Although it may technically have finished in September with my final deadline, it didn’t feel complete or right to celebrate the end of my MSc intercalation until the final grades were released this month.
With my shoulders a little lighter, I can now look back on the experience with a fondness similar to that which I felt after completing my silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (a similarly exhausting experience) – and although it was definitely a steep learning curve, I’ve come away incredibly grateful for the experience and having learned the value of intercalating.
Lesson #1: you don’t have to be a one trick pony
Now, I’ve spoken before about the plethora of jobs a veterinary graduate can apply themselves to beyond clinical practice. Not only has intercalating made this all the more apparent to me, but it has also expanded my academic experience.
The vet course is very exam-centric (with the occasional directed self-education), and for those like me coming straight from GCSEs and A-levels with no prior undergrad degree, exams are all we’ve ever known. Course work and deadlines are an entirely new kind of process.
To put it in athletic terms, I feel it’s a little like a long-distance runner retraining for sprinting events. I’m used to planning six months ahead and slow-burning my revision in preparation for one big exam, so changing my mindset towards two to three coursework deadlines a month did not come naturally. Despite this, I appreciate the challenge, and it felt good to apply my mind in a different way – like stretching a new muscle.
Lesson #2: comfort zones are there to be defied
Everything I’ve learned and applied myself to over the past few years has been entirely vet related, so, for a while, I felt a bit like a fish out of water. Saying that, why does anybody intercalate, if not for a fresh perspective? I now know more about conservation efforts than I knew there was to know about, including several career routes I never would have even considered beforehand.
Pushing yourself and not getting set in your ways are valuable traits to have as a clinician. You need to be versatile, adaptable and open to new ideas, as well as constantly trying to work on yourself both personally and professionally (no sleeping on the job either, literally or figuratively).
At the start of this course, I’d never written a literature review, a grant proposal or a research paper – to tell you the truth, I’d have had no clue where to even start. The closer I get to graduation the more I worry about all the new challenges that lie ahead, but the past year has really helped my confidence and made those challenges seem less intimidating.
Lesson #3: absence makes the heart grow fonder
If it hadn’t been obvious to me from the beginning, it certainly is now. I really, really, really (am I overdoing it?) cannot wait to be a practising vet.
A short break from the course made me miss everything about it, which affirms that I am:
- a total nerd, and
- have likely been on the right course all along
Intercalating doesn’t have to imply disinterest in whatever medical degree you’re studying – quite the opposite. So, if you’re reading this article trying to decide on whether to intercalate yourself, my advice would be to go for it. Expanding your interests or abilities is never a bad thing.
Many vets return to education several years post-graduation anyway, and intercalating is a really useful way to explore a whole new world of academia in a relatively short space of time.
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