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Represent, support, engage!

The AVS committee poses for an official photograph at the association’s annual ball.

The AVS (Association of Veterinary Students) Congress marks one year since my involvement with the association began.

Last year, in Nottingham, I stood up at the AGM and gave a hustings speech. Before long, I found myself elected the editor of JAVS (the Journal of the Association of Veterinary Students), which is sent out to students in all of the nine veterinary schools. More importantly, this meant I had joined the AVS committee, which has allowed me to gain an insight to the workings of veterinary education and the profession as a whole.

The first full AVS meeting I attended at BVA headquarters in London was a bit overwhelming, but I soon realised how much capacity AVS has to reach out to students and implement changes in order to maximise the veterinary student experience.

Since then, in addition to the annual congress and the infamous AVS sports weekend, the committee has accomplished many things, with just a few outlined below.

The policy sub-committee announced the AVS Workforce Policy, which outlines the concerns over the impact of rising numbers of veterinary schools for the future of the profession. This has been viewed more than 2,000 times on the website and, ultimately, impacted on a national policy.

The marketing sub-committee has been extremely successful this year too, especially with the new website and push on the committee’s part with social media, which has encouraged members to engage with AVS more than ever before.

The equine rescue practical from AVS Congress 2015, held in Glasgow.

A direct example of this is the RCVS consultation on the use of the courtesy title of “Dr” – while members of the BVA MSG (members services group) committee were indifferent or against the proposal, the AVS junior vice president, who was present at the meeting, was able to respond with evidence of the student opinion.

AVS posted about the consultation on the website, Facebook and Twitter. The initial post was seen by more than 22,000 people, 1,719 of which followed the link to the RCVS website. AVS then carried out a quick poll, in which 290 people voted, and 281 of these were pro using the title. Hence, there was an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the consultation and the use of social media has widened the ability for AVS to engage with their members and accurately represent the veterinary student body.

Another example is BVA’s stun before slaughter campaign, which AVS was involved in the initiation of when the reality of non-stun slaughter came into the public eye last March (following the ban of slaughter without stunning in Denmark).

The stun before slaughter e-petition gained an immense amount of support, and has just passed the 100,000 signatures mark – the target required in order for the subject to be considered for parliamentary debate. AVS has been supporting and promoting the e-petition online and, as a result, many of those signatures have come from veterinary students.

Our MSG (members services group) sub-committee has produced a preclinical EMS guide for first year students, which advises many things including what to expect on different types of placement and how to find placements. Having been produced and written by students, it is hoped that the guide will be relatable and useful to help support freshers embarking on EMS for the first time.

AWF (Animal Welfare Foundation), the BVA’s charity, has been hosting talks and debates in each of the universities throughout the year, allowing students to engage with hot animal welfare topics.

Student welfare is also integral to the role of the welfare sub-committee. Just discussing different methods of promoting student welfare and support allows the AVS representatives to share ideas and take those back to their respective schools. As a result, Glasgow has followed in the footsteps of Liverpool and recently set up its own network of peer supporters within the vet school, who have had intensive training to allow them to be proficient in their roles.

In one year, we have achieved so much, and yet there is so much potential for long term aims too, such as the production of an AVS app, consultations on EMS provision and involvement in the Vet Futures project run jointly by the BVA and RCVS.

The AVS marketing sub-committee came up with a “tagline” for AVS: represent, support, engage – and after reviewing all we have done over the last year, you can see this accurately and concisely sums up what AVS stands for.

Since I stood up and shakily gave my plea to become an editor, not only have I made great friends across all of the vet schools, but I have also felt part of a community that has the ability to really stand up and make a difference for our students; and I have not regretted it for one second.

January 30, 2015
Hitting the third-year wall

Jordan and her peers, not even halfway through their course, feel they are fighting to keep their heads above water – Image: ©iStockphoto/Anton_Sokolov

Everyone had heard rumours third year at veterinary school was the worst. On coming back to university after a long summer of extra-mural studies and relaxation, we were nervous. Two weeks in, things didn’t seem too bad and we were sceptical.

We were indifferently meandering through the bewildering world of Latin names and impossible-to-spell drugs, resigned to a fate of an increased workload and new subjects, but not overwhelmed just yet. It happened to different people at different times, but, seemingly out of nowhere, the third-year wall hit. And it hit hard.

Whether it was the hours of straining to make sense of indiscernible pinky-purple mess under the microscope, or trying to differentiate one parasite from the next by the subtlest of morphological changes, or even just trying to fathom the hideous amount of Latin that had forced itself into our lives, veterinary school suddenly got the better of most of us.

While drowning under the sheer amount of information to take in, the realisation we’re not even halfway there really seemed to set in this term, making it almost impossible for us to keep our heads above water.

A week of very little sleep, long hours studying and eight exams will mark the halfway point for my year group. The most disturbing part of this revelation is the feeling we’ve been at vet school for a long time (can anyone even remember freshers’ week?), and yet we still have that same length of time left to go.

Several of us have been questioning our aspirations of late – why did I want to be a vet? Why am I putting myself through this? Is it worth it? Is this as hard as it gets? These are just some of the whispers heard around vet school.

Image ©iStockphoto/pick-uppath

It’s often comforting in itself your classmates are feeling as fed up as you are, but you also need to find a way to combat your doubts and climb the wall, or punch right through it. Veterinary students are particularly susceptible to stress and mental health issues – we’ve all heard the statistics, which is why it’s vital to know how and where to access support should you need it.

The student-run welfare system at Glasgow’s veterinary school has boomed this year, with multiple welfare talks and the start up of many new clubs and societies aimed at stress relief, including relaxing yoga classes to help you reboot or a high-energy Muay Thai sessions to help you release all that pent-up stress. Following in the footsteps of Liverpool, Glasgow vet school is also currently developing a peer-support network to provide an ear for those students who need someone to turn to in times of need.

Of course, your own interests can distract you from the stress of vet school, and while it’s tempting to entirely prioritise your studies, it’s really important to ensure they don’t consume your entire life. For me personally, writing, editing and riding keep me afloat.

One lesson I’ve learned this term is you also need to keep on top of your own health. You may have a persisting issue that you keep putting off because you haven’t got time to see a doctor and have too much work to do. But it doesn’t pay off in the end. I allowed back muscle pain to get to the point of me being barely able to walk before shaking some sense into myself and seeing a physio. After a couple of sessions, I felt a million times better and regretted putting it off for so long. Just remember you need to look after your body to keep your mind on top form.

On the upside, by the time our “halfway ball” comes around in February, we’ll be over the hump, and just a little bit closer to graduation. Or in other words – a little bit closer to fulfilling our ambitions or dreams that many of us have had from a very young age. We just need to find a way to hold on to the light at the end of the tunnel, so we don’t run out of steam.

December 17, 2014
Two years as a vet student

In November, Glasgow descended on Liverpool as zombies for an alcohol-fuelled weekend of “sport”.

Having endured the wait for results, I can officially say I’ve passed my second year at vet school, and reflect on another crazy twelve months of life as a Glasgow vet student.

A vet is a unique type of student – despite having a crammed uni timetable we all manage to fill our “spare” time with a mountain of other activities. Not only that, but the close-knit circle of vet students at each individual school and the wider community across the schools in the UK and Ireland is something that is particularly characteristic to vet students.

In November, Glasgow descended on Liverpool as zombies for an alcohol-fuelled weekend of “sport”. Shortly after, however, the Glasgow vet sports teams focused their attention on the far more serious matter of “Dick Day”, the sports day against Edinburgh.

January brought my first experience of Association of Veterinary Students’ Congress, which was a great weekend of helpful practicals and talks. Here, the AVS elections opened, in which I was running for the editor position of JAVS (the vet student magazine).

Jordan gets her hands dirty during IVSA SpringBreak.

In March, I jumped on a plane to Germany to undertake foaling EMS at a thoroughbred stud yard, which was incredible and well worth the travel. Along with having an enthusiastic vet and yard manager (who were both keen for me to learn) I was also given the opportunity to return in the summer for yearling preparation.

After a year of meetings, emails and phone calls, the group of friends that had formed the Rodeo Committee finally pulled off a fantastic charity event for the public, despite battling the typical Scottish weather. It was a marathon effort for everyone involved, but worth it to see families having fun on the day, and succeeding in raising £16,000 for our chosen animal charities.

During the Rodeo aftermath, our exams hit, and the entire vet school population turned into library hermits. But after two weeks of red bull, little sleep and aching writing hands, we were free.

Shortly after, I ventured abroad once again, this time to Naples, Italy, as part of an IVSA (International Veterinary Student Association) trip. In addition to the interesting and unusual practicals and lectures, I met a variety of vet students from various countries and learned far more about veterinary in different cultures.

Having competed with the university riding team all year, I then found myself at the BUCS (British University and College Sport) Riding Championships with my teammates.

After three days of dressage and style jumping, our team was placed second in our league – a fantastic result for our club!

It’s been a busy year, and although exam results may suggest it’s now over, my summer has other ideas.

June 30, 2014
Wednesday afternoon stress relief?

Balancing sport and vet school can become a logistical nightmare.

The opportunity to take part in sport, either competitively or recreationally, is an essential part of stress relief for all students – especially for those on intense courses such as veterinary.

There are enough people on the course to make up teams for many sports solely from vet students and, previously, I have reviewed inter-vet school sport specifically. This is often a very feasible option, with flexible training times to fit around the busy vet school timetable and the knowledge that understanding team members won’t think less of you for missing the odd session if you have a practical you can’t miss – an attitude very different from those of the main university teams, who may leave you off the team sheet for weeks after missing one fitness session.

But what if you are the competitive type and want a more challenging sport environment? Realistically, the vet school teams only have one or two important matches that training is geared towards, perhaps with a couple of “friendlies” against other university departments such as the medics. If you were looking to get involved in team sport on a more regular basis, you would want to join the main university teams.

In an ideal world, this should still be feasible, since the national governing body for Higher Education sport, British University & Colleges Sport (BUCS), schedule their fixtures for Wednesday afternoons. This is a time that should be kept free for sport, according to the University Senate policy. Unfortunately, that is often not the reality. The University of Glasgow has received several complaints this year for scheduling compulsory classes on Wednesday afternoons.

Image © iStockPhoto.com/DYashkin

The second-year Glasgow vets have practical classes on Wednesdays (at varying times of the day). As part of the main university riding team, I have had to swap these sessions around to accommodate competing on Wednesdays, and have had to miss a couple that were not scheduled for any other time. Luckily, we only have four competitions throughout the year (plus the Dick Day vet competition), so this isn’t incredibly disruptive. But for those in clubs such as hockey or tennis, which have fixtures every week, suddenly balancing sport and vet school can become a logistical nightmare.

Cambridge veterinary students do not get allocated time off for sport either.

Another issue is specifying the time frame that is a “Wednesday afternoon”. Third-year students at Liverpool vet school generally have lectures up to 2pm on Wednesdays, after which it is often too late to make away fixtures.

I don’t think this is an issue specific to veterinary schools, but is becoming a university-wide problem that needs to be addressed. It is essential for students to have the opportunity for sport as escapism, and this is particularly applicable for the vets of tomorrow, who are looking to enter arguably one of the most stressful professions.

We’ve all seen the suicide figures, and we need to be able to give ourselves the best chance at dealing with stress now, in order to apply it to a working environment later in life.

December 16, 2013
Vet school sports

The rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh was as fierce as ever.

Vet students have their own little community, not only within their own university but also across the eight vet schools throughout the UK.

We’re all members of the Association of Veterinary Students (AVS) and through this, take part in an annual sports weekend, hosted by a different university each year.

In addition to this, Glasgow and Edinburgh (The Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies) have their own inter-vet-school sports competition, “Dick Day”.

Both events take place in November.

Over the last few years, AVS Sports Weekend has strayed from actually involving much sport. So when the Glasgow students rocked up in Liverpool this year (dressed as the cast from Michael Jackson’s Thriller), we were all taken aback by the number of matches that had been organised and the variety of sport available… quite a contrast from the mere hint at some hungover rugby last year.

Nevertheless, we at least managed to scrape together a team for the mixed netball. Needless to say, we didn’t fare too well and finished seventh out of the eight vet schools overall.

Unsurprisingly, Liverpool won overall, putting the students from other vet schools to shame, most of whom were too busy ceilidh dancing or getting started on the pub crawl to concentrate on sport.

Dick Day 2013: the equestrian team, men’s football and men’s rugby team pulled through to give us some victory.

Dick Day, however, was another matter; the rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh was as fierce as ever and the sport was taken seriously.

We didn’t make a great start, losing the netball, mixed hockey, ladies football, ladies rugby and volleyball. However, it wasn’t all bad news – the equestrian team, men’s football and men’s rugby team pulled through to give us some victory.

Although we lost to Edinburgh overall, spirits were still high by the end of the day, since it was only the second time we’d beaten Edinburgh in the rugby on their home turf in 150 years.

There are few other courses that provide the opportunity to enjoy some competitive sport and social events with students from other universities in the way that we do. At AVS I saw several friends from other schools, and it was great to have a brief catch-up before resuming the inter-vet-school banter with the other Glasgow vets.

These events are just another reason to add to the list of why being a vet student in the UK is so incredible.

December 2, 2013