New adventures are coming!

I know, it's been ages. I had this crazy idea that once I began working I would be blogging all the time. Hah.

I have now been working for just under a year, and while I do have many stories to share, I also feel like I am constantly thinking about or doing veterinary things, and the second I get home I want to sit on the couch, lose myself in a good book and never emerge, and all thoughts of blogging quickly go out the window.

To give you some examples: I have had to figure out how to alter my history taking for blind clients and those with learning or language difficulties. I've gone through an entire consult only to find out at the end that my client was deaf and I had to repeat the whole thing and write everything down.  I have convinced many people that it was time to let their suffering animal go, and I have been forced to euthanise healthy and sometimes adorable and (seemingly) sweet animals because they bit someone and were 'un-rehomable'. I have had to comfort a crying owner after diagnosing her animal with an incurable cancer, and I have had to refer clients to other vets because I have no idea what is wrong with their animal. I have been told that I am a money-grubbing good-for-nothing-vet and I should be sued, and I have been told that I am lovely and compassionate. I have had clients who are over-the-top devoted to their pets and want to do everything possible to help them, and I have had clients who I swear are on drugs/drink and are certainly not going to follow through on my instructions. I have had to argue with clients over feeding their dog cheesecake and doughnuts, and I have been argued with for telling a client their dog needs to lose weight. I have had a client come in 2 minutes before closing time with a bitch struggling through labour that was told to come in the early afternoon, requiring the nurses and I to stay 2 hours late because they 'can't afford the emergency vet' despite breeding and selling dogs for £500 each, and I have had clients waiting at the door first thing in the morning because their dog's nose was dry and therefore it must be sick. I have been told that I must be wrong because 'My breeder/Google/my friend said...' and I have been praised as the vet who finally listened after a vet at another practice didn't. I have had clients request a different vet, and I have had more who now request me every time.

I look back at how I felt on my very first day, and walking into my first consult, and it makes me realise that even though I still have tons to learn, I've come so far in such a short time. Even in terms of surgeries, despite doing mostly the same surgeries (neuters and spays and dentals), I also get to try new ones every now and again, and I've expanded my repertoire to wound sutures, pyometra spay, tumour removal, aural haematoma repair, tail amputation, and exploratory gastrotomy among others, and I've gotten the opportunity to watch and assist in even more. And more and more I'm less nervous about taking on new surgeries, providing there's someone around to help if I get stuck, and at my practice that's nearly always the case. I still ask tons of questions to my colleagues, of course, but I see this as a good thing, and my questions are becoming more and more complicated as I gain control of the simpler things.

As much as I may complain about the long hours, the low pay-to-effort ratio, the roller-coaster days and the incredible (and often unrealistic) expectations of our clients, I can't honestly imagine doing anything else.

Anyway, so as much as I love my job and the people I work with, I am, sadly, going to be leaving it in a few months, at least for a short while, as Andrew and I are expecting our first baby! I'm hoping to work as long as I can until it arrives, but depends on how I'm feeling near the expected date! I'm so looking forward to this next adventure, and now I finally feel like I'm in a place where by the time I start maternity leave, I'll have enough experience as a vet to step away for a few months and be able to come back ready to take on even more. Hopefully I'll have some time to update, at least to share a quick photo of Button (as we've named the baby until we find out if it's a girl or boy - I have a feeling this nickname will last well into its adulthood). Given the chaos that comes around a newborn though, we'll have to wait and see :P

And she's off!

So it's been about 3 weeks since I started out, and I'm still loving it! I've been doing surgeries just about 3 times every week, and I'm now completely confident with cat neuters, and confident, although still a bit slow, at cat spays. Soon I feel like I'll be able to take on some other different procedures. I love surgeries in the morning, it's quiet and kind of soothing and I've enjoyed chatting with the nurses while I work.

I'm now fairly confident with consulting, and I'm able to keep to the schedule in most cases, at least for straightforward things. I've had to ask the other vets for their opinion a few times, and often look up things in my book when prescribing medications, but clients so far have been really understanding and I think they're just happy that I'm trying to be accurate. Plus the nurses are fantastic and usually know which meds are for what condition and they often have them out on the counter before I finish saying what it is I want. I'm still mostly seeing vaccinations and microchip appointments, but more and more I've been taking on other things, like ear infections, skin infections, a few lameness checks, and some that come in for something straightforward and end up being complicated. I actually like those best, because I'm not expecting any condition in particular, I get to work the case up myself from the beginning and learn from it.

I've also gotten to do some xrays and an ultrasound, which was really fun, as imaging is my special interest. The practice has digital processing for the xray machine, which is fantastic, and despite the xray machine being completely old school, it's really easy to use and I think is less finicky than the new ones with all the crazy buttons and automated everything. Since I've only just started I've been running my interpretations by the other vets, but so far we seem to agree, so that's a good sign!

I've had a few stressful moments, but I think overall I'm doing a good job, and every day I get a bit more confident in the basics, and more confident taking on the less straight-forward cases.

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it - there is no better or more satisfying job than being a vet! I wake up every morning excited to go into work, not only because the people are awesome, but because I feel like I'm challenged every day and learning loads, and being kept busy. Sure it's tiring, and I do enjoy my days off, but I go to sleep at the end of the day knowing that I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing! I hope that feeling never wears off. :D

GO!

I survived my first day! Everyone is as nice as I'd hoped, and I was given the opportunity to be challenged, but also given enough support that I didn't feel completely overwhelmed. I didn't struggle too much with the new accents, and only had to ask a few people to repeat themselves. A good start! :D

I started off with two surgeries this morning, which was very exciting, and a good way to start the day. Not having to be in front of clients first thing allowed me to ease into the practice and get over my nerves by chatting with the nurses while removing some testicles from a cat and then a dog. My boss helped me with the doses of the anaesthetics (I wish vet school had not focused on generic names so much, I had to keep checking and rechecking bottles for like 10 minutes before starting to figure out what was what!). He then kept coming in periodically to make sure I didn't need any help, and it worked out well, because I knew he was nearby, but also I knew that I was being given the opportunity to do what I'd learned without anyone hovering. I needed a little bit of help on the dog castrate, since I'd never actually done a closed castration before, but once I got started it was easy enough. He came in at the end while I was closing up and stood and chatted for a few minutes, and seemed impressed that it didn't make me nervous.

My only regret was that for some reason my sutures didn't want to stay loose, despite me making a pointed effort to keep them loose, and so the first few were a little tighter, and thus a little less aesthetically pleasing than I would have liked (and potentially might be a bit more irritating to the dog). But they held the skin together, and that's the most important bit. My next surgery day is Thursday, so that'll be something to work on.

In the afternoon I consulted for 2 hours, and stuck mainly to vaccinations and microchips and nail trims, and avoided seeing things that looked too complicated (we can save those for my second day!). My first two appointments were actually quite scary. The first was scary because the whole thing had to be done in the waiting room: the dog had a history of getting aggressive in the consult room. He was perfectly happy out in the waiting room, if a bit excited, but it was a bit difficult taking a proper history and doing a proper exam with so much going on around me and people chatting and the owner talking to another owner and not paying much attention to me. But eventually we got there, and fortunately the dog was healthy, so the vaccine was given, and they were gone. The second appointment was scary only because it was my first 'proper' appointment in the consult room, with two dogs, getting full exams each and a microchip each. Once I got into taking the history and doing the exam, it all started coming back to me, and I found that even though I was quaking with nervousness on the inside, it didn't seem to show on the outside at all, and I had plenty of time and remembered nearly everything I was meant to do. I saw some things that were odd - like the dog who came in for a lump on the back end that the owner's wife found, but none of us could find in the consult. I thought perhaps it was an anal sac that had been full and was now empty.

I struggled a bit typing all of my notes after each consult, but that was mostly because the nurse (who was lovely) was very chatty, and kept talking to me while I was writing. Perhaps I'll try writing it down as I go, but I just feel like I'd rather be facing the client than a computer when talking to them. I'll have to figure out the way that works best for me, but I think I got everything important into the notes at any rate!

I can already see that there is going to be a learning curve when it comes to changing from 'the vet school way' to 'the real and practical way', but I think I handled everything well for my first day, and I didn't feel like I was overwhelmed at any point. So yay! I'm a vet! :D

Get ready... Get set...!

It has been ages and ages since my last post, sorry about that, but there is only so much to write about job searching and taking the dog for walks and spending every day alone with two cats and a dog going slightly nuts from boredom.

Now, however, all of that is about to change! Why?

I HAVE A JOB!!! :D

On paper it looks to be pretty much my ideal job. All small animals with some exotics, no on-call, lots of support from my bosses (who also seem almost ridiculously nice and understanding and laid back), a great and friendly nursing team. So I can only hope that the reality is as great as all that. I'm sure it will be.

The practice is in South Yorkshire, in a town near Sheffield - I wont give any more details than that so that any future posts I make can't be attributed to certain patients, etc (although, obviously names and details will be changed anyway - patient confidentiality is not to be messed with).

I am so excited I cannot even begin to tell you. I'm also a little nervous - will I be able to pull together all of that knowledge from uni when faced with actual clients who are depending on me, and no professors hovering over to check everything? What if something comes in I don't know? Is there a good way to tell a client you don't know the answer without them losing confidence in you? I want to be a really really good vet, which means that, in the beginning at least, I will probably be double and triple checking everything, and asking loads of questions. Hopefully clients see that as me being thorough rather than unconfident.

Andrew and I drove down this last weekend to see the area, and got a good chance to drive around the Peak District of England, which is very close, and really stunning. I didn't really take many pictures this trip, because it was just a quick drive through, but on my first day off I think I'm going to take Pookie for a walk and I'll bring my good camera! I think if we love it and decide to stay for more than a year or two we'll probably get a house in the Peak District, which makes me really excited, because although I love Edinburgh and it is a beautiful beautiful city, part of me has always wanted to live a little more out in the country.  For now, though, the practice has a house for us to live in, which is perfect for now and only a few minutes from the practice!

So in the next two weeks I'll be moving south, a few months ahead of Andrew. This will mean a short while of seeing him only a few days a week, at a time when it's going to be stressful to begin with as the teething phase of my veterinary career begins, but hopefully I'll be kept busy enough that the time will fly by. Plus, I already have two holidays booked in for the spring and summer, so hopefully these will give me something to look forward to on the days that are really difficult.

Anyway, I am so looking forward to being able to update this blog with my exploits as a vet, and hopefully any vet students can take comfort in my (hopeful) successes and realise that it can actually be done :P

BVM&S, MRCVS

My first memory that I can recall is sitting in my high chair in our kitchen watching one of our dogs die. I must have been really young, to be in a high chair, but I think I can remember being confused, as if I wasn't sure why the dog was acting the way it was, and why the dogs breathing sounded so odd. But I think I remember wanting to do something about it, I could tell something was wrong, and from my high chair there was nothing I could do - not that I would have known how anyway.

This sounds a bit morbid, and perhaps in hindsight I'm projecting too much of what I think I should have been feeling onto the memory, and perhaps my brain has taken some artistic license in recreating the memory, but it makes my point, so I'm going to go with it: I have wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as I can remember, and in fact I don't remember making a choice to be a vet, or having to think about what I wanted to be. There were of course short phases of wanting to be a veterinarian/broadway star or a veterinarian/wildlife photographer or a veterinarian/pop singer, but my day job was always going to be veterinarian. It wasn't really a choice anyway, or even something I wanted. It was much more than that. This all sounds incredibly cheesy, but I can't even really explain it -- being a vet was just what I was going to do, and that was that, period.

So this is why I am so so so happy to tell you all, that I have passed not only the NAVLE exam which will allow me to work in the USA if/when I return, but I passed my final exams as well, and on the 30th of June I will be graduating from the University of Edinburgh with my class as a veterinarian. The best part is, my final year group passed as well, and I'm so proud to be graduating with Emma, Bobby and Graham, they have helped me through this past year with their support and endless hilarity, and have become some of my best friends in the process. My housemate, Anik, also passed, which is also awesome! We got the news at the same time, so we celebrated in the garden with some bubbly! Anik has been there for me for pretty much all of the last 4 years, and I couldn't have gotten through it without her to stress out with and party with.

Getting to this point has been a long, difficult and often frustrating process, especially since I've been working towards this for the last two decades and then some, and it's pretty much all I've ever known! But even though I struggled at times, and had the occasional thought of "why am I doing this to myself?!" it was so so worth it. And I know there will be many more days of struggle and insecurity --  I am anticipating my first day on the job to be absolutely terrifying -- I still cannot imagine doing anything else!

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On a completely unrelated note, but another reason why my life is pretty much awesome right now, Andrew asked me to marry him at the restaurant where we first met, and I (obviously) said yes!

Life is good!

(Dr.) Tara Bergin BVMS, MRCVS

Time flies!

Wow! This year certainly flew by! I'm sorry for not updating at all, but I've been so busy this year! Let me update you now with some highlights from throughout the year.

I began my final year rotations on ICU nights, which was actually a fantastic way to start the year. In our tired state our group saw each other at our worst, and survived the test, and actually I think this was one of the best weeks. Sure it was tiring, but our group really bonded.

ICU days quickly followed, and although there wasn't a huge amount going on, we had a lot of tutorials that were really useful (and I still remember now, which is always a good sign!). Despite our having to fight to stay awake during them (going straight from night shifts to day shifts is exhausting!), we really enjoyed the week.

And, I just realised I can't possibly go through every single rotation, but suffice it to say that this year has been amazing. I even really enjoyed working in the equine and farm animal hospitals, and got to see some fun cases.

My favourite week was probably Small Animal Internal Medicine. I loved that week because it was so very relevant to my future career, and I learned a ton, and got to the point where I actually feel like I knew what I was doing.

I also loved Farm Practice (I know, who would have thought I'd have ever said that?!) because it was something so completely different than anything I'd done before. I got to go out to farms with the other students and the farm vets, and do surgeries out in the field. Farm medicine seems a lot more straightforward to me. Whereas in small animal you often rely on countless tests and diagnostics to determine a course of action, on farm you have to go with your instincts and just do what's necessary. So I enjoyed it because of that aspect. I still don't think I particularly want to be a farm vet (I don't really like being dirty and smelling like cows), but I also feel like I am capable of being one, which is good, as I suppose given limited job prospects around this area I might have to take a mixed animal job!

Anyway, here are some pictures from my Final Year!

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3-layer Red Velvet cake with Raspberry filling and dark chocolate frosting! (Recipe Here)

 I know, weird that I start off with cake, but at R(D)SVS there is a final year tradition called 'Cake Friday' on which every Friday someone in each rotation group makes cake or cookies or something else yummy. This was both delicious and incredibly horrible for my waistline, and I am (I can't believe I'm saying this) looking forward to NOT having cake thrust in front of my face every week. However, during this year I have contributed to many a Cake Friday, and have made some pretty awesome cakes, so I've included a few of my favourites!

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 Another successful Cake Friday! Vanilla sponge cake with Strawberry jam and Vanilla bean icing!

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A cute chinchilla I saw during our week on Exotics! I loved this week, mostly because some of my favourite staff members are on this week. I was really looking forward to working with lots of exotic species. Sadly, we only really saw rabbits and this one chinchilla, but it was still a fun week. Truthfully, it was probably more relevant to small animal practice than if we had seen lots of other crazy lizards and things because rabbits in gut stasis is probably one of the more common thing you'll see in practice, as rabbit's seem to be rather poorly designed and things go wrong rather often (much like with horses and colic!)

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 A cute foal during our week on the Equine hospital! Despite not really loving horses so much, I actually really enjoyed the equine hospital as well. It was very different to the small animal hospital, and I felt like we didn't get to do quite as much in relation to communicating with clients and doing full physical exams and things, I did learn a lot about how to handle the common problems I would see if I were to ever get called out to a horse, and I actually feel like I could pretty confidently deal with most run-of-the-mill problems horses get like simple colic and lameness issues.

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 A (less yummy) but more creative Cake Friday creation. Chocolate and Vanilla cupcakes with marshmallow sheep and horses! This took a LONG time, let me tell you, and I think I prefer cake on  the whole because I'm not so into frosting, but I was pretty impressed with my marshmallow animal skills.

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 My awesome amazing group - The A Team - during our week on Equine Hospital

L-R: Graham, Me, Emma, Bobby

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 Possibly my best Cake Friday cake. It didn't really look as nice as the others, but it was the best cheesecake I've ever had, and I think I converted a few non-cheesecake lovers as well. I may have made it three times (it was just that good!)...

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Sadly I couldn't take many pictures this year of animals and our activities during uni (client confidentiality and all), but we definitely had a blast. Sure, at times it's nerve-wracking being asked questions you really don't know the answer to, and you feel like you have to study ALL the time, it has been remarkably stress-free. I figure, this is what vet school was all about; this is the year that I've worked up to since I was a little girl, and what's the point of doing it if you're going to worry and stress about it? So I just tried to have as much fun as possible, and (maybe if I'm lucky) pick up some information on the way! Fortunately the rest of my group thought much the same way, and I think that's why we got along so well, and why we were nominated for "Best Rotation Group" by the staff (we lost out to some rugby boys, boo! but we know we were better than them anyway!). I have enjoyed working with my group so much, they have become some of my best friends here in Edinburgh.

Sadly, The A Team was split up in the last rotation because of the numbers involved, but fortunately Graham and I still ended up in the same group for the last 3 weeks. Our new group was really fun too, and I enjoyed getting to know some new people better, whom, frankly, I wish I had gotten to know earlier. Hopefully we'll all keep in touch when this is all over.

Tip for any future final year vet students: ENJOY YOUR FINAL YEAR. Seriously. This is the time you've been waiting for, so what's the point in going through it constantly stressed out! I will tell you now that you will know more than you think you know, just by going and paying attention. For example: at the Dick Vet we had a short exam every month after each rotation block, and I did not study for any of them. Not one. Instead, I payed attention during the week. I asked questions and I discussed cases and treatments with my group, and if we didn't know the answer, we went home and looked it up. And I consistently passed every single one of them. So don't sweat it. Final year is awesome!

Another tip: LOVE YOUR ROTATION GROUP! If you can't stand them, switch, before it's too late. I cannot tell you how important it is for you to get along. Clinicians see when you don't get along, and it will make your year much less fun if you're constantly wanting to punch one of your team members in the face.

Last tip, I promise: IT IS NOT A COMPETITION! Especially not with your final year group. You are there to support one another, and the better you work to make sure everyone gets a shot at doing everything, the more fun your year will be. Trust me, you will make no friends if you constantly hog the good cases, and it will be equally crappy if you can't step up and say "hey, I've never done this before, can I try?" There is ample time to try everything, usually more than once, and in the end no one cares that you got to place 8 catheters during your week on SA practice. They will care that you worked well with others.

Anyway, enough of that. So aside from studying and endless cakes, Andrew and I also had tons of fun outside of uni. Here are some pictures to highlight some of the fun things we did!

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Andrew and I moved! We have an adorable house, in a nice neighbourhood, with a huge, beautiful back garden! :)

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We also got a new kitten at the same time! Maisie is so cute! She's not nearly that small anymore, but she's still adorable (although Tsuki doesn't like her much!). Funny story: we were told she was a boy and had named her Jasper (we didn't really think to double check), but as she got slightly bigger we thought, hang on, those parts don't look boy-like. So when I took her for her first vet appointment I brought it up and the vet confirmed our suspicions. I'm really glad I spoke up, because I'm pretty sure it would have been embarrassing if the vet thought I couldn't sex a cat as a final year!

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 Ok, I lied, more cake. But I didn't make this one. For my birthday, Andrew got me an ADORABLE cake. So cute! I almost felt bad eating it, but eat it I did!

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Thanksgiving was the day after my birthday, and was amazing, especially because we hosted it in our new house! I'm definitely going to keep up this American tradition. My future children may grow up in the UK, but they will learn to love Thanksgiving! :P Sadly I didn't manage to take any pictures this year (wtf?). I think I got caught up in the craziness of trying to make a full Thanksgiving dinner without a day off for it and forgot. I'll do better next year, I promise.

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Ok, so there's more cake. For my birthday present, Andrew got us a cookie and cupcake decorating class! It was in December, so it was Christmas themed, and it was very yummy.

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The results of our decorating. Skillz.

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 We got a full sized (but a bit scraggly) Christmas tree this year. I feel like a real person now! After seeing the tree that Andrew's friends Fi and James got, which was bigger, fuller AND cheaper, I think we will do better next year. It still looked and smelled great, and I can't wait to celebrate more Christmases in our house!

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 Andrew, Maisie and Me! Tsuki was far too angry to be picked up in such proximity to the little cat.

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We had a lovely Christmas dinner at Andrew's parents' house. It was very relaxed and fun, and we played board games and just sat around chatting. It was great! They are like my second family :)

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After Christmas, Andrew and I took a trip to Dunnottar Castle, which is beautiful and majestic! This is why I love Scotland! The castle was home to one of the most powerful families in Scotland, the Earls Marischal from the 14th century on and housed the Honours of Scotland (the crown jewels) for awhile.

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 At our Staff-Student Dinner we had a lot of fun chatting to staff members and hanging out and getting dressed up. Here's my awesome group again!

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Poon and me!

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Every year the Final Year puts on a 'Final Year Revue' which celebrates (and makes fun of) our experiences during the year. It was a lot of fun, but mostly because I got to hang out with my friends and forget about studying for an evening!

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For one glorious week back in March we had 20 degree (C) weather and sunshine, and Anik and I spent most of it lying out in the garden soaking up the vitamin D. Now it is May and snowing. I miss that week...

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During that beautiful week of sun, we planned a BBQ with some of my and Andrew's friends. Sadly, it became cloudy and cold as soon as it started. Oh well! It was still fun to hang out and the conservatory was pleasantly warm.

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For Margaret's (Andrew's mum) birthday, we surprised her with dinner in St. Andrews and a cheeky monkey cake with a firecracker on top!

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On my week off, in between studying I decided to hike up the nearest Pentland hill. Our house is somewhere just beyond the left side of the picture.

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Poon and I had to take a trip down to London to take the NAVLE (North American Veterinary License Examination), which is a SIX HOUR test of all multiple choice. Needless to say, it was long, and tedious, but I think it went okay. Afterward we celebrated by walking to Chinatown and eating dumplings before catching our train home.

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This is what Maisie looks like now, she's almost a normal sized kitteh! She is always getting into trouble, and harassing Tsuki, and trying to eat our feet in the middle of the night, but she's adorable, really.

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Anyway, our 3 weeks of electives start tomorrow, and then are exams! I've signed up for oncology, which should be really interesting, as I'll get to see a lot of things I probably wont see in practice, and hopefully it will give me a good background for diagnosing cancer in my own patients.

After that it's some intense studying before finals, and then exams! I cannot tell you how nervous I am for these. I know that I know enough to be a good vet, it's just so difficult when you're put on the spot to be coherent and remember every little detail! I just need to keep reminding myself to stay calm. I can do this!

Vets and Wildlife

Two days ago I returned from a month in South Africa! I went with a programme called Vets and Wildlife, where I was paired up with a wildlife veterinarian. The vet I worked with was based near Hoedspruit, which was a little town in Limpopo Province, near Kruger National Park.

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The A is where Hoespruit is.

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So on this programme, we gained a ton of experience working with various wildlife species, in particular: buffalo, sable, nyala, impala, roan and rhinocerous. We also had a bit of experience working with leopards, which was incredibly amazing! They were so fuzzy and cute when they were anaesthetised, but boy were they terrifying when they were awake! We wrestled awake buffalo calves, watched rhinos being darted from helecopters, and had a ton of fun riding around in the back of a pickup truck, bumping along the motorway and in the bushveld!

I also met a whole bunch of new and interesting people. The vet, Dr. Muller, and his assistant, Debbie, were fantastic, and taught us a lot. We also worked with a bunch of other students, and even one from our own uni (a 3rd year)! 

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Sitting on a buffalo calf to keep it still while taking blood.

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Writing down microchip numbers for a rhino - each horn is microchipped and also the rhino, in order to prevent and track poachers.

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Doing a skin scraping on a leopard at Moholoholo Rehab Centre

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Feeding an orphaned baby Eiland (Kirsty is on the right feeding an orphaned sable)

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Aside from the work, we also got to do a bunch of really fun touristy things. My favourite experiences were Tshukudu Game Lodge and Camp Jabulani.

At Tshukudu, we did a morning walk with 2 hand-reared lion cubs and a cheetah (also a dog). We arrived at 6:20am and set off while the big cats walked around with us, playing with each other and posing for pictures. Although they weren't in their "natural" setting, it was still incredible seeing these animals close up, and seeing that they really are just like giant housecats! The cheetah even purred when we pet it!

After the walk, we were served a delicious hot breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit and porridge, and then we had a game drive. We didn't see too many animals on either the walk or the game drive, but we mostly went for the cats anyway!

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Petting a lion cub at Tshukudu Game Lodge

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Ntombe against the sunrise

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Sheila the lion cub

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Ntombe

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Petting Ntombe the cheetah

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At Camp Jabulani we went on an elephant-back safari. Again, we didn't see too many animals, but we were just happy to be riding the elephants anyway. They had such fantastic personalities - mine kept prodding my guide for more treats, and even it's baby, Mambo, kept pulling at my leg to try and get attention.

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Riding my elephant Lundi with my guide Nyasha

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Lundi's baby, Mambo

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On one afternoon we went to see Jessica the Hippo, who is the world's only tamed hippo. At first I thought this would be kind of silly, but actually it was pretty amazing to see this hippo up close, and be able to pet it and scratch it's back, since they're usually thought of as so dangerous.

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Feeding Jessica her sweet tea

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Standing next to a giant Baobab

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We also took a day to go into Kruger National Park, where we saw tons of animals and had a fantastic time.

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Rhinos with their horns! It is becoming rare to see rhinos that haven't been dehorned, which is being done to try and counteract the recent poaching problems. 

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Elephants!

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Oxpeckers sitting on a zebra's back

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A typical South African Sunset in Kruger National Park

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Because of the dryness and the dust, South Africa had gorgeous night skies

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So anyway, my trip was amazing, and I got to fulfil one of my longstanding dreams to go on a safari (and this was even better because we got to touch the animals!)

I just arrived back in Edinburgh on Sunday morning, and started into final year on Monday morning. My first rotation - ICU nights! Although I wasn't too pleased about having to spend another week away from home, I am rather glad to be getting ICU nights over with.

So far we've had a pretty good time - my group is awesome, we all work well together and no one is too quiet or too overpowering, and we're not competitive with each other. Plus in the day and a half I've had so far, I can see how much more involved we get with cases, and how much the clinicians actually explain to us, and ask us for opinions. Although I'm still nervous for certain rotations, and I'm going to have to do a ton of studying, this looks like it's going to be a pretty fun year! :)