Dum...dum...dummmm the first day

So, it went. I'm not gonna say it went well, just that it went. Our mentors, faculty and upperclassmen have been telling us for weeks now that the first week was going to be overwhelming, just expect it. No matter how much mental preparation you do, you can not be prepared for the tidal wave of information that is the first day. I thought I was completely overwhelmed with information, lectures, course exam schedules and outside projects. But when I got home for the day I realized we had only really had one lecture (the rest was syllabus presentation, blah, blah, blah) and one lab. WHAT?!? How can I be this overwhelmed by such a small amount of general information?

The answer, I deduced later, was that it wasn't the information it was the whole shebang, the whole package of vet school. I am still used to undergrad, go to class if you want, don't if you want, whatever. And to maybe having 4 courses max, with 2 or at most 3 labs. HUGE breaks in between classes, and plenty of time for "socializing". Don't get me wrong, I wasn't lazy in undergrad, I finished in the expected amount of time and did really well (after all I got in to one of the most prestigious professional programs, yes harder to get in to than med school) But, I was never really overwhelmed by the volume of information. That is soooo over.

In our breaks in between classes (10 min.) we are innudated by upperclassmen and their sales pitches for their respective clubs, sports teams, food companies, lecture reviews, cake baking clubs and other random crap. A few I am joining but most I am not. Then lunch is nonexistent. While it technically has a space on our schedule, it is politely filled with club meetings, information sessions, review sessions, and professors random crap...nice. 8-5 everyday, no lunch no real breaks constant constant constantconstantconstant informaton. Holy shit.

Then to top off my day, I ended with Histology lab. Quickly becoming the bane of my existence. I really didn't think it was so bad until we were thrown into the lab assignment with no background lecture, no helpful tips, nothing. The lab excersise was identifying the various nuclei, nucleoli, classifying as heterochromatic, euchromatic, and identifying and defining the different stages of cell division and their importance. Granted, this is REVIEW material. But, review from a very long time ago in some distant class I tried to erase known as cell bio. And, it's not like I reference miosis and mitosis everyday, so it was pretty much gone. I raised my hand and asked for a professor to come to my microscope and give some clarification. He simply responded by saying, "I will not answer questions over material you should alreay know. You are a professional student now, and I will not answer stupid questions." Nice, I slunk back in my chair and thought what am I doing here? I went home generally freaking out, the horrible histo lab still very fresh. Trust me, the first day of vet school will make you reconsider your career...maybe one of those on the waiting list could take my seat and I can just bag groceries...

But, I woke up today (again from VERY little sleep) with a new attitude. I had re-evaluated my schedule and it wasn't all that bad. I actually have plenty of time to study, just maybe not time for much else. I can get some sleep if I manage my time correctly, and I had totally forgotten I have weekends to study--not so bad. After a re-evaluation of my histo professor's comments, and a small conversation with my mentor, I realized he was right. I should know basic cell biology--did I expect to get through vet school being spoon fed information I was already responsible for knowing? So, today I had a nice lunch (ok more like a fast slim-fast and some cucumbers) in the library with a cell bio book. And guess what, I still new the information, just needed a little review. And I am perfectly capable of doing that on my own. No more babysitting from my profs.

In further good news today (it was an overall MUCH better day) we learned that part of our clinical correlates course will be a husbandry rotation in which we will be responsible for the feeding, care, and knowing how to do a physical exam on that species, for one week. The assigned species were equine (horse) bovine (cow) and yes, drumroll please, my assignment...the ostrich. What? Yup, I know absolutly nothing about this species and I am not great with birds, they terrify me. So, whats better for me to learn from than a giant bird? After my initial shock, I was pretty excited...I'll try to post pictures.

I learned a few things today, and I'm sure I will tomorrow too. Write down your assignments, or review plans as soon as you get them. Keep your schedule,I am capable of looking up answers I don't know, I am a responsible student, and ANY free time at school should be spent studying if possible--this allows a much earlier bedtime : ) Here's hoping tomorrow goes as well as today...it should I get off at 3, instead of 5.