It's amazing how quickly fourth year flies by! It's hard to believe I've already been through nine weeks of rotations. I feel like my first day was yesterday! I've finally started to feel like I'm settling into the hospital. The learning has been tremendous and I've really enjoyed working with all of my classmates I've had on rotations with me so far. By far, this has been the best year of vet school!
Technically, my first rotation was two weeks of vacation. Much needed vacation, I might add! I'm glad my schedule fell that way because I really needed a break immediately following finals. I was able to veg a bit and catch up on sleep. Then I went to California with Jason for a road trip up Highway 1 from Big Sur to Fort Bragg. I've never driven along any of Highway 1 before, so it was a brand new experience for me! We found some great camping spots and Burton was probably the most tired he's ever been in his life. It took him a good week to recover after five whole days of getting pummeled by the waves while playing in the Pacific Ocean.
After vacation, I started my first rotation in the VTH. I was VERY nervous for that first day. And rightfully so, because there is a steep learning curve with all the paperwork, patient care and interaction with clients. The first service I was on was Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery. I had a few interesting cases and some very nice clients. I got to scrub in for a couple of surgeries (though I wasn't the surgeon), and I got to observe several other procedures. One of the surgeries I scrubbed in for was a prophylactic laparoscopic gastropexy! I was really lucky to start off with a really amazing group of colleagues for that first rotation. We all worked really well together and everyone was incredibly supportive and helpful.
My next rotation was Large Animal ICU (overnights). Most nights were fairly slow and we are fortunate to be allowed to split shifts when it gets slow like that. I learned that I'm probably not made out for graveyard shift...I definitely need daylight hours. My body got really confused! I was hungry all the time and I got tired at weird times because I don't know that I ever really adjusted. I'm glad I got ICU as my first rotation in the barn. I got to know how things work without the pressure of the daytime routine. We had several horses come in for emergencies and we also had to care/treat patients in the barn.
After LA ICU, I headed out to Bozeman, MT for my SIPE (student-initiated rotation). I spent two weeks working at a mixed animal practice. One of the doctors was a recent WSU grad, which was super cool! All of the doctors were phenomenal to work with. I got a lot of practical, real life experience and was able to develop some of my technical skills that I've needed to work on. Part of me wishes I could have arranged to do that rotation after a little bit more experience in the hospital, but that's the way the scheduling worked out. It was an amazing rotation nonetheless! While I was in Montana, I took a weekend to go camping at Cliff and Wade Lakes. I found a paddleboard to rent and paddleboarded out on the lake for a few hours during the morning. I saw two bald eagles! Over the Fourth of July, I met with Jason and his fam! We floated Henry's Fork in ID (saw four moose!) and went into West Yellowstone for fireworks. Fourth of July is still probably one of my favorite holidays, so Yellowstone was definitely a cool way to spend one of the best days of the year!
After the Fourth, I had to get back to Pullmania quickly! Two weeks without Roxy and Burton was really difficult! I missed them a lot! The next rotation I had was Small Animal Referral Medicine. That one is famous for it's high volume of paperwork! In the thick of it, things were very overwhelming. But looking back, the amount of learning and growth was phenomenal! I've given thought to taking it a second time. I had a fantastic group of colleagues who made the two weeks really fun. I had several really good cases and some wonderful clients to work with. I've started to really gain more confidence in my clinical skills. I'm starting to feel more sure of my physical exam findings and I'm getting better at developing a diagnostic plan for my patients.
Finally, this last week, I was on Clinical Pathology. That was a nice change of pace after the lightning fast pace of medicine since Clin Path is not a real-time patient care rotation. We reviewed a number of cases this week developed a list of differential diagnoses based on the clinical findings of the case and then developed a plan for treatment or further diagnostics. Then in the afternoons, we had a laboratory section to review cytology. It was a really helpful rotation for me. I had a lot of fun, plus it was nice to have the more relaxed pace.
Now I have a week of vacation! Then, I have a few more one week rotations. One is in Spokane for Dentistry and Dermatology. Then I'm back in the hospital on Pharmacy for a week.
I haven't had much time for anything else lately, I've been having so much fun finally playing doctor! We are only 287 days away from graduation! Lots more has to happen between now and then, but I'm really loving it. Hooray for fourth year!
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