I came here all excited to talk about my day shadowing at a nearby institution. Over the last few weeks, though, I've realized that the further along I get on my career path and the more involved I become in the work, the people, etc...the less I should be writing about these things. I suppose if I had chosen a more traditional veterinary route it wouldn't be such a big deal to talk non-specifically about cases I'd seen. With the nature of lab animal being the way it is though (the public eye especially), it's not really appropriate for me to talk about where I'm going, what I'm doing, with whom...even though it excites me to no end. (A blog topic for another time might be where I go with this blog, as I won't really be able to update it like I have been in school. Maybe more about my "real" life outside vet med? Who knows.)

So suffice to say I had a really cool day at this place and learned a lot. One of the things I learned is that I really do want to do the clinical side of things and less-so the research part. To get board certified for lab animal medicine you need a primary authorship, so it's definitely something I'll have to participate in. And of course I'll be part of it with IACUC and the like as a vet. But my previous mumblings on maybe getting a PhD while I'm there? Not so much on my radar anymore. I think research is vital and awesome and I really admire those who do it on a daily basis for like, their whole careers. But I want be the person applying the findings to the clinical setting, or to the regulatory aspect of lab animals.

My break is winding down and there still seems like so much to do. The biggest thing is to sort through all of my stuff and figure out what I'll bring up with me and what I'll leave behind. For only six months in the apartment I want to be darn sure that every thing I bring up is absolutely necessary; it'll be a spartan lifestyle for me but that's okay.

Definitely looking forward to this weekend as well: Danny and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary :)