Hi Everyone!
Myself and my fellow classmates are in the last stretch; after this month, we will be starting final year rotations and in a year’s time, graduating from vet school!
To prepare us for our clinical rotations and life as new graduates, this month of May (also known as Final Year Prep, or FYP) is filled with helpful and informative lectures, tutorials and in person practicals. I am currently in my second week of FYP, and I can say that this part of the curriculum has been extremely useful so far in terms of helping me recall things that we have learnt over the past few years, as well as teaching me about life outside of vet school. A few of the lectures that have stood out to me so far have been from the veterinary defence society (teaching us about what they do and involvement in the veterinary world), as well as a mini conference day covering the topic of euthanasia. The latter in particular was extremely eye opening, with talks from our own professors, external vets and pet owners on the euthanasia process in different species, and the support that can be offered throughout this difficult time.
Another aspect of FYP is taking our OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) at the end of this month. This exam is aimed at assessing the competency of the clinical skills that we have gained mainly over the past few years, both in school as well as on clinical EMS (Extra Mural Studies). It is quite a big exam covering a range of topics, including prescribing medications, diagnostic imaging, basic surgery skills, farm animal, equine, emergency & critical care, basic medicine skills and clinical pathology. There are 40 scenarios and skills covering these topics that we have to practise, such as suture placement, canine jugular blood sampling, small animal CPR, anaesthesia machine check, etc. Although it is a large exam with many different skills to revise, it will be extremely helpful come final year rotations when I am able to perform many of the necessary clinical skills correctly and with more confidence.
