Journey Through Vet Med

A blog to recount my path to DVM. DVM: ☑️ Residency: in progress. WARNING: May be some gross and/or gory content.

[labvet]

Happy first day to all the new veterinary and hooman interns/residents!

💚A resident starting their 3rd and final year

[katelyn-danger]

There's a heatwave happening in the Europe right now. 18 people have already died in France. I was looking into air conditioners for a friend of mine who lives in the UK, and I saw a shockingly low number of actual air conditioners on sale, and a shockingly high number of "Evaporative Coolers" on offer. They're also sometimes called "Swamp Coolers".

DO NOT BUY THESE DEVICES.

These types of coolers work by blowing air over cold water or ice, and while they can produce a slight, localized cooling effect, they also increase the humidity in the air. At 40C (104F), a 40% humidity will feel like 48C (119F). 50% humidity will feel like 55C (131F).

[mountains-of-destiny]

Evaporative/Swamp Coolers only work if it is really dry. Like desert dry. And even then it's only effective up into the 90s (my personal opinion). Any higher and it doesn't do much.

[dailycatsblog]

[meangirlnurse]

dear diary

today on my practice exam i said that i would give a patient a simple carbohydrate snack to address their hypoglycemia symptoms because i didn't notice that the patient was fucking unconscious

[meangirlnurse]

jesus christ they're going to let me work in the actual ICU

[haunteddollsgeorg]

Op giving orange juice to her unconscious diabetic patient

[meangirlnurse]

hey quick question does anyone know if i can attach a GIF as an appendix to my suicide note

[labvet]

Today in residency

We are in the middle of a severe weather outbreak (it’s spring! In the Midwest!)

Residentmate from NY: *gets out of car* what are you doing?

Me from KS: *staring up at the sky* oh just watching the storm roll in

[rebeccathenaturalist]

The Guts of Predatory Cats Can Destroy CWD Prions

The prions that cause chronic wasting disease in deer are nearly indestructible. So it's good news to learn cat guts are their mortal enemy.

Okay. So. You know how some people want to finish exterminating all large predatory mammals so they have less competition for deer and so they don't occasionally lose livestock? And you know how native deer species in North America have been hit increasingly hard with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the past couple of decades due to overpopulation thanks to the eradication of large predatory mammals that normally keep them in check?

We already have evidence that reintroducing predatory mammals to their native ranges not only knocks deer populations back to a healthier level, and now we've discovered that apparently the digestive systems of cougars and bobcats are lethal to CWD prions. Prions are among the most difficult pathogens* to eliminate; you have to heat them up to about 1,800 degrees F in order to thoroughly destroy them. And prion diseases like CWD are almost universally fatal.

So to find that these wild cats can safely eat CWD-infected animals AND significantly reduce the chances that the prions will be spread to other deer is a pretty big deal, especially since some other animals like coyotes and crows do pass prions undamaged through their digestive systems. And it's just one more example of why an ecosystem needs all of the species that have evolved in it over thousands of years, not just those are convenient for humans to have around. The spread of CWD is directly related to the overpopulation of deer, and it's likely that continuing to reintroduce large predatory mammals to their native range will help quell this awful prion disease.

[labvet]

Saw a video today about “why aren’t there more veterinary medical dramas?” A bunch of people in the comments were saying things like “off to write an office style vet med tv show” or “oh a scrubs style show!”

So I would like to add some personal experiences that could make for comedy gold on a show like this:

Excited pig monch to butt/knee cap/boots (see this post)

Surgery/necropsy where something full of liquid that is not blood erupts all over the doc/tech/student (like a giant cyst or abscess)

Bird escaping a kennel and techs having to wander around a dark room with nets trying to catch it OR bird escapes kennel, lands on a tech’s foot and attacks shoe while tech has to carefully scoot across room to get a net to catch the amgry birb

Farm call where a group of amgry geese/swans/turkeys are between vet and patient

Yearling colt doesn’t want vaccines so badly that he bolts from the restrainer by managing to tear the ring the lead rope attaches to off his halter

Absurd hamster death

Vet goes home to visit family farm for holidays and ends up providing impromptu wound care to family horse that did something stupid to get through the night

Sassy bunny steals something out of your hands, runs under something, and growls at you while you’re trying to get it

Being trapped in a room with a client for half an hour trying to get a yes or no on CPR/DNR on a patient (could be side plot of a whole episode)

Tech/student not scrubbed into a surgery freezing in the OR and cuddling with a freshly autoclaved surgical pack for warmth

Rat just hanging out on someone’s shoulder for a whole episode while they go about their duties

Any other ideas?

[time-too-shine]

I have one addition:

Fractious cat fights the injectable sedation and climbs into the ceiling tiles. It takes three days of setting live traps to get him back.

No, the owner was also not successful in catching him.

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[dogwoodranger]

@hawkpartys

[great-and-small]

Texting the ecologist friend after she gave birth to ask “on a scale of kangaroo to spotted hyena how bad was it”

[alterac]

Hold on I need to look something up.

[talesfromtreatment]

You are going to regret that. My preemptive condolences.

[butchtoks]

[eggable]

If only there was a word for how long a foot-long hotdog is

[labvet]

Saw a video today about “why aren’t there more veterinary medical dramas?” A bunch of people in the comments were saying things like “off to write an office style vet med tv show” or “oh a scrubs style show!”

So I would like to add some personal experiences that could make for comedy gold on a show like this:

Excited pig monch to butt/knee cap/boots (see this post)

Surgery/necropsy where something full of liquid that is not blood erupts all over the doc/tech/student (like a giant cyst or abscess)

Bird escaping a kennel and techs having to wander around a dark room with nets trying to catch it OR bird escapes kennel, lands on a tech’s foot and attacks shoe while tech has to carefully scoot across room to get a net to catch the amgry birb

Farm call where a group of amgry geese/swans/turkeys are between vet and patient

Yearling colt doesn’t want vaccines so badly that he bolts from the restrainer by managing to tear the ring the lead rope attaches to off his halter

Absurd hamster death

Vet goes home to visit family farm for holidays and ends up providing impromptu wound care to family horse that did something stupid to get through the night

Sassy bunny steals something out of your hands, runs under something, and growls at you while you’re trying to get it

Being trapped in a room with a client for half an hour trying to get a yes or no on CPR/DNR on a patient (could be side plot of a whole episode)

Tech/student not scrubbed into a surgery freezing in the OR and cuddling with a freshly autoclaved surgical pack for warmth

Rat just hanging out on someone’s shoulder for a whole episode while they go about their duties

Any other ideas?

[anyonewestofbree]

Add zoo medicine to this and you truly cannot conceptualize the levels of chaos that can happen…. I’ve personally been involved in:

Almost drowning self and patient in mud attempting to net a hog

A sedating dart misfire out of the gun directly up into the air and having everybody stand stock still waiting to see where it would fall back down

Having an animal who is “mostly” sedated but has to move quickly, so being told “we’ll throw it on the back of the golf cart, you sit on her and we’ll drive fast”

Watching a supervisor literally up to the elbow manually cleaning out a rhino rectum for an enema, wearing neon orange crocs and saying that they’re better than closed toed shoes because “you can hose ‘em off after”

Techs not communicating they had started intubating so everyone thought the lion was rousing rather than coughing and everyone trying to panic bolt out of the stall

Being told “Be careful if you go into the hospital, I wasn’t paying attention while making diets, so the rehab crow stole and is now flying around with a knife in his mouth”

just to name a few

[followthebluebell]

"heeey, Bluebell? There's a feral cat loose in exam room one..."

"No problem, I'll get him back in his kennel."

[truly absurd amount of crash noises]

"... he has decided NOT to go back to his kennel and I think I'm going to give him a chance to calm down and re-think his decision. :)"

"Hey, does this rash look like ringworm to you?"

[spoiler alert: it's always ringworm]

Human ingenuity displayed via non-conventional cat carriers (kindest way I can say 'someone tried to bring their cat in a fucking plastic bin)

multiple instances of, "oh, don't worry about the blood. It's all mine. :)"

"Sorry I smell like pee. If it's any consolation, none of it is mine. Does that help? I can't tell if that helps. I think it helps."

[labvet]

Ope…shoulda been more clear. The medical drama is just what kicked off the thought then the comments on the video sealed the deal on a comedy style show lol

[labvet]

Saw a video today about “why aren’t there more veterinary medical dramas?” A bunch of people in the comments were saying things like “off to write an office style vet med tv show” or “oh a scrubs style show!”

So I would like to add some personal experiences that could make for comedy gold on a show like this:

Excited pig monch to butt/knee cap/boots (see this post)

Surgery/necropsy where something full of liquid that is not blood erupts all over the doc/tech/student (like a giant cyst or abscess)

Bird escaping a kennel and techs having to wander around a dark room with nets trying to catch it OR bird escapes kennel, lands on a tech’s foot and attacks shoe while tech has to carefully scoot across room to get a net to catch the amgry birb

Farm call where a group of amgry geese/swans/turkeys are between vet and patient

Yearling colt doesn’t want vaccines so badly that he bolts from the restrainer by managing to tear the ring the lead rope attaches to off his halter

Absurd hamster death

Vet goes home to visit family farm for holidays and ends up providing impromptu wound care to family horse that did something stupid to get through the night

Sassy bunny steals something out of your hands, runs under something, and growls at you while you’re trying to get it

Being trapped in a room with a client for half an hour trying to get a yes or no on CPR/DNR on a patient (could be side plot of a whole episode)

Tech/student not scrubbed into a surgery freezing in the OR and cuddling with a freshly autoclaved surgical pack for warmth

Rat just hanging out on someone’s shoulder for a whole episode while they go about their duties

Any other ideas?

[anyonewestofbree]

Add zoo medicine to this and you truly cannot conceptualize the levels of chaos that can happen…. I’ve personally been involved in:

Almost drowning self and patient in mud attempting to net a hog

A sedating dart misfire out of the gun directly up into the air and having everybody stand stock still waiting to see where it would fall back down

Having an animal who is “mostly” sedated but has to move quickly, so being told “we’ll throw it on the back of the golf cart, you sit on her and we’ll drive fast”

Watching a supervisor literally up to the elbow manually cleaning out a rhino rectum for an enema, wearing neon orange crocs and saying that they’re better than closed toed shoes because “you can hose ‘em off after”

Techs not communicating they had started intubating so everyone thought the lion was rousing rather than coughing and everyone trying to panic bolt out of the stall

Being told “Be careful if you go into the hospital, I wasn’t paying attention while making diets, so the rehab crow stole and is now flying around with a knife in his mouth”

just to name a few

[labvet]

Omg crow with a knife! ☠️

[labvet]

Saw a video today about “why aren’t there more veterinary medical dramas?” A bunch of people in the comments were saying things like “off to write an office style vet med tv show” or “oh a scrubs style show!”

So I would like to add some personal experiences that could make for comedy gold on a show like this:

Excited pig monch to butt/knee cap/boots (see this post)

Surgery/necropsy where something full of liquid that is not blood erupts all over the doc/tech/student (like a giant cyst or abscess)

Bird escaping a kennel and techs having to wander around a dark room with nets trying to catch it OR bird escapes kennel, lands on a tech’s foot and attacks shoe while tech has to carefully scoot across room to get a net to catch the amgry birb

Farm call where a group of amgry geese/swans/turkeys are between vet and patient

Yearling colt doesn’t want vaccines so badly that he bolts from the restrainer by managing to tear the ring the lead rope attaches to off his halter

Absurd hamster death

Vet goes home to visit family farm for holidays and ends up providing impromptu wound care to family horse that did something stupid to get through the night

Sassy bunny steals something out of your hands, runs under something, and growls at you while you’re trying to get it

Being trapped in a room with a client for half an hour trying to get a yes or no on CPR/DNR on a patient (could be side plot of a whole episode)

Tech/student not scrubbed into a surgery freezing in the OR and cuddling with a freshly autoclaved surgical pack for warmth

Rat just hanging out on someone’s shoulder for a whole episode while they go about their duties

Any other ideas?

[bunjywunjy]

on the treadmill watching asmr barbershop videos that would drive any chimpanzee absolutely stark raving bananas foster with lustful social grooming envy

[bunjywunjy]

I do believe that if chimpanzees could speak and understand us they would willingly participate in human society, but only to the extent that they could earn enough money for regular full-day trips to their local spa and salon

[labvet]

For anyone who is wanting to be a vet or is trying to get into vet school, I just need you to know what happened to me the other day (and by the other day like almost a year ago…I should really check my drafts folder more frequently…).

A pig I was examining literally bit me in the ass in front of my students because a couple guys from maintenance were asking me a question and had distracted me from giving her scritches. I, a grown ass adult, then had to turn around and inform this pig she was being rude, as one might with a small child, then try to continue this conversation like nothing happened.

Do with that information what you will.

[labvet]

Struggling through writing an assignment for my grant writing class and come across the perfect quote from one Charles Darwin: