Back to School: Differences between starting Phase 1 and starting Phase 2

And just like that, we’re back into it at OVC. Guelph has been humming with the energy from the return of thousands of students, and the arrival of new ones. We welcomed 120 new members of OVC class of 2019 this week with the Ready Set Vet! Orientation. The Owls (my class) were in charge of the orientation and it was really rewarding to be involved with it. I was really able to see the differences between the beginning of the 2 Phases after being involved with #ReadySetVet, while at the same time, starting Phase 2 with my own class. I thought I’d highlight some of those things here!

Some baby Ivory Owls Class of 2018 

Class of 2019! Photo credit: OVC Recruitment Homepage

Orientation vs. Jumping in
Obviously the new students get a full week of Orientation. They get a ton of information pertaining to their time at OVC in just a few days, but they also get some fun events too! My friend Sophia and I signed up with another 22 volunteers to be Phase 2-Phase 1 guides (P2P1 guides). Basically, 2 second year students are assigned to one of the 12 practice groups as mentors, and we stick with them throughout their first year. We took our group (Group F) out to dinner at The Works on Monday before their first day in order to meet each other and get to know some familiar faces. They all seemed super excited and got along great. You do a ton of stuff with your practice group in first year, so it’s important to establish your relationships and learn how to support each other. Before long, you start to feel like family. Ready Set Vet started bright and early Tuesday, and went until Friday. They had half days of class starting Thursday, but next week they will be right into the regular class schedule. We did some fun things like Family Feud, the Amazing Race, and Graffiti Night where they got to sign each other’s orientation shirts. This was a surprisingly good way of meeting people, and it was a fun night!

Group F at Graffiti Night. Photo Credit: Ontario Veterinary College Facebook

Meanwhile, in Phase 2, we had one 1 hour “orientation” which was an overview of the learning goals for the year, our classes, and our requirements to move to Phase 3. After an hour, we started learning surgical instruments, so there really was no easing into it! Other classes had a bit of review from last year, but we will be starting 100% new stuff on Monday.

Making new friends vs. Reuniting with the Parliament
I say the “Parliament” because that is the correct term for a group of owls! Speaking of mascots… the new class has to decide between the Golden Krakens and the Jade Joeys… they will find out on Monday!

Anyway, you generally go into first year knowing very few people, if any. You’re forced to make new friends and meet so many new faces, it can be overwhelming for some. It doesn’t take long to form those friendships, and soon the new class will be tight.

Coming back to Phase 2 was awesome. Everyone was so happy to see each other and catch up on our summer activities. It felt like 4 months hadn’t even gone by. The OVC community is tight knit, and so are the classes, so it was a really nice feeling to be reunited on those first days.

This looks just like us in PODVM. Photo Credit: The Art of Scott Gustafson

So many choices vs So many responsibilities
In the next few days, the first years will have to decide to join so many things: clubs, class and student councils, the fraternity, and so many more. I remember it being very overwhelming. You don’t get a lot of time to feel it out, you just have to go with your gut and chose what you really feel like you want to be involved with. I know each organization wants to get started right away, so it is necessary to decide at the start of the year, unfortunately for the first years.

In the lifespan of an OVC student, you get 2 main years to get really involved with a club or organization. Your first year is usually spent being a general member and feeling things out. 2nd and 3rd year is generally the prime time to be on executive and lead clubs, since your 4th year is much too busy with clinical rotations to be overly involved. Many students in Phase 2 and 3 are leading the clubs and trying to recruit these 1st year members. I’m excited to get back into club activities and meet the new members in the club I’ll be leading.

Never done this before vs. Trying to prepare
In Phase 1, you really don’t know what to expect. You’ve never dealt with the volume of material, never had experience with the testing in vet school, and have no experience with a crazy exam schedule. You basically spend the beginning of the year trying different study habits and trying to see what works for you. In Phase 2, you’ve got a whole year under your belt. You know what Monday Exam Days are all about, you should know what works best for you, and you see it all coming. Most of us are strategizing right now to find a way to prepare for it all and stay on top of it. That being said, I’m still not sure how to do this, because the content will be even heavier this year. Basically, wish us all luck!

Basically. Photo Credit: Meme Generator

Normal vs. Abnormal
The biggest difference between the two Phases is that the first year you spend learning the “normals.” Normal histology, normal physiology, normal anatomy, etc. Those are your big courses, and while they try to demonstrate “disease” cases for learning purposes, you really don’t get much into the disease process and different maladies until second year. Obviously this is important, because without knowing what normal looks like, how can you tell if something is wrong?

In Phase 2, our biggest course is Principles of Disease in Veterinary Medicine, or PODVM. It’s an ominous course for everyone, and the big one we are going to have to be on top of this year. They moved the first module from this course down into the General Pathology class in Phase 1, so last year we learned the basics of necrosis, inflammation, tissue repair and neoplasia. This year, we get lots and lots more. Now we are looking at the things that are “abnormal,” and what to do about it, and things are starting to feel much more clinically relevant.

All in all, this year should be fun. Next week will be busy again with Club Days and the start of the content waterfall in class.

Mentoring will be great this year, and I’m looking forward to helping the first years find their way. I found being involved with Ready Set Vet so rewarding. You get to feed the excitement of the new students, introduce them to the community, and in turn, you feel their enthusiasm and remind yourself why vet school is so awesome.

We apparently have a few interested bloggers in the Kraken-Joey class, so hopefully I will have some new OVC bloggers to introduce to you in the near future!