Primary Care & Exotics Externship
This rotation was SO much fun. I got to see more creatures than I could previously name off the top of my head. The staff was so inviting and friendly. The clinic is partly owned by one of my classmate’s parents, so it was nice to get to know them as well. I learned a lot here and was so happy that they took me on because they are selective in their externs.
My main goal was to get better in my primary care of exotics, improve my bird knowledge/handling skills, and start learning more about reptiles. Amphibians were not even on my list, but I got to see one. Fun things I got to do:
Spay and neuter a bunch of pets. Anything on surgery day was fair game and I got so much experience on those days.
Mass removals, dental extractions (I got to use cautery to remove a mass from a hedgehog that was almost 1/3 its size)
Anesthesia on rabbits, lizards, birds of all sizes, guinea pigs, hedgehogs
I got to work with a veterinary radiologist who came in to ultrasound patients and I got a lot of hands-on experience. Unfortunately, I had to diagnose a dog with transitional cell carcinoma after one of these sessions.
I am definitely better at hearing heart murmurs now, thanks to actually getting to see more than 2 patients a day.
I got to go to a local non-chain pet store that uses evidence-based research to recommend habitats that uses this clinic as their veterinary care. It was amazing to go there and examine their pets on the fly. You do not know what you’re going to get until you show up.
I got to examine an axolotl which is my first ever amphibian. Really cool and had an odd congenital deformation of a forelimb.
Overall, this has been my favorite rotation so far. I felt like I was always learning, no matter what. The doctors and nurses included me in as many things as they possibly could. I almost came home with a new rabbit as a barter for doing surgery on a hedgehog for the pet store, but had my floofy marshmallow to consider. What I really gained from this is that I can do this when I graduate. I have a good knowledge base and I know what resources to use when I do not. I am so excited for the next few months to fly by.
I’ll get a post out about my ortho rotation next