Diary of a Vet Student

The exam week has landed. It's actually not going too badly, but I shouldn't say that as I'm only half way through and I know that things have the potential to go mightily pear-shaped from here on. This weekend I spent mainly trying to chill and get some last minute cramming in. I still managed to get out to the pub on Saturday night. I've said it before, but it really is a good thing to go out as it makes you feel far better about studying. I can't do serious hard-core 10 hour sessions in the library like a lot of other people, best to keep working steady-eddy through the term if you can and then you can still make it out for a few drinks in exam week.

Yesterday was the one I was dreading the most. Anatomy theory paper. Three solid hours of pure anatomy. Three essays to write and then 40 short answer questions. Yeah I know, we're super heroes. It went Ok really. The exams really tire you out though. My flat mate and I both needed early nights last night!

Today was anatomy practical: one hour and about 40 tables with lots of dead animals and organs that you've got to identify. It's a tad exhausting and you're feet start to ache after a while. You have 1 minute and 30 seconds at each table.Which is usually spent confusing yourself about what you wrote down at the last table.

Tonight will be spent mainly eating biscuits punctuated by physiology revision for the exam tomorrow. I'm most worried about animal husbandry as I really have to try to learn the whole course on Wednesday night before the exam on Thursday. Hmmmm.....

Can't wait until Friday.

Strange how one de-moralising study session can send you into a whirlwind of pannick! Last night I found myself confronted with a mass of work and revision. Sometimes when you've got so much to do you take a good half an hour to get started and by then it's time to have a rest and make a cup of tea! Minivet (flat mate) and I decided to join our efforts after a couple of hours spent separately thrashing about with anatomy. The paired study session was actually far more productive. We took it in turns to ask each other questions and explain bits of respiratory anatomy. It really helped to cement things.

Today is our last anatomy day of the term. Thanks God the lectures are finally finnishing before the exams start on Monday! I really don't mind revising as it's great to properly learn the stuff you've been writing about all term, but it does make you feel a tad weak at the knees when you see a bunch of past papers that you're not sure on many (or any) of the answers for! This happened today during the histology practical.

The lecture today was about the histology of the digestive tract. Our anatomy lectures tend to be divided into a series of lectures on gross anatomy followed by a couple each on histology and embryology. Histology is studying everything in microscopic detail. The practicals are a bit of a headache, because you're never sure of what you're supposed to be looking at down the microscope, when you've only just had the lecture. I always need time to go over my notes at home, before I can identify anything through the microscope. Luckily the anatomy department have done a few pratical guide books for this year, to steer us through the slides. Last year I didn't really go to many of the histology praticals. I went home and studyed the photos in the histology atlas instead and this worked fine.

This afternoon the anatomy department is holding a party. In actual fact they are holding a raffle. This is because apparently it is illegal to offer students alcohol on the site unless they win it in a prize. Hence the anatomy department will be distributing raffle tickets to everyone so they can win their drink. The party is just an end of term thing. My flatmate is planning on making it a really momentous occasion by challenging professor Boyd to a beer drinking competition. This competition will involve quite a bit of skill as the challenge isn't the quantity drunk, but the ability to drink it whilst standing on your head. It is the Professor's party trick, but Mini has been practicsing all week!

Tomorrow will be the last day of husbandry lectures and the final trip to the farm. I think we're learning about calf housing. It might help my husbandry revision to sink in if I see things for real!

Tonight is ANOTHER big study session. Yippeeeee! Good excuse to drink lots of tea and eat lots of bourbons though!

Next Monday our exams start. I'm not really feeling the pannic yet, but this is probably due to the fact that I haven't really been sitting wirh my books as much as I should have done over the past four days. Last Friday was supposed to be my big study night, but it ended up being a big Glasgow Union night instead. Saturday at the Masquerade Ball was a slightly more soba affair but still didn't really imrpove my Sunday morning studying. Tonight is shaping up to be a repeat of Friday, because it is my friend's birthday pub crawl, which I could only miss on pain of death. Did I mention how close the exams are?! It's not my fault though. Some social dos have just got to be done. One is obliged!

Letures are continuing, but I think the end is in sight. We finnished anatomy today. Although I must admit I slept through most of it. I'm not usually this slack. I have worked like crazy all year.

There is certainly some serious craming ahead. I have really begun to get my teeth into the enormous animal husbandry pile that has stacked up. Have begun to make some headway there. I think the best solution when you've got so much to get through is to do as many pastpapers as you can. This way you remember things more firmly and often the same questions are asked again.

Yesterday we had our final parasitolgy lecture. This subject is really gritty, but quite fascinating at the same time. Our lecturer keeps mentioning a documentary this Wednesday night at 9pm which is all about parasites. Apparently last week it was really grim. One to watch then!