Summer School

So, I'm roughly halfway through summer classes at the moment.  Right now, we're doing our surgery class which can be really tedious, but also interesting at times since we get to participate in real surgeries.  Last week we had our first surgery lab, and I finally got to put an IV catheter into a REAL dog!  up to that point, we'd only been using models and fake veins, so to actually stick it into a patient was rewarding.  Amazingly, I hit the vein and got blood on my very first try, which even the vet students in my group were amazed at (I felt like I earned some of their respect at that moment!) because they hadn't ever gotten the catheter in at the first try.  Unfortunately, the dog I was working with had very thick skin, and I kinked the catheter right after I almost got it in all the way ready for taping. :(  Thankfully the dog was medicated and somewhat sedated, so she didn't feel it.  But I was happy that I hit the vein on the first try, which is very difficult to do even for some experienced technicians.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I will actually get it in successfully, tape it onto the leg, and maybe even intubate (insert the breathing tube for anesthesia) the dog.  It's one thing to do it on a model: it's another to do it on a living, breathing animal where the anatomy doesn't always quite match the model.

On another note, I've already registered for fall classes.  This will be my lightest regular semester at only 12 hours.  But these aren't normal classes: these 'classes' are clinical rotations!  Except for one class (the class that will help me take the national board exam for technicians), every class is mostly practical clinical stuff.  I'm nervous but excited because these classes will probably provide the most learning experience yet.  Fall is also when I'll be doing my externship, which I'm excited about because that means I get to go home for 4 weeks!  :)

So I've registered for my final fall semester of college and at MSU, and I'm almost one semester closer to graduation.  Wow.  I can't really even remember where I was last year, and even when I think back to orientation, it's hard to imagine that day!  It was such a blur, so overwhelming, yet incredibly exciting.  What will the next few months hold?  I don't know, but I almost can't wait!