Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Equine and Exotics Exam
Well it has been a while since I last posted...slightly over a month if I'm not mistaken! Have been extremely busy studying for this past examination on equine and exotic animals. We had the exam last Friday and it was VERY difficult! I would say that it was one of the most difficult exams I've taken since I've been here. I had been studying for a couple of months in preparation for this exam. The questions that came up on this exam were not representative at all of the material that we were lectured on. There were 4 equine questions, which were very difficult and 3 exotic animal questions, which I knew quite well. I answered the questions as best as I could but not sure what to expect for a grade. I will find out in a few weeks. Last Tuesday I also had to perform two clinical examinations. At the first station, I had one of the sheep vets ask me all about sheep breeds (which I nailed), skin diseases (which was very random) and had me perform a thoracic auscultation and ruminal auscultation as well. Before beginning, the examiner asked me if I preferred Dan or Daniel. I told him that Dan was fine by me but if he wanted to call me "Fonz" he could do that as well. This triggered an entire 4-5 min conversation on Henry Winkler and Happy Days, which was an odd but funny icebreaker before he began questioning me. We finished early and I moved on to the next examiner. I was presented with a group of calves and had to assess two from a distance and guess the weight and body condition score of the two, which I am sure I butchered! I then had to get the calf that was lying down to get up and move into the crush. The calf would not get up for me and finally after struggling for about a minute, she decided to get up.
I had to put a halter on and lead her into the crush. The halter was a non-slip halter so I couldn't adjust it and it took me a minute or so to figure this out. I finally decided to just throw it over the head to see if that worked and it went on with a tight squeeze but worked. Once restrained, I had to perform a clinical examination. I finished slightly early with that station as well. Once I was done I was very relieved and had to begin studying more for the written portion that was Friday as I talked about above.
So now I am waiting on results for the veterinary public health exam, the two clinical examinations I did and the equine and exotics examination before I purchase a plane ticket back home. I sure hope I passed everything! Especially equine and exotics! Immediately following the examination, Olly and I headed to the Isle of Skye for a weekend camping trip. Details on our trip will be posted on another post, as it will be a long description! Hope everyone is doing well and will see you soon!
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3 comments:
Hi,
I just wanted to say that, as a *hopefully* future vet student, I really enjoy reading your blog. Its really interesting! I am, at the moment (this weekend), trying to decide between the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow for veterinary and so I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me:
- I had heard that Edinburgh has good rabbit, exotics, wildlife facilities... do the vet students get the benefit of these, for example, do you rotate through them as part of the course? I'm just curious because I'm really interested in exotics.
- What is the academic support for students? I had heard that the advisor to go to is the Director of Studies... does that work in practice, are they helpful/approachable?
- Is there a gym/exercise classes or anything at Pollock/for the university. I had read that the gym membership was about 100 pounds/yr and was always crowded and not very good... do you know if this is true?
- General likes/dislikes?
Replying to any of these questions would be really helpful in me making my decision.
Thanks,
Eleanor
Hello there Ellie,
Glad to hear that you are considering Edinburgh as one of your choices. I have definitely done some interesting things since moving to Edinburgh for the veterinary program and glad you are enjoying reading about them. To answer your questions:
1. Edinburgh has an excellent rabbit, exotics and wildlife facility. It is small, but they are really beginning to emphasize the importance of this area of veterinary medicine. As vet students in the program, we are given multiple opportunities for handling and learning about exotic animals. They also will allow you to show up on your own or with others to practice your handling skills.
2. Academic support tends to be a hit or miss in my opinion. I had an amazing director of studies (DoS) in my first 2 years and my DoS now is not as helpful. However, if you do have a problem with your DoS, you can always switch. Most of the DoS's are approachable and are very helpful.
3. There is a gym at the Centre of Sports and Exercise (CSE) and it is about £95 / year, which is very cheap. The amount of people working out there depends on the day and the time. They also just finished constructing the Royal Commonwealth Pool, which is about £33 / month.
4. I really like that the school provides students with hands-on learning throughout the 4 years of the program. Most veterinary schools have a didactic learning approach for the first few years with the last and final year being all hands on clinical rotations. The university in Edinburgh really emphasizes the hands-on approach with students and I absolutely love it. When it comes to dislikes, there are several things I do not like about the university. Firstly, the school tends to take quite a while in releasing exam results, which can be quite frustrating when you are trying to book a plane ticket back home and have to wait last minute. Secondly, the examinations seem to be quite subjective and I still haven't figured out what exactly they want for an answer on the exam. The marking system is completely different than North America and is a bit confusing for me. Other than that, I find that the school has prepared me for excelling in the field of veterinary medicine.
If you have any other queries let me know.
-Dan
Thanks a lot for all that information - it was all really helpful. I have decided to firm Edinburgh but now I just have to wait for exam results!
Thanks,
Eleanor
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