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HelloSailorSign posted:Derm faculty: You have to broach the subject of fleas very carefully with clients. When you say their pet has fleas, what they're hearing is that they are icky, disgusting people who have venereal diseases. Our parasite guy told us about a client who brought in some lice for him to look at. He said that he found them in his kid's hair and that the kid obviously got them from the dog. They were Phthirus pubis (crabs) 
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Mar 3, 2012 16:23
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wtftastic posted:http://caspcapets.shelterbuddy.com/photos//lostfound/28284.jpg I think it's caused by anything that disrupts the coat. It could be scabbing or scarring from all kinds of things. Without a history, it's not easy to figure out the cause. I saw a dog in for boarding that had the same pocked appearance, but it ran down his neck to his shoulder. The hair wasn't actually gone, it was just being parted by a community of big fat ticks.
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Mar 3, 2012 18:58
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For anyone wondering what vet school is like, I think this is a fairly accurate account. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ictqCRakTIY
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Mar 3, 2012 23:38
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HelloSailorSign posted:But it's so fun to sit in the back row with other like-minded back rowers, talking poo poo about people on G-chat after they ask their stupid questions... then watching them lose interest halfway through the answer and watch the Internet shopping begin! A few weeks back, a lecturer asked how many people use computers to take notes or view the powerpoints during class. No one raised their hands, despite the fact that there were a good fifteen people typing away on their laptops.
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Mar 4, 2012 00:55
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I got in on the first try. I applied to three, WI was a longshot and I got interviews at the other two. My school has an earlier application/acceptance cycle, so I knew that I got in before the other called to schedule an interview. Since I was already in at my top choice, I let the second know that they could give the interview to someone else. I'm not sure about the details of the weighting, but when I spoke with an admissions counselor she said that if your GRE and GPA are above a certain level you pretty much get an automatic interview. [brag]I got 800 on the math section of the GRE, so she said I had no worries.[/brag] The interview went really well, despite being a nervous wreck. They asked me what I thought the biggest upcoming challenge or issue would be for vets and I said all of the impending legislation, which sparked a conversation about declawing, which led to a big spiel about communicating with clients. They were grinning at that point, since I can get a little fanatical about educating and working with clients. I am glad that all of us agree that our classmates are the worst part. It boggles my mind that so many of them have zero empathy or are completely closed off to new ideas. Last year was an endless stream of drama in my personal life, culminating in surgery to have suspected cancer removed. I mentioned being nervous about the upcoming surgery to my equine dissection group and one responded with, "Well yeah but I am really worried about this final."  My patience for bitching about studying wore out then and there. I had so many warnings about the level of work involved, it didn't really occur to me that every other aspect of my life could go to pot until I was in the thick of it. The academics felt like the easy part, you sort of know what to expect even if it is difficult, I really wish I had been more prepared for everything else. I guess my advice for everyone else would be to make sure you know what you would do if the worst started happening, working on coping mechanisms and knowing who you can count on. I was pretty satisfied with how undergrad went, though I wish my college hadn't been in upheaval. My organic chemistry professor was mysteriously fired because of some weird board decision, partway through the class. With him gone, the remainder of that class and my biochem class were taught by a physical chemist who picked our text because it came with premade powerpoints and exams. He tried his best, but I wish I had a better chemistry education.
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Mar 6, 2012 21:50
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HelloSailorSign posted:Oh, here's something I've really not liked about vet school. My favorite so far was the girl who decided to email the entire school about the dog that she raised from a puppy but now needs to sell because it's fugly and she wants the room for a new show quality one.
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Mar 7, 2012 00:48
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I am getting really tired of professors that expect you to read their minds. We had an online quiz that was totally open, we are allowed to use our notes and even discuss questions with each other. There are questions that were never discussed thoroughly in class, aren't in the provided notes, but the real kicker is that apparently the professor disagrees with the available research. I am not opposed to researching things for myself, but how the hell am I supposed to know that he disagrees with all of it?
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Mar 9, 2012 13:33
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HelloSailorSign posted:There was a lovely client who refused to take home pain meds after their animal had major surgery (about 1.5 days post-op) because they don't believe in pain meds. Took awhile to convince them to take home anything. They're probably not even giving what was sent home. We had a client who refused to use anything for pain beyond aromatherapy. Solis posted:I'm not sure I agree with clinics that make pain meds optional. I feel like it should be built in to the cost of the surgery. You can include pain meds in the cost of surgery but you can't force a client who doesn't "believe" in them to administer anything after they're discharged.
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Apr 2, 2012 01:06
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 The time has come for a surgical pack! Well, not immediately but for next year. I need to either rent one from the school or buy my own. Since it sounds like most everyone is nearly done or at least further along than me, I figured I'd ask you guys about what you did! If your school had similar requirements, what did you end up doing? Any regrets? Any pack recommendations/reviews? Spectrum will be coming to talk soon, but I'd appreciate some goon advice before the corporate spiel.As for bad behavior, one of my classmates was worried that her dog would think that he was dominant over her when she brushed him, because of submissive grooming behavior in wolves. Another said you can never break eye contact with an aggressive dog or they'll think they won. 
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Apr 18, 2012 03:37
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Thanks for the pack input. Turns out our student representative is a scatter brained moron and instead of everyone having to place an order within two weeks, we need to have one pack per three student group and don't need to order until the last day of May. We don't even find out which students are split between LAOP and SAOP until who knows when, so the whole thing is up in the air for a few more weeks. My friend wants to buy her own, so if we both end up in the same section I am all set.
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Apr 19, 2012 19:56
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Does it irk anyone else when people say things along the lines of "no vet would EVER disagree with my opinion!!!" I know it's a dumb pet peeve and I try to ignore it when it pops up in PI, but it really bugs the poo poo out of me.
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Apr 22, 2012 05:13
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Crooked Booty posted:With traditional interviews (which I never did, so correct me if I'm wrong), it seems like most schools ask a lot of the same questions, so you can pretty much memorize and practice your delivery of "Tell us about yourself" or "Why veterinary medicine?". I don't think rehearsed responses are nearly as revealing of a candidate as putting them on the spot and making them articulate their ethical standpoint on something controversial or complex. I had a traditional interview and it wasn't all formulaic. The questions followed whatever answers I gave, so it was very tailored to my interests and experience. We got off on a huge tangent about legislation and client education/communication that was a lot of fun. I haven't done MMI, but I can't imagine any of the 12 interviewers learning as much about what I stand for and how I work as in the traditional interview. I guess the year before I applied went horribly wrong in some way, because the entire school acknowledges that the class of 2013 is a collective rear end. It's pretty weird to have an entire class be complained about by practically every professor.
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Apr 25, 2012 13:42
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Topoisomerase posted:The people I know who have done online courses have been people who were already working at vet clinics as (unlicensed) assistants doing most of the hands-on stuff when they started. I could see an online program being beneficial for someone like that. But for somebody starting from scratch...ehh.... Seconded. I know someone who is planning on doing an online course because she has been working in a clinic for somewhere over five years but lives in the middle of nowhere, without access to a tech school. The program she was looking at also required her to do certain tasks and have the vet sign off that she did them successfully. That was for being a tech, not an assistant though. My super biased probably uninformed opinion is that a lot of an assistant's job is "go do this for me," which you are better prepared for by doing things than by solely reading stuff.
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May 7, 2012 12:41
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I am positively delighted that my parasitology text contains the phrase "pinch a loaf." 
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May 18, 2012 21:57
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Jul 20, 2012 03:27
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Shnooks posted:Do any of you have recommendations on what brand of scrubs I should get? I have no clue how many pockets I'll need or like if I need a "modern" elastic waistband or what. I don't want or need any of those fancy ones that don't really look like scrub tops. It depends on how much you want to spend. Some of the nicer ones that are tailored in shapes other than box can more expensive. Plainplainplain ones seem to be marked down to $9 a top a lot, while tailored ones can be $28 a top. I like the tops I have from Dickies. They are more flattering than others I have tried and they have some cute patterns, if you are allowed to wear them. I am tall though, so I have no idea what brand works best for petite ladies. Does your new clinic have color requirements? I prefer drawstring waist because elastic annoys me and I feel less likely to be pantsed by an excited lab when I can tie them, but it's really a personal preference. I'd get just as many pants as tops. They are just as likely to be messy, especially since they are right at dog-level. Beyond that, I guess it depends on how many days you will work in a row and how often you want to do laundry. Squeamish paranoid me doesn't really like the idea of rewearing dirty scrubs at all, since you have no idea what you are carrying from one patient to the next over the course of several days. When it gets cold, I just wear ugly ol' long underwear but I'm sure leggings would work too. Turtle necks can look pretty snazzy under scrub tops and add a lot of warmth. They also make scrub jackets, but I have never been cold enough at work to bother getting one.
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Aug 1, 2012 22:37
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Shnooks posted:They didn't say anything about fun prints, but everyone seems to have plain colored scrubs. I think some patterns are better than solids at hiding the daily accumulation of hair, poop, and blood. But if everyone else is in solids, it would probably be awkward. HelloSailorSign posted:If you do laundry every 7-10 days, I would recommend having as many sets of scrubs as there are workdays in that period of time +25% - so if you were going to buy 8 scrubs I'd buy an extra 2, but err on the side of more. You want to bring backups in case bad poo poo (literally) happens. Yeah, 2-3 definitely sounds like too few with that laundry schedule. At minimum, you need one for each day of work. Shnooks posted:Man, there's so many options. I can sew so eventually I'll probably just sew my own scrubs, but right now I can't. I just bought a pattern for scrubs and will be attempting a set as soon as I get some decent ceil blue fabric. I like the idea of being able tweak pockets to suit all of the specific crap that I have to carry.
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Aug 1, 2012 23:38
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I've been meaning to ask you something, Khelmar. Our pathologist said that around 3% of the samples that they get sent don't even have the patient's species listed. Do you get a lot of poorly labeled things sent to you?
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Aug 8, 2012 15:08
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HelloSailorSign posted:I would recommend investing in that Veterinary Board Game (just the cards, really) They also have an iphone app! My fiance just gave me a giftcard to buy a bunch of the card packs  I start my third year next week, which is exciting and nerve-racking. You Davis people better report back if you get in on any of the new-nose action.
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Aug 16, 2012 18:40
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My #1 goal for my surgery team was having tall awesome people, no stooping for us! We almost had a team of two but then there was a glorious meltdown of a team that one of our friends was in, so we snagged her. That was one of the only times that made me glad to have crazy drama in our class. At our school the empty third spots are filled by students at a nearby tech school, though they obviously can't take a turn as surgeon. Back to scrub chat for a minute, I am nearly done making my very first top. They are looking pretty awesome except that sleeves are a bitch to attach. If you are crafty at all, I highly recommend it.
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Aug 17, 2012 13:40
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HelloSailorSign posted:See, now that got me thinking, anything that people want to share? The class ahead of us, the fourth years, are apparently so loving awful to deal with that last year the team leading professor for operative practice literally took a sabbatical to get out of dealing with them any more. Last week a girl in an elective I'm taking emailed the whole class to see if we could reschedule it, so she wouldn't have to wake up so early.
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Aug 18, 2012 23:17
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Our surgical technique video on sterile prep of patients features horrible dog balls. I know we have to be prepared for horrible dog balls, but the 70s lighting really takes it up a notch. Linked for your protection Khelmar, I finally have a class run by your buddy! He dropped in for a couple lectures on fungi last year, but now he is in charge of our microbiology course. It sounds like it will be fun and he is certainly passionate about it.
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Aug 29, 2012 23:34
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I had equine anesthesia lab today. It was horrifying/hilarious when the recovering mare swung wide, did a magnificent barrel roll, and all of the SA people (myself included) scattered. She was all over the place, falling over and lunging forward, so it was certainly an exciting afternoon. It did not convince me to be an equine vet.
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Sep 14, 2012 20:55
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There is a bit of leeway, it generally takes them a while to actually go through all of that. A couple weeks after the deadline I got an email from one of the schools that I applied to, asking for official confirmation that one of my classes was considered "writing intensive." All of my friends had a good laugh at the idea that it might not be, considering they were asking about Contemporary Third World Literature, which was taught by a fiery French professor who believed that as Americans we should all have better grammar than her - no excuses. The school didn't seem to be in a rush to hear back, so as long as things are in progress I wouldn't worry too much.
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Oct 8, 2012 22:52
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Dr. Chaco posted:He's doing surprisingly well so far, given that the cat bit off his head This is how I read it at first  In awesome news, I aced my surgical practical. It covered gowning/gloving, instrument ID, hand ties, and suturing. Now for my ophtho midterm and written intro to surgery final.
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Oct 16, 2012 23:11
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The worst is being tested on things that two professors have passionately different opinions on.
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Oct 31, 2012 17:31
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Our teaching team for anesthesia has been really good so far about asking things that do have one correct answer, out of the choices provided. I'm not in clinics yet, but the lectures and exams have been fair. They tend to focus on important contraindications and say go wild with the rest. A lot of questions are framed as "what is the stupidest drug to use in this situation?" I am excited that we are getting our rotation schedules and also terrified that my very first one is going to be Emergency.
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Oct 31, 2012 20:03
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Are any of you on LinkedIn and has it helped at all?
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Nov 11, 2012 00:00
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How can you post that but not the helivets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbP3OsS195Q
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Nov 12, 2012 01:40
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We are actually required to go to at least one day of our local conference, in our first through third years.
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Dec 2, 2012 03:05
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I am mitigating burnout by spending way too much time drooling over pretty wedding things. We're getting hitched a couple months after graduation, so I am using it as a fun-crutch. Pharmacology is dumb but ohlookcoffeefilterflowers. This will all bite me in the rear end later when I am trying to graduate, get employed, and get married basically at the same time. But until then 
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Dec 10, 2012 23:35
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wtftastic posted:how can a vaccine be homeopathic? How can't it be?
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Jan 10, 2013 16:41
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Another benefit of working at multiple clinics or multiple vets at the same clinic is that some schools have specific requirements for the letters of recommendation. I forget which, but one of the ones that I applied to required three total and two of those had to be from veterinarians. Man all the talk about where the profession is going is really bumming me out. Our dean gave us a depressing lecture sort of updating us on upcoming changes. Practically in the same breath as bragging about how he had increased class size, he started bitching about the AVMA planning to give accreditation to three more schools. Then he flat out told us that we fall below the upcoming remodel on the school's list of priorities. I know their economics are important but dang it is awkward to hear aloud that students are less important. Especially when it is followed by an attempt to fundraise from us.
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Jan 20, 2013 15:52
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Just remember, you're merging with traffic not crossing the street. I have seen way too many classmates totally skewer veins. When I was a littleun in 4H, we learned about injections using an orange with a twizzler on top, stuck into pantyhose. The "medicine" was blue koolaid. You had to pinch up the pantyhose to do SQ, stick the orange for IM, and hit the twizzler to do IV. It was an awesome way to learn about the differences.
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Aug 22, 2013 17:30
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We had a TVT dog come in a couple months ago, he was originally from Puerto Rico. I have never seen so many people excited about a dog penis.
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Jan 20, 2014 03:47
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You don't necessarily need either. They didn't sound like they fit my study style, so I didn't bother. I learned plenty from my notes and just paying attention in clinics. I took two of the board's practice tests, one near the start of studying and one a week before the test. It was super helpful; I felt totally comfortable during the test because it prepared me for the type of question and how much I could get wrong while still scoring a pass. It felt awesome to see the bump in score from the first to the second and then from that to the real thing. I passed with a pretty rad cushion. 
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Feb 9, 2014 06:46
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Sooo not that my absence was particularly impactful or anything but hey guys it's been like forever and here I am. It is weird as hell to think I have been in practice for a year. Now I'm studying up for the CSB, just submitted the law portion last week, and figured hey you smartipants people are probably helpful. I'm originally from CA so I'm not completely lost as far as foxtails, salmon poisoning, the biggies; but any tips for studying are appreciated. In exchange I will show you some ouch from last month.  
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Jun 13, 2015 04:00
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New favorite phone question. "So I wanted your opinion before I go and do anything. I've got a one year old and a newborn baby. And my buddy has some 6 week old raccoons for sale and I think I'd like to get one." We had a nice long chat.
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Jun 19, 2015 00:50
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I feel like a loving rockstar. Totally booked up surgery schedule, more than there probably should have been with us being down a tech today. The appointment schedule is wrecked, so I can't expect help from the other half. Oh well, it is what it is. At 4 am I add a pitbull pyometra to my to-do list. So I go in a bit early (ie nap in my car) to tackle things. Pyo is going fantastic. Start to close her up, then an emergency c-section walks in. She just had a c-section last fall, so she is 75 pounds of adhesion horror-show. Scoop out two potatoes and spay that sticky uterus, then plow through the five beasty electives, finish all my charting. Only leave 20 minutes after closing. 
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Jun 20, 2015 01:31
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Opinions. We have a 3 year old MC shepherdy looking lab mix that went missing for a few days, came back with a horrifying traumatic wound to the left pelvic limb. It needs to go. Among other things, the distal tibia has been completely stripped circumferentially and everything below that is properly necrotic. We are thinking he was caught in a trap and chewed his way out.  The question I have for everyone is which camp are you in, always take at the coxofemoral joint or at the proximal healthy joint? My boss is of the opinion that next up is good enough, which would be the stifle in this guy. Yeah it would be an easier access place, but I'm not feeling it. Leaving the femur seems like unnecessary excess weight to leave behind. He is a strong young guy, but he won't always be. I need thoughts yelled at me. It's my decision to make and the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. 
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Jun 25, 2015 17:41
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