As stated in my previous entry, I am going to write about my weekend spent at VET-MED LINK (17th-18th December 2016).
The weekend was hosted at Nottingham University by a company called med-link. It was tailored for future doctors and vets, and we were brought together for some of the lectures. It was an extremely intense weekend, crammed with useful information and input from a variety of speakers, including James Ridgeway- one of the most inspirational people that I have met. He inspired me to be pro-active and write a blog, as well as setting up a twitter page dedicated to my love for veterinary medicine (https://twitter.com/_AmyLake).
As well as this, Mr Ridgeway gave us useful tips for revision and how to keep on top of work- which is essential at this stage of A-levels! He also gave one of the simplest explanations of how be successful with the use of cartoon physics. This is the idea that a cartoon character runs off the edge of a cliff, yet they carry on running, only to fall when they look down. By applying this to every day life and not 'looking down' we can achieve great things.
The way we were spoken to allowed me to believe that goals truly are achievable, and impelled me to go outside of my comfort zone and take on new adventures! I am now taking pictures of my experiences and will be sharing them on here, building up a gradual account of my journey and the adventures that come with it.
The lectures at VET-LINK included; useful information about entry requirements, a work experience talk, an A* guide to chemistry, talks about working abroad and a stethoscope tutorial.
The tutorial on how to use a stethoscope was one of my favourite lectures, and I practiced as soon as I got home. We were told that it is harder to use when on an animal, yet the anatomy and general idea is the same- the animal is just on all fours. We got given our very own stethoscopes (as shown below) in order to practice to our hearts content!
I was also highly interested in the talk about working abroad, as I am planning to take some time to travel and gain work experience in places such as Africa, Sri Lanka and Eastern Europe.
Overall, I found the weekend to be inspirational and extremely useful. It also allowed me to make new acquaintances and helped to boost my confidence. I think this trait is important within veterinary as vets tend to encounter all sorts of clientele, from all walks of life.
That's all for this post- next week I will be blogging about some of my experiences on the local farm.
But for now, have a wonderful start to the new year!
