It's amazing how much I've learned over the past three days. Learning in class is one thing, but it sticks so much better when you actually get to use that knowledge in real life situations.
I worked at the vet clinic Monday and Tuesday and had such an amazing experience. In just a few short days I learned and did so many interesting things and also got a really good feel on how to talk to clients about touchy subjects such as weight, teeth, and euthanasia.
Monday I observed a few standard surgeries, a spay and a declaw. Later in the evening a golden came in with acute collapse, labored breathing, and a heart rate of about 250. He was 15 and likely had a ruptured spleen. I helped by administering fluids and monitoring his heart rate, but ultimately the owners decided euthanasia was the best option.
Tuesday was pretty interesting as well. I observed a patellar repair on a five pound chihuahua. He had a congenital defect where his trochlear groove was "lopsided" due to one crest being normal and the other essentially non-existent. This caused his patella to constantly slide out of place, and was leading to hip dysplasia. The doc "regrooved" the trochlea by using a scalpel blade to carve it deeper and make it more symmetrical, and then took the sartorius muscle and sutured it across the leg to hold the patella in place. I could not believe that would even be possible without effecting the mobility of the leg, but it is! So incredible. Another case that I found particularly interesting was a dog with spastic paralysis (allowed me to brush up on my nervous system knowledge!).
Aside from all of that I learned so many things that will help me out for second and third year - the ins and outs of anesthesia and how to use the machine, evaluating an ear cytology, skin scraping, blood smear, lab results (not just what the numbers should be but what they mean as well)...I could list forever but you get the picture :)
Today I worked at animal control in Lakeland. I was a little skeptical of whether or not I would enjoy it but I really loved everything I did today. Vets for animal control of course do the standard spays and neuters, euthanasia (certain breeds can not be adopted out and some animals are just too sick to ever recover or are too aggressive), and perform more complex surgeries when necessary. They also evaluate animals that were either neglected or abused (or often both) and collect all of the evidence possible, and then they are able to appear in court to help put the person responsible in jail. For instance, a german shepherd came in that was clearly very ill with full body mange and appeared to be in a pain while walking. They ended up euthanizing him. He was emaciated and was found to have demodex (mites present causing the mange), was infested with fleas and intestinal parasites, and was heart worm positive. It is so awful what some people allow to happen to their animals and I really hope they are convicted for the pain and suffering they put that dog through. Another animal came in with a collar severely embedded in his neck and that poor dog looked so scared...his entire butt was tucked and if anything came near his face he would lower his head and shut his eyes. SO AWFUL! I mean really, HOW can people allow that sort of thing to happen? You have to be a really sick person to not care. Despite the fact that is sad to see animals that have suffered so badly, I really enjoyed being there. I would really love to occasionally work at for animal control or the SPCA just to help with abused and neglected animals.
Needless to say I had an awesome three days and am planning on going back once more on Friday. Next week is my last week of vacation and I still have a ton of things I want to do before I head back to Kansas!
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1.04.2012
12.21.2011
Traveling With Pets
My blood really boils every time I fly with Rhyley.
Airline policy is that pets must be in a carrier and put underneath the seat in front of you. I get why the pet needs to be in a carrier, it prevents a lot of chaos that could ensue. But really, underneath the seat? Not only in that unsafe for the animal, but where are my legs supposed to go?!
I got pretty lucky yesterday - on my first flight, the attendant let me hold Rhyley's carrier in my lap except during take off and landing, and I was able to keep her carrier in my lap the entire duration of the second flight. I wasn't so lucky earlier this year when they made me stuff her under the seat on a flight across the country. I think this is just awful.
I know that some pets are fine in a carrier and don't panic like my dog does. But it is beyond stressful when your dog is flipping around in its carrier, scratching at the walls, and panting like crazy. I kept taking her pulse and checking her breathing the entire time (I gave her some xanax prior to the flight) and her heart was POUNDING, I mean probably 200 beats a minute! I felt so terrible for her. Not to mention that she was incredibly overheated even when in my lap, but can you imagine being in a tightly enclosed space and being stuffed under a seat where there is less airflow?
Now I don't want to come off as sounding like pets are equal to children. (Well, personally my dog is like a child to me) but how is it any safer for a parent to have their baby/child in their lap during take off than for me to hold my dog's carrier during take off? Last I checked, babies and pets have a lot in common - they both breathe, eat, go potty, they both have sensations of pain and discomfort - and it obviously would be "unethical" to stuff your child in that space under the seat. So why is it any different for a pet? God knows that if something were to happen during take off or landing, I'm going to be reaching down and grabbing my dog. It's a hec of a lot safer for me and my dog to just have her in my lap.
I think I speak for many people when I say that it is a lot more disturbing to be next to a crying child than to be next to my dog sleeping quietly in her carrier on my lap. You have allergies? Oh, I can switch seats with someone. There is just no excuse. I even had a father tell me on the plane that traveling with pets is just like traveling with children. It really isn't that much different except that one is a human and one is an animal. How people can feel right about the treatment of animals on airplanes is beyond me. My dog's life is much more important than policies put in place by people who clearly have little care for the welfare of animals. And don't even get me started on pets in cargo...never do that to your animal!!
I really like this article about flying with pets. I absolutely think that planes should have a "pet class" section. I wouldn't even mind it being in the back of the plane and very limited to just a few people. Just to have a place where your pet could sit safely in it's crate next to you would be ideal. How is it that a living, breathing animal is considered property? My hope is that one day pets will no longer be thought of as property but as part of the family.
Airline policy is that pets must be in a carrier and put underneath the seat in front of you. I get why the pet needs to be in a carrier, it prevents a lot of chaos that could ensue. But really, underneath the seat? Not only in that unsafe for the animal, but where are my legs supposed to go?!
I got pretty lucky yesterday - on my first flight, the attendant let me hold Rhyley's carrier in my lap except during take off and landing, and I was able to keep her carrier in my lap the entire duration of the second flight. I wasn't so lucky earlier this year when they made me stuff her under the seat on a flight across the country. I think this is just awful.
I know that some pets are fine in a carrier and don't panic like my dog does. But it is beyond stressful when your dog is flipping around in its carrier, scratching at the walls, and panting like crazy. I kept taking her pulse and checking her breathing the entire time (I gave her some xanax prior to the flight) and her heart was POUNDING, I mean probably 200 beats a minute! I felt so terrible for her. Not to mention that she was incredibly overheated even when in my lap, but can you imagine being in a tightly enclosed space and being stuffed under a seat where there is less airflow?
Now I don't want to come off as sounding like pets are equal to children. (Well, personally my dog is like a child to me) but how is it any safer for a parent to have their baby/child in their lap during take off than for me to hold my dog's carrier during take off? Last I checked, babies and pets have a lot in common - they both breathe, eat, go potty, they both have sensations of pain and discomfort - and it obviously would be "unethical" to stuff your child in that space under the seat. So why is it any different for a pet? God knows that if something were to happen during take off or landing, I'm going to be reaching down and grabbing my dog. It's a hec of a lot safer for me and my dog to just have her in my lap.
I think I speak for many people when I say that it is a lot more disturbing to be next to a crying child than to be next to my dog sleeping quietly in her carrier on my lap. You have allergies? Oh, I can switch seats with someone. There is just no excuse. I even had a father tell me on the plane that traveling with pets is just like traveling with children. It really isn't that much different except that one is a human and one is an animal. How people can feel right about the treatment of animals on airplanes is beyond me. My dog's life is much more important than policies put in place by people who clearly have little care for the welfare of animals. And don't even get me started on pets in cargo...never do that to your animal!!
I really like this article about flying with pets. I absolutely think that planes should have a "pet class" section. I wouldn't even mind it being in the back of the plane and very limited to just a few people. Just to have a place where your pet could sit safely in it's crate next to you would be ideal. How is it that a living, breathing animal is considered property? My hope is that one day pets will no longer be thought of as property but as part of the family.
12.14.2011
Growing the CVM
Excited for the advances our school is planning to make [and maybe a little excited to be in a school video!] They filmed our class during our live dog labs and my lab group made the cut. Fun!!
Keeping Your Sanity
So I know the semester isn't over until Friday, but whether I get a zero or a 100 on that final won't change my letter grade so I'm basically done :)
With that said, I've been thinking back on how I made it through and have compiled a list of tips on how to survive (both to future first years and for myself to remember to use in the future). Read on!
1. Organization is key. I'm an organization freak, so I really love this part. Having the tablet really helps to stay organized (everything on a laptop rather than papers scattered all over the place), but if you're like me then you like to write things down sometimes instead of just studying them on a computer screen. In the beginning of the semester I made a flash card box to keep all of the subjects separated and in the order we learned them. I also used sticky notes for each lecture section of flash cards. This made it a whole lot easier to pick out what I needed to study for finals. I also kept a notebook for extra notes, rather than loose pieces of paper. Color coding is another nice way to organize your thoughts. One last thing I recommend in a study space that you want to use. Personalize it! I bought a desk and decorated it with a sea lion sculpture my mom bought me when I interned at Sea World, and a few other knick knacks that have memories associated with them. I also bought a board that's half dry erase and half cork, which has important dates, inspirational quotes, the veterinary oath, and Bible verses on it. So it may be cheesy, but sometimes when I was feeling over whelmed [or bored of the material] I would glance up at that and remember what I'm doing this for :)
2. Stay on top. I can't sit here and tell you that I came home every day and reviewed all of the material from that day's lectures, but I can tell you that I made time during the weekends to catch up. I never got behind, and it definitely helped me to get really good grades. It does depends on how your testing schedule is though. I used the evenings to study for exams (held on Fridays) and used the weekend to organize (there's that word again!) my notes and make flash cards for all of the material (yes, in every subject) that I learned that week. If there was a really bad exam coming up, I would figure in some study time on the weekends for that too.
3. Keep a schedule. This sort of goes hand in hand with the first two items, but I think it's really important. Invest in a nice planner and use it! Each weekend I would plan out the following week to make sure I had enough time to get through all of the exam material. Basically I divided up how many lectures there were and split them evenly among the days I had to study, and I always made sure to keep Thursday as a review day. This worked out most of the time and kept me from pulling any all nighters, which brings me to my next point...
4. Get sleep. I never got less than 6 hours of sleep this entire semester. Honestly, it is way more detrimental to force yourself to stay awake than to just get a good night's rest, wake up refreshed and review before the test. [I say this now, but we'll see what happens second year, heh].
5. Plan "me time". I really didn't have much "me time" this semester, but I did at bare minimum give myself Friday's off from studying. I also took a half day on the weekends to do something I wanted to do, whether shopping, reading, taking photographs...whatever it is, make time to do it. It will keep you sane!
Hopefully these keep me on track next semester too, but as for second year...all I can say is I am scared!
Alright, time to do a little reviewing and a lot of relaxing. This has been a great semester! :]
With that said, I've been thinking back on how I made it through and have compiled a list of tips on how to survive (both to future first years and for myself to remember to use in the future). Read on!
1. Organization is key. I'm an organization freak, so I really love this part. Having the tablet really helps to stay organized (everything on a laptop rather than papers scattered all over the place), but if you're like me then you like to write things down sometimes instead of just studying them on a computer screen. In the beginning of the semester I made a flash card box to keep all of the subjects separated and in the order we learned them. I also used sticky notes for each lecture section of flash cards. This made it a whole lot easier to pick out what I needed to study for finals. I also kept a notebook for extra notes, rather than loose pieces of paper. Color coding is another nice way to organize your thoughts. One last thing I recommend in a study space that you want to use. Personalize it! I bought a desk and decorated it with a sea lion sculpture my mom bought me when I interned at Sea World, and a few other knick knacks that have memories associated with them. I also bought a board that's half dry erase and half cork, which has important dates, inspirational quotes, the veterinary oath, and Bible verses on it. So it may be cheesy, but sometimes when I was feeling over whelmed [or bored of the material] I would glance up at that and remember what I'm doing this for :)
2. Stay on top. I can't sit here and tell you that I came home every day and reviewed all of the material from that day's lectures, but I can tell you that I made time during the weekends to catch up. I never got behind, and it definitely helped me to get really good grades. It does depends on how your testing schedule is though. I used the evenings to study for exams (held on Fridays) and used the weekend to organize (there's that word again!) my notes and make flash cards for all of the material (yes, in every subject) that I learned that week. If there was a really bad exam coming up, I would figure in some study time on the weekends for that too.
3. Keep a schedule. This sort of goes hand in hand with the first two items, but I think it's really important. Invest in a nice planner and use it! Each weekend I would plan out the following week to make sure I had enough time to get through all of the exam material. Basically I divided up how many lectures there were and split them evenly among the days I had to study, and I always made sure to keep Thursday as a review day. This worked out most of the time and kept me from pulling any all nighters, which brings me to my next point...
4. Get sleep. I never got less than 6 hours of sleep this entire semester. Honestly, it is way more detrimental to force yourself to stay awake than to just get a good night's rest, wake up refreshed and review before the test. [I say this now, but we'll see what happens second year, heh].
5. Plan "me time". I really didn't have much "me time" this semester, but I did at bare minimum give myself Friday's off from studying. I also took a half day on the weekends to do something I wanted to do, whether shopping, reading, taking photographs...whatever it is, make time to do it. It will keep you sane!
Hopefully these keep me on track next semester too, but as for second year...all I can say is I am scared!
Alright, time to do a little reviewing and a lot of relaxing. This has been a great semester! :]
12.05.2011
Almost there!
It's hard to believe this is the last week of classes. Finals are next week, and then I have a month of freedom before next semester :)
Man, I used to think undergrad finals week was bad...but it has nothing on this. I have three exams this week..yep three exams the week before finals, and we begin finals on Monday! Sure, Integration is a breeze, but 3D anatomy is going to take a little studying. And of course the anatomy lab exam is proving to be a lot more in depth than I thought! On top of studying for those, I'm trying to start studying for Monday's final (cumulative micro anatomy, ugh). That exam is going to have an ungodly amount of material on it, and waiting till the weekend to go over it all is a horrible idea. So needless to say, I'm going to be exhausted by the end of next week!
In other news, it is super cold here, I don't think it got above 30 degrees today. Brrr! I'm hoping for some snow at least once before I leave for Florida, but I'm definitely ready for a good dose of the Florida sun! 14 more days until I fly home!
Time to grab some coffee and head into the lab...it's gonna be a long week.
Man, I used to think undergrad finals week was bad...but it has nothing on this. I have three exams this week..yep three exams the week before finals, and we begin finals on Monday! Sure, Integration is a breeze, but 3D anatomy is going to take a little studying. And of course the anatomy lab exam is proving to be a lot more in depth than I thought! On top of studying for those, I'm trying to start studying for Monday's final (cumulative micro anatomy, ugh). That exam is going to have an ungodly amount of material on it, and waiting till the weekend to go over it all is a horrible idea. So needless to say, I'm going to be exhausted by the end of next week!
In other news, it is super cold here, I don't think it got above 30 degrees today. Brrr! I'm hoping for some snow at least once before I leave for Florida, but I'm definitely ready for a good dose of the Florida sun! 14 more days until I fly home!
Time to grab some coffee and head into the lab...it's gonna be a long week.
And just a little comic relief:
No, this is not Rhyley hahaha but I thought it was pretty hilarious :
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