Reliving nightmares about exam stress | Animal Magic

Possibly the most scary time of my life was the approach to my finals at vet school. What if I messed it up? After eight years of focussed study, two to get the A grades at A-level I needed, and six at vet school, it would have been devastating to fail.

Even as I crammed, I was promising myself that I would never put myself through that level of stress again.

And yet, like Nick, I elected to go beyond my MRCVS qualifications and improve myself further.

Since qualification I have studied for, been examined in and passed two further certificates. One was in veterinary radiography, the other in small animal medicine.

Nick’s is in veterinary imaging, which covers ultrasonography, radiography and other scanning modalities too.

Certificates are only for vets who already hold the coveted title MRCVS, and take from three to five years of study to prepare for. And yet, this does not give us the right to call ourselves specialists.

The term specialist is reserved in our profession for even higher levels of expertise and skill.

When a vet commits to just one small area of the profession, exclusively and is examined by their peers to prove themselves.

Most vets study for certificates for their own satisfaction. To continue to challenge themselves, keep themselves up to date, and advance their skill levels. But it is scary.

When I sat my veterinary radiography examination it was a two-day affair, for which I travelled to Cambridge, bringing back a lot of memories of my student days.

I can recall writing essays, one if which included me providing quickly sketched line drawings of the many bones of a horse’s hock from different angles. Then there were a series of radiographs (X-rays) for me to read and write a report on for the examiners to review.

I still suffer from nightmares about exam stress, but I sincerely hope that Nick will sail through his with ease.

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