After finishing a challenging first year at vet school, I knew that there were more difficult subjects to come in second year. That was an understatement…
First Quarter
The first quarter started off as expected: difficult to get back into the swing of things after a long summer break but hungry to learn more. It was a real adventure to adapt my study techniques from first year to a new environment in second year.
Overall, the shift from “normal” anatomy to “abnormal” anatomy was really fun and made me feel closer to being a true doctor. I think my favorite subject from this quarter was toxicology.
Other than studying, I spent my time in the warm weather hiking and hanging out with friends or participating in school activities, like Open House, where I represented the Christian Veterinary Mission Fellowship (CVMF).
Second Quarter
The second quarter of second year is deemed the hardest quarter in vet school by many upperclassmen; this proved to be very true. This quarter, we learned about every bacterium, parasite, and virus an animal could get and, wow, was it overwhelming!
While it was amazing to learn about all of the unique mechanisms of action an infectious agent can take, I was equally as amazed by how many there were.
Most of my time here was spent studying charts, looking at bacteria under microscopes, and many study dates with friends. I’m very grateful to have made it through this quarter and on to winter break.
Third Quarter
The third quarter was our clinical rotation quarter, which was a great break from all of the studying. I had lots of great rotations this quarter. Some of my favorites were rehabilitation medicine, regulatory medicine, and anesthesia.
Because we had already gone through one year of school, I got to do a bit more, like help monitor anesthesia and perform red light therapy.
With rotations coming to an end, this meant that we would be taking our written milestone and OSCE exams. The written milestone exam is a summation of everything we have learned thus far in vet school, a way to keep us accountable and able to recall important information. The OSCE stands for “Objective Structured Clinical Examination,” which is basically just a test of our clinical skills.
I spent the whole quarter studying my class notes and practicing clinical skills in the Clinical Skills Learning Center. I was very proud of myself about how I ended up doing on these exams and relieved for them to be over!
Fourth Quarter
The final quarter of my second year has just come to a close, and I’m so happy to be halfway done with school! This was definitely a difficult quarter, with summer on my mind, but so fun.
We studied organ systems pathology, to be able to identify clinical lesions as they would present to us, and clinical pathology, the study of blood work. Being able to read blood work was always something so foreign and out of reach for me, so I feel so fulfilled knowing how to do it.
In addition to my school activities, this quarter I took on a new role as president of CVMF and adopted a cat from junior surgery!
This year was definitely challenging and required intense focus and drive to get through, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It only makes me more excited for the final two years!
By Annie Marlowe
