What I learned from my bacteriology labs

There are three mains things I learned from my bacteriology labs:

1.  Growing pure cultures of bacteria is a pain.  It takes a long time and it can be very finicky.
2.  Growing bacterial cultures smell.  A lot.
3.  When trying to identify an unknown bacteria, even if you follow all the steps right, you can still get the answer wrong.

Two weeks ago we had a series of 4 bacteriology labs.  The theme running through the 4 labs was to identify unknown bacteria from a urine sample, mastitic milk and an abscess. We were given a "road map" of tests we could run and a clue that one sample had two bacteria, giving a total of 4 bacteria to identify.  After culturing the samples over night after the first lab, we started on to the tests on day two.  The first problem was sorting out which culture had two bacterial species.  After much confusion and discussion with the lovely lab assistant we discovered that the culture plate which was supposed to have two bacterial species was overrun with one bacteria, leaving one sole bacterial colony about the size of a pen tip of the second type.  After incredible luck (and my lab partners very steady hands) we were able to culture the two species onto two different plates for the next lab.

The next incident occurred when we ran a test called a microbat test.  Essentially you read off colours to be either positive or negative from a bunch of reaction wells.  You enter those results into a computer and voila!  The computer spits out the genus and species of your bacteria.  The lab assistant looked at our results and suggested we run the microbat again (so essentially telling us our results were wrong).  My partner had run the first one, so I ran the second one.  Guess what?  We got the same results!  When it came time to discuss our results with the professor, we had identified three of four species correctly.  We explained our dilemma with the microbat test and he told us "That's bacteriology for you!  Even if you follow all the steps and perform them correctly it doesn't always work."  There was a prize to be won if you got all your bacterial species correct.  Although we didn't get them all right, the professor took pity on us and gave us a prize anyways.

Not a bad prize split between two people!

Although I ultimately did enjoy the bacteriology labs, I don't think veterinary bacteriologist will be high on my career list.

Passed Animal Body 1 :)

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

I got to spend my day in two bacteriology lectures and a bacteriology lab, while seeing all my friends at home post pictures of their turkeys on Facebook...  I guess that's the price I have to pay for wanting to go to vet school abroad.

I officially passed my first unit of vet school!  When I saw my mark I honestly thought it was a mistake.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever hope to achieve a mark like that.  I think the only reason I did so well was because I had covered a lot of the material in my undergrad at Guelph.  I set the bar pretty high for future exams, but realistically that kind of mark was probably a one time thing.  I'll definitely strive to do well in the next units but I also like taking some time for myself and doing some fun stuff.  I think to continue achieving marks like that I would have to become a hermit studying every waking moment that I am not in lectures.

Last week we got introduced to our "Mummies and Daddies".  The vet school groups all new students with students in the year above.  I have three "Mummies" who were GEPs last year and 4 sisters who are in my GEP class (since vet med is so female dominated most people had multiple Mummies). We went to one of their flats where they cooked dinner for us.  The dinner was fantastic, including cheese biscuits, pasta, chicken, potatoes, salad and brownies for dessert.  After spending some time talking and getting to know one another we played Cards Against Humanity for a good couple hours.  It was a very nice break on a Tuesday night.

[Side note:  GEP stands for Graduate Entry Program.  Everyone in my class has completed a university degree previously.  In the UK, unlike at home, you can go to vet school straight out of high school and it is a five year program.  Since we all have degrees, our first year is accelerated covering all the material that the five year program covers their first two years.  This allows us to complete our degree in 4 years and join up with the five year program in their third year and our second.]

I have started to play field hockey again which has been so much fun.  I played field hockey all throughout middle and high school but gave it up during my time at Guelph.  Since I hadn't played in four years, and given how heavy the course load is supposed to be this year, I thought playing on the second team would be the way to go.  About half of that team has never played hockey before so it makes for some interesting matches.  Last Friday we played the First Team from the Med School.  To say we lost would be an understatement.  We were annihilated.  But I still had a great time.  Since I am one of the more experienced players I get to be a pretty impactful player which is fun.

Sorry there weren't any pretty pictures this post.  The past couple weeks have been kind of lacking any "exciting things"

Long time, no blog...

So I realize it has been a month since my last post BUT I have two good reasons for it!

1. I had exams
2. My computer died

So we will start with exams.  Last week I had my three exams for animal body one.  Exam prep for these exams was definitely different than anything I have done before.  We had an entire week off to review prior to exam week.  That week was spent in various different libraries and my room to try and shake up the mundaneness of studying 10 hours (theoretically...) a day, for essentially two weeks by the time exams were done.

Studying at the Vet School with a view of the Pentland Hills

The first exam was an oral exam last Tuesday.  It was only worth 5% of the grade but it was the one I was most nervous for.  Basically you were in the dissection room filled with specimens and one of the professors would take you around to different specimens and point at something and say "What is that?"  The professor who questioned me had taught all of the structures or the head, skeleton and the limbs.  So naturally that is what he questioned me on.  That meant a lot of, "What is this muscle?  What does it do?  What nerve supplies it?  What other muscles does that nerve supply?"  He also got on a roll about salivary glands and I was spewing details about them I didn't even realize I knew.  All in all, minus a couple nervous mistakes (for the most of which I realized and awkwardly corrected later in the exam) I think it went well.

We then had a day off, followed by a multiple choice exam on Thursday.  The exam was 40 multiple choice questions.  There were definitely some oddly specific questions on things that were covered on one slide in a lecture of 70 slides, but I guess that is to be expected.

Lastly was the short answer exam.  9 short answer questions (most of which had subparts).  There were definitely two questions that went less well, which basically became "let me tell you everything I know about this topic in the hope that I cover what you are looking for".  So I know I will get marks on those questions but maybe not to the standard of the other ones.

We get our exam results sometime after October 6th.  I would say time to play the waiting game but we have already started the next unit, so I think everyone has pretty much forgotten about the fact we are waiting for results.  Since the marking is so different here, it will be very interesting to see what sort of mark I come out with.

Saturday after the exams, a friend and I toured around Edinburgh.  We spent several hours in the Scottish National Museum.  Realistically you could spend several days there.  We finished the day off with a group of the class at a really nice pub.

Scottish National Museum

The animal section.  Naturally us two vet students were drawn here

View of Edinburgh Castle from the rooftop terrace at the Museum

The Scott Monument from Princess Street Gardens

The second item on my list would be the fact that my computer died.  The Wednesday of our revision week my computer started acting funny.  So I decided to turn it off and turn it back on once it had cooled down (that's how to fix all electronic problems right?)  But when it turned back on this showed up.

Unfortunately none of those options worked.  So that meant I needed some expert advice.  There were two problems with that.  Time was limited because I was studying, and the Edinburgh Apple store isn't open yet so that meant I had to go to Glasgow.  So a friend and I decided to turn it into a mini post exam vacation.  Sunday we took a train to Glasgow and took my computer into the store and left it to be repaired.  We spent the rest of the day exploring Buchanan street (a pedestrian only shopping street), Glasgow Cathedral, The Necropolis, St Andrew's in the Square and Glasgow Green Park.  After walking many miles were were exhausted and hopped a train home in the evening.

George Square - Lots of Police because there had been riots after Scotland voted No

An incredibly fancy mall off of Buchanan Street

Gates along our walk

Glasgow Cathedral

The Necropolis

St Andrew's in the Square

Glasgow Green

And this week we are back to classes again.  This unit terrifies me... Immunology, Cell Pathology, Inflammation, Bacteriology, Virology and Parasitology.  I will definitely have to stay on top of it.

But the best news of all was yesterday.  I went to Glasgow to pick up my computer.  They had originally told me my hard drive was toast and they would have to replace it.  But when I got there they said they were able to save my hard drive by wiping it completely clean and reinstalling all the software.  I was incredibly fortunate that I had a back up from two weeks prior to my computer crashing so I was able to install that so now its like nothing ever happened.  But the best part of all was that it didn't cost anything to repair!  And after spending two weeks without a computer I have realized how dependent I am on it so it is very nice to have it back.

I'm sure tons more things happened in the last month but those are definitely the major ones.  Sorry for the mammoth post!

Rabbits, Horses, Cows and BrewDog

We started the week off with a lecture on rabbit anatomy.  What I gained from that lecture - rabbits are not well designed creatures.  Examples: They can only breathe through their nose (so if they get their nose blocked they are in big trouble), they basically don't have any coronary collateral circulation (so if a coronary artery [artery that supplies blood and oxygen to the heart muscle itself] gets blocked there is no back up artery), to be quick and agile they have very light bones, but this also makes them prone to fractures and osteoporosis.  Cool fact: Don't get into a staring contest with a rabbit because they only blink 10-12 times an hour!

My group had our first horse practical.  We worked on haltering, leading, picking up feet, grooming, rugging and basically learning where to stand so you don't get kicked.  Having spent 3 weeks of extramural studies this summer at a horse barn made a huge difference.  I wouldn't go as far to say I am confident with the horses but I am not too intimidated by them either.  Later in the week we had a horse anatomy session to try and palpate anatomical landmarks.  Unfortunately the horse we were working with the majority of the time was a little heavier so it made finding the landmarks more challenging.

We also had a cattle handling practical this week.  We learned how to halter cows, open their mouths, put gags in their mouths and how to tie up their legs so you can lift their feet up.  Although I have spent some time with cows this was all new for me.  Holding the cow's head to put the gag in is quite a good workout!  At the end of the practical we were running a little late.  So the professor decided to speed up the waterproof washing by getting out the pressurized hose to rinse us all off.  It was effective but my waterproofs were not waterproof enough to keep my clothing dry.

In terms of dissection we had a rabbit dissection and thorax and abdomen prosection (all the specimens are already dissected for you by someone who knows what they are doing).  It was kind of a nice change to be able to clearly see all the features were were looking for on the prosected specimens as opposed to the mess that often results after us inexperienced vet students hack away at our dissections.

We finished the week off by going to a microbrewery, BrewDog Friday night.  All their beers are labelled according to their alcoholic percentage.  One beer was 10.2%!  Can you even call that beer?

The weekend has basically been spent studying and longingly looking out at the uncharacteristically beautiful weather.  Its been sunny for 3 whole days in a row!  Definitely a new record for my time here in Edinburgh.

Sections of my dog spine perpetually set up on my window sill

Enjoying the nice evening weather walking home from the gym

Salisbury Crags, Fringe and Practicals

I can't believe another week has passed.  Time is flying by.  But that also means I am a week closer to my first exam...

Last Friday a large group of us hiked up Salisbury Crags to watch the fireworks at Edinburgh Castle for the Military Tattoo.  We got there just at dusk and it was quite a spectacular view of the city.  At some point I would love to go and watch the sunset.

Saturday night 3 of us went to watch a Fringe show called What Does the Title Matter Anyway?  It was a comedy show which was based on Whose Line is it Anyway?  The show's host was Clive Anderson who hosted the UK Whose Line show.  Another notable name was Greg Proops who was a regular on the American Whose Line.  By the end of the night my stomach was in so much pain from laughing.

Sunday during the day we climbed the backside of Salisbury Crags.  From that side you could see the Firth of Forth which flows into the North Sea.

In terms of school, this week was filled with practicals, dissections, and some less than thrilling AHWAFS (Animal Health, Welfare and Food Safety) lectures on zoonosis and food borne diseases.

Our first practical was how to properly wash our hands and disinfect our waterproofs.  Here anytime you are working with farm animals (except horses) you wear a completely waterproof suit.  It allows you to literally hose yourself down at the end of the practical and disinfect your waterproofs for the next use.

We also had a dissection of the forelimb and hindlimb.  It was amazing how much more sense everything makes when you can dissect it.  The next day we had a pig practical.  We went and visited a local high quality farm.  Having spent a week on a pig farm this summer it was very interesting to see how different farms are run and how regulations are different from the UK to Canada.  At the practical we got to pregnancy check sows (momma pigs), inject piglets with iron (they are prone to anemia) and tail dock them (when pigs grow up they will chew each others tails so they cut them off a few days after birth to prevent the pain and infection of tail biting in the future).

Thursday we had a live anatomy session at the Edinburgh Dog and Cat home.  Basically what it ended up being was 2 hours of cuddling shelter dogs with the odd bit of trying to find anatomy landmarks on the dogs.  I think my entire class was in heaven because so many of us have left pets at home so we got to have a little pet loving.

Our very timid but sweet shelter dog

And Friday I had a milking practical.  Again I have spent a fair amount of time on a dairy farm so it was interesting to see differences.  I expected that since it was a university farm they would do absolutely everything possible to have the highest quality farm.  But it is still a working farm so like any farm they have to make decisions based on time and economics.  The practical itself was quite fun, I really enjoy working with cows so it was nice to spend some time with them again.

Officially Finished Week 2

I have survived two weeks of vet school!

Last Friday my class had our white coat ceremony.  Basically it is the official welcome to the school, where the head of the vet school (aka the Head Dick) calls your name and you are handed a white embroidered lab coat.  We then were served food and took lots of pictures.

The R(D)SVS GEP Class of 2018

The weekend was spent studying, doing some more shopping for things I need and a night out with classmates.  Sunday evening my parents returned to Edinburgh from their vacation around the Hebrides (west coast of Scotland).  I was able to spend Sunday evening, Monday evening and all day Tuesday with them (Tuesday all our classes were recorded so you can listen to them whenever you choose).  They flew home Wednesday morning so I am officially in Scotland on my own.

This past week has been a bit of a blur.  It was a super heavy week in terms of anatomy material so I spent most of the week trying to keep up.  Wednesday we had our first dissection.  We dissected sheep heads to examine the muscles and nerves of the face and how the the structures of the pharynx and larynx make it possible to breathe and eat.  That was definitely my favourite part of the week.

My skeleton dog (who I still need a name for!)

I think tonight will be about a little revision and then taking a nice evening off.

Almost Done the First Week

It's hard to believe that I have finished 4 days of vet school already.

The Sunday night before school started a group of us went to a pub to watch a free Fringe comedy show.  We ended up watching two comics perform while on the top level of a double decker bus.  Definitely a new experience.

For Monday and Tuesday we had introduction lectures.  Things like introductions from the student council, what to do if there is a fire, how not to injure yourself while at school, how not to get robbed in Edinburgh, where to see counsellors when the stress of vet school gets to you.  Lots of cheery things like that!

Wednesday we got an introduction to the computer system.  Lucky us we are the guinea pigs for transitioning to a new computer system.  We also got an introduction to the Animal Body, our course for the entire year which is broken up into four units.

And today we started real school.  Animal Body 1 (which goes until mid September) covers embryology, anatomy, a little histology and a little cell bio.  Today we started off with 4 embryology lectures.  We then had a practical on how to do "lab type" stuff like use microscopes, pipettes and remove and put on scalpel blades (which I was throughly successful at, thank you 5 years of removing scalpel blades to clean surgery instruments at the vet clinic!)

It has definitely been an exciting week but also quite overwhelming.

The Teaching Building - where I will be spending a lot of time!

The stained glass windows from the old vet school

Inside the teaching building

The founder of the school William Dick