RADIOLOGY

Radiology is one of the foundations of veterinary diagnostics. It allows us to look beyond the physical examination and evaluate structures we cannot directly see — from lungs and heart size to fractures, abdominal organs, and hidden diseases.

A single radiograph can completely change the direction of a case. But learning radiology is not simply “looking at x-rays.” It involves understanding anatomy, positioning, image quality, and pattern recognition. The more cases you see, the more your eyes slowly learn to recognize what is normal and what is not.

As someone who wanted to improve my diagnostic skills, I knew radiology was something I had to study deeper. And honestly, entering this course made me realize how much more there is to learn behind every image we interpret.

The More I Learn, The More I Realize I Don’t Know

Hello, I just wanted to share a part of my journey.

After graduation, I chose to explore different paths. I tried different things like becoming a part time academe, focusing on art, traveling and building small businesses outside the veterinary world. Being a veterinarian became such a huge part of my identity that I started looking for other outlets because honestly, there were moments when it made me hate vet medicine.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I still wanted to learn more and see another side of the world. That led me to enroll in a radiology course in Luxembourg.

To be honest, it was scary. I was the only Filipino there, and I felt intimidated because I had very little experience compared to many of my classmates who were already far more advanced than me. Sometimes I questioned if I was really capable of being there.

But despite that, I enjoyed the experience, the food, the company, the conversations, and even the challenge of sitting in front of black and white radiographs for almost a week straight. I kept reminding myself that maybe being in the room already meant something.

This experience made me come back excited about veterinary medicine again. Somehow, after diving deeper into radiology, I felt inspired to return to small animal practice with a different kind of motivation and curiosity.

Ironically though, the more I learned, the more I realized how much I still don’t know. That experience pushed me to enroll in even more courses like ultrasound, oncology, and internal medicine because they all connect with one another.

My gosh… it’s so much studying. I honestly don’t even like studying that much hahaha. But I guess this profession has a way of pulling you back into learning over and over again.

Maybe that’s part of becoming a better veterinarian, realizing you’ll never truly know everything, but still choosing to keep learning anyway.

This second seminar I attended was led by Dr. Spattini, a doctor I truly admire for her witty teaching style and sharp eye for details that I wouldn’t even notice myself.

Being surrounded by colleagues from my country made me realize that we are all eager to learn and improve. Most of us are general practitioners, and we still don’t really have many veterinary radiologists yet. Old or young, experienced or still starting out, it didn’t matter. We were all simply trying our best to become better veterinarians for our patients.