My Unusual Resume

Sarah Blau, NC State

Life as a Vet Student, Honorable Mention

“You haven’t worked in a clinic! What did you do before now?” a classmate asked me during our first month of our first year of veterinary school. I mumbled my way through an answer that skimmed the surface. You see, it’s rare to find a veterinary student today with such a hole in their resume as mine. My lack of clinical background makes me quite anxious these days and a bit embarrassed. So, I’ve decided to write about it.

 Let me introduce myself: I’ve been a science writer, a firefighter, a trail-builder, and a horse wrangler. Before all that, I was a physics student at a small liberal arts college without a clue as to where my life would take me. In just under four years, if all goes according to plan, I will be a veterinarian. And when I stop to think about it, I wouldn’t trade my past experiences for anything.

 As a science writer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development, I learned to translate complex research, weighed down by scientific-jargon, into fascinating stories that non-scientists could understand. You know how there are electronic devices that you can speak into in one language, and they translate to another language? That’s what I did at EPA—I translated science to English. Now, as a veterinary student, I realize how necessary it will be to use this skill to communicate the goals and methods of veterinary medicine to a non-veterinary audience. Without the appropriate “plain language,” how can our non-veterinary colleagues and clients understand and appreciate what we do?

 As a volunteer firefighter with the New Castle County Emergency Services Corps, I learned to confront emergency situations with a sense of calm and control. As a person of authority, you can become a solid foundation amid the chaos of an emergency. Hey, I’ll probably be doing that as a veterinarian too—providing a calm foundation during animal patient emergencies. My firefighting experience should be a big plus.

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I Know the Answer! Reflections from a Finishing First Year Vet Student

Sarah Blau, North Carolina State University

Life as A Vet Student, Honorable Mention

Nothing gets my adrenaline coursing, heart booming, and mouth dryer than dirt like the moment just before a public speaking event. Last month I had the pleasure and horror of giving just such a talk at my alma mater’s biennial physics department reunion. The topic of my talk: Fun Facts From Vet Med.

Every two years the department invites all of its alumni and current students to present on any topic from their research, job, or life. This was the first year I had actually agreed to give a presentation, and I was beyond excited to share some of what I’d learned as a first-year veterinary student. At the same time, I knew it would be a battle between my courage and my nerves, not only because I would be speaking in public, but also because a certain physics professor would be in attendance.

This professor, who I’ll call Professor X for the sake of this blog, is a physically and mentally intimidating genius of a man. Any student speaking before him quakes at the thought of the challenging questions he will surely put forth at the end of every presentation. Professor X was one of my favorite and most supportive professors, but I too dreaded the blank ignorance his questions might evoke while all eyes were on me. This time, however, it was different. This time, I knew the answers clearer than ever before. This time, I realized just how much I’ve actually learned over the course of one year of veterinary school.

My talk focused partly on the rabies virus and partly on the body’s response to parasitic infections. As I stated my conclusions and asked if there were any questions, my gut did a funny tumble when I saw Professor X raise a hand. He asked a very challenging question about how the body’s immune system knows to react to bits of parasites but not bits of the body itself. I perspired for a moment while I thought frantically and then quickly realized that I actually knew the answer! Infection and Immunity class this year had taught me exactly how the body determines foreign invaders from itself. My next challenge of course, was translating the highly involved biologic gibberish into terms my non-medical audience could understand, but I think I pulled it off alright in the end… and eventually Professor X ran out of questions.

That day that I presented to my old physics department is just one of many, many examples over the last month where I was shocked to realize how much information my brain has soaked up since school began in August. From beginning to understand guest lecturers giving lunchtime talks on clinical cases, to recognizing nerdy references in The Big Bang Theory, all this science I’ve learned is starting to make sense!

As a student, you don’t realize it’s happening during the school year. You sit through lecture after lecture. You study in your down time. You’re perpetually cramming for a big exam or lazing in a haze of exhaustion after taking a big exam. This is veterinary school. There’s fun bits too—wetlabs and lunch meetings and other little reprieves from the burden of it all—but mostly, it’s schoolwork.

You wonder how all this work will possibly make you into a doctor. But with every medical reference I start to understand, every clinical sign I recognize, every animal behavior I can advise upon, and every question from Professor X I can confidently answer, I see more and more clearly how this education will absolutely turn me into a knowledgeable and competent veterinarian.

The Raccoon Odyssey

Entry, Foot in Mouth
Rachel Turner, NCSU

I spent two summers in high school volunteering at a wildlife center, a busy facility made up of a few run-down portables and some flight aviaries and duck ponds.  Our mission was to take in and treat injured wildlife, from nestling songbirds that had clumsily fallen out of their nests to abandoned coyote pups. I worked with a lot of raccoons while I was there, from blind infants who could only squirm and suckle to huge adult males who wanted nothing more from life than the chance to rip off my hand.  However, nothing prepared me for the small female that I encountered on a hot day in late July.  My supervisor Ashley and I were doing the evening rounds, giving all the animals their delicious dinner of watermelon, apples, and dead frozen mice.  We ventured out into the late-afternoon heat to take care of the animals out in Building C, a crummy and musty portable where we kept large birds and other special cases.  At first glance, this particular raccoon was just another scared animal, crouched at the back of her crate, watching us switch out her old food dish.  When I reached in to pull out her bedding towel, which was crusted with feces and dried urine, she shifted a bit to the side and exposed the side of her back leg, which was when I noticed her wound.  She had somehow acquired a large, gaping cut on her haunch, and as soon as Ashley saw it she sent me to get the staple gun.  However, this little raccoon turned out to be a lot more than we had bargained for. 

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Entry, Creative Corner
Rachael Kearns, North Carolina State University

Liza and Gladys

Untiltled

Little Moments

Winner, Experiences
Danielle Lindquist, North Carolina State

Most people are familiar with dogs that assist their blind or otherwise disabled owners.  Certified therapy dogs offer a trained and therapeutic service to many elderly and hospitalized patients.  When you think of a therapy dog, most people envision a beautiful golden retriever in a vest, proudly sitting next to a sick child or consoling an elderly patient. Have any of you ever thought about shelter dogs as therapy animals? These “run of the mill” canines are often forgotten, although they have so much to give to the communities. This was the basis for a program I helped start up in my undergraduate years at NC State, and have continued volunteering with throughout my first year in vet school. 

 

These shelter dogs are part of a program called Canine Assisted Rehabilitation for the Elderly Inc. (C.A.R.E. NC Inc), a 501-C3 non-profit based out of Raleigh, NC that has dedicated its mission to training these shelter dogs into therapeutic visitors. These dogs, trained by pre-veterinary students, are evaluated by a professional animal behaviorist at the Wake County SPCA and professional dog trainer for temperament and learn basic commands in order to prepare them for their life changing visits. 

  

Once a week, these selected dogs are trained, and then are taken to local assisted living facilities to meet and mingle with the elderly who otherwise would not be able to see their animals, since many had to give up out upon moving into these residential facilities.  When I walk around with dogs such as Firefly, a american staffordshire mix who was picked for this program for her love of people and that contagious smile, people who would normally shy away from such a large dog came up to ask questions, give her a hug and a nice pat on the head. Usually, I have a very hard time distinguishing who was having a better time together 

 

Some therapy dogs pay informal social visits to people to boost their spirits, while others work in a more structured environment with trained professionals like physical therapists and social workers to help patients reach clinical goals, such as increased mobility or improved memory. C.A.R.E. NC’s mission is simple:  to transform the lives of the elderly of wake county through the healing power of dogs.  I encourage all veterinary students to remember that life during these four years is not always about making the grade and class rank. Sometimes, it’s the little moments of watching a senior citizen in your community smile for the first time or that pitbull you thought would never get adopted, walk out of the SPCA to spend the rest of her life in a very loving home.   Veterinary medicine has many goals, and first and foremost is service to the animals and the people who love them.