As you may remember from a post earlier this year, I had my arm cut open after pregging one too many cows. The joys of surgery and nearly losing my mind being restricted from doing much of anything were enough to make a guy think twice about what he’s doing with his life. Especially when he’s in a profession not known for being too gentle on its practitioners.

So after some soul searching and job searching, I made a change. Instead of being the guy putting in prolapses and trimming bulls' feet, I’m now teaching others how to do it. Yep, I went to the university.

Now those who have known me for a long time found this to be a good laugh. Let’s just say, I wasn’t the most diligent student. Not a bad student by any means, but when I received that diploma, I couldn’t get to the exit door fast enough. I might have left the cap and gown on the ground behind, Wile E. Coyote style.

Now a decade later, I’m back and enjoying being on this side of the classroom much better and not just because it’s less stressful to give the test rather than receive it. In my time in practice, I was blessed to receive a heck of an education. As I tell the students, often, it was from the school of hard knocks and the classroom of “we’re not doing it that way again.” I had the chance to try many of the techniques we learned in school and get a decent idea of which ones worked well and when was the best time to use them.

While it’s rewarding to use this education in clinical practice, it seemed like a good time to bring this information to others. And the time was ripe, as South Dakota State University (SDSU) had just started a new cooperative veterinary program with the University of Minnesota. They needed veterinarians who had been in practice, and I needed a job that didn’t include a punch card for the orthopedic surgeon. Perfect match.

It sure was a switch though when this semester started. No longer outdoors all day, my calluses and farmer's tan faded over the course of a few months. Being “back in school” also brought back to life things I had seldom thought of in practice. Google “malignant catarrhal fever.” It’s a nasty one I’m glad I never saw in the field.

But the biggest positive change is the interaction with the students. Full of enthusiasm to become excellent veterinarians, they bring a positive air to my daily grind. We’re quite fortunate to have a great group here at SDSU that truly want to put their best foot forward day in and day out.

Plus, interacting with the faculty here is a big plus. In practice, I received cutting-edge information when it rolled around to a continuing education (CE) meeting I could attend. Now, I just walk down the hall and ask the folks that are discovering it. That’s awesome.

Now being separated from day-to-day practice, my contributions to this periodical on the fortunes and follies of beef cattle medicine are drawing to a close. That being the case, I do want to graciously thank the folks at Progressive Cattle for giving me the opportunity to share my random musings with you all. It has been a real treat.