Day 1 of Vet School: Orientation

I learned while on the bus back to school today after our ropes/challenge course that apparently no one slept well last night. Needless to say, as a class, we were all a bit nervous and apprehensive about what lies ahead.

The dean of the vet school spoke first, and he was very clear that lots of hard work lies ahead of us. He reiterated what we have all already heard-- that we will all feel under pressure. That the curriculum is 'rigorous.' However, he did assure us that there is plenty of support and encouraged us to seek help as soon as we need it.

I think it is safe to say that most of us feel like we are about to start veterinary boot camp. The next 10 weeks are considered among the hardest, if not the hardest, of the entire program. At least 10 weeks is not a long time. I think I can get through just about anything for 10 weeks (as I proved to myself this summer). But my goal is not just to get through it but to enjoy it as much as possible.

The most interesting part of the message from the dean and other professors was their attempt to impart to us some idea of the awesome amount of responsibility that we will all take on in two and half years when we enter clinics and then again on an even greater level when we graduate.

The head emergency and critical care veterinarian admitted that he often sees cases that he isn't sure how to handle. That making decisions based on limited knowledge, impressions and best guesses goes with the territory of being a doctor.

They really emphasized that as veterinarians we will have to make decisions even when we don't have complete information or sufficient knowledge, and that there won't be anyone coming behind us to check on how we did.

I think this is the biggest leap in mentality for me. As a technician I occasionally diagnosed cases (especially anything that required bloodwork, from parasites to IMHA-- immune mediated hemolytic anemia via cold agglutination with saline) but in general I just followed orders. I had to be able to perform a decent physical exam, detect relatively high grade heart murmurs (3/6 and higher reliably) and auscult lungs, but all the real responsibility and decsion making rested with the doctor on duty. I might have been the proverbial 'doctor's eyes and ears' when it came to assessing changes in patient condition, but I didn't have to identify the problem or decide on a course of treatment.

The piece of advice that we got from the emergency and critical care chief was to not let our anxiety show (Dr. Pull-My-Leg/Dr. Joker gave me similar advice on starting vet school-- she said it is important to learn to hide one's anxiety as that is part of being a good doctor because it isn't appropriate to show anxiety or panic in front of clients). The emergency veterinarian at school said that since everyone looks to the veterinarian for guidance-- from the technicians to the clients (and in his case the veterinary students that he is supervising too!), that it is important to realize that your conduct sets the tone for others' interactions. Appearing confident is important because it keeps everyone calm. Panicking will cause everyone else to panic.

So one of my tasks over the next several years is to learn to hide my panic, to fake confidence without being arrogant, or at least to appear calm in the face of utter chaos or crisis. Especially since someday, potentially, others will be looking to me for the answers.