I wanted to Know.  I wanted the Answers, as much as they exist to be known.  I wanted to Learn, to Teach, to Guide, to Comfort, to Care, even when my heart breaks in the doing of it.

That’s why I’m a veterinarian.

[murphysmedical]

Hi I hope you're having a good day Can you please give advice for a burntout 3rd year medical student ? Thank you

Hey!

Burnout is real, and it sucks. We’re in a field where the demands put on us regularly exceed what is healthy. Being your own advocate when everyone and everything is telling you to be at 110% at all times is rough, but it is absolutely necessary. I repeat: Taking care of yourself, however you are able, is not optional. 

As some longtime followers may remember, I crashed and burned at the end of second year, and vowed to never be in that place again. I am so far from perfect it’s hilarious. But, I’m right in your shoes, so this is what is working for me thus far. 

1. Study on the wards whenever you can. I’m on a surgical rotation, so between cases I’m going over practice problems. Sure I may only get through 5 in one sitting, but sprinkle that throughout the day and it adds up. Then, if you go home and crash, you’re guilt-free. 

2. This may be counterintuitive, but for me, open-ended time can be a productivity killer. Say you set aside your entire day off to study. You sit down, and then- Holy crap, it’s 3pm and you’ve spent the day agonizing over one block of problems! You feel awful, and your motivation is shot. Instead of going into a shame spiral, set yourself some structure, and you’ll be able to focus better. If you know you will have the day off on Friday, set an activity during that day that is fun and fulfilling for you. In my case, I recently spent an afternoon in the park with my Amazing Girlfriend. Knowing that I had that activity to look forward to made it easier to study during the day. Once you are doing the aforementioned fun activity, PUT AWAY THE NOTES. Be present, breathe, stretch- This is ‘you’ time, and that’s just as important as anything else you’re doing.

3. Talk it out and connect with other people. Do you have a friend, a partner, a parent, a pet? Ask them how their day was, and tell them about yours. Isolating yourself when your feeling crappy is easy. Alone time is great, but there is a point when it becomes unhealthy. Fight that impulse as best you can and reach out. I have a friend who is a year ahead of me, and she is a huge help when it comes to navigating medical school. My partner keeps me grounded and reminds me what it means to be a fighter. There are people in your life rooting for you, and I’m sure they’d love to hear from you!

4. Take care of your physical self. It’s very easy to neglect your body in medical school, ironically enough. Feed yourself things that are healthy and delicious, give yourself plenty of water, and sleep whenever possible. Always have pocket snacks. If you have time to exercise, great! If not, you’re probably running around the wards anyway, it’s okay. This also goes for feeling good about how you look. I’m a makeup fiend, so even if I get up at the butt crack of dawn, I will have my brows on and mascara. It takes 2 minutes, and I feel more confident. Find what makes you feel just a smidgen better about yourself- Nice undies, a cute ID badge holder, whatever! 

5. Ask for help. This is the scariest tip, and the most important one. No one gets anywhere alone, and medical school is no exception. Are you struggling with a concept? Ask your resident. Away rotation application woes? Ask your English major friend to read your essays. Feeling like you could use some therapy? See what resources are in your community and school. 

So, TL; DR: Do what you gotta do to keep yourself sane. You’re worth it, and making time for yourself is never a waste. 

[dr-azie]

Learning Medical Terminology

Source: Medical Terminology Made Incredibly Easy by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

[wildlifemajor]

I like dis

[theexoticvet-deactivated2022070]

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[earth-tooth]

dont support industries that are driving animals to extinction thank you!

[tinysaurus-rex-deactivated20240]

Already reblogged one of these but another reminder: don’t by nautilus shells!

[useless-zoofacts]

meme well used

[soul-to-souls]

[soul-to-souls]

More Quotes Here: www.photobonito.com/inspirational-quotes.html

[end0skeletal]

Have some weird-lookin’ birds.

1. Potoo 2. Knobbed Hornbill 3. Superb bird of paradise 4. Andean cock-of-the-rock 5. Magnificent frigatebird 6. King vulture 7. Bearded vulture 8. Cassowary 9. Shoebill 10. Rhinoceros hornbill

[useless-zoofacts]

Beautiful birbs

[kludis-art]

Had to draw them 

[kat-the-dog-trainer]

Dogs don’t use homonyms.

If you use “drop” as a cue to lie down, you cannot ask your dog to “drop” a ball/frisbee/rope/etc.

Likewise, if you use “down” as a cue to lie down, you can’t use “down” to ask them not to jump on someone.

[theexoticvet-deactivated2022070]

Interesting article that details a much more accessible anesthetic drug for use in fish.