Thoughts under the current situation

• [Academic year] 1st year
• [University] Tottori University
• [Home Prefecture] Kagawa

The first professional subjects I took during my university life were very challenging for me. I took online lectures alone due to the COVID-19 crisis. Preparation and review for classes ended up inconclusive, and it took so much time and effort just to read the text. There was a time when a professor posted, “I will answer questions I’ve received through e-mail” on an online bulletin board, yet I have experienced having to stop studying because I could not understand the meaning of both the questions and answers.

Currently, professional subjects are conducted in person at the Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine. Now, I have more opportunities to talk to my colleagues from the same department, whom I did not get to see due to the corona crisis, and we get to study together and collaborate to write reports. I feel that my study days with my colleagues help greatly in inducing my motivation. From my personal experience, I know that I must study by myself; however, I may not be able to motivate myself to study if I didn’t have any friends.

Let’s study as much as we can as veterinary medicine students!

• [Academic year] 2nd year
• [University] Gifu University
• [Home Prefecture] Osaka

Second-year students will be busy taking professional subjects with actual animals and students will have more opportunities to learn as a veterinarian which fulfills students’ life. Anatomy class will be taken in the 1st semester of the second year and students will learn proactively about animal body structures themselves with the help of team cooperation.

Many things were unfamiliar; however, faculty members taught me so much, and this became a wonderful experience. In physiology, animals’ physiological phenomena can be confirmed by your own eyes. In the microbiology hands-on program, I was able to experience the PCR test, which we often hear these days.

Hands-on programs will be the time to apply what we have been studying during the school years, and I feel that I must prepare to have the attitude of infallibly taking in what I learn. Faculty of each professionality provide us with interesting lectures and hands-on programs. If you have any questions, go ask your professors and the staff. All of them have taught me thoroughly. The basics that the 1st and 2nd year students learn will be the foundation of the applied medicine; therefore, I advise you to proactively prepare and review to enjoy a meaningful student’s life.

Learn and grow at the Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine

• [Academic year] 3rd year
• [University] Tottori University
• [Home Prefecture] Osaka

First and 2nd year students will learn mainly of the normal condition of animals, and 3rd year students will learn about diseases of animals from multiple points of view. Classroom lectures offer animal diseases that are closely related to human diseases as well as zoonosis, public health, etc., which relate to human health; therefore, there is quite an amount of information to understand and memorize. In hands-on programs, there will be experimental procedures, data evaluations, and discussions, along with presentations and debates to deepen the understanding of what we’ve learned in classroom lectures.

I feel that the way of capturing, thinking, and expressing scientific and logical information learned by the 2nd year was directly connected to what we have studied in our 3rd year.

This may sound a bit boring, but classroom lectures and hands-on programs are full of surprises, discovery, joy, and interesting things. You may be able to enjoy mentally fulfilling experiences at the Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine by learning with colleagues having different backgrounds and different sets of values, and to strengthen your determination to become future veterinarians.

Deeply understanding is more important than memorizing.

• [Academic year] 4th year
• [University] Gifu University
• [Home Prefecture] Ishikawa

Here is some advice for those who will be students of this university. From my experience, I do not recommend that you make memorizing, which you may have done for the examination, your main study method at the university. It is important to memorize, but the ability to understand, think, and present appropriately is needed. One of my teachers told me that “Veterinarians must understand the information that a client needs and explain it in understandable words. To do so, you must understand 120%.” In order to do that, I think that one needs to have a broader view and a proactive learning attitude, such as by searching for the things one doesn’t understand.

As I went on to the next academic year, I noticed that my past learnings came together, which made my study much enjoyable. I hope everyone will enjoy as well as learn.

Fulfilling lectures and hands-on programs jointly conducted at two universities

• [Academic year] 5th year
• [University] Tottori University
• [Home Prefecture] Osaka

In the 5th year of the Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine, comprehensive participation in the hands-on program begins. During this hands-on program, with the cooperation of owners and animals (dogs and cats), students will actually take part in clinical practice at the Animal Medical Center. Moreover, clinical practices of not only dogs and cats but also large animals such as cattle may be experienced. It will be valuable time thinking about how to apply what you have learned in the past lectures to actual practice. Also, research laboratory activities help students on experiments and seminars for the graduation thesis. You will be able to gain expertise in experimental procedures and understand the details of research papers.

Hands-on programs and research laboratory activities will keep you busy and will require hard work. This will be an important academic year, in which all of the things you have studies come together. This would also be a time when you have more opportunities to think about what you really want to do, which leads to your growth.

What I learned in my 6 years of the Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine

• [Academic year] 6th year
• [University] Gifu University
• [Home Prefecture] Gunma

There are only 30 students per year in the Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine, so I was able to be very proactive with my learning. Basics are covered in the first three years, and applied and clinical details are covered in the latter three years. There are hands-on programs from the first half of the school years, conducted in groups of 5 to 6 students and coordinated with the classroom lecture. Small groups enabled us to think on our own as well as to have discussions, and this process has helped us deepen our knowledge.

5th year students finish up classroom lectures and participate in the comprehensive clinical hands-on program (Poliklinik). This is a hands-on program to experience clinical practice at the university animal hospital and was a valuable opportunity for me to realize how the knowledge I had learned becomes useful in practice.

Students are affiliated with a research laboratory for 3 years, from the 4th academic year to graduation, to work on their graduation research as well as acquire specialized knowledge and technology. Enhanced support from professors of the research laboratory was possible because only around 2 students per academic year were placed in each laboratory.

Lectures taught by another university is another appealing point of the Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine. I attended a lecture on the pathological anatomy of livestock held at Tottori University in my 5th year. Experiencing autopsies of large animals to elucidate pathological conditions could not be obtained in Gifu University and was therefore a very worthwhile experience.