Y2S2 Week 10: Infectious Disease Final and Acupuncture Exams!
The final week of our infectious disease block was less typical than most of our other weeks. We started the week off with a quiz then I met up with some of my classmates who are also in the acupuncture class, and we practiced identifying some points on a horse. The rest of the afternoon was spent in SAVMA Symposium meetings. That evening, I had the opportunity to talk to the Knight’s Landing Class about the vet school application process. The application process can be daunting at times and I remember being in their shoes a few short years ago. Many of the students had great questions and it is always a blast to chat with them and make the application process less intimidating. The rest of the week was blocked off so that we could prepare for the upcoming comprehensive infectious disease final. This exam covered all the material from the past 8 weeks so having some designated time reserved for review was greatly appreciated!
Tuesday night we had another Healer’s Art Class, and this session was focused on the “art of medicine”. During our session we discussed how sometimes things happen that we simply cannot explain, and we must learn how to let go and be ok with that. It was interesting to listen to the experiences of others and hear how they process events when there does not seem to be a reason for their occurrence. I believe that there is so much more to medicine than what we understand from a scientific aspect and there will always be things we cannot explain which is where faith comes into play.
Wednesday and Thursday included a lot of study time with the addition of some hot Pilates, swimming, and running. Churro also got a lot of walks and playtime on the field. There was also a mix of acupuncture studying since that exam was the weekend right after the infectious disease final.
After a quick whirl around the block on Friday morning, we took our infectious disease final exam. This exam was a nice way to review everything that we had learned over the past two months, and it is always amazing to look back and see just how much new information we have acquired!
After taking Churro for a quick walk around the block I met up with Madeline who had graciously blocked off her whole afternoon to help Jenn and I prepare for the upcoming acupuncture final exams. I brought Churro to her clinic, and we went over all the acupuncture points as well as tons of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine theory. She spent countless hours patiently reviewing material with us and making sure that we were ready for the weekend ahead. This was completely unexpected and done out of the kindness of her heart and desire to help us succeed.
As a little background to the big build-up of exams, last year I had decided that it would be a good idea to take the Chi University mixed animal acupuncture course which included a 9-month period of online lectures, in-person weekend lab sessions, and three final exams (two practical and a 200-question written exam). I also convinced Jenn to join in the fun and take the course with me.
Going into this adventure I knew that the week of the final exam was going to fall the weekend after the infamous infectious disease final and then be followed by the 2025 SAVMA Symposium which was a project that I had also been planning for the past 15 months. That being said, the grind was not surprising, and I had absolutely no one to blame but myself for the chaos that was going on during that week. Luckily, I have an incredible support system, and everything went as smoothly as possible!
Saturday was a review day at Dr. Lauper's ranch that included a full point recap for equine and canine along with multiple practice tests. This was a great way to cement some of the information that Madeline had gone over with Jenn and I the night before as well as refresh my brain with the equine points. My species of interest are companion animals, but I do love horses and think that they are absolutely beautiful animals, so I wanted to take the mixed animal acupuncture course. That being said, my equine anatomy is not as strong as my companion animal knowledge, so this course was a great way to challenge myself and get outside of my comfort zone.
On Sunday we were given our exam times, and I was scheduled to take the canine exam before the equine exam which was a great confidence booster. The practical exams are 15 minutes long, but they are broken into a 5 min session where you are handed the list of points and have time to think / make notes and then 10 minutes to point out the points and talk through their anatomical locations. I was able to score a 10/10 on the canine practical and my pup, Churro, was the test subject. He had come to all the lab sessions so by the time test day came around, everyone was used to practicing on him and he was used to being the star of the activity. The next part of the morning involved the equine point practical. The exam went well, and I ended with a 9.5/10! Dr. Koh and Dr. Johnson did a wonderful job teaching the points and they also made the examination process as stress-free as possible. The rest of the afternoon involved some review with Dr. Koh for the upcoming written test. Monday morning, we had our comprehensive written exam and thanks to Madeline, and the review sessions, I passed!
Another special thing about this weekend was that Jenn also passed all her exams for the acupuncture class. I have known Jenn on multiple levels starting my first year of undergrad when I was in her vet clinic enterprise class. I then became her designated TA, running buddy, and eventually ended up living in her ADU for the remainder of my undergrad career. About a year ago I had convinced her that taking this certification would be a good idea and she somehow believed me and signed up. Flash forward to now and I am happy to say that we are still friends. As a practicing veterinarian and mother of three, it was impressive how she found time to not only take this course but excel!
This blog would not be complete without giving a special shoutout to Madeline for single-handedly breaking down all the material and teaching me in a way that made sense. For those of you that do not know her, she is absolutely brilliant and recently won wholistic practitioner of the year! I cannot tell you how many valuable hours she gave up to help review material and points/anatomy with me. We have similar learning styles which is extremely helpful when it comes time to cram information. Her patience and kindness definitely contributed to my success in the course, and I am so fortunate to be able to call her my best buddy.
The ability to take an acupuncture certification while being in veterinary school is such a unique opportunity. I came into vet school without almost no knowledge of integrative veterinary medicine and over the past two years I have learned so much about this amazing field and have met incredible people. I am so fortunate to have such a supportive community and am excited to continue this journey!
I am also so incredibly proud of all my classmates for stepping out of their comfort zones and seeking additional training to benefit the lives of their patients! It takes a level of humility to realize that there is more to medicine than what we are taught in school and it was a privilege to broaden my own perspective and learn alongside all of them.
Quote of the week: "Just stick a needle in the son of a gun" -Dr. Renea Johnson
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