Best purchases at vet school

Going back to school as someone who took some years out of education was a big adjustment. I remember saying (any my parents love to remind me) "I never have to any exams ever again!" when I graduated the first time.

It's been a big learning curve, and I do think it was softened by the pandemic - online learning in my own space was much more comfortable than being alone in a different country. That isn't to say that it was easy (it wasn't), but I did make some purchases that made the learning process easier.

Technology purchases

1. iPad

    This, unfortunately, was the best purchase I've ever made for learning. I got the iPad mini 6 (2021), and I absolutely adore it. I use it every single day - mostly for looking at the lecture slides, making notes in practicals, googling things on the fly (and not looking super rude by pulling my phone out). I went for the mini over the regular sized ones because it makes it 100x more portable. I prefer writing on smaller notebooks anyway (couldn't tell you for why), but the fact that it fits in my labcoat and scrub top pocket is the absolute icing on the cake.

It's so good for other things too, I use it for Netflix a lot, reading articles, anything I might do on my phone but with a bigger screen. 

1a. Microsoft OneNote

    I use OneNote for most of my notetaking needs. I can import the lecture slides into different sections, and make notes directly onto the power points. I can use it on my laptop to type when I need my writing to be clearer. I love making my notes into tables too, and it's so easy to do that on the fly.

I've been using OneNote since the start of 4th year, and I've got a lot of notes and powerpoints in there - I pay a yearly subscription for extra cloud storage. 

1b. Anki for iPad

    I've mentioned Anki a few times, but I love it. Seriously love it. Can't imagine my life without it, no idea how I learnt anything without it before. I bought the iOS Anki app for about £25. Seems steep, but if you use it everyday like it's recommended, the cost per use definitely works out. 

2. MacBook Air

    This was a semi-necessary purchase. I did love my old laptop, but it did this weird thing where if I shut the lid, it went to sleep and you had to hard reset it every single time. Absolute nightmare, meant I couldn't use my laptop as a portable computer. A few weeks before I was going to come back, I decided enough was enough, and I got a new laptop. Mac because I had one before and it was an absolute workhorse. I miss quite a few of Windows' features, but I can generally work around it. 

3. Fjallraven Kanken (or any good backpack)

    I always wanted a Kanken, since the days of Tumblr, but I held off on getting on until 2018, and I have used it every single day since. I love how it looks too - it's 16L, and normally backpacks look oversized on me, but this one is pretty and compact.

    I have the Rekanken, made from recyled plastic, in the normal 15" size, and this bag can fit so much stuff in it. I have packed for a 5 day trip in this bag. I can carry my laptop, iPad, labcoat, scrubs, clinic shoes, pencil case, water bottle, coffee cup, lunch box and snacks in this bag. The handles on top make for an excellent hands free holding spot for a coat, too.

4. A flat

   My university dorms were shared rooms - this just was not the vibe for me, so me and a friend rented a very reasonably priced apartment. Neither of us are big partiers, so being away from that aspect of dorms is really nice. We're not too far from campus or from town, and we have a lot more space than a tiny shared room!