Wednesday, August 7, 2013

End of 2nd year, and the Smith-Kilborne FAD program!

Well, it's been about 60 solid years since I last posted a blog update. I won't apologize, because (like always) life has been all over the shop in its usual array of wonders and challenges. I started and finished my spring term of school (oops, it really has been quite a long time!), which went well. I enjoyed last term a lot more, because we really got into some good satisfying clinical courses. I loved surgery and anesthesia the most, but I also really enjoyed ethics. I wish public health could have been more substantive, given that it's one of my passions. I presented a lunch talk called Pit Bulls and Breed Specific Legislation: Practical Solutions for a People Problem to my school in April, and it was an incredible experience. It was very well-received and well-attended, much to my poor nervous tummy's chagrin. As soon as I settled into it, it was a phenomenal opportunity for me to be able to speak about something I am incredibly passionate about. My ethics professor even offered extra credit to any of my classmates who attended and then wrote about it afterwards! I made the Dean's List again this past term, and also received a scholarship for this coming year at the annual awards ceremony. Unfortunately, I had to miss the actual ceremony for a pretty cool reason- I attended the Smith-Kilborne Foreign Animal Disease Program in New York in May! 

At the end of May, I left Corvallis to drive to Portland at 3AM for my 6AM flight to Chicago through to Syracuse. I arrived tired but excited and met the rest of the group of second year vet students representing each vet school in the States (and one each from Canada and Mexico!). What an incredible group of brilliant minds! I loved meeting all of these diverse folks with a mutual appetite for public health. At a fancy welcome dinner on the first night, we had a speech from Alfonso Torres, a most brilliant yet humble man who also happens to have been the Chief Veterinary Officer of the United States. He discussed why the program came to be named Smith-Kilborne, after Theobald Smith, MD (epidemiologist and pathologist), and F.L. Kilborne, DVM. Their research together resulted in the first established link between vectors (ticks) and disease in both humans and animals in 1893. This was the first account of a zoonotic disease (one that is transmitted to humans by other animals), and because they were a physician and a veterinarian working together, they were a shining example of the One Health Initiative, which is near and dear to my heart. 

http://www.onehealthinitiative.com

We spent 3 days at Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine learning from the top experts internationally in areas such as Foot and Mouth Disease, Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs, which include diseases such as "mad cow"), High-Pathogenicity Avian Influenza ("bird flu"), vector-borne diseases, zoonoses, outbreak investigations, wildlife disease control, international veterinary medicine, and myriad other aspects of public health. We worked in groups most of the time and had a ton of practice presenting information to a variety of audiences that we would be expected to address as veterinarians working in public health. These ranged from colleagues and academics to the general public in a (hilarious) talk show format. 

As veterinarians, we will be expected to be knowledgeable about a multitude of different diseases that affect humans; indeed, vets are at the forefront of research and investigations into many of the most pressing emerging diseases making front page news today. With around 70% of newly emerging diseases suspected to have non-human animal origins, it's never been more important for vets to take an active role in protecting the health and welfare of both animals and humans. After completing the coursework at Cornell, our group traveled by bus for 7 hours to Mystic, Connecticut, a charming little coastal town on the East coast. This would be our home base from which we would travel to the Plum Island Animal Disease Centre. I was so incredibly excited for this opportunity, which few people ever get to have. PIADC is run by the United States Department of Homeland Security, and to be honest, I signed a non-disclosure agreement prior to my time there so won't talk about specific details a whole lot. 

Nonetheless, I will say that we got to experience 2 full days there during which we learned about a number of particularly nasty foreign animal diseases that could potentially devastate our food supply. One of the primary objectives of the centre is to train veterinarians to be Foreign Animal Disease Diagnosticians (FADDs). The FADD course is an intensive 2 week training session which confers the aforementioned title at the end for qualified vets. This means that if other vets in practice around the country come upon a suspicious case (for examples, vesicles in a pig or a cow), the nearest FADD can swoop in and take the required samples for testing, set up appropriate quarantine procedures as necessary, etc. Obviously, the Plum Island facility is heavily bio-secure, so we had to engage in the hilariously awkward group showering procedures in order to get in and out of the "dirtiest" areas. It was an absolutely incredible experience, and one for which I am so grateful. I have to thank the USDA/APHIS for fully sponsoring my attendance, as well my school for selecting me to represent Oregon State College of Veterinary Medicine. A very special shout out goes to my amazing professors, who graciously allowed me to miss 9 (!!!!) days of class and labs in the final weeks of term, without penalty. I was even allowed to reschedule two final exams! I really feel like I am being supported through my schooling by the most amazing group of caring, invested people.

After arriving back in Corvallis from New York, I was glowing with happiness and took my federally-mandated 5 day quarantine from ruminants, pigs, poultry, and pet birds like a champ. That happy glow was suspended temporarily in order to write two exams the morning after my arrival, jet-lagged and newly stricken by a nasty cold. I have to say though, I couldn't help but feel a little triumphant when I scored top marks on my public health final...that was kind of a proud, but not-unexpected moment given my complete and total immersion in the topic for the past week and a half. I got through the rest of my finals, as well. It was stressful to not only study hard as usual, but also to catch up on all the examinable material I had missed. Still, this most incredible experience was one that I'll always feel very grateful and honoured to have had! 

I will be presenting to my student body and faculty in October about my time at the Program, and I am pretty thrilled to be able to unleash my (not-so) inner public health nerd on my audience. It's very likely that some local public health professionals will be in attendance, including the Oregon state veterinarian. Exciting stuff! In order to avoid creating some sort of novel, I will return at a later point to blog about my summer experiences so far *after* finishing up the term. Lots more adventures ahead! Happy summer, everyone! 




Thursday, April 4, 2013

Stuff and things

Well hello there, bloggy folks. Here's a quickie on a Wednesday night to quench your thirst for Caitlin blog updates, or as I like to call them, "semi-annual self-soothing mental hostage negotiations". That is to say, I often post when I should be doing something more important, but have somehow worked myself into a mental frenzy for one reason or another and require some form of healthful outlet in order to talk myself down. But I digress. "How is vet school?", you must be wondering. "How did her exams go?" "What music is she listening to right now?" and most importantly, "DID she finally get that haircut she so desperately needed?!"

Well panic no more, friends. The answers, in no particular order, are "fine, The Cinematic Orchestra, yes, and busy". In all honesty, I feel that this pretty much covers last term in its entirety. The point is, it's done- I am now 2/3 of the way finished 2nd year and have just been thrust (rather unceremoniously, complete with a wicked laryngitis) into my third term. My courses are Anesthesia, General Medicine, Surgery, Public Health, Epidemiology, Toxicology, and Ethics. All in all, a pretty awesome selection of courses! Lots of good, solid, exciting clinical stuff, just in time for a busy summer packed with more of the same. Also, today I picked a beautiful pink flower to wear in my hair- my first of the season. I'm a pretty lucky woman. :)

Aaaand I'm out. Told you it would be short! Lots of love from spring blooming, sunshine-y warm Corvallis. xoxo


Monday, February 4, 2013

Procrastiblogging

OK friends, step down off those ledges: It's time for an update. Your worlds can resume turning, etc.

I'm a month into school now. Where did the time go? No, seriously? I have no idea how 4 weeks have passed so quickly, but evidently they have. I've been busy, busy, busy. Classes are going well, and I'm really enjoying the material this term. I've had two midterms so far, Pharm and Clin Path (which was just today), and both have gone really well. Diagnostic imaging is pretty daunting, but I'm working on feeling more caught up with it this week, before a couple of big scary midterms next week. I've gotta say, sometimes when it's late at night and I'm hunched over my 46 lb textbook and trying bitterly to identify every stupid bump and bone and muscle attachment of the equine distal limb (not to mention all of the zillions of things that go wrong with them), I secretly yearn for the time when a lame horse didn't get dorsomedial palmerolateral oblique x-ray views...it just got the shotgun. It would save me a whole lot of study grief. ;) Haha, just kidding- it's a good thing I love 'em! I had a prof at Murdoch once say that never will you find an animal so incredibly determined to off itself, and I would have to agree there. Still, it's pretty incredible to learn firsthand about the advancements that have been made in the field of veterinary medicine, particularly with our large animal friends.

I've been enjoying the company of Emma's little old Cairn terrier, whose name is Adrian. He's been my little shadow and constant companion for the past month while Ems has been in Cambodia being her usual incredible self. We go for nice long walks and he is my little foot warmer when it's cold at night. I'm going to miss him when Emma takes him home! The idea of adopting my own dog has been more than a passing thought recently, but then I think of the amount of time I'll be away this coming summer, as well as the fact that I'm single now, and I realize that now is probably not the right time. We'll see how that goes- single or not, I've been adapting my whole adult life to having dogs, and I've always managed. I definitely can't see spending any significant period of time without a dog in my life, but I'm going to concede that right now, I have no idea what things will look like 3 hours from now, let alone 3 days or 3 weeks or 3 months, so I'll let the universe give me a little nudge when the time is right.

I've been going to the gym a lot here, and that feels amazing. I'm doing dance classes, and am getting back into belly dancing. There's a restaurant here in town that has hosted a weekly performance night every week for over 20 years! So if anyone even needed yet another reason to visit the bustling metropolis of Corvallis, there you go...you can come watch me on stage shakin' stuff. So exciting! I've also been trying out martial arts classes, because I would like to make that a part of my life again. My perfect recipe for well being has always been the combination of dance and martial arts- both feed different, but equal important, parts of my happiness.

Lately I've been dreaming about spending time in Ireland when I'm done with school. I don't know why, but it feels important to live there for a period of time. That might have something to do with Aidan Turner. While I'm there, I would like to take advantage of this dual citizenship thing and spend some time in England and Scotland, as well. Maybe I should spend some time working in rural practice, simply so I can work with the Cutest Cattle In The World, Highland cattle. Yes, you should probably google Highland cattle immediately. While you're at it, you should probably google Aidan Turner as well. I've got the major travel bug right now, but I'm trying very hard to be present and enjoy vet school. Sometimes that takes gritting my teeth and reminding myself that I signed up for this (says she, who is running on 3 hours of sleep and so very much coffee). That said, sometimes I feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure that this is all real. I am LIVING MY DREAM. I am the luckiest girl.

You're welcome for the most disjointed, uninspired blog post ever! I'm pretty sure this reads like my 13 year-old self's diary. Except without the lovingly-applied scent of Elizabeth Arden's "Sunflowers" perfume, and without the tear-stained pages and declarations that no one understands me. Fine, ok...NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME! *sob*

Aaaand, there it is. :)

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I am back in Corvallis after enjoying a very-much-needed month in Vancouver, being totally loved and just generally immersed in care and support by my family and friends. How very, very lucky I am! I'm grateful to have so many incredible people in my life, and I feel it especially acutely when I am away from them. Home though is in Corvallis for now, and I genuinely feel a warm attachment to my little town. I realized when I was home in Van that I had definitely built a normal little routine for myself here, so (with some mild surprise) I noticed that it was hard to keep up some of the positive habits that I'd established last term to maintain (regain?) my sanity while in school. Still, I managed to do everything from hiking to dancing to beach combing to burlesque, and even got out of town for a bit. I am definitely a mountains-and-oceans kind of girl, so being back in Vancouver felt like being plugged into a charger for a good long while until my batteries were once again humming with energy.

I have so, so much exciting stuff on the horizon. I love my classes so far this term, which include the following:

Systemic Pathology II: We're starting with neuromuscular and CNS pathology, and having Chester (my mystery neuro dog) thankfully triggered a profound interest in neuropathology, which has served me well so far.

Pharmacology II: I got way too excited about a two-hour lecture on cancer drugs yesterday! If I were to pick an internal medicine specialty to study, I actually think it would be oncology, depressing though it may sound.  

Diagnostic Imaging: Pro- learning to interpret radiographs is super exciting! Con- it's heavy on the physics. Enough said.

Clinical Pathology: Love it. That is all. My blood smears leave something to be desired, but I'm working on it! Wait, there's a chance that came out sounding weird. I don't even think I'm going to bother explaining stuff like that anymore- I'm just going to shrug apologetically and say "vet student". Except minus the apology. ;-) 

I found out that I made the Dean's List last term. That felt nice given that at the beginning of the year, there were so many challenges that I wondered if I'd be better off deferring a year. I've pushed through the struggles though, and feel much more hopeful about my time here now. I'm in a different place, and I am a different person- my relationship of 6 years has ended, I no longer have my Chester, and there is a lot of uncertainty in general. Still, I am making a commitment to investing my energy each day in things that are good and healthy and positive. It can be scary not to have any clue of what the future holds, but it's also very exciting. 

I found out last term during finals (after writing my Pharmacology exam, to be exact!) that I was selected as the 2nd year student to represent OSU at the Smith-Kilborne Foreign Animal Disease program in New York in May. I am HUGELY EXCITED! It's a massive honor- the USDA sponsors one student from each veterinary school in the United States to attend, so I'll be spending several days each at both Cornell vet school (!!) and the Plum Island Animal Disease Centre. I will get to nerd out to the max with 27 other (presumably equally nerdy) vet students. Here's some information about it, for anyone who's interested. 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/smith_kilborne/

In addition, I found out over the holidays that I've been accepted for my first choice in RAVS trips this summer. I'll be spending 2 weeks in July in Spirit Lake, North Dakota and Cheyenne River, South Dakota. There, I'll be improving my surgical, anesthesia, and physical exam skills on two separate high-volume clinic projects. RAVS stands for Rural Area Veterinary Services, and is a program run by the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association. It will be an incredible learning experience! I also plan on driving to meet the rest of the team- I have seen so little of the States, I love road trips, and I'd really, really like to drive through Montana and/or Wyoming. I may even see about doing a little camping in Glacier or Yellowstone- we'll see what happens and whether time permits a bit of an adventure! 

Here's some information on RAVS: http://www.ruralareavet.org/

I've also applied to be a team member on our own vet school's "pet" project, which is an annual small and large animal clinic on the island of Ometepe, in Nicaragua. It will take place in early September, and students plan the whole thing throughout the year, leading up to the clinic itself. That would be the icing on the cake for me, but we'll see. It's competitive of course, and there is a selection process involved, so I won't know for a bit whether I've been accepted. I am also looking forward to applying for a CAAT trip or two- I am so grateful that my summer breaks now coincide with the time of year that there are a lot of amazing clinic projects. This is the area of vet med from which I glean immense satisfaction and reward...it's always in the back of my mind when I'm studying, learning, and working. What information will be the most important for me to remember when I'm working in underserved, remote communities? What are the needs of the animals...the people? What sorts of diseases and parasites should I expect? Am I aware of any unique cultural perceptions in animal and human health that might impact the provision of services in these communities? There's so much to know...and so much to look forward to. 

This weekend, I'm volunteering on Saturday with a cat vaccine clinic in Salem. Sunday, I am headed to Eugene to volunteer with Pro-Bone-O for the day. It's nice to be able to do these things before things start getting really crazy with school, though let's be honest, I'll keep doing them even when they do! These are the things that keep me focused, keep me passionate, and keep me in the moment. 

Lots of love to all of you. On my mind, and in my heart. <3