Somehow most of my practicals never went more than 3 days of record in my reports I've made. I wonder what is the problem. I should keep that in mind for the rest of the practicals I attend in my vet school years.
I finished up the daily routine of dog walking, kennel and cattery husbandry within a short half and hour, because there wasn't many dogs boarding since we sent them home, and the cattery was an easy job as always due to the nature of the cats boarding there.
Christine and I were assigned to prepare the sedatives for the upcoming surgeries scheduled for the rest of the day, and since I've known pretty much how the preparation for the drips should be done, and I was sure of the preparation requirement, Christine decided that I should know how to assemble the sedatives for the in house vet surgeon.
The normal sedatives used and practiced in the clinic were the same for most procedures which includes:
1- Zoletil, an agonist which impair the receptors in the body, so as the neuromuscular system lowers its affinities,relaxes muscles and render the patient in drowziness and immobility. Similar to that of tranquilizer.
2- Atropine, a competitive antagonist which competes with the receptors in the body, which causes the parasympathetic nervous system to reduce the rate of activities such as glands, gut movement and etc. In this case, the lowering of salivation and branchial secretion is crucial for procedures which requires intubation for anesthesia.
3- Antibiotics, normally Amoxylin with or without clavulanic acid. Antibiotics are administered prior to surgeries to prevent post-procedural infections.The difference between the presence of the acid depends on the strength of the bacteria the surgeon suspects to infiltrate the patient. The acid overcomes resistance in bacteria that secrete β-lactamase, which otherwise inactivates most penicillins, hence reduces the tendency of bacterial tachycardia.
Sedatives are introduced into the patient's body via intravenously, hence injecting via the 3 way cock is very much efficient and easy after the patient have been set up for dripping. So far, the veterinary surgeon in charge have yet to inject the sedatives via the veins without the catheter attached.
On that day itself, a Miniature Pincher, aka MinPin was sent in because it was mauled by a larger dog at home at its posterior region around the anal. The only thing we could do was to clean the would and remove necrotic tissues so as bacterias wouldn't make way into the patient's body and cause sever inflammation. The scarred region was heavily exposed, and was directly below the anal opening. The vet had to stitch the scar opening up to prevent the faeces from leaking into the scar and cause complications.
The owners were pretty fond of the MinPin, treating her almost like their family member. It's an admirable spirit, whereby not most human are able to relate so closely to another species like how the owners of the patient in the clinic. Somehow I wish I am able to be here to preserve the bond.
Later on, we had another recurring patient who comes in weekly for her treatment. Apparently, this Asian tabby have problems defecating, hence requiring manual assistance in coaxing the feces for expel. The method used was by injecting distilled water and 6% dextrose solution in order to soften the feces retained in the bowel of the feline patient, and manually expelled by the contraction of bowel by the massage of the veterinary surgeon. The process was quite long as the feces retained was a week's worth. Later on was just wrapping up and documenting the procedure.
The veterinary surgeons in house were quite a delightful duo.
Dr VJ is quite the joker, but he gets stern when we are required to know stuffs, basic ones such as the biochemistry, anatomy and physiology of the animals. The husbandry comes in with practice,practice and more practice. Though working with Dr VJ was quite fun, he managed to captivate me with his admirable professionalism as well as enthusiasm towards the vet profession. He always repeat the sense of dutifulness he have and the one I should develop as a practicing veterinarian towards the circle and field. He claims that the public paid for our education hence we should always think to serve them first. That includes allowing practical students like me to participate and learn from such clinical orientation so as we can be a competent veterinarian in the future. Dr VJ was also a very multiple-perspective viewing practitioner. He motivates us to think critically and differentially towards a situation or problem so as we can solve them with a different way, while noticing the details yet able to figure out the big picture, which I think was somehow very crucial when it comes to a profession dealing with lives.
"Dare to speak, to ask, and to be different. If you ask, you will be stupid for one moment. If you keep silent, you remain stupid forever."-- - Dr Vijayendran.
Dr. Prem is somewhat stern even on the first day. However, it came to me that she was stern because she wanted to make sure I do not slack, which I didn't as well as the hefty work load remained from the week before duty to the short in manpower the clinic was facing. Later on the week, I'd realized Dr Prem was similarly warm as Dr VJ once we have enough time to work together. It wasn't as exciting as learning with Dr VJ with Dr Prem because obviously Dr VJ was so much more experienced as well as including his endless stories, but working with Dr Prem allowed me to practice what Dr VJ has taught, as well as learning techniques in husbandry in a very orientated manner. Dr Prem made sure I know what I was doing, and she never hesitated to ask me to try again if I failed. She has also deemed as a concrete foundation builder, making sure I know my basics in the medicine as well as husbandry in the art, as she has only graduated 2 years ago, she clearly can use me as a gauge to constantly put her existing knowledge to use, yet allowing me to gain the knowledge I need. Dr Prem was acting more like a senior than a mentor, as we can still relate closely to the faculty since our gap is not as large as to Dr VJ, and it was very comfortable learning with her.
"I was so jealous when I saw first years handling animals already. I'd wish I could in mine, while I only held the horse's hooves once only in 3rd year."--- Dr Premnita.
Clearly, Dr Prem has a strong passion for the art.
Seri, the vet assistant as well as admin in the clinic was also a great mentor. She was quite the hyper type, constantly going very high pitched, but it was fun working with her. The thing about Seri is she never stopped me from asking questions. Unlike previous experiences in other workplace of different field, Seri insisted for me to ask her if I had any questions or doubts at all, because every single detail counts. From the dosage of drugs to the preparation of gauze, any difference made can be deadly to the patients. Witty and bright, Seri did provide me a great platform to learn more about the art, as well as the operation in a standard veterinary clinic.
Well, that pretty much sums up my practical in the veterinary clinic. It was a great experience, but I do resent the fact that I did not diligently record all procedures and surgeries we had every day.
Until the next practical then. Oh wait, I have my Zoo Taiping practical report to complete.
Dang my procrastination.
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