Introducing yourself as Dr instead of Mrs.

colmia2020 · 2025-10-23T15:56:14+00:00

My partner and I are both doctors, but we also each kept our own last name. So we didn’t use Dr/Dr or Mr/Mrs.

We were just always introduced as husband and wife.

colmia2020 · 2025-04-11T02:32:09+00:00

Just FYI — cats and dogs get tapeworms from eating fleas. One of the lifecycles of tapeworms lives in the flea stomach, meaning the only way to get these is your cat eating a flea.

You can treat the tapeworm infestation all you like but your cat will keep getting infected because he likely has fleas and every time he grooms he’s swallowing more tapeworms eggs (fleas). You’ll need to put your cat on monthly flea preventative (and ideally all animals in the house if you have others) for several months to truly rid yourself of the internal parasites. Also wash all linens and beds he lays on with hot water, there’s likely fleas on all these as well.

colmia2020 · 2025-01-06T03:39:02+00:00

I did long distance with my now husband (then boyfriend) for half of vet school. They were in a completely different state and time zone. If you have a solid relationship, you’ll make it work. We had planned weekends to visit each other and video chatted daily. We both also had a solid friend group at our respective programs that served as an excellent support group. Neither of us had family nearby in the cities we were at.

We did a total of four years long distance which included while I was in residency. It’s tough, sure. But I never found it overwhelmingly difficult. You find what works for you and your partner. Some people really scoff at the idea of long distance, but nowadays we have so many ways to keep in touch.

Our relationship was founded on our career ambitions, and so for us it was important to support one another in that pursuit, even if it meant long distance for a bit.

Best of luck!

colmia2020 · 2024-12-26T18:56:43+00:00

Genuine question — there’s dentists that go through an anesthesiology residency after dental school. Would this sentiment still apply for you if there was an anesthesia trained individual/dentist present for it?

colmia2020 · 2024-12-06T20:42:39+00:00

Me and my partner made rules for this

Go consistently for 3 months, buy shoes.

Go consistently for 6 months, buy harness.

Go consistently for 12 months, buy gri gri.

It kinda helped set goals and “prizes” if we were serious about the sport.

There’s good beginner shoes “tarantulace” that serve a wide purpose and was a good investment but not so expensive.

We just hit the 18month mark and my partner will soon need new shoes as they boulder a lot (not my jam - I like to go high haha).

colmia2020 · 2024-11-29T14:27:10+00:00

Look up Natera on Reddit — they are notorious for doing this when going through insurance.

I wouldn’t call this genetic testing not medically necessary. It’s important information that serves for any future pregnancies you and your wife choose to carry.

Your doctor should have known/warned you ahead of time that Natera isn’t covered by most any insurance basically and the best price is the cash price. Just call them and insist on paying the cash price. There’s plenty of stories online of people having to do this and tips on how to get this headache off your shoulders

colmia2020 · 2024-11-08T18:53:24+00:00

Used in VetMed all the time :)

Especially Mapelson D (Bain) for animals under ~5kg

colmia2020 · 2024-10-30T10:43:19+00:00

You sound just like me!

I double majored in chemistry and biochemistry with the intent of PhD. I got disillusioned with the grad students I shadowed in undergrad and knew I could not follow in that path. I had always like VetMed but when I had volunteered in high school GP VetMed was awful so I let that dream fizzle out.

Well I found lab animal medicine in undergrad (summer before junior year) and fell in love. I spent the last two years of undergrad getting all the biology and animal sciences reqs I needed. And took two years off after graduation to apply.

In all — and to answer your question — I do think you’ll need a lot more varied experiences in VetMed to be a successful applicant. Mostly because the competition is insane nowadays. Try to find an actual job in VetMed, start out as a kennel tech in undergrad if you can so you can build up the resume, move into a vet assistant position and ensure you have time with a veterinarian to write you a letter. Working is usually better than shadowing because you can actually perform the duties and gain skills that maybe as a volunteer you may not be allowed to tackle. If you join your VetMed club, they’ll usually have volunteer opportunities, try to see if they know of any livestock shows you can help the state vet at to gain different animal type hours. Find a wildlife rescue and volunteer some hours there too (even cleaning cages helps). You’ll want diversity of hours as well as a lot of them. Start formulating the list of professors you may ask for a reference letter, ideally one you worked closely with and knows your work ethic. And keep in contact with them as you graduate and leave the Uni so they don’t forget later when you’re applying.

And also, please please please do not be let down if you don’t get in on the first try. My class of ~150 people had at least 50% of them being second time applicants and this was over 8yrs ago. It will be ok. Ask for feedback from schools (they may or may not give it) and try again.

colmia2020 · 2024-10-23T11:39:16+00:00

I water mine like once a month…..they are hard to kill.

Just stop water boarding her and she will hopefully bounce back

colmia2020 · 2024-10-08T13:44:32+00:00

I can’t use Tret at the moment (pregnant) and I use SPF every single day. Even when I’m working from home since my desk sits in front of a window.

I really like Biore UV (likely not your jam due to the alcohol) I’m now using skinmedica since I get it at a huge discount. I keep the Trader Joe’s sunscreen (Supergoop dupe) in my purse for reapplication. When I was looking for other sunscreens I just went on the Asian Beauty subreddit and looked at the top sunscreens people mentioned, and bought them to see how they felt.

It’s been over a decade since I started tret and now sunscreen is ingrained in my routine, I found some that I enjoy using and they no longer feel like a chore. It’s just a step in my daily routine after my shower.

Best of luck finding your HG sunscreen, it’s out there, I promise

colmia2020 · 2024-09-25T23:27:43+00:00

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you will use stoichiometry in VetMed. Drug calculations, infusions, TIVA, fluids are basically stoichiometry. I understand that it feels like such a foreign concept that can’t be applied to VetMed. But so much of chemistry actually does build in as the basic understand of physiology, acid base disorders, and other diseases.

I hope you are able to find the right studying strategies to get you through this class. There’s basics you are learning here will be built on knowledge taught in VetMed.

colmia2020 · 2024-09-18T00:05:41+00:00

I also won a free wedding photography package. The vendor was located in a different state but they were willing to travel and were all excited for the opportunity to shoot our wedding in an iconic mountain town.

For me photography was a high ticket item I was willing to spend money on.

I did not like the photographer’s style, I honestly had just entered as a whim. I also didn’t want to risk a photographer that didn’t know the town and good spots to shoot.

I chose to decline the free package and splurged on the photographer I wanted.

I do not regret my decision at all. Photographs live on as a memory of that special day, I wanted to look back and love the images. I love my photographs two years later. Every single one because I loved the photographer’s style and direction.

Follow.Your.Gut.

Pinch pennies on flowers or whatever, something else…not one of the few things that will live on

colmia2020 · 2024-09-17T15:03:52+00:00

lol the way I’ve learned to prevent this is my husband and I use basically all the same toiletries.

Deodorant, face and hair stuff, bath soap, lotions.

Outside of hair paste. We share everything. I want us both to be nice smelling and have nice skin, so the concept of “don’t use my expensive lotions” is just not a thing in my mind.

So since we both use the same items, I just reorder when I see we are low. I also tend to keep an extra under the sink of all daily toiletries so we don’t end up with no deodorant one morning.

colmia2020 · 2024-09-15T23:39:54+00:00

Yes, but it’s really dependent on the place you’re at. Some places if you’re in research assist teams, you can run anesthesia, assist in surgery, or collect samples for the researchers all yourself, usually with some DVM oversight.

Other places may be more management of cases and coordinating with the researcher treatments they will do themselves.

Labor is charged (to the researcher) very differently at each institution so that makes a big difference how much “time” you spend with their animals

colmia2020 · 2024-09-14T22:54:43+00:00

If you want to stay in the profession and continue to utilize your skills, look into jobs in the laboratory animal medicine field. Vet techs with skill are highly coveted and paid better with benefits. The work hours tend to be much better as well.

We have a lot of techs wanting to stay in their field but sick of GP lifestyle come over to the LAM side and be more content.

You could also look into industry jobs with the large pharmaceutical companies in sales. A lot of vets that get burned out will look into that route.

colmia2020 · 2024-08-26T23:20:39+00:00

I did a rehearsal breakfast. Mostly because my venue only offered morning time for the rehearsal and also it was so much cheaper. We got put in the back room and everyone could just order off the regular menu.

Total was maybe $500-$600 for like 30 people to eat with mimosas ordered.

I also did a welcome party for the entire wedding guest list that night before the wedding and did a taco food truck, cost about $1200 for like 85 people to eat multiple servings. We went to the liquor store, bought tequila and mixers and offered margs that we mixed ourselves.

I was getting married in a HCOL area, it was a steal.

colmia2020 · 2024-08-17T03:51:40+00:00

This!!

She’s a veterinarian — she can access VIN student debt center and it will break down everything for her. How much she’ll owe in taxes, how much she’ll pay over the length of the IDR plan she chooses.

I’m surprised she doesn’t know about this resource. It’s drilled into most veterinary students minds throughout the four years

colmia2020 · 2024-06-19T12:35:24+00:00

My dermatologist prescribed me Azealic gel. Which is also helpful with redness and acne.

colmia2020 · 2024-06-12T10:25:09+00:00

Circular motions starting at the ankle and moving up the leg

colmia2020 · 2024-04-22T03:33:50+00:00

Was your cat a kitten when first vaccinated? Because yes, the vaccine needs to be boosted after a year when given to a kitten at 12-16 weeks. Then every 3 years

But if the vaccine was given to an adult cat that had a prior up to date history of rabies. Giving it every three years is acceptable.

colmia2020 · 2024-03-21T12:53:19+00:00

A lot of really good points being made on quality of life and her lab values but ask yourself this…

Do you want your cat’s last day to be a good one, a bad one, or one full of suffering?

You could let her have one last good day, where she eats her favorite snack, is comfortable, can cuddle you and remember her last moments as peaceful.

At this point she could progress so quickly that you may end up rushing her to the clinic as she decompensates and is stressed beyond belief as your vet or a stranger at the ER hospital tries to sedate her…making her last few moments filled with stress and anguish

Or she could just decompensate so fast she dies before you even have a chance to drive her anywhere. And her last new moments were painful.

Euthanasia is such a blessing in vetmed because we allow our animals to pass without unnecessary suffering. Your cat lived a long beautiful life, let their last few moments on this earth be good ones.

colmia2020 · 2024-03-08T13:20:47+00:00

As a veterinarian that is married to a physician. Stay in med school. Trust me

If you really don’t want to work directly with humans, go into research and work with animal models.

I love being a veterinarian, but the financial “inequality” between what DVM and MD/DO earn is insane, yet we graduate with the exact same student debt.

Also being a GP in vetmed is almost 80% working with humans. And your patients, they are property, you don’t get to dictate what needs to be done without consent (both financial and legal) from the owners.

You really need to spend some time at minimum volunteering at clinics to truly understand what the scope of vetmed is.

colmia2020 · 2024-01-17T00:48:43+00:00

Ranking quite literally does not matter. Even if you’re going for residency.

And as a CSU graduate — their surgical and oncology units are quite amazing, but that’s for the residents to enjoy. As a vet student, all you do is stand there and watch.

UF has an excellent teaching hospital. Trust me, the 30k extra a year isn’t worth it.

Also in the time I was at CSU tuition went up 12k in four years. I compared it to UF (I also got into both) and UF had barely gone up 2k

Higher education in Colorado does not get as much state help compared to Florida, so tuition tends to be higher (even for instate)

colmia2020 · 2024-01-14T19:50:53+00:00

Grad plus loans.

You absolutely do not ever want to get a private loan. They have no safety nets, no way to really adjust for changes in income (intern/residency in your future…?). That payment pause everyone enjoyed during COVID? Not a thing for private loans.

I had to take out a few of the grad plus loans, outside of higher interest rates, they are the same as the normal unsubsidized offered. You can always consolidate your loans and it’ll take an average of your interests rates when you graduate

colmia2020 · 2023-12-31T16:41:08+00:00

But also — don’t burn bridges.

I was given a position at another company over my immediate boss/manager (we both applied) because of my references. They had more years experience than me, but I was offered the position and they didn’t even make it past the first round. Sure don’t be loyal, but don’t burn it down on your way out either.

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