#placementdiaries

[lizziedoesvetpath]

Did my first bitch spey today!!!

I'm really proud of her, she's now my baby (unfortunately I have to give her back).

Shout out to my flatmate for responding with my new vet school slogan:

Spey bitch then slay bitch

[lizziedoesvetpath]

Analgesia with opioids pro-tip

If it starts with B it's not for bones!!!

(ie: buprenorphine and butorphanol do not provide adequate pain relief for musculoskeletal issues - save them for visceral pain!)

[lizziedoesvetpath]

Why won't you let me in your butt?!?

Me practicing manual pregnancy diagnosis on (understandably) unimpressed cows today

[lizziedoesvetpath]

11 hours in the emergency clinic

My legs hurt, the sound of fluid pumps beeping has followed me home, and I don't know my own name. But I fucking nailed an IV catheter placement and that's what truly matters

[lizziedoesvetpath]

Little vet school things

Being glad I'm utterly exhausted because it will override the on-call anxiety and I'll actually get some sleep tonight

[lizziedoesvetpath]

What do you want to see?

I'm just a few weeks away from starting my final year of vet school (!!!!!!!!) and I was wondering what you guys might like to see from that. I was thinking I could do a "my journey to the NAVLE" series (could be interesting being international so I don't actually have to sit it), and explanations of diseases, treatments etc I encounter in clinic.

Let me know if these sound good to you, or if there's something else you want to know about my final year. It's clinical year baby!!!!

[lizziedoesvetpath]

Hidden perks of vet school #001

I'm waiting for a train, coated in cat hair and smelling faintly of cat urine. I had a great day, and it just got better because nobody wants to sit next to me

[lizziedoesvetpath]

How to survive vet school placements!

So I’ve been on a lot of placements (or externships, as I know some of you call them) and I thought I’d share what I’ve learnt about how to not end up crying in a corner 3hrs in

1. Drink water. Like, loads of it. You will likely not feel all that thirsty, but you need to drink water. I quickly discovered that the reason I felt like sitting down and having a good cry some days was that I had not had enough water, and apparently that’s how my brain thought I should deal with said dehydration.

2. Ask questions. This is coming from someone who is remarkably bad at asking questions. Every single one of my school reports would somewhere include the comment “Lizzie is a good student, but should ask more questions”. I get that you don’t want to seem annoying, or like you don’t know anything, but here’s the thing: YOU (the student) ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE LEAST KNOWLEDGEABLE PERSON IN THE CLINIC. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO BECOME SLIGHTLY LESS CLUELESS. Asking questions shows whoever you’re working with that you are paying attention, thinking about what’s happening, and (above all) you are interested in what they are doing. It is the key to vets liking you. I’ve been trying to think of one question for each animal we see. It can be something complicated about the minutiae of the case, or it can be as simple as double checking what the vet used for sedation and why. That being said....

3. Never ever EVER question the vet in front of clients. Especially not with “why” questions. To you, “why are you using penicillin for this case?” sounds like you trying to understand how to choose antibiotics (a mysterious subject that I am still trying to grasp). To the client it sounds like you, currently at university and learning the most up to date information, cannot fathom why the vet would choose the drug they have. Questions are for after the client has left the consult room or once you are back in the vet’s truck.

4. Have some study to do in your bag. Not every day/week you are on placement will be the busiest, most interesting week at that clinic ever. There may be down time, and it’s best not to be playing phone games in said time. I am personally fond of having “The Small Animal Veterinary Nerdbook” (Sophia Yin) in my bag. Not only is it small and light, it is an easy to search reference book that covers HEAPS of topics. In my down time, I will look at the sections in this book relative to cases I’ve seen that day (recent cases gets you bonus points because it shows you’re looking deeper).

5. Be nice to nurses. This should be self explanatory but just in case - nurses are a wealth of knowledge (they do know more than you. Always) and if you are nice to them they will share this knowledge and help you thrive in the clinic. 

6. Be honest. You will always look dumber by claiming to know something than by admitting you do not. Nobody will thank you for pretending to know how to do something you have never done before, and you learn nothing if you say you understand a concept when you do not. You will get far more respect by admitting that you don’t know or can’t remember than by trying to seem smart.

7. Take the breaks you are offered. You don’t need to work until you drop. If someone says you can go take 10 mins for a coffee, take 10 mins. Sit down, drink some water, rest. Just because it seems like there will be plenty of time for that later does not necessarily mean there will be.

8. Say thank you. I always leave or send a thank you note at the end of a placement. It doesn’t have to be long or eloquent, just say thank you somehow. You should do it just because it’s polite, but also remember that clinics will probably be filling in evaluation forms about you, or you may want a letter of reference from them when applying for jobs etc. You’ll fare better if you say thank you.

In short: don’t be a dick, remember you are there to learn, and make sure you are feeding your body as well as your mind. And have fun!