The Typical Week of a Vet Student

I recently got asked what a typical week in veterinary school is like. It definitely varies from year to year, week to week, and person to person. I likely over-study for exams so if you're one of those people who doesn't have to study as much {lucky you}, then you'll have much more free time than I do!

First year: we were in class a lot more, from 9-12 Monday through Thursday, as well as afternoon labs. Most days I didn't get home until 5 and I would spend the remainder of the evening studying. Fridays were exam days, so I would usually just take the weekend to get caught up. I went to most social events throughout the year.

Second year: a little more hectic. We still had class from 9-12 and afternoon courses most days. I'm pretty sure exams were mostly on Fridays, so again that freed up the weekend and still allowed me to attend social events.

Third year: free time was extremely limited last semester. My busiest weeks would look something like this:

Monday
     7AM: discharge surgery patient
     8AM: exam
     10-12: lecture
     12-1: examine incoming surgery patient
     1-4: study and prepare for this week's surgery role
     5-6: SOAP surgery patient
     6-9: study
Tuesday
     715: SOAP surgery patient    
     8-12: lecture
     2-3: lecture
     3-5: study
     5-6: SOAP surgery patient
     6-9: study
Wednesday
     715: SOAP surgery patient
     8-12: lecture
     12-5: surgery (sometimes stayed until as late as 8)
     1030PM: back to school to SOAP and medicate surgery patient
Thursday
     715: SOAP surgery patient         
     8-12: lecture
     Afternoon off to study
     5-6: SOAP surgery patient
Friday
     715: SOAP surgery patient 
     8-11: lecture
     11-12: exam
     2-5: clinical skills (communication training, equine exams)
     5-6: SOAP surgery patient
     6-8: study
Weekends - SOAP surgery patient at 8AM and 5PM, study for Monday exams

This semester is truly nothing compared to last. I feel like I have tons of free time, and I'm so much less stressed! I also feel like I'm absorbing the information much more easily. A typical week this semester is something like this:

Monday
     8-12: lecture
     Remainder of day free to study
Tuesday
    8-12: lecture
    1-3: surgical skills lab
    3-9: study
Wednesday: same as Monday
Thursday
    8-9: exam
    10-12: lecture
    Remainder of day free to study
Friday
     8-9: exam
    10-11: lecture
    1-2: lecture

We have occasional afternoon labs {maybe 2-4 per month} which are hands on, clinical skills labs that are way less stressful and a lot more enjoyable than surgery labs last semester! I take Friday afternoons off, and sometimes {like today} all day Saturday off. I feel like I was able to accomplish so much in so little time last semester that I can afford to take some time to enjoy myself now! I'll pretty much study all day Sunday {8AM-8PM} with short breaks. And I actually have time to exercise and go out for dinner and drinks with friends. So it's definitely doable most of the time to fit exercise and social time into your calendar.

Just kidding! Well, kind of...I will be straight forward and tell you that it's extremely easy to get burnt out. My number one tip would be to MAKE time, no matter how little, for some relaxation and activities that don't involve veterinary medicine! If you're still in undergrad, I'd definitely recommend working on time management skills. It's a HUGE part of being successful in vet school.

Well, I hope this has helped you pre-vetters to get a little bit of a better idea as to what vet school weeks are like! If you want to see more posts like this, subscribe via email in the box to your right!

H2O

Our next test is in Physiology this Friday. I was a little nervous about it, but after going back over the lectures and old exams, it seems like it will be relatively straight forward! I definitely have a lot more studying to do, but I feel brain dead now that I've been studying for 7 hours straight with a few short breaks in between...aahh!

I follow a bunch of veterinarian blogs, and I saw a post the other day that I thought was really cool. A bat was brought into the clinic, and although unfortunately it was euthanized (due to possible rabies), they were able to get some really awesome photos. You can check them out here!

So I know this will seem kind of random, but I've been forgetting to mention this. I'm pretty sure that I should have been put in the hospital a few days ago for dehydration. It was 100+ degrees outside for the past two weeks, and I was really only drinking 1/2 to 1 bottle of water a day. I was having extreme migraines about every other day, and on Friday night it really hit me. I (stupidly) had beer Friday night, which dehydrated me even further. I had also been hot all day long due to my broken A/C and the venue for Shaft that was extremely hot inside. When I got home I took Rhyley out, and when I was walking back up the stairs I couldn't even make it up one step without my heart racing and feeling short of breath. It was so bad I had to stop every few steps!! I laid down once inside to calm my heart back down, but for the rest of the night I could feel it pounding of my chest, I could feel my pulse throughout my body, and I was still feeling short of breath. I called my mom in a panic and told her I thought I might be really dehydrated and told her all of my symptoms (she's a nurse), and she said it sounded like I was. Turns out that if your heart is affected by dehydration, you should pretty much be in the hospital. So I forced down 2 and 1/2 bottles of water before bed, and then made sure to drink at least 3 on Saturday and Sunday. I feel so much better now! I know that I never really drink enough water, but actually being so dehydrated made me realize how important water is. So the tip of the day is to drink at least three bottles of water everyday! (Preferably not from the toilet)