This Week

[Chrysocome 0]

*medical drama music*

 

Well, I keep saying I'd update you all on how vet school is going. Basically, it's busy and stressing and draining (physically, mentally and emotionally), and it is also amazing, I am enjoying it so much. I'm going to put up some photos of what I've gotten up to so far this year.

 

I'm now in Third Year, which is when we move from the city out to a semi-rural area to learn (and in many cases live) at a teaching hospital. I happen to already live in this suburb, so bonus for me. The teaching style changes from lectures to more and more prac work until at last in final year there are no lectures, just doing rounds and reports from work experience. We also start our clinical work next semester, which is rather exciting.

 

At the moment we are getting so many pracs, it is great. There is only so much writing can tell you, the rest is teaching all your senses to 'see' to what is going on. I won't bore you with the lectures. But I've done so much in pracs, particularly with farm animals, and it's only been four weeks.

 

-Birds: This was such a sinch for me It was catching/handling, how to give injections, crop feed, take blood, do wet preps of the poop, that kind of thing.

-Cows: I've passed a stomach tube, taken rumen fluid, taken blood, tried to catheterise the bladder (with no success), given injections, had my hand in her mouth (ow!), cleaned out an abscess the size of a grapefruit, learnt lots of knot theory for tying halters and leads. (A note about drawing rumen fluid - pay attention when you're sucking on the stomach tube with your mouth!)

-Horses: I've anaesthetised a horse, done injections, passed a stomach tube, picked up all the feet and used hoof testers, lameness diagnosis, and yes I've had my hand up a horse's bum. This week I'll practice rasping their teeth. Oh and horses scare me... a lot.

-Sheep: Tipped them, tail docking, ring castration, ear tagging, dehorning, taken blood

Plus all the normal stuff for a clinical exam: Check over every body system, listen to heart/lungs, take temperature, that kind of thing.

 

In Clinical Medicine we've been doing things with machines: Spinning blood, finding out the concentrations of certain portions of the blood, doing blood smears, interpreting the results. We also had a lot of fun with the radiology machines. I've also been doing Pathology rounds, and am On Call for autopsies these few weeks. I'm signed up to emergencies over Christmas (which I'm sure will be very exciting!), surgery over New Year, and the two weeks after that being Equine rotation and clinical rotation. I also have to fill in my 13 weeks of work experience which I've worked out so far to be at a cattle practice, another bird place (yay!), a horse place and an emergency centre. Plus, I'm going to South Africa for the "wildlife" part of work experience !

 

So yes, I'm rather busy these next two years!

 

Here are the pictures,

 

Me and my best friends posting for our "vet show".

 

Using hoof testers.

 

Equine anaesthesia. We injected a sedative then an anaesthetic. It's rather scary doing anaesthesia on horses - you have to help them lie down or else they'll just flop over and hurt themselves. That's me with the stomach tube.

 

Action shot of my good mates maintaining the horse while she's down.

 

I like this X-ray. The uni has this high tech digital X-ray machine which have plates that you can keep reusing because it's digital.

 

Attempting to place a urinary catheter.

 

Me and my mates with Betsy, a teaching horse.

 

There's also a rather nice picture of me at a horse's back end, but I think I'll spare you that

So we've done a lot of large animals. I know I've always been set on becoming an avian specialist. But I'm starting to think that if that isn't possible, going into rural practice wouldn't be a bad option.

 

Enough of my babble, now to get back to doing Epidemiology, which is suspiciously like Maths and Stats...

Edited March 10, 2008 by Chrysocome

[maesie 0]

*medical drama music*

 

 

I love it!!! It sounds like you're having a blast. You go girl It's all so very interesting. (P.S. I'm scared of horses too!!!)

[Feathers 0]

Hey Chryso!!!

 

Wow. I love catching up on all of your prac work. It is so interesting! Wouldn't it be great if you could catch up on some work on big feathered wildlife in South Africa. How very exciting!

 

Great pics! You can see how much you enjoy what you are doing in the photos.

 

Feathers.

 

ps: I've been hoping on a 'catch up' thread

[Missy 0]

Wow, it looks so interesting and full on

 

I want overalls now

[**KAZ** 0]

There's also a rather nice picture of me at a horse's back end, but I think I'll spare you that

 

This was a great idea of yours to post this. I LOVE it !!

I, for one, would like to see the horses a s s Picture. ( Been there done that....my share of calving and delivery of obstinate foals in the good ol' days )

 

Edited March 10, 2008 by KAZ

[*libby* 0]

Sounds like you're having a ball!!!! P.S. i'm a tad confused (Laughing out loud), which one are you

I LOVE your photo's by the way and am sooo jealous!!!!

Post up the horse bum picture it'll be good for a laugh!

Edited March 10, 2008 by maesie
Short cut changed :-)

[Elly 0]

How cool, I love reading your posts and your amazing journey as you get closer and closer to becoming a vet. I watch an intern vet show it is so interesting but I had a hard time watching the stomach get pumped on a dog he ate a whole choc. cake.

 

Keep up the good work, continue the pictures and the experiences

[Chrysocome 0]

Maesie - Thanks. Oh dear, in First year, horses just terrified me so much, I'd be full of adrenaline around them. That first time... I'd try something, she'd move suddenly and I jumped, she jumped because I jumped, and I jumped again! I had to get control of that reflex fast - my mates thought it was hilarious

 

Feathers - South Africa excites me soo much. There' s a photo of one of the students with a big raptor. I can just imagine seeing a secretary bird or a big vulture or something! Or an ostrich! I've seen an ostrich farm here in Victoria, I couldn't believe how massive they were. Here I am thinking that emus are big and scary...

 

Missy - Gotta love the 'vralls. They are like our uniform. Unbearably hot sometimes though!

 

Kaz - Just for you! Remember, you asked for it! Change to links if you see fit.

My 'concentration' face. (Aka vaguely disgusted, vaguely intrigued, strangely enjoying it )

 

No comment

 

Libby - The above might have answered your question I forget sometimes that some people have never seen me before!

 

Elly - Did I ever tell you about the time a dog had eaten a bar of marble chocolate and I had the glamourous job of holding the bucket after he was given the vomit-inducing drug? Not a smell you can forget!

What vet show is that? It sounds interesting!

Edited March 10, 2008 by Chrysocome

[maesie 0]

My 'concentration' face. (Aka vaguely disgusted, vaguely intrigued, strangely enjoying it )

 

Strangely enjoying it

 

Elly - Did I ever tell you about the time a dog had eaten a bar of marble chocolate and I had the glamourous job of holding the bucket after he was given the vomit-inducing drug? Not a smell you can forget! So I take it you no longer eat marble chocolate?!?!

[Chrysocome 0]

Maese, just as I was having second thoughts about having said that, and sneakily trying to reword it :(Laughing out loud):

But I mean, it's all warm and squishy, I imagine it would be the best thing on a cold winter's morning.... okay I'll stop being gross

 

I love chocolate so much, I try not to remember the smell, but man, it's deep in my memory, I can smell it even now, ew! I've never come across marble chocolate again so far, I'm hoping I'll still be able to handle it

[maesie 0]

Maese, just as I was having second thoughts about having said that, and sneakily trying to reword it :(Laughing out loud):

But I mean, it's all warm and squishy, I imagine it would be the best thing on a cold winter's morning.... okay I'll stop being gross

 

I love chocolate so much, I try not to remember the smell, but man, it's deep in my memory, I can smell it even now, ew! I've never come across marble chocolate again so far, I'm hoping I'll still be able to handle it

 

I'll save you a piece next time I'm eating a block!

... as to the best thing on a cold winter morning... I could think of better things

Edited March 10, 2008 by maesie

[**KAZ** 0]

I'm sure I left my glasses in there somewhere ?!

 

 

This is the best way to keep your arms warm on a cold day !!

[Chrysocome 0]

Oh Kaz, you reminded me of the skit we were writing throughout the whole prac, for our theoretical vet show (it's our current obsession).

 

It would be about a vet... who had lost his watch!

So it goes through all the possible places he could have put it... taking it off for the shower... putting on gloves to do pathology... washing hands, asking all the other vets etc etc and we keep going over and over it again trying to unravel the story.

Then after a while... Dun.. Dun.. DUN! Sudden images of the horse's back end.

Vet: Oh.

----

Later on:

Arguing with friends, they manage to conclude it was definitely a brown horse!

So we see him approaching a horse... he's carrying a big box of rectal gloves. Then we zoom out and zoom out and see the twenty or so brown horses

 

Oh, and the watch is sitting on the bedside table.

 

Hehehe.

Okay, it's funnier in my head :

 

Oh and the best part is - half an hour after the rectal prac was over, one of my friends who had been writing this with me - had really lost her watch!

Edited March 10, 2008 by Chrysocome

[Feathers 0]

Chryso,

 

gee you were living dangerously with that second photo weren't you. You were in the line of fire and asking to be drenched

 

 

Feathers.

[Zebra 0]

It all sounds so exciting !!! And a trip to South Africa - I would love that , my husband grew up in there, so I would love to go there one day.

 

Oh, and I love those horse bum pics :(Laughing out loud): . I grew up around horses, so I have seen this many times, but never got the chance to do it :(Laughing out loud):

[birdluv 0]

l'm so glad l wasn't eating when l read and seen pics in this post, (Laughing out loud)

 

Thanks for posting your journey through vet school, l really enjoy reading all about it. that is so cool that you will be going to Africa. lucky you

Edited March 10, 2008 by birdluv

[Bea 0]

Wow!!! You're so lucky to be learning all the stuff you are. I never understand how people can be scared of horses, hehe, cows are the scary ones. I love the pics!!

[FGM 0]

I am so glad I found this thread,congratulations on being in your third year.The photos are great and looks like you are having a blast.Kaz's comments on your photos are so funny.I am so jealous!!!!! I should have done better at school.Please keep the updates coming in.

[Chrysocome 0]

Feathers, :(Laughing out loud):. Actually, my friend poked around a little too brusquely in there, pressed on the bladder, and well... you can guess what happened!

 

Zebra: That's so exciting, growing up in South Africa with those animals in his backyard. (Although the same can probably be said for Australia, or any country I guess!)

And it's the weirdest thing, before the prac I had no idea what the inside of a horse's bum felt like (er... there's something wrong with that statement) but now I have a vivid spatial memory of it. It's rather bizarre.

They say: You know you're a vet student when you're covered in poop and still smiling.

 

Birdluv: Well, at least you were given ample warning :(Laughing out loud):.

 

Bea: Eh? But horses can freak out and kill you with one kick! Cows are generally too lazy for that Haha. I happen to love cows, though.

I guess it all comes down to experience - knowing how to read the animal and I suppose knowing how much they can hurt you. I've been around lots of dairy and beef cattle and I feel pretty confident around them - even after getting my hand pummeled and mashed by a big tongue, had one step on my toes, and that time a cow in the crush slammed her head backwards onto my fingers.. ouch. I think I'm better around horses now, though I still give the back legs a wide berth if I can help it.

 

FGM: Thank you. It's never too late to try, though! There are plenty of postgrad and mature entry students these days.

 

One of my classmates posted this video of the horse anaesthesia prac, or half of it anyway. The purpose of the prac was to see the effect of different drug combinations they use in the field.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URVmpnhn7OY

Case 3 was ours - she went down hard, poor girl! She was okay though, got up and was walking around fine afterwards. I think they broke most of her fall. The waking up wasn't shown here. Case 4 had one of the rather dangerous drug combinations. Basically, he staggered to his feet and just started charging at anything that moved! Eep.

[FGM 0]

FGM: Thank you. It's never too late to try, though! There are plenty of postgrad and mature entry students these days.

That is so true!!! I have started work at a dog grooming place and have started getting a resume together to try and get some work as a vet nurse this year.

I love the dog groming though but has resparkled my interest in the health of the animlas,especially when they come in with skin conditions etc.

[Bec Sta 0]

Wow, it sounds like you are having a blast and apparently enjoying having your arm up a horses bum just a little too much .

And a trip to South Africa, I'm so jealous, what an incredible experience that will be!

 

And I love your 'vet drama' (that picture is helarious) I think it's going to be a national hit !

[Zebra 0]

Zebra: That's so exciting, growing up in South Africa with those animals in his backyard. (Although the same can probably be said for Australia, or any country I guess!)

And it's the weirdest thing, before the prac I had no idea what the inside of a horse's bum felt like (er... there's something wrong with that statement) but now I have a vivid spatial memory of it. It's rather bizarre.

They say: You know you're a vet student when you're covered in poop and still smiling.

 

One of my classmates posted this video of the horse anaesthesia prac, or half of it anyway. The purpose of the prac was to see the effect of different drug combinations they use in the field.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URVmpnhn7OY

Case 3 was ours - she went down hard, poor girl! She was okay though, got up and was walking around fine afterwards. I think they broke most of her fall. The waking up wasn't shown here. Case 4 had one of the rather dangerous drug combinations. Basically, he staggered to his feet and just started charging at anything that moved! Eep.

 

For me it would be exciting to grow up in any country with lots of animals

 

The video is very interesting.

[Chrysocome 0]

Not happy right now.

 

Had the horse teeth prac today, which should have been interesting and fun. But it seems that when the uni decided to increase the intake of students for our year, they forgot that they needed to increase their facilities too. So basically there were not enough horse stalls, and too many students to each group.

In the 38*C heat, and having lived together for five weeks solid, everyone just turned against each other, fighting over who got to do what while we had the horse in the stall and then with people who hadn't even got a stall yet. It was awful, and what's more, we had a stubborn horse. After he got fed up and was tossing his head around nearly breaking arms, we got another horse. And she was stubborn too! It was just not our day. We were the last group to leave, a good half hour behind everyone else.

 

Then, at the end of that, I went to get my bag which was a metre from the sink. Well, apparently the sink broke. All the water drained away. Straight to my bag. So all my stuff is soaked. And what's more, it's soaked with the insides of about ten different horses' mouths. I am so upset. All my notes reek with a bad horsey smell, like bad as in imagine bad breath and teeth that haven't been cleaned... ever. My phone was wet and my rather expensive touch-screen mp3 player says 'fatal error' and refuses to turn off. I didn't realise how bad it was til I put the bag on so it got all over my clothes too.

 

I was looking forward to going for a good drive with my mum today (I haven't been driving in about six months and need some practice). She made me go straight home, stripped me down in the backyard and sent me straight to the shower. My bag, wallet and pencil case went straight in the washer. My diary and my surgery book, the two things I use the most, just stink and there's nothing I can do about that at all. Also there's a faint trace of colour that tells me that there were also a bit of blood in that drain water.

 

So I'm mad at me for putting it so near the sink and mad at everyone who proceeded to use the sink failing to notice that my stuff was wet and maybe kindly moving it out of the way. Someone else got her stuff wet too, not as bad as mine though.

 

It also hurt because we were so irritated at each other, and no one gave me a second glance even though I was obviously upset. I mean I don't really need attention or sympathy or whatever to survive, but that little bit of unkindness just made me kind of break. These are my best friends, and that really hurt.

 

SIGH.

 

Very unhappy

 

Have a bovine pregnancy prac tomorrow, followed by orthopaedic prac, with the same group members, I hope that goes okay.

 

Here are some pics that were taken before all that unpleasantness. My friends call it the gallery of "Chryso elbow deep in...."

 

Edited March 13, 2008 by Chrysocome

[**KAZ** 0]

Sounds like your day has been as horrible as my week....so for that I TRULY sympathise with you. Consider yourself well and truly hugged. Tears are okay at this point too. I also remember what horses smell like as I was not only a vet nurse in a country practice but was a strapper/jockey for racehorses and trotters in my early days. I feel and Smell your pain.

 

Hope tomorrow is a much better day

[maesie 0]

OH NO!!! What a horrible day. I hope you manage to save some of your smelly and wet damaged property. I really feel for you. It's always hard whne people who you consider as your friends seem to have no concern for you or your situation. Have a damn good cry. It always makes me feel better. I hope the comming days are much better for you. I know I'm not one of 'those' friends, but from a 'new' never met friend...big (((((((hugs)))))) Chryso!