Cheese and Wine

Midterms are done for the time being and I feel so relived. I have another one in 3 weeks. I'm not feeling very creative, my brain is in melty mode. But, I could tell you a ridiculous amount of information and farm animals housing, growth, and nutrition right now if I was asked. For now, I'm going to finally catch up on some z's, then head out to cheese and wine with my classmates later this afternoon. I'll leave it at that, for now.

Here are some pictures from the farm this week. It was a beautiful day.  =)

They make the loudest baby baas

Learning to body condition score dairy cattle.

Proof that we do see the sun here.

Cute little teaser pony 

 Learned how to body condition score horses (and dogs), as well . I love them, they're so sweet. 

Bonus Picture. I see so many rainbows here! There must be soooo much gold. 

1st years, 2nd years

One thing people may not know about the Veterinary school in Ireland, and also in the UK, is that here, veterinary medicine is an undergraduate program. Normally students leave *secondary school (US version of High School) and go off to College/University (Uni). So, normally VetMed is a 5 year undergraduate program that is really tough to get in to. Interestingly, University College Dublin has the only veterinary school in Ireland. For us students with a prior degree, they have created the 4 year graduate entry program which is just the same as the veterinary programs back home in USA. Hence, our AVMA accreditation.

The first two years of the undergraduate program are an elongated version of our first year with electives (lucky undergrads...). During our second year, we combine with the 3rd year class of the undergraduates. Which is pretty confusing because by this time next year everyone in the school will call us 3rd year students, even though we've only been here for 2 years.

This semester we have started to integrate with our new classmates. It is really nice to see some new faces in our classes (seeing the same 40 people 40 hours a week can become daunting). It is a little weird because they're younger than all of us (sometimes it shows) but, they are expected to do mostly the same work that we do. They do remind us to not be so serious sometimes especially since our class has the tendency to do a lot of work and not get out often. I'm really excited to have new people in our class.  

This week, to help make the assimilation easier, there was quiz time. It was a way for us to mix up with some of the 2nd years, most of whom we don't know yet. We were asked trivia questions then, scored later on. My team didn't win, the questions were tricky! There were some prizes, and they fed us sausage, chicken finders, and sandwiches... so, I was happy.

All the other days of the week were uneventful. 

Tonight I watched the USA vs Canada hockey game. Canada won.. it's awesome for my Canadian classmates... A little sad for the Americans. We'll get over it. 

Two more midterms next week. So, as always, more studying for me.

*Edit: One of my classmates pointed out to me that high school here is not called college and is, indeed, secondary school. They sometimes add College to their name to "try to be fancy." I'm still learning! Thanks, Ciara!

Valetine's Day

I cannot believe another week has passed already. Time is going by so quickly, I have my first midterm on monday (Subject: reproduction) and another two midterms the following weeks (animal nutrition and farm animal/applied breeding). I'm in total study mode.

But, that didn't stop me from having fun last weekend. Anyone who is friends with me on facebook saw most of the pictures from Vet Ball last weekend. I had a really great time, getting dressed up was so much fun, and I can't wait to do it again. I still can't believe my dress is 7 years old...

 

The rest of my week was filled with class and studying, with the exception of Wednesday night. There was a VBMA meeting on marketing which was really interesting. I love that these meetings give me so many ideas on how I can, one day, contribute to a business (hopefully, one of my own at some point).

Also on Wednesday night, UCD Ents hosted a comedian show starring Neil Delamere. It was hilarious. I thought I would be worried that I didn't get much work done Wednesday night but, I had such a good time at the show that I left feeling care free and It was good. I always have to remind myself to unwind every so often... The next day I was back to studying.

This week at the farm we got to interact with calves. We did some disbudding (with local anesthetic), burdizzo castrations, and gastro tubing. I love it when we get hands on experience in school. Unfortunately, I only have one picture from the farm. It is a picture of a calf suckling on Colleen's fingers. They're too cute.

Today, is Valentine's day! Tonight, I am having a video date with Jason. =). I sent him a valentines day package in the mail last week so I really hope he gets it today.

Only 19 more days until he comes to visit me in person!!!

Trekking

I've been feeling kind of sick the past couple of days: tired, congested, sore throat. But, I have been pushing to get work done and by the end of the day I am so exhausted. I didn't even realize it was already Friday today. Tomorrow is Vet Ball and I am so excited to dress up and have fun with my classmates. I hope I am back to 100% tomorrow.

Other than that I want to write about last weekend and trekking. We took the 145 bus from campus all the way to the end of the line and there we got off and went to Brennan's Riding School.

I had such a good time. I didn't realize how much I missed horse back riding. It reminded me of when my best friend, Katie, and I used to go trail riding at her aunt's house on the weekends (except these horses would actually move for us). It was really therapeutic, I felt so carefree. I was so happy for those couple of hours even if it was raining.

My horses name was Morgan and he made me laugh pretty hard most of the time. He thought the trail was his buffet and liked to walk like a slow poke. The people working at the school kept tell me me to not let him trick me because in actuality he was one of their least laziest horses. Could have fooled me! He knew I was a softy and would let him get away with it. An additional perk of riding is that the Little Sugar Loaf Mountain in Wicklow is gorgeous and since it was raining but, not too badly we managed to capture a rainbow in the pictures (So pretty!). I know it is hard to see, because of the fog, but if you look closely you can see the Irish Sea and Howth in the picture as well.

I really hope I get to go again soon and I hope we can bring some new people with us this time. It was so much fun and so pretty. I just hope next time it's a little warmer and less rainy. 

Another thing we (Kieran, Collen, James, and myself) did last weekend, on Sunday, was meet up for our first study group. It was awesome and super helpful for Monday's abdomen and pelvis lab. We all felt really prepared. I am really excited to continue with it. 

Finally, after the study group, we went to one of the few bars showing the superbowl in Ireland, Rody Bolands. The crowd was awesome and the bar was really neat and sort of old looking. We had an fabulous time albeit the horrible game and lack of American Superbowl commercials. At least Red Hot Chili Peppers were awesome. We even made it until the end of the game... and to class the next morning!

The rest of the week was pretty normal... Class and studying. Yesterday I played with some calves and today I have class again. 

I know that school is hard and more often than not extra demanding. I can't stop myself from thinking these are going to be some of the best years of my life. 

AVMA, VBMA, and RAG

Massive work load and over exhaustion aside, this has been a very exciting week for me for more than one reason.

As I mentioned in my last post, the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) visited our school this week. I was one of three members from my class selected to talk with the council that was invited to our school. I think, overall, the talk went really well and if it is any indication of how the reaccreditation process will go then, I am hopeful. I think there were a few minor concerns about some things but overall they seemed really impressed by the student support system and the interaction between the students and staff. They also seemed impressed at the ability of the staff to listen to student concerns and make accommodations when necessary. According to our dean, the exit interview was, "very positive, insightful, and detailed." We should have a response to our reaccreditation between March and September.

For anyone who may be reading this as a hopeful UCD veterinary student, I want you to know that one of the many reasons I chose this school was because of what I had heard about the student body. Everyone is really supportive, all of the upper years answer any questions you have ( and they don't make you feel like you are wasting their time). Your class is encouraged to be supportive of one another. It is made very clear that by this point we are all the same, we've all made the grades to get into school, and we're all smart individuals. Competition between us isn't encouraged (Although I cannot deny, it will always exist somewhat), our class has bonded really well, and we're always there to help each other out.  Even the professors are so willing to help you with anything from academics to personal struggles. It is a really good environment to be in, especially when it is so easy to get stressed out. 

Seriously, if you're a prospective vet student and you are thinking about coming to UCD don't be afraid to contact me. I'll tell you as much as I can. 

Exciting happening number two was the introduction of a VBMA (Veterinary Business Management Association) chapter to our school. This is a club with a very important goal. It was founded in 2001 by a student at the University of Pennsylvania who believed," in order to practice quality medicine, veterinarians need to posses subsidiary skills to enhance client compliance and personal success." By 2004, the club was national and in 16 veterinary schools. Today, the VBMA can be found at all of the American vet schools, 2 caribbean schools, and 3 European schools (including UCD). The club hosts discussions and lectures that provide credit hours towards a VBMA business certificate. Some of the topics include personal finance, budgeting, exam room skills, communication (with clients and coworkers), business plan, bookkeeping, etc... It is something that is really great to have. Not to mention, it looks awesome on a resume. At the first meeting (a talk about inventory management) there were 100 students. I plan on participating in this since I believe it will make me a better veterinarian in the future.

The third exciting thing that was going on this week at school was Vet RAG week. RAG stands for raise and give. Events raised money for donation. There was a pantomime performance where some of our students shared their best acting abilities, a silent auction, tonight there is a pub run (or pub crawl as we like to call them back home), and tomorrow there is a Romeo and Juliet night (you get the name of one person from a famous couple, then have to find your other half). During the VBMA meeting one student shared his performance from the pantomime which made me a little bummed that I didn't go but, now I know next year to make sure I attend because it was really funny and a nice break from taking everything so seriously.

Now, to wrap things up. I'm ready for the upcoming week. I should have some interesting adventures including horseback riding and playing with calves. 

Here's a picture of me relieved to be leaving the rectal palpation area. 

I passed all of my finals

This is going to be a short post because this semester the lecturers hit the ground running and I have a ton of work to do already. There is so much new information that I need to learn and we're only on day three. But, as always, I think I will be ok.

On the bright side... I passed all of my exams! In the end, the excruciatingly long study haul was worth it.

Next week is a really big week for UCD School of Veterinary Medicine. The AVMA (American veterinary Medical Association) is visiting our school and reevaluating our accreditation. This is what allows me to come home and practice as a veterinarian when I am done with studying. So, for the school and all students trying to study in America, this is huge! By next week I should have some info on how (I think) the visit went.

I am really happy to be back in Dublin and super excited to go horseback riding with some of the girls next weekend in the Wicklow Mountains (I will definitely have pictures of that) =)

Back in Action

Hiatus is just about over. In 5 short days my first day of semester two will commence and in 3 days, I'll be flying back to the Emerald Isle. It's about time I get back to writing. My first semester at UCD was successful (as far as I know) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I won't find out anything about my final results for a few more weeks. I am so excited to go back and see everyone. I'm excited to be back in Dublin.

 I made a video recap of the first semester at UCD. Featuring music by Flogging Molly. I am happy to have made so many new friends. =)

It was really awesome to be home for the past 3.5 weeks. Here are some of the things I did during my break:
     - Hung out with my family
     - Worked for a couple days
     - Read 5 books
     - Went snowboarding with Jason!!! And was only sore for 3 days
     - Ate too much food

For the most part I was a giant couch potato. I think I may actually be ready to get back to studying. Although I'm sad to be leaving Jason, my family, and friends again, I look forward to the adventures this semester has to offer.