Getting organised for Vet Exam Preparation: Tips for Avoiding Chaos - Email #17
Hello everyone!
💡 Today’s topic might seem a bit complex, but I want to share an important tool I discovered during my journey to becoming a registered vet in Australia.
When I began preparing for the AVE back in 2021, I faced some challenges. My only reference was a Facebook group; I wasn’t part of any WhatsApp groups for AVE prep, and I didn’t have anyone to ask those “silly” questions we all have when starting out. At that time, there wasn’t much information shared by vets about resources for the MCQ and practical exams.
My study approach was quite chaotic at first 😵💫. I would search various official websites from different Australian states and gather information about the most relevant diseases. Initially, I didn’t save the pages I read or make detailed notes, which led to confusion about which resources were valuable and important.
So, here’s a tip: before you even start studying, get organised! 📒
- Choose Your Format: Decide if you’ll go paperless (like I did for the practical exam) or stick with a notebook—or use both!
- Organize Your Resources: Create folders by topic for digital resources. Save links and documents in these folders so you can easily find them later. If you come across a file or folder that’s not useful, delete it to avoid overwhelming yourself.
- Color-Coding: If you prefer using a notebook, use different sticky notes or colour dividers to separate general topics (e.g., parasitology, microbiology) and more specific topics (e.g., horses, cattle, cardiology in small animals).
📜 MSD Veterinary Manual (I also bought the book on a hard copy, all the content is available online as well – It was my bible for the MCQ)
🔬Online textbook on Veterinary Clinical Pathology
📚Equine and Small Animal MiniVet guide
📋Common protocols – Vetapedia – have a lot of free resources available in pdf
🎥Veterinary videos with common procedures – apparently all their content will be free soon
🐂Animals and Livestock diseases – NSW
🚫Emergency animal diseases: A field guide for Australian veterinarians – Outbreaks of emergency animal diseases (EADs) in Australia have the potential to cause significant impact. Many of these diseases are exotic to Australia.
💊 Australian Veterinary Prescribing Guidelines
👉🏻👉🏻 If you find this information helpful, we’d love to hear from you! Leave us a message, recommendation, or any suggestions for improvement. Your feedback is vital as we continue to support and guide overseas vets on this challenging journey.