Vet Times

Tag: veterinary school

  • Advice for first year vets beginning university in a pandemic

    Advice for first year vets beginning university in a pandemic

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    With first year on the horizon in the midst of a world that is far from the normal we knew, some newbie vets are bound to be feeling nervous at the prospect of a fresher’s year like no other. Having spoken to a number of students due to begin their vet journeys later this month,…

  • The person behind the grades

    The person behind the grades

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    This year has thrown a lot of annual landmarks into disarray, and A-levels were no exception; my heart went out to all the students this month whose results days did not go entirely to planned. It has been three years since I went, heart in mouth, to receive my own dreaded envelope. Even when I’d…

  • Chasing waterfalls

    Chasing waterfalls

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    Sticking to what you’re used to is both safe and comfortable; getting to where I am now was neither of those things. All through secondary school, people told me trying to become a vet was too much effort – that if I was having to try as hard as I was, then maybe it wasn’t…

  • Practice in practices makes perfect, in practice…

    Practice in practices makes perfect, in practice…

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    In a world currently filled with sacrifice and compromise, the cancellation of a week’s EMS over the Easter holidays did not, at first glance, seem like a hardship. Of course I had been looking forward to my first ever farm-practice placement – especially as only a week or so before I had tried my hand…

  • Being powerful during a crisis, pt 4

    Being powerful during a crisis, pt 4

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    4: Call out the greatness All great leadership begins with self-leadership – and now is a prime time for leaders at every level to elevate their thinking and ground themselves in the values that define the leader they aspire to be. This could be compassionate, calm, courageous… what words embody your ideal leader? Reflection First, stop and reflect.…

  • What’s the worst that could happen?

    What’s the worst that could happen?

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    A few years ago, I noticed my family cat had a lump on her neck that seemed to be getting larger. We had it removed by the local vet who told us it was almost certainly benign, and that sending it off for testing would be overly expensive and potentially unhelpful, depending on the results.…

  • No strings on me

    No strings on me

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    No one likes change – it’s a scary thing. And there’s perhaps nothing scarier than spending five long years on the course of your childhood dreams, graduating and emerging into general practice, only to find that this might not be for you after all. Obviously, I’m not speaking from personal experience, but, according to a…

  • Who runs the world?

    Who runs the world?

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    Toward the end of my first year at university, a friend of mine stumbled upon a funny online student-made list of “things NOT to expect at vet school”. From memory, I think it included things we all related to such as Christmas holidays (curse you, exams), summer holidays (why, EMS, why?) and “a coolness status…

  • Hitting pause

    Hitting pause

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    I’ve known for a long time I wanted to be a vet. This has meant that, since a very early age, a lot of my big decisions were pre-decided; GCSE and A-level options, university course, etc. My choice in universities was narrowed down to a one-digit figure before I’d gone to my first open day…

  • Mid-sessionals – the dos and don’ts

    Mid-sessionals – the dos and don’ts

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    Right now, a lot of vet students are heading towards their first mid-sessional exams – the first university level exams the majority of them will ever have experienced. The rest of us have mid-sessionals, too, off course, and while we no longer have the luxury of ignorance and the bliss it comes with, these are…