Just getting back to normality after my busy and exciting weekend. I found out on Friday that I had passed my exam :D and not only that but amazingly got (along with 2 other people) the highest mark in the year. Definitely didn't see that one coming! Who knew that farm animal practice would be my forte! :. Unfortunately a couple of my friends weren't so lucky :'( and are going to have to resit the exam in August. I really don't know what I'd do if we don't make it in to final year together :no:
Myself and my friend left for AVS Congress in Nottingham straight from uni on Friday and after 5 and a half hours drive we arrived. We met up with our hosts for the weekend Vicky and Sam, had a quick meal and then joined up with the other students to go on a bar crawl at University Park. We went to about 6 hall bars, which despite being a student in Nottingham for 3 years I had never been to before! I really tried hard to get drunk that night but somehow it just didn't happen! :-/ It was an early start on saturday and we went and had a good snoop around the new vet school which was only a hole in the ground when I left. I was very impressed, although not having any clinical facilities and relying on external practices to do the clinical teaching when they start next year could be risky, but they seem to want to be innovative and I hope it works out for them. The morning started with a couple of lectures with the theme being "working animals pushed to the limit". We signed up for a couple of the practical sessions, the first being ultrasound of the distal equine limb. This was particularly useful as for the 1st time I was actually shown how to set up the machine to obtain the best diagnostic image possible. Previously I had only been shown images but not how to achieve them, so I am definitely more confident now. After lunch we went to a raptor lecture where they had a real bird of prey flying around the lecture theatre:!: I really enjoyed it even though I'm not particularly interested in exotic species. We then took part in a guide dog demonstration where we were told about how to approach treating a guide dog and issues involved with their owners in a consultation situation. Then, we were blindfolded and led through an obstacle course by a guide dog. It was a surreal experience, but really made me appreciate how special these dogs are :yes: It was then quite a rush to get back and ready for the Congress ball. Mangaged to get a bit tipsy on the bus journey to the venue and once there had a lovely meal. After dinner the speeches were entertaining and then a jazz band played. But, for me the best bit was the cheesy music at the end of the evening which got everyone up singing and dancing. :>>
We had to leave Nottingham at 7.30 am on sunday, which was really difficult after only getting to bed at 3am! We had a wonderful time and made lots of friends who I hope we can keep in touch with. Once back in Edinburgh it was a quick turn around and then 8 of us made our way out to Murrayfield to watch the Scotland v France six nations rugby match. Our seats were excellent on the 2nd row! We had a lot of fun even though Scotland lost (I am an England fan really but they did just as badly this weekend!). We rounded off a fantastic weekend by having a pub dinner and when I finally made it home I was so exhausted I collapsed into a heavy sleep.
Wow have written quite an essay! The next installment will be after the weekend. I'm off to London for a good friend's bridal shower. Hopefully will get to see a show, be pampered in the Sanctuary Spa and then go off to a museum. YAY!!! :wave: