#NAVLE prep

[doodlehorseafternoon]

VetPrep questions be like: You perform a CSF tap on a cow with suspected listeriosis. What is the cytology?

And I’m just... When am I going to do a spinal tap on a cow?! There are so many other diagnostics and clinical features we would use before going to a CSF tap?? When is this happening in general practice? 

[singlethread]

Vet med is weird bc I’ll get asked a question and not know it and doubt my entire education and then I’ll get one of my navle prep questions right and feel like a genius

[labvet]

NAVLE in 4 days. I’ve lost the will to study, but I’m not doing fantastic on my study prep. Please send help

[thenorthernvet-blog]

Poll

Poll: Gaging interest on vet related videos for diseases, species specific stuff, etc. 

Planning some (editing right now) videos to start a YouTube channel. Wanted to know what content is needed in the vet world currently! 

[vulnera-sanentura]

Since the testing window has been expanded to September 1-December 31, I’m considering taking the NAVLE early, in September, since I’m doing my NAVLE prep course right now.

Not sure if this makes me a crazy person or not.

[dogtornugget]

Nov 21, 2019

12 days until NAVLE

Last night I completed the practice question section of VetPrep. I have 89 questions left in the timed exam section, so I’m almost 100% done with VetPrep. It’s wild to think how long I’ve been studying for this exam and how close it is. Yet it also seems kind of far. I’m sick of studying lol.

Now I’m going through some of my Pile of Done questions and what’s the craziest to me is a lot of the questions that I see and answer correctly I actually seem to know/understand why. I seem to know the other info related to it. I am starting to feel like I have learned and I do know things. I still often feel like I know nothing, but there’s just so much to know and learn in this field.

If you’re reading this and you’re studying for what seems like neverending exams, keep it up; you got this more than you think you do

[soontobedvm]

What I Learned While Studying For my National Veterinary Board Exam (NAVLE):

-> Apparently chickens can get a disease called Egg Drop Syndrome (not to be confused with egg drop soup).

-> The amount of things that causes swine diarrhea are TOO DANG MANY.

-> Maple Syrup Urine Disease is a real thing and I’ve heard the urine does not taste as good as it sounds. 

-> Apparently camels can get whipworms!

-> You are not supposed to fast ferrets for over 6 hours or they will be irritated. Am I a ferret?

-> There will be 360 questions... but I don’t know 360 things! 

-> Fish can something called Hole in the Head disease. Which is not to be confused with Airhead disease in humans :p 

-> Rabbits have 2 uterine horns and not one cervix but TWO cervices.

-> Panic over an exam that will determine whether I will be a veterinarian or not is real, and I wish it would go away.  

-> If horses could not have legs, I would get more questions right.

-> Trying to cram 4 years worth of information into my brain is IMPOSSIBLE! There are so many diseases in so many species to know... I only hope the information that hasn’t leaked out of my ears yet will allow me to pass this monster of an exam. 

Less than 2 weeks until Doomsday, wish me luck!

[mylifeasavetstudent]

So VetPrep NAVLE questions of the day are really hard when you haven't started your first semester of vet school yet.

[hms-chill]

The Long Way

A nice fun Liam/Spencer fic, because these boys deserve the world.

Summary: (Alternately titled “SOMEONE GIVE LIAM A HUG” or “Stronk Farm Boyfriends”)Liam’s just finishing up vet school, and he’s a month shy of achieving the thing he’s been working for since he was a kid. When he gets called out to a farm to witness a calf birth and notices something wrong, under-researched, and curable, it’s the perfect thing to treat and document so he can write a paper that will jump-start his career. Of course, the fact that the calf is owned by a cute dairy farmer doesn’t hurt, either.

Chapter one // Chapter two // On AO3

Chapter 3

The next morning, Spencer wakes up to a note telling him that the cows have been fed, milked, loved, and let out to pasture, and that Liam had cleaned the milking parlor as well as he could before he had to leave, but that someone else should probably look it over and make sure he did it well enough. It also tells him that he has a temperature and is supposed to stay in bed and ask his parents to come look after him and supervise things today, and it promises that Liam will come by that night with soup, medicine, and popcorn if Spencer's feeling up to it. He texts Liam his thanks, and Liam responds with a picture of a dog he's looking after and a reminder to stay in bed and let himself be taken care of. It's not something Spencer's particularly good at, but he obeys Liam's orders, letting his parents come out to run the farm for the day while he naps and does some work from bed.

That night, Liam arrives with a container of frozen soup and a bag full of painkillers, Tylenol, and other medicine cabinet staples. He makes Spencer sit and watch while he heats up soup on the stove, putting another container in the freezer before Spencer can argue. He refuses to listen when Spencer says he can restock his own medicine cabinet, or when Spencer tries to tell him to study for the NAVLE while he stirs the soup. At this point, it's only a week or two away, and Spencer's seen the test prep books and the notes scattered around the back of video calls and in his car. He's gotten glimpses of how hard Liam's working, but tonight, Liam refuses to study, instead getting Spencer settled on the couch, then coming over with bowls of soup and settling on the opposite end, which is apparently enough space between them that he doesn't have to worry about getting sick. He insists Spencer pick a movie for them to watch, something lighthearted that he's seen before, and when it turns out Liam's never seen Treasure Planet, Spencer pulls that up for them to watch with their soup. Even as he finishes dinner and feels the tiredness of being sick start to set in, he keeps his eyes open, fighting against yawns and drooping eyelids to watch Liam react to Jim's adventures.

Spencer's exhaustion is just starting to win against his desire to watch Liam finish the movie when he notices what might be tears on Liam's cheeks. That wakes him up enough to turn back to the TV, and he sees Jim and Long John Silver talking. He forces himself awake enough to pay attention, and it's a moment he always loved as a kid. He can quote it word for word, and for years, he had a poster that said "you've got the makings of greatness in you" on his wall. It's the first time in the movie when Jim's felt good at what he does, and maybe the first time in years he's been told he's not just a mess, and Spencer remembers always being happy to see him get a hug. His parents used to hug him at this point, and tell him they loved him. And suddenly, a question about Liam's parents surfaces from the depths of his sleepy mind.

He's not awake enough to formulate it, or to read Liam's expression enough to know if he can ask. He's not sure if he's healthy enough to be allowed to do anything about Liam's tears. But just sitting there feels wrong, too. Slowly, he reaches his foot across the couch to rest it on Liam's. Liam doesn't react, but he doesn't move away, either. Spencer falls asleep with his foot on Liam's, trying to think of a reason for him to cry or a way to ask about it.

--

Liam had meant to turn the movie off and study when Spencer fell asleep, but somehow, he can't stop watching. Knowing it was one of Spencer's favorite movies from when he was a kid probably doesn't hurt; he can tell himself he's just watching to get to know Spencer better. It's definitely not because he wants to watch Jim achieve his dreams, or to know that he gets to have a home and a family and people who love him even if he's messed up time and time again.

He watches through the end of the movie, and only when the credits are rolling is he able to tear himself away enough to turn it off and gather their dishes. He comes back to the couch to take Spencer to bed but instead finds him just starting to blink awake, pushing himself upright.

"Sorry, I... I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"No, it's alright. You fell right into the trap. The movie was part of my master plan to make you fall asleep early," Liam says, and Spencer smiles though a yawn.

"Did you like it?"

"I did. Now, come on, let's get you to bed."

"What time is it?"

"Bedtime, at least for people with fevers. If you sleep like you have been, you're going to take longer to get better."

"But I wanted to quiz you," Spencer says. His voice is still thick with sleep, and he yawns massively before he can continue, rubbing at his eyes. His hair sticks up in the back, and somewhere, even if he knows he shouldn't, Liam finds it adorable. "I don't want to get you sick, but you can send me your quizlet or your study guide or something and I can quiz you from my laptop. I... if you're going to help me, I want to help you study, and I'm not getting off this couch until you let me."

"Nope, come on," Liam says. He's started trying to pull Spencer up, but Spencer refuses to budge, grabbing on to the back of the couch.

"No! Let me--" he's cut off by a cough, one that has Liam frowning and resting a hand on his forehead.

"If I let you quiz me once, you'll go to bed after?" He asks, and Spencer nods. Liam seems to weigh his options for a moment, then sighs. "Alright. I'll go get my stuff, and if you're awake when I get back from the car, you can quiz me before you go to bed. I don't know what kind of weird deal we just made, but if it'll get you to look after yourself, I'll do it."

"You fell... right into my trap. My master plan to make you study," Spencer says, yawning in the middle of it. Liam rolls his eyes and goes to get his stuff, and he comes back to find Spencer clearly fighting to stay awake. He hands Spencer half his flashcards over the back of the couch, slipping the rest into his bag as he comes to sit down. Spencer doesn't notice, just starts to quiz him, stumbling over the Latin and yawning his way through the longer words. Liam just gets through the flashcards as quickly as they can, then gets Spencer up and to bed before settling down outside his room to keep studying until he's too tired to focus, when he gets up, checks on Spencer one last time, and heads out to the barn to sleep in the hay and sawdust with Annie.

He gets the morning chores taken care of the next day before going home to shower and change, and he texts Spencer that he's looked after things. He's at work when he gets a reply, that Spencer's feeling better but still has a fever, so he's resting again that day if Liam wants to come by and share the rest of the soup. So they fall into another pattern and another set of roles in each other's lives, though Liam's soup is replaced with Spencer's mom's cooking before long. They work their way through Spencer's favorite childhood movies, and Liam studies to a soundtrack of Robin Hood and Aladdin and The Fox and the Hound as Spencer's fever goes down and he falls asleep on the couch. When he's feeling well enough to go back to work, Liam thinks that'll be the end of it. After all, he's helped with what Spencer needs, and now that Spencer doesn't need him anymore, he won't be invited back. But that day at lunch, he gets a text inviting him over for dinner and either a night off or a study session, whichever he wants.

The thought of dedicating a Friday night to the NAVLE when it will already be consuming his weekend makes him want to scream, so he takes Spencer up on the option of a night off, and Spencer asks if he knows how to ride a horse. When Liam pulls up to the ranch that night, he finds Spencer standing outside a barn with two of the horses saddled up and a picnic packed in the saddle bags. They mount up, and Spencer leads the way out toward the pastures, where they can greet the cows and the newest addition to the ranch, a donkey Spencer's neighbors hadn't been able to look after anymore who he's agreed to take care of and let their grandkids visit. The animals are glad to see them, especially Spencer after he's been gone, but there's something special about the fact that they recognize Liam, too. Once they've loved them, though, Spencer leads them further back into the ranch, to land Liam's never seen that they rent out for boy scout camping and other events in the summer and fall. There's a stream and a fish pond, and when Spencer stops them on its banks and pulls out some of his mom's food, they're surrounded by all the gorgeous beauty of the open country that Liam's missed since his family moved into Austin proper.

Spencer asks him about work, and Liam gets to tell him about dogs and cats and a pigeon that someone had brought in for them to help out. He'd asked to be put on the pigeon case, and they'd had to amputate a toe, but Frank the pigeon is out and thriving on the streets of Austin once again. That makes Spencer laugh, a sound that warms Liam from the inside out, making him relax as the NAVLE drifts further and further from his mind. They finish eating as Spencer starts talking about what they do out here, about weddings and camps they've hosted and how he likes to have at least one day a year where they open it up for hiking and catch and release fishing. He shows Liam where groups will set up tents, and talks about how they've thought about horseback tours if they get more horses, or maybe planting corn or pumpkins for fall, though they've never quite gotten around to doing that early enough. Liam just listens to him talk as they ride, hearing not only the words but the way that Spencer's brain works, the way he bubbles over with ways to make people happy and provide for the farm. He talks about the farmer's market every summer, about loyal customers, a girl who always comes to buy cheese curds with a tote bag that has a cow on it and a mom who's been buying milk from him since she was pregnant and now has a three year old. He talks about the woman who he's had a stall next to for two years, an alpaca farmer who sells fiber and will talk your ear off about spinning or felting and is always liberal with help for people new to the craft. She's got pictures of the alpacas for sale, and Spencer wants to see about doing that with the cows, and that's when Liam can add something useful.

"The shelter I used to work for has a local photographer who comes in and takes pictures for their website; I could get you connected with him for at least a few pointers if nothing else. He volunteered at the shelter to build his portfolio, so I'm not sure what his rates are for pictures, or the commercial licenses or anything like that, but he could be a good place to start. "

"That would be great; thank you. I... I feel like I have so many ideas for this place, though, and it's just finding the time to implement them, you know? Especially since Mom and Dad moved into town, it's... there's just not enough time in the day for everything we wanted to do."

"Well, hey, you can feel free to tell me no, but after this test, I’ll have some time and would love to come out and help if you need it. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but just some manual labor and some basic animal care at least.”

"I'd like that," Spencer says, and his grin is genuine enough to sway any of Liam's fears that he's just doing it to be nice. "I don't know what we could pay you--"

"Pay me in outside time and home cooked meals and I'll be happy. I love places like this, and I really do love farm work. Let me be around the cows and the open land, and really, that's all I need. Well, that and maybe..." he hesitates a bit, but Spencer nods, and Liam says, "if you wouldn't mind having a puppy or a lamb or something out here sometimes? Just for a bit? I… we get orphans at work sometimes, and they always need more places to go. I wouldn’t want to make you do anything, but I could look after them, I just… I can’t have them in my apartment. My landlord won’t let me, and that’s not fair to them, either. I’m not asking you to become a sanctuary or anything, I know you’re a dairy farm, but maybe a rescue petting zoo could help at the farmer’s market or when you have schools come out to visit or something? And then we could take the babies somewhere else when they’re older, but just… they need more care when they’re babies, and a lot of places can’t do that.”

"I think we could make that work," Spencer says. He's got a hand resting on the pommel of his saddle, another scratching at the back of his neck, where he's somehow managed to get a mosquito bite despite being on bed rest all week. He'd complained about it at dinner, and Liam had to bite back a comment about how it might be because he’s so sweet. He can’t say things like that to Spencer, not like he would to Bell or some of his friends. “We could see about getting some calves in a petting zoo, too, and maybe Benjamin the donkey, since he doesn't really have a place to go right now. I don’t really know… you said you tend to get mostly babies?”

“Yeah; there are always orphan lambs and kids-- the goats, not like human children. Goats and sheep tend to have a bunch of babies at a time, so the moms can’t always look after all of them. And they’re not too hard to take care of, and really cute, so they could help draw people in the spring or for letting out day if you put up a petting zoo. And we get kittens; once I get somewhere that’ll let me I could foster them but bring them out if you have people coming, so they could play with and maybe even adopt them. I don’t want to make you look after my orphans or anything, and I swear I’d do the work, but just… there are so many babies who need a place like this, and if I could work and earn a little bit of space to raise them, I’d really appreciate it.”

“I think we could make some room,” Spencer says, grinning. “And it would be nice to have a vet around. I mean, it’s always nice having you around, but in case you didn’t feel like you’d be helpful. I… I'd really like having you out here more. When you weren’t coming out much, it was lonely.”

Liam grins at him, and they continue the tour, Spencer sharing about his plans for the farm and what he wants to do once he can get the funds and the time to do it. He’s one of the most dedicated farmers Liam’s ever seen, and there’s something beautiful about even just the way he moves around the farm. He’s relaxed out here, without the cows and the bills to stress him out, more like the Spencer who fell asleep in Annie's box or who posted selfies with friends on Instagram than the Spencer who's running a massive farm on his own. And all through the rest of the evening, there’s a little part of Liam thinking about spending more time out here, helping Spencer and showing it to Bell and really making it a part of his life. Bell will love it, if they get a chance she'd love coming out here with him and seeing the stream. He could take her swimming here, and even if he just planned on relaxing next to the pool she'd somehow get him into the water too, all playful kisses and enthusiastic love. Maybe Spencer would even come out, and laugh at how much Liam is at her beck and call, or maybe she'd be able to persuade him to get in the water, too, and the three of them would end up soaking wet and laughing.

It feels impossible. He's only here now because he's useful; Spencer will get sick of him before too long, and he’ll have to go back to spending most of his time at a crappy apartment in the city while he saves up for a spot he and Bell can call home. But still, at least for a bit, he gets to imagine that he could have a place here, and that feels special. Even as they finish their ride and he goes home to a pot of ramen and a late-night study session, his thoughts stray back outside Austin’s city limits, where he knows the cows are bedding down and the land behind the farm stretches for miles. When he finally drags himself to bed, he has just enough time to think about a little pen on that farm for animals he can foster, and ways Bell could help him, before he closes his eyes and is out like a light.

On AO3

You know that moment in Pride and Prejudice where Austen shows us/Elizabeth how much Darcy loves Pemberly as a way to show that he's a good dude? All I can say about this chapter is that the nature of humanity is that every now and then someone accidentally rewrites that scene.

--

Want to support the Hannah Makes Art fund? You can tip me in ko-fi here!

[singlethread]

Just spent five hundred dollars 😳😳😳

[missnoodliness]

Pathology Rotation

This is a weird rotation in many regards. I am very skeptical by nature and was very unsure that I would like this rotation. My hours were typically within the 8-5 range which made me and Coriander very happy.

Most days I spent my mornings doing clinical pathology

I made blood smears, cytology preps of tumors, cytology prep of cavitary fluids, doing manual white blood cell differential counts which is great except for when it isn’t, made urine preparations for sediment analysis. The list goes on.

We also did a lot of labwork analysis. This meant we pooled data from a patient’s CBC, Chemistry, VBG, urinalysis +/- coags +/- extra testing and tried to explain every minor elevation or decrease. I spent a lot of time on eClinpath trying to remember how living beings function on a biochemical level. We had these cases on an almost daily basis with in depth assignments that we then had to present to our classmates the following day, plus clinical skills competencies we have to pass to graduate, plus we would have slides assigned to be completed on our own time for practice so that we could talk about them as a group. We also had a midterm exam and a final exam. These were each a very in-depth case which took me a considerable amount of time and whose write-ups totaled 9 pages each. This portion of the rotation made me feel like I was swamped.

In the afternoons, we drove to our diagnostic laboratory and biosecure facility for necropsy. I enjoyed this part of my rotation more than I thought I would. The staff and faculty were extremely relaxed and welcoming. I did not feel out of place here. I of course called dibs on any non-traditional companion animals and my classmates were more than happy to oblige me. It also gave me a chance to really shine in rounds because hardly any of my classmates know differentials for these critters.

My family was surprised that this rotation did not bother me, but I think the veterinary community has a very different view on death than the average person. Being surrounded by death all day was a non-factor for me (aside from the smell) and it felt more like being an investigator than anything else.

Most of our caseload was comprised of cats, dogs, and cows, but there was so much more:

A Russian domesticated fox – primary pancreatic carcinoma with serosal, hepatic, and pulmonary metastasis

Bison bull calf with heavy Trichuris parasitism and BVDV

Hedgehog with Wobbler’s Syndrome – unknown cause but cool to look at on histopathology

A rabbit with severe dehydration

A wallaby joey with e.coli related septicemia

A macaw with an unknown diagnosis

A ball python with Spider Wobble

A Colobus with uterine adenocarcinoma

A mouse from our research lab on campus with mammary carcinoma

We had two assignments for this portion of the rotation related to necropsy sampling for a given case (I chose a meat rabbit case) and a diagnostic toxicology case. What I now know is that Zinc Phosphide is scary and humans need to be more careful about how we bait ‘pest’ species. A lot of these toxins can end up in our wild birds.

Aside from being constantly swamped with work, this was good information for my upcoming NAVLE which I take 12/9. The anxiety is setting in and it feels as though there is absolutely no way in the world I will be prepared for it. I am tossing around the idea of getting a piercing or tattoo following it to reward myself.

On a brighter note, my next rotation is a small animal externship where I take Coriander for his veterinary care. They are a very dedicated group of vet professionals that I am excited to work with. Bring on the critters!

[thenorthernvet-blog]

Bought a practice exam today. Pretending its like the real thing (except I have water in front of me and the dogs come for cuddles). 

I will be proud no matter the outcome. As well as have a list of things to study.

[a-timey-wimey-leaf-on-the-wind]

NAVLE PREP

We've been having NAVLE talks from different prep companies. Does anyone have opinions on who has the best preparation tools? Alternatively, send animal pictures because the stress just got real.

I'll start:

[drferox]

I'm graduating in a year... I'm consumed with prep of NAVLE and the rotations, which incidentally never let me sleep quite enough to regain sanity. Now, I am beginning to feel the pressure of finding a job. I have an area where I'm going to for 1-2 years. The issue I have is due to the way things are set up there I won't be able to find mentorship for the area I want. Is it more important to search for mentorship as a bright eyed graduate? I'm so concerned I won't get hired.

Good luck with the NAVLE. I understand it can be all consuming. 

Your first job as a new grad will shape you as a veterinarian. It’s important to find a job that will support you, will let you work up cases and have a surgical caseload and not leave you isolated, rather than limit you to only doing vaccination and wellness consults.

You graduate with a hole lot of knowledge, but new grad vets need support somehow if they’re going to not go insane. Another vet in the practice you work at is ideal, but phone contact might do some of the time.

It’s better to have a job to keep your skills fresh than to not have one, but if that job is bad for you don’t be afraid to switch.

New grads I work with start out only doing wellness consults for a few days, just until they get the hand of the computer system and layout of the clinic, alongside routine desexings. Then they get access to progressively more complex cases as soon as possible, with a senior vet hovering outside their door or over their shoulder as required. We’ve always considered new grads to be an investment. I would recommend considering your first job as an investment too, because you can expect to do a huge amount of learning in the first six months.

[soontobedvm]

150+ hours, a few mini melt-downs, 4,937 questions, and about a bathtub full of strong coffee later... 

My question bank (I used VetPrep) to study for my national veterinary board exam (NAVLE) that will determine whether I will be a vet or not is complete! 

Now all I need to do is to keep all this information that is sloshing in my head from falling out until my exam next week. 

Wish me luck! 

[ovc-bulletin]

CVSA - Student Events of the Week

Monday, Jan 9th 12:30 (Rm 1714) - Vet Prep - NAVLE Prep Cookie Lunch Talk Cookie lunch talk hosted by the Business club and VetPrep. This lunch talk will answer questions about the NAVLE and how to prepare for it.

Wednesday, Jan 11th 12:30 (Rm 1714) - Peer Helpers Wellness Wednesday Pizza Lunch Talk Positive Body Image and Coping Strategies,  The National Eating Disorder Information Centre

Thursday, Jan 12th 12:30 (Back of the Cafeteria by the piano) - Peer Helpers January Jam Session! Open to everyone. Bring instruments and voices!

Friday, Jan 13th 12:30 (Rm 1714) - SCACVIM - Melanoma lunch talk (Sponsored by Merial) Case-based melanoma lunch talk