Life of a Veterinarian

🐱 I'm a newly-graduated veterinarian working in small and exotic animal practice trying to learn all that I can and do the best for my patients. 🐶 Veterinary medicine is my life, and I want to share it with you! 🐍 I am bound to keep my patients' confidentiality, but tell me what kind of content you want to see and I will try to oblige! 🐷

[4yearsofvetschool]

When a mosquito lands on your pet

[surviving-vetmed]

What a good day. This kiddo broke one of his big canine teeth during transport from one zoo to another, and needed a root canal therapy to save what was left of the tooth.

[anaspiringvet]

These links can be found on my resources page on my blog! I continually add links to the list on my resources page so this post may go out of date soon. Please don’t remove this caption as it took hours to compile this list! Thanks!

Anaesthesia

-UGA notes

*Veterinary Anaesthesia

*The Practical Veterinarian

*Anaesthesia for Animals with Cardiac Disease

*Breed-Specific Anaesthesia

*Recovery from Anaesthesia

*Equine Health: Analgesia and Anaesthesia

Anatomy and Physiology

-Imaging Anatomy

-WikiVet

-Online Veterinary Anatomy

-Veterinary Radiology Cases

-Virtual Canine Anatomy

-CVM

-Real 3D Anatomy

-Iron Free Hoof

-Artistic Anatomy of Animals

-Veterinary Radiology

-Dr.Pack

-Lowchenaustralia

-Tabanat

-The Blind Radiologist

-AnatomyForMe

-Structure of the Skeleton

-Cat Anatomy Tutorial

*Gross Anatomy

*Anatomical Nomenclature

*Anatomy of the Dog

*Anatomy and Pysiology of the Horse

-Bovine Radiology

*A textbook of Veterinary Anatomy

-Pig anatomy

*Evolution of the Horse

Articles/ News

-Vet Boss

-PetMD

-Vets Online Blogs

-A Vets Guide To Life

-Diary of a Real-life Veterinarian

-WebVet

-VetsOnline

-Veterinary Practice News

-Entirely Pets

-DogHeirs

-Pet Education

-ToVet

Bacteriology / Microbiology

-WikiVet

-VetBact

*Manual of Veterinary Microbiology

-AMRLS

-Farm Microbiology

Behaviour

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-Veterinary Partner

*Evolution of Animal Behaviour

*Essentials of Animal Behaviour

*The Thinking Horse: Cognition and Perception Reviewed

*Equine Behaviour

Cardiovascular System

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-WSU

-VetGo Cardiology

-Cardiovascular Medicine case studies

-UGA Cardiology notes

-UGA Cardiology slides

*Reptile Cardiology

Care + Training

-PetMD

-HillsPet

*The Puppy Guide

*TortoiseTrust: Taking care of of pet tortoises

*Dogs Trust Basic Training

*Rex In The City: Basic Obedience For Dogs

*Cat Care Basics

*Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Cats

*Friends for Life: Caring for your Older Cat

*Caring for your Cat at Any Age

*Basic Biology of Reptiles and Amphibians

*Reptile Care Sheet

-Animal Welfare: GOV.UK

-Pet Care (contains PDFs)

Clinical

-WikiVet

Dentistry

-WikiVet

*Dentistry Basics

*Dentistry Extraction

*Dental Radiology

*Dental Nomenclature

*Basic Canine Dentistry

Dermatology

-UGA Core Dermatology

*Dermatology in Cats and Dogs

*Clinical Handbook of Canine Dermatology

Digestive system

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-WSU

-CSU

*Esophagus and Stomach

*Ruminant Digestive System

*Types of Animal Digestive Systems

*Digestive System of Domesticated Animals

Embryology

-WikiVet

*Developmental Anatomy

*Veterinary Embryology

Emergency/ First Aid

-PetMD

-Emergency Cases

*Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Medicine

*First Aid and Emergency Care

*Pet Emergency Care Handbook

*Ophthalmic Emergencies

Endocrinology

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-CSU

*Applied Veterinary Endocrinology

*The Endocrine Glands in the Dogs: from Cell to Hormone

Epidemiology

-WikiVet

-Epidemiological Research Methods

*Introduction to Veterinary Epidemiology

*An Introduction to Veterinary Epidemiology

Histology

-WikiVet

-Virtual Histology Laboratory

-OpenLearn- Histopathology

-Microscopic Anatomy

-Histology-World

-Virtual Histology Lab

-Veterinary Histology

-Histology video presentations

-CVM Neurohistology

Immunology

-WikiVet

*Introductory Veterinary Immunology

*Immunology notes I

*Immunology notes II

Integumentary System

-Merck Veterinary Manual

*Avian Medicine: Integument

Musculoskeletal System

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-WSU

*Musckuloskeletal Radiology

Neurology

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-CVM

-OSU

-WSU

-NeuroPetVet

-Clinical Neurology

Nursing

-WikiVet

*Handbook of Veterinary Nursing

*BSAVA Textbook of Veterinary Nursing

Nutrition

-PetMD

*Feeding & Obesity: Cats Protection

*Animal Nutrition and Digestion

*Animal Nutrition Training Manual

*Nutrition Reference Manual

Parasitology

-WikiVet

-The ParaSite

-CVM Parasitology

*Animal Parasitology

*Infection & Immunity

Pathology / Disease / Disorder

-WikiVet

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-Veterinary Partner

-Obsidian Rabbitry (contains several other categories)

-eClinPath

-UPEI

-Clinical Pathology

-Joint Pathology Center

-FMV atlas

-MarvistaVet

*Manual of Veterinary Science

Pharmacology

-WikiVet

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-Veterinary Partner

-Drugs.com

-AMRLS

-Clinical Pharmacology

-MarvistaVet

Reproductive System

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-Breeding Soundness Examination

Radiology

*Veterinary Radiology in Veterinary Medicine

*Small Animal Muskuloskeletal Radiology

*An Atlas of Interpretative Anatomy of the Dog and Cat

*Radiation Safety

*Pulmonary Imaging

Respiratory System

-Merck Veterinary Manual

-WSU

Surgery

-MarvistaVet

-Equine Castration

[thepowerwithin]

Take a moment. Really. Are you being too harsh on yourself? Remember that you must give yourself enough time to grow. You must show yourself patience. Unconditional love. Acceptance. Showing hostility towards yourself will not speed up your growth, but only dampen it. So remember, handle yourself delicately, and give yourself some more credit.

Nicole Addison @thepowerwithin (via thepowerwithin)

"Remember that you must give yourself time to grow." This is so hard to remember in vet med. You graduate and suddenly lives are in your hands, and you feel like you need to know it all. But it's ok. Find yourself a strong support system, and continue to grow.

[surviving-vetmed]

CCU

I've decided critical care is probably the sexiest aspect of vet med. Nothing like slamming catheters in a seizing patient or cracking a chest open to grab a heart with your hand to do manual compressions during CPR. (just to clarify, this is pretty rare. Most CPR is just the normal CPR. But I'm at a level 1 facility so we have the equipment and expertise to do damn near anything) It's been a good two weeks.

[pyrrhiccomedy]

based on extensive observation, I believe that my cats have only a tenuous grasp on how much of my body is “me”

It’s like, Head: definitely Big Friend, note eyes and noise-hole.

Hands: 90% certainty of Big Friend, 10% possibility of toy. comprised of two main parts, the rubby-rubby and the wriggly-scritchers. does Big Friend control them with her mind? the mechanism is unclear.

Arms, aka “Cuddle Snakes”: do these help Big Friend’s hands from getting lost? good place to sit.

Torso: ??? we have no idea what this is. smells like Big Friend but serves no observable purpose. treat as terrain.

Legs, see: “The Lap Conundrum”: 25% chance of Big Friend, totally uninteresting. WHEN LAP: 90% chance of Big Friend, excellently warm. where does the lap go? our finest cat scientists seek the answer to this mystery, but no breakthroughs as of yet.

Feet, aka “Twitchy-Kickers”: 10% chance of Big Friend, 90% chance of foe. all attempts to communicate have ended in hostility. Destroy on sight.

[edwardspoonhands]

CAT SCIENTISTS!

[surviving-vetmed]

Dermatology

My first half week... ALLERGIES EVERYWHERE! I think every one of my patients was an allergic animal, because it is so incredibly common. Fortunately, we have a lot of treatment options in dogs. Cats are a little more limited, but for any animal allergies will require lifelong management. This is usually a pill once or twice a day, but now more injectable or oral liquid options are being developed. There's so much more to it, but I'm a wee bit too tired to go into it, so that will have to wait. Message me if you have any burning questions!

[surviving-vetmed]

[surviving-vetmed]

💪🤓

And so a new chapter of my life begins! I have one more exam to take tomorrow to technically finish up my 3rd year, but it shouldn't be bad and I don't care much anyway to be completely honest. Tomorrow is orientation, then I start my clinical year the day after. I'm in my LAST YEAR! I can't believe I made it!!!! Now I get to begin to learn how to balance cases with the rest of my life, and to apply the things I've slaved the last three years to learn. This is the beginning of what my life will be for the rest of my career; making decisions for my patients, learning what I need to know off the top of my head and what I can look up, learning HOW to efficiently look things up, all of it! I'm so excited! 🤗

[surviving-vetmed]

[surviving-vetmed]

Won this beaut at a silent auction. We're going to hydrodip it in patterned paint - I'll update the picture once we get around to doing it 🐏

[surviving-vetmed]

Life Update

Sorry for the lame blog lately, my stress levels haven't gone down at all. I'm just checking in to say I've been unbelievably crazy busy and I'm in the midst of our week of cumulative exams (not our finals - those are next week) and I'm barely keeping my head above water. BUUUT next week I'll be starting my clinical year on dermatology, so I'll have lots of fun stories to share. Man, I can't wait to be done with lectures!

[surviving-vetmed]

My first vet school all-nighter?

I have made it a very firm point not to pull any all-nighters through vet school. They haven't been worth it. But I might have no choice today. I've been in my very demanding anesthesia rotation these past few weeks, which means 5am wake up. This wouldn't be so terrible except I haven't been getting home until 7 or 8 at night. Every night. Now I have an exam due in 2 hours, an anesthesia exam tomorrow morning I haven't been able to study for, three different homeworks due tomorrow morning, my part of a group project due by noon, and another two exams due Saturday. Fuck. And I wish I could say I procrastinated and it's my fault but I haven't taken more than an hour long break in about two weeks. Seriously. This is crazy.

[drferox]

A Veterinarian's Promise

Euthanasia.

Every few days I get asked the same question, “Am I making the right decision?”

The asker is always distraught, on the verge of saying goodbye to their beloved pet.

I usually just answer ‘yes’ or something similar. Sometimes i quote the statistics of survival for such a condition, because numbers are solid and devoid of emotion when your world is crumbling, numbers you can hold onto.

But what I want to answer is this.

“I wouldn’t let you make the wrong decision.”

As a veterinarian i routinely perform euthanasia to give pets a peaceful, compassionate death. It may be a pet I’ve known and treated for years, or it may be a pet I’ve never seen before who “Didn’t need to go to the vet because he’s healthy, but he’s on his way out now.” (Here’s a tip- most of the time those pets did need a vet, and that’s why they’re in the situation they’re in now.) But the past doesn’t matter. The fact is, the animal is lying before me now, on the brink of making a decision, and you have a choice to make.

A few days ago a lady brought her cat into see me. The cat was elderly, and had disappeared for a few days before coming home. The lady had thought her cat had crawled off to die, and was so relieved that she’d come home.

Her relief rapidly changed to concern when she saw my face drop. This happy, purring little cat was very thin, and I could feel a tumor the size of my fist in her abdomen. A tumor about as big as her head.

It was more than likely intestinal lymphoma. Now surgery was an option to remove the segment of intestine, but lymphomas often spread rapidly and any surgery should be followed up by chemo. Statistically, about a 30% chance of the cat being alive and well in three years time, after both  surgery and chemo. But in an old cat who’s lost a lot of weight, well, I was dubious that she’d be one of the 30%, and so was the owner. Palliation is also an option, but effective for about 8 weeks at most.

Things like this are of course extremely personal decisions. She asked me if she was making the right choice.

I wont let you make the wrong decision.

After than consult I had a phone call from a lady i had seen earlier in the day. Her old dog had been coughing a lot, and I had diagnosed it with moderate to severe heart failure.

She called because she was concerned that she was doing the wrong thing by her dog in keeping her alive.

I told her; your dog is happy. She eats. She walks. She sleeps. She has no difficulty going to the toilet with dignity. She recognizes you and her tail didn’t stop wagging the entire time she was here. I can’t give her a new heart. I can try to stop her heart getting worse, but there will come a day when the medication is not enough and she will no longer be wagging her tail. On that day that she is no longer a happy dog, rest assured I will tell you.

But that day is not today. While she’s happy, she’s happy. When she’s not…

I wont let you make the wrong decision.

[drferox]

I still wont let you make the wrong decision.

[missnoodliness]

This is what vet school weekends look like. Lots of studying, drawing pictures with your highlighters, and whipping out the laminated pictures of eggs shed by endoparasites. Study break 1: cleaned the whole apartment. Study break 2: I need to eat some freaking food

[surviving-vetmed]

Serious post time

I just had a friend of mine post something saying doctors only recommend chemo to keep their patients sick. I understand the are a lot of theories and strong personalities out there, but please be careful with things like this. Just because it is emotionally charged and gets you riled up doesn’t mean you are necessary qualified to make these claims. I understand the importance of objective criticism more than most, but when you make generalizations like all doctors are horrible people it hurts. We have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession. We are overworked and underpaid. We have spent thousands upon thousands of hours trying to learn everything we can to help you and your pets. We have missed out on a huge portion of our life because we made medicine our lives.

Please don’t insult my character and my life’s work because it’s “in vogue” to hate medical professionals. Instead have a real conversation with me addressing your concerns, and come with an open mind. The hardest thing in life to do is adapt your views when you are presented with new evidence, but it is so necessary.

Please. We are human. We are vulnerable. And we are doing our absolute best.

[surviving-vetmed]

Umm guys...

I'm like, a surgeon. Haha I did my first spay today on the little tiniest chihuahua for the local humane society. She is something special, I can't wait for her to find her family. But yay! It's so weird that I'm finally here. That when people ask me what I did today, I can say SURGERY. Woah. That is all.