Winter Break 2012-2013, Part I--Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep

I was hoping to only shadow Dr. J on Wednesdays this break because those are her long days when I get to see more. However, with my work schedule (which I didn't feel like fighting too much), I ended up with most of Thursday off, so I could go with her on her short day. I started off in surgery with Dr. N and Mrs. J, her tech. Mrs. J has been very influential in my pre-vet clinical education. She really makes me work when I am there, and for that, I am very grateful to her. She started me off with making up a bottle of cefazolin (an antibiotic) and filling a syringe with it. She then instructed me on how to set up new bags of IV fluid, which I was pleased to see is something called lactated Ringer's solution, something similar to what we have been using in Physiology lab for our frog dissections. It's just cool when I recognize terms like that. She also showed me how to use a Doppler to assess blood pressure during surgery. That was a new thing for me to consider on top of writing down numbers for anesthesia monitoring. Later, I got to help Mrs. J catheterize and intubate a young dog. He had a brother with him, and I got to walk the brother outside for a bit. He had had an accident in his kennel, so I was instructed to take him into the snow to wipe his feet off. Of course, the minute we were out the door, he assumed it was puppy playtime and wouldn't hold still for more than a second at at time. This made trying to clean his feet something of a lost cause, but I did the best I could before bringing him back inside.

However, all of these activities sort of paled in comparison to what I got to do late in the morning. A certain Dr. M, a veterinary dermatologist, came to do an allergy test on a French bulldog that belonged to another one of the techs, Mrs. B. I thought I would just get to watch--it's not often you get to learn about veterinary dermatology! However, Mrs. B told me she was feeling too nervous about the test to help the doctor, and no one else was around, so I became his assistant! In an allergy test, the doctor marks three rows of 10 dots on a shaved spot on the dog's side. Then, he administers 60 subcutaneous allergens and watches for a reaction. I could empathize with the dog in this instance because my mom took me in for allergy testing when I was about 10 or so because of persistent phlegm. I got 27 pricks in one arm and three in the other--only about half what the Frenchie got--but it was still unpleasant. Anyway, the dog was sedated for the procedure, so my job was to hand Dr. M each syringe as he needed it, and the whole test went really quickly. I had to juggle taking the old syringe from him with picking up the next syringe and making sure it was in the right orientation for him (bevel up). I had to tell him when each 10 had passed so he knew when to start a new row of intradermal injections. It was a bit nerve-wracking because I didn't want to mess up, but everyone told me later that I was doing a good job. Mrs. B was especially thankful that I was there because she was too addled to be able to help Dr. M like I was. I also got to write down numbers for him as he assessed the relative reaction of the dog to each of the allergens, which ranged from cotton to human dander (yes, animals can be allergic to us!) to dust mites to mold. Each reaction is rated from 1 to 4, with 4 being the most severe. Those with no reaction are not noted at all. Those with a reaction are noted with a plus followed by the number. There are two controls in the mix, just for good measure. The positive control is histamine, and the negative control is a simple saline solution. Overall, it was so cool to watch Dr. M at work and to hear him talk about skin scrapings and Gram staining to look for cocci as well as immunotherapy, both of which I sort of understood from Microbiology and Immunology. I love applying what I learn in school to what I see at the clinic. I've probably mentioned it before, but it just gets truer every time I go in.

This is an image that might give you a good idea of what an allergy test looks like. This animal seems to have a reaction to just about everything on the list (not fun). Photo courtesy of www.gcvs.com.

I was just starting anesthesia monitoring on the first puppy when Dr. J came to tell me we were leaving for the day. It was only 12:30, which is such an early time for me to leave. I was honestly disappointed. There were about three more surgeries that day, one of them a TPLO, which I wanted to see, but Dr. J is my ride, so I could not say no. This day was really significant for me because I was honestly doing something every minute I was there. I felt like a real tech, even though I am nowhere close. It means a lot to me that they treat me like that  because it means that they trust me to do a good job and know they can count on me to give reliable help. I feel like a vital part of the practice when I am there, instead of a passive, unhelpful bystander.

I am taking a week off shadowing because Dr. J does not work much this coming week, what with it being book-ended by two holidays (Christmas on one end and New Year's on the other). So, I will return to the clinic next Wednesday for a long day like I am used to. I will get to do a full half-day of surgery with Dr. K and Miss H, who is one of my favorite people at the clinic and the tech I spent most time with this past summer (since I only shadowed on Wednesdays during the summer). I am quite looking forward to it, as you probably can imagine by this point. With any luck, I will have heard from Kansas State by then!

In the mean time, Merry Christmas and Happy 2013! I hope you get everything on your list and that you ring in the new year with joy! It's gonna be a good one. :)

Merry Christmas from the Hart Family and our little tree!

Winter Term 2012-2013, Week 5--The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

All in all, I would say that the week leading up to Christmas Break was pretty manageable. I did well on my first Physiology exam, despite being worried that adding the extra consideration of vet school interviews was negatively affecting my studies. I feel like my other classes are probably going well, too, if Physiology is. I still make mistakes on a fairly regular basis in Microbiology lab, but I really can't be good at everything, so it's good for me to have something that challenges me, something I need to work at.

Sarah was really good as Lucia on Tuesday. I really enjoyed the program. It's funny because Saint Lucia is originally a Sicilian thing that migrated to Sweden, and Sarah is both Sicilian and Swedish, so she was perfect for the role!

Thursday night/Friday morning was the premiere of The Hobbit. It wasn't quite as good as The Lord of the Rings trilogy but was still watchable. I think it would have benefited from being just one movie instead of the first of a trilogy. There is a lot of extraneous stuff that verges on the ridiculous and unnecessary. However, the music and cinematography--not to mention the set design and makeup/costumes--were fantastic. But all the visual and auditory marvels could not make up for the lack of a certain charm and poignancy that the original Lord of the Rings movies possess. Perhaps the second two movies will be better.

Of course, the biggest part of the last seven days was my interview at Kansas State! It was quite the weekend. I got home around 9 PM on Friday and had to leave at 7 AM the next morning to make the eight-hour drive to Manhattan, Kansas. It was pretty grueling. We stopped at a really good rib joint called Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, Missouri because Dad wasn't about to let us drive through without some good KC barbecue. That's my dad for you.

We arrived in Manhattan around 4:30 PM, so we had about an hour-and-a-half of down time before we had to be at K-State for a pizza party. Once there, we sat in on a student panel, which was really helpful! We learned a lot about the school and life in Manhattan.

The next morning was the big day, my second vet school interview. I felt just as nervous for this one as for the first one at Iowa State, which kind of didn't make sense to me. I was almost nauseated. Maybe I was just worried about making the same mistakes at K-State as I made at Iowa State. Anyway, I found everyone there to be so nice and welcoming. I learned about the great support system they have in place, with professors more than willing to answer questions, participate in club activities, and the like. I heard that residents are also willing and eager to help, and the school allows first years to have second-year buddies and fourth-year mentors, so I'm really excited for those opportunities. I also learned that the food-animal faculty there is great and that there are many food safety experiences available. My interview team told me that I might look into getting a dual DVM/MPH (Master's of Public Health), and I could complete the MPH courses during the summer when my vet courses were not in session. Overall, I got a really good vibe from the school. The area is pretty nice, and I like the rolling hills. It also seems like a very safe place. You know, K-State was the very first Land Grant university established, which I think counts for something. The interview itself went much better than Iowa State, I think. It was a more traditional-type interview in which I got asked questions about more vet-related topics and about my schoolwork. It was overall less behavioral than Iowa State, and the interviewers here (two faculty members and a Kansas practitioner) knew much more about my application than the two Iowa practitioners with whom I interviewed at Iiowa State. It's just interesting to see how different schools operate differently. Probably the best news I got was that I will find out about my application status as early as the first of the new year! This is sort of nerve-wracking for me because I did not think that I would find out so soon. I was prepared for a long wait and not finding out until I was back at school, but it looks like I will know before break is over. You gotta love the schools that do not mess around and get results out as fast as possible. Now, I intend to enjoy the rest of break. I will hopefully get to shadow a couple of times as well as work and complete some pretty major homework assignments. This is what I get for attending a college that's on trimesters where Christmas Break is right in the middle of a term. Oh, well. I always get done what I need to.

Greetings from Manhattan, Kansas! Photo courtesy of www.hannush.com.

Winter Term 2012-2013, Week 4: Make New Friends But Keep the Old

"...One is silver, and the other's gold." So goes a little ditty we learned as Brownie Scouts when I used to be a member of the Girl Scouts in elementary school (Daisy Scout is as far as I got, which I think is only one level up from Brownie, but I digress).

Anyway, the title is appropriate because I got to reconnect with a good friend of mine this week. We had dinner together in the College Center on Wednesday, and then we went to a book sale at the Rock Island Library on Thursday. That was so cool because most of the books were just 25 cents. I got 12 magazines for a nickel each, including a couple of stocking-stuffer cycling magazines for my brother. Score!

As you might imagine, the Christmas season is in full swing here at Augustana. There are fake and real Christmas trees as well as lights literally everywhere. The only thing that could make it more Christmas-y would be some snow, but I've seen the forecast for this coming week, and it doesn't look exceptionally promising. However, I have it on good report from home that Minnesota got absolutely walloped with snow over the weekend, so I think it's gonna be a white Christmas in the Mini Apple.

This past week, I had midterms in Microbiology and Physiology. As you might expect from me at this point, I was worried about how they would go because I've felt a little distracted by all of my preparations for vet school interviews. I haven't seen the grades yet, but I feel fairly confident.

Not much else happened in class or in my extracurricular activities this week. I suppose that's a good thing because last week was chaos. On Saturday, I did get to do some volunteering, and I really enjoyed myself. We went to a local Methodist church to help them serve their Saturday lunch to the homeless people in the community. There is just something I love about being in the kitchen and feeding people. I think it's the Italian in me. I was in charge of dishing out fruit, and what's better than that? I felt so good knowing that I was helping them get a good, healthy meal. I didn't even mind cleaning up after! Dishes is just one chore that I actually sort of like (as much as you can like a chore). We got to talk to some of the older members of the church, including an elderly gentleman named Frank. He was so hilarious and adorable. I just love talking to old people. They have so many stories and so much wisdom to share.

Yesterday was a pretty good end to the weekend, I must say. At the Mortar Board meeting, we got to write Christmas cards for our troops overseas, and I just felt really good about that, too. I hope that whoever receives my cards gets a smile and encouragement out of them. I also went with Sarah to the Julbord, a traditional Swedish Christmas meal put on by the Scandinavian Department. We ate such delicacies as cheese with bread, a relish made with herring and beets, meatballs (made by Sarah) and potato sausage, potato and sausage wraps with shrimp, red cabbage with apples, ham, rice pudding, and cookies. Needless to say, I was stuffed! In an effort to defray the costs of feeding about 20 people, they charged $5 this year. I would have gladly paid, especially since I feel bad eating someone else's food when I did not help nor am I affiliated with the Scandinavian Department. However, Dr. S, the chair of the department, offered to cover my share because he had already paid for two people who did not show up. I was delighted and surprised at this kindness, especially since I feel like I have taken advantage of too many people's generosity already this term, what with going to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving and borrowing Devon's car to drive to ISU. I just feel so blessed. I hope I can reciprocate soon.

This week is shaping up to be pretty excellent. Tomorrow I get to watch Sarah as Sankta Lucia, Wednesday we are going to Denny's to try the Hobbit menu before the movie comes out, Thursday is a Christmas party and going to the theater for the premiere of the movie, and Friday I get to go home! I'll only be there for the night, though, because we have to get up early on Saturday to drive to Kansas, but it'll be nice to touch base there and see Emmie before our trip.Then, I get to come home for three weeks of bliss! (And working and shadowing, of course!)

With that, I leave you to admire some Christmas-themed photos. What do you love best about this time of year?

This is one of the few real trees on campus, located in the lobby of Founders Hall. It smells SO GOOD. Nothing evokes the warm, happy memories of Christmas for me more than the aroma of a Douglas fir.

I just love Grumpy Cat. I don't know why. Meme courtesy of thefunnyway.com.

So, the story with these next four is that I wanted to cut some snowflakes, but I didn't have any construction paper. I did, however, remember that I have some Christmas wrapping paper. Behold the results!

When studying on Friday evening in the quiet room on the first floor of the library, I couldn't help but notice this lovely tree.

Winter Term 2012-2013, Weeks 2 and 3--The Shortest Week and Back to Blue and Gold

Hello, and welcome to another long-overdue blog post, also known as "Hannah's been a really bad blogger lately." I apologize most sincerely. Life has been nothing short of wacko since I started this term, but I'm not complaining. It sure as heck beats the alternative. Anyway, so many exciting things have happened to me in the past two-and-a-half weeks!

First, I'll start with the pretty routine stuff. I had a lot of fun with Sarah and her family. I enjoyed my time in Cincinnati. I saw many cool sites and ate lots of good (free!) food. I really enjoy downtown Cincinnati. I think the area is just gorgeous with all of the rolling hills, the Ohio River, and the cute neighborhoods.

My birthday was also pretty good. Sarah got me the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Mom and Dad sent me a Road ID. It's basically a wristband with contact information on it in case something ever happens to me when I am out for a run. It really adds to my peace of mind, I can tell you that. I also bought some new running duds for myself because it was just time for my old ones to go. Sarah and I went out to dinner at Panera on Wednesday of last week, so that was really delicious.

New Balance running shoes are by far the best. I love these! So comfy, and the support for my low arches is great!

 Classes are going pretty well, too. I am enjoying both Physiology lab and Microbiology lab. I have great people at my lab tables in both of them, which makes things even better. In Physiology lab, we have already dissected the gastrocnemius muscle (calf muscle) from a leopard frog to study its contraction, and we are about to dissect another frog to view its heart. In Microbiology lab, we have performed various staining techniques on bacteria, including Gram stains. Those are always fun because I can never get away from lab without staining myself in addition to the bacteria. I feel like a kindergartener again every time I do the Gram staining procedure! Luckily, I am not the only one who gets messy.

And finally, I can talk about my Iowa State interview! What an experience! I had a bit of a panic moment on Saturday because I went to pick up the rental car, and I found out that it was going to cost more than I was able to put on my credit card, and more than I could spare from my checking account. The rental place told me they couldn't run my card for another 24 hours, and I needed the car right then. As it turns out, Sarah was with me because I needed a ride down to the airport to get the car, and overhearing my plight, she informed me that Devon had a car with her that she said I could probably borrow for the day. Excited, I sent a text to Devon to ask her if it was okay. Being the incredibly kind individual she is, she said yes! I was so relieved. I wouldn't have to take a rental car back on Monday! I went to Target the day before the interview to pick up some pre-trip things (like CDs to listen to on the way, of course).

I woke up around 6:30 on Sunday. It was pretty foggy out, so I was a tad nervous about the drive. I walked over to Devon's, where she handed me the keys to the car and sent me on my way. Armed with my CDs and directions to Ames, I set off. It actually wasn't too bad of a drive. It's a pretty straight shot from the QCA to Ames. I basically just drove on 80 and 35 the whole way. I ran into some bad fog about an hour-and-a-half into the three-hour trip, but I just prayed and hoped I wouldn't hit anything. Fortunately, I made it out okay, and I finally arrived in Ames. I found the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) much easier than I expected, and I sat in the car and waited for Mom and Dad to arrive, which only took about 20 minutes after I got there. We walked into the Admissions building together. I was feeling okay right then because I knew it would be about three-and-a-half hours before I would have to go in, and I wasn't about to lose my cool prematurely.
 

Once inside, I got my own name tag and proceeded to put my stuff in the Alumni Room, our base for the day. We got a very warm welcome from the Dean of the College, and then it was time for my tour. I really enjoyed that part. We got to see very state-of-the-art classrooms equipped with awesome technology designed to make the learning experience the best it can be. Vet students at most schools are required to purchase a tablet PC, and this allows all students to run on the same network with the same programs (it also allows quick repair because the IT group just has to work on one model).  Professors can upload slides, lectures, and other material for everyone to quickly access and share. It's a very streamlined process. We saw the Anatomy labs, where first-years spend a lot of time. The CVM has undergone some pretty impressive renovations over the past few years, both to the Large Animal Hospital and to the Small Animal Hospital. We got a glimpse of one of the large animal surgical suites and peeked inside the Dermatology room in the Small Animal Hospital. The reception area of the Small Animal Hospital is really cool because it is separated into cubicles based on species (dogs, cats, and exotics). The CVM is also filled with art because of a law that says that 1% of all construction costs must be devoted to art. There is the ubiquitous Gentle Doctor statue as well as several other cool pieces, including a glass etching that spans a whole corridor and succinctly delineates the history of veterinary medicine. It was quite a charming atmosphere. My tour guide was from Bettendorf, IA, which is crazy because that is just across the river from me here at Augustana, basically.

This is the famous Gentle Doctor sculpture. He has large hands because the hands are the most important thing a veterinarian can use when assessing an animal. He has large feet because veterinarians must be on their feet for many hours per day. Finally, he holds a puppy to symbolize the human-animal bond. Photo courtesy of vetmed.iastate.edu.

 After the tour, I grabbed a quick bite to eat before the student panel started. I enjoyed hearing them tell me about what vet school is like on a daily basis. Who better to learn from than someone in the thick of things? Mom and Dad attended the financial aid session while I was on the tour, so we found out about some good options for making vet school affordable. Basically, if I want it badly enough, I'll find a way to make it happen, although it probably won't be easy. I've already resigned myself to being in debt the rest of my life, and I don't really care. What I care about is making a difference in the lives of both people and animals, and if money follows, great. I just want to live comfortably and well within my means. I'd be happy with simple apartment that allows a dog friend or a cat friend.

When the panel was over, I had about 45 minutes to wait until my interview. At this point, I started to get more nervous. I was comforted by people who told me that it was really more like a conversation with two doctors than like a in-depth, scary interview. Another student who was applying came out and said that it wasn't as bad as she expected. So,  I was able to relax just a bit. Mom and Dad hugged me goodbye just before I left, since they would leave, too, before I was finished with the interview. Before I even knew it, my name was being called, and I met a very nice doctor who led me to the interview room. From this point, I can't disclose anything much. The interview was behavioral, so I basically got asked questions about what I did in certain situations in my life or what I would do. I enjoyed meeting both of my interviewers, and I think it went okay. I was a bit awkward at times, but I hope I can still make the cut. I learned earlier than our academic performance and application were evaluated separately before the interview invitations were extended. All those achieving a certain combined score were invited, and there were about 400 of us in this category. Of those 400, about 150 of us will be selected, so the odds aren't horrible. We'll just see! I won't know now till February, so it's time to focus on my Kansas interview!

One thing I can say from the day is that it only reinforced how much I want this! I could see myself as one of those students on the panel, and I think Ames would be a lovely place to spend four years. It's very conveniently located for my family, so I'm hoping the CVM thinks I'm a good match, too! My dad teared up a bit when he heard about the White Coat Ceremony, which is for new students, where they present us with our white lab coats that we will wear as fourth-years when we are doing our rotations. Trying on one of the lab coats was part of the experience on Sunday, and that also helped me feel more like I'm meant for this. It just looked so right on me! But like I said, only time will tell!

Another benefit of the day was improving my driving skills! I got some bad weather driving with the fog and then some night driving on the way back, all at pretty fast speeds. I also listened to some Christmas music to get me in the mood for the season. Win!

Stay tuned for an update on Week Four, coming to you late this weekend!