Wednesday, June 16, 2010

How to Become a Doctor and Other Random Updates


I just found a very easy way to become a doctor. Apparently, all you need to do is get an abstract accepted to present at a meeting. Then all communication with you is addressed as Dr. whoever even if you constantly reply and give no indication that you are possibly a doctor. I get that it's the safe way for these people to address me when they are uncertain, but I am not ready for people to be calling me doctor.

Lesson 1: Spell Good: A doctor was reading a history from a referring vet and came across a misspelling - I think "strider" instead of "stridor". She made the comment that she immediately thinks he's an idiot even though the more likely explanation is that he was in a hurry. It was a good lesson to pay attention to detail because little things like misspellings can decrease your credibility with your colleagues.

I started this a long time ago and there were going to be more lessons, but I can't think of any right now.


Well, just got back from a research trip to Alaska. It was cool since it was my first time there and I got to see a lot of the state and talk with a bunch of mushers. It was awesome to drive around and have mountains in the background everywhere. The rest of the research team was super cool too. We were joking around most of the trip and got serious for business so it was a great atmosphere the whole time despite the very little sleep.

Third year started and it was funny because none of us were prepared. There's a sense of we don't care and don't stress out anymore. We're all sick of the classroom and ready to start clinics in January. I just put in my preferences for clinical rotations which should be interesting. I feel like I have no clue what's going on in school. I just had a lab that I was completely unprepared for but it was very laidback and we were learning how to anesthetize animals. I actually saw a bunch of it on my trip so it was a nice review. I need to get back to watching the lectures I missed and will try to update this more regularly.

A lot of stuff is coming up - I need to make a poster for my research by the end of the month and exams will start soon and then I need to review my presentation from last year to present again in mid-October. I volunteered to help in the anesthesia lab on Thursday to hopefully anesthetize the dog and scrub in (I hope I get to do something because it looked boring from what I saw today) on a spay/neuter. It should be good practice for later this semester.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey, Great Blog...I think I read the whole thing in one sitting. I just had a question. I will be starting veterinary school out of the country, and in order to pay for it I have to do a dual program. Therefore, I will be doing an MBA/DVM dual program and I am quite worried. I started the MBA program a month ago and it definitely eats 15-20 hours of week, plus I need to maintain a 3.0 to stay in the program and keep my financial aid. This is an obvious concern given the fact that vet school is my priority and the mba program is just a means to an end. Can you give me some feedback on this. Is this going to be a possible feat? Thanks! Keep blogging!

Ratboy said...

Sorry for the slow response. I've become very good at opening emails and forgetting about them.

My short answer would be that it is possible, but it will definitely be difficult. I know people that do dual degrees (PhD/Master's) while in vet school. Can you spread out the MBA classes? Because if you only took 1 MBA class each semester with vet school classes and then maybe 2 during the summer, it may decrease the time commitment. It would also help if you could push them off till you were in clinics as you may have more time. I will say that you may have a bigger challenge with the MBA as I suspect there will be very little overlap between it and vet school.

There are a lot of variables...I know vet schools vary on difficulty/grading and I have no idea what they are like outside of the US, besides Ross. You're obviously a good student to get accepted in the program, but it also depends on your time management and study skills.

I know that was really vague, but I hope it helps somewhat. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Unknown said...

Hey, I’m the one who asked you the question regarding my MBA/DVM situation, which you responded to, and I, in turn, responded again. However, I don't believe that it made it you through my gmail account. Would you be kind enough to provide an email address where you can be reached? My response back to you is a tad bit too long for the blog posts. By the way, I truly appreciate all your help in this matter, I know you're very busy and I can't thank you enough!

Ratboy said...

Email me at stateboy4444@yahoo.com with more questions