So I just realized again that this vetstories blog barely has any vet stories in it! I will definitely try to make a change this year and add some more relevant details! Obviously from my posting history, vet school is not very exciting and worth writing about.
However, I do have to say that final year is quite different! There are no classes, and every 4 weeks you have a new topic, and each week you rotate through different areas within that big topic. The only exception is Farm Animal which is only 3 weeks.
For me, the first rotation is farm (yay!) and I get to ride out into the countryside and visit farms. My first weekly topic was Herd and Flock Health which basically dealt with management of a farm, nutrition/metabolic profiles and how to improve the overall health and sustainability of the farm. I know I know, that sounds really boring and parts of it were kindof difficult to wrap my head around, but I think by the end of it I wish we were able to do more. You get involved with a farm and part of you just wants to see it succeed. Also, I got to take a blood sample from a cow for the first time (need them to perform a metabolic blood profile to monitor for nutritional status of the cows) and let me tell know....you get covered in cow shit. We take bloods from the ventral tail vein which is literally right above the anus; and the way you stand is right behind the cow (less chance of being kicked) and lift up the tail with one hand (very heavy by the way!) and poke right in the middle of the tail with the other and draw blood with a vacutainer. So if the cow gets spooked then you are covered in shit. If the cow just needs to shit, you are covered in shit. If you cow needs to pee.....yea you get the drill. Anyways, it was a fun but very messy experience!
This week, I am on Farm Animal Hospital rotation. Our group basically stays at the farm animal hospital (helpfully located where the school is!) and we work on cases that have been brought in for us to treat. Most of the cases are animals that the farmer has "donated" because they don't want to treat, and the university takes them to help with education. If the animal recovers then we send it back to the farmer. I think the system is something along those lines but it sounds a little iffy to me.
Anyways, majority of the cases that come in are cows that have some sort of lung issue or foot/lameness issue. Today we saw both. Also, we believed one cow had something similar to septic pedal arthritis on its medial claw of the right hind that we decided to amputate the claw. (Claw = one of its toes...out of 2). Cows actually do very well after this procedure is completed and with observation and bandage changing the prognosis is usually good. The medieval procedure though is actually very cool to witness. You basically take an embryotomy wire and as quick as you can saw through the second phalanx at an angle. At our school, we perform an intravenous regional anaestheisa (IVRA) which numbs the whole foot and the cow doesnt feel anything. Also, we inject flunixin (an NSAID) which is a pain reliever as well as an anti-inflammatory, same class of drug as aspirin or paracetamol/acetominophen.
Here is a photograph taken from the book Cattle Medicine by Phillip R. Scott, Colin D. Penny and Alastair Macrae (all of which are my teachers and clinicians! I feel like I'm getting world class education here!)
Anyways, other than that life has been great! The flat is clean when I want it and dirty every other time haha. Also, I feel like things are finally sticking to my brain but it's only week 2 so we'll see by Christ how things go!
Peace and love,
Barb
However, I do have to say that final year is quite different! There are no classes, and every 4 weeks you have a new topic, and each week you rotate through different areas within that big topic. The only exception is Farm Animal which is only 3 weeks.
For me, the first rotation is farm (yay!) and I get to ride out into the countryside and visit farms. My first weekly topic was Herd and Flock Health which basically dealt with management of a farm, nutrition/metabolic profiles and how to improve the overall health and sustainability of the farm. I know I know, that sounds really boring and parts of it were kindof difficult to wrap my head around, but I think by the end of it I wish we were able to do more. You get involved with a farm and part of you just wants to see it succeed. Also, I got to take a blood sample from a cow for the first time (need them to perform a metabolic blood profile to monitor for nutritional status of the cows) and let me tell know....you get covered in cow shit. We take bloods from the ventral tail vein which is literally right above the anus; and the way you stand is right behind the cow (less chance of being kicked) and lift up the tail with one hand (very heavy by the way!) and poke right in the middle of the tail with the other and draw blood with a vacutainer. So if the cow gets spooked then you are covered in shit. If the cow just needs to shit, you are covered in shit. If you cow needs to pee.....yea you get the drill. Anyways, it was a fun but very messy experience!
This week, I am on Farm Animal Hospital rotation. Our group basically stays at the farm animal hospital (helpfully located where the school is!) and we work on cases that have been brought in for us to treat. Most of the cases are animals that the farmer has "donated" because they don't want to treat, and the university takes them to help with education. If the animal recovers then we send it back to the farmer. I think the system is something along those lines but it sounds a little iffy to me.
Anyways, majority of the cases that come in are cows that have some sort of lung issue or foot/lameness issue. Today we saw both. Also, we believed one cow had something similar to septic pedal arthritis on its medial claw of the right hind that we decided to amputate the claw. (Claw = one of its toes...out of 2). Cows actually do very well after this procedure is completed and with observation and bandage changing the prognosis is usually good. The medieval procedure though is actually very cool to witness. You basically take an embryotomy wire and as quick as you can saw through the second phalanx at an angle. At our school, we perform an intravenous regional anaestheisa (IVRA) which numbs the whole foot and the cow doesnt feel anything. Also, we inject flunixin (an NSAID) which is a pain reliever as well as an anti-inflammatory, same class of drug as aspirin or paracetamol/acetominophen.
Here is a photograph taken from the book Cattle Medicine by Phillip R. Scott, Colin D. Penny and Alastair Macrae (all of which are my teachers and clinicians! I feel like I'm getting world class education here!)
Anyways, other than that life has been great! The flat is clean when I want it and dirty every other time haha. Also, I feel like things are finally sticking to my brain but it's only week 2 so we'll see by Christ how things go!
Peace and love,
Barb
No comments:
Post a Comment