First day in reception! I lost my voice last night and can't talk! Very fun!
Haha, it was actually a sort of interesting day, being a receptionist without a voice. I learned about how we fiddle with appointments, such as the criteria we ask about, how to set up the folders for incoming clients, new clients, and surgeries. I had done the scheduling part many times before, but it was good to do the rest as well.
All in all, a rather uneventful time aside from that people must wonder what sort of place they're calling when someone answers the phone in a husky whisper.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
7/5/07
What a day. My first full day as a surgery tech and what a disaster. We didn't get started until late, then the dog (mass removal) didn't seem to want a catheter (no veins), and then was very hard to intubate. I initially used too small of a tube, and the doctor was very nice and helpful but ended up giving me the wrong size tube (I had a bigger, but flimsier one), and so once the dog was on the table he started to wake up because he was breathing around the tube. Had to call in backup at that point, and after we got him all set up breathing-wise, we couldn't position him right. The mass was at the base of the tail on the underside, and I wanted to use tape but was outvoted....and then we ended up using tape anyhow. Frustrating. Mind you, this was all to set up a five minute surgery. So finally after I think I've just about killed this dog (heart rate, respiratory rate WAY up according to the monitors) we get him down, in and out, and I'm recovering him, trimming his toenails...and he bleeds everywhere. Longest quicks I have ever seen in a dog, and of course, had to be on this dog. At that point I gave him up as a bad job and stuck him in the kennel. Made the most horrendous sounds when he was waking up...sigh.
Next up was a cat spay...that needed to be intubated. Mid spay. On the table. Apparently its unusual to happen that the drugs don't keep them down. Figures. So, a little paranoid, I stuck close and it turns out she was pregnant. This was very cool as I got to see the doctor take out the sacks and then cut them open and see the tiny babies (about the size of a small pinky mouse, a little smaller). After we went through them one by one to make sure that they were all deceased as that would be a horrible way to wake up.
Everything else went fine after all that, did the problematic dog's go home. One of the other surgery techs, the only other one who knew what was going on, told me it was okay, that things happen and I did well. She was very supportive, especially since I wanted to throw myself out a window after all that stress.
Oh, and I diagnosed roundworms! Go parasitology!
It's a shame that I'm going to be in reception for the next two weeks, I think I learn better by jumping into the fray like that (or getting thrown into the fire, maybe). Oh well.
Next up was a cat spay...that needed to be intubated. Mid spay. On the table. Apparently its unusual to happen that the drugs don't keep them down. Figures. So, a little paranoid, I stuck close and it turns out she was pregnant. This was very cool as I got to see the doctor take out the sacks and then cut them open and see the tiny babies (about the size of a small pinky mouse, a little smaller). After we went through them one by one to make sure that they were all deceased as that would be a horrible way to wake up.
Everything else went fine after all that, did the problematic dog's go home. One of the other surgery techs, the only other one who knew what was going on, told me it was okay, that things happen and I did well. She was very supportive, especially since I wanted to throw myself out a window after all that stress.
Oh, and I diagnosed roundworms! Go parasitology!
It's a shame that I'm going to be in reception for the next two weeks, I think I learn better by jumping into the fray like that (or getting thrown into the fire, maybe). Oh well.
7/2/07
Okay day, although since I have tomorrow off, I kept looking at the clock a lot. The two main surgery techs are going on vacation after today, so Thursday should be interesting! No surgeries today, only a few dentals, so not a lot to do. Might take Murphy in for a dental if I can swing it, there was talk of a free dental, and since I'd be the one to actually do it there would be no labor lost! Just the charge for anesthesia, which is fair.
6/30/07
A rather dull Saturday. There were three of us on, two doctors, and one kennel staff. I sort of hovered, followed around to assist, or take rooms when I could, and fill prescriptions. Overall a good day, but very run-of-the-mill regular. I think it's one of those cases of 'no news is good news'! Can't complain.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
6/28/07
Good day! Interesting. A few different things happened, so I'm going to list and then elucidate.
-Did some admits and a pre-op medications. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable with admits. Today was a lot of spays and one declaw (kitten). For cats, we give metacam when they first come in, and usually use telazol or propfol to knock them down. For declaws, they'll use a ketamine/xylazine mixture.
-Helped hold dogs and give pre meds. Ran bloods (the vet test is my friend....when it doesn't freeze). Did my very first vet cyte test! Extremely simple, so much so that I wasn't sure I had done it right. You just put the sample in a hole, check the reagent, and close the door.
-I learned an important lesson today: ketamine does not make kitties happy. I have a few new scars from a 3 pound kitten to prove it. I felt so bad for her, though....she was tweaking out after she started to wake up from her anesthesia when I tried to clean up her belly (spay) and calm her down. Had to give her some acepromazine.
-Did another dental today! Scaling and polishing and then some xrays (regular ones, not dental ones). Learned how to figure out the 'heat' to use, measure the area, run the machine (the little pedal and the overhead light), and a bit about their measurement chart.
-Got snapped at by a yorkie. Ankle biter.
There were two big cases today and I'm going to go through them individually.
-First was Kayla, a 2 year old spayed female shepard mix. Came in presenting vomiting, lethargy. Admitted, took bloods, had some high creatitine, but otherwise within normal limits. X-rays revealed large amounts of gas in the intestines. Went under for exploratory and in the abdomen they found the omentum and mesentary stuck together and to the side of the body wall, twisting into knots and obstructing bowel flow. They removed some necrotic tissue, freed the intestinal loops, and closed. She was recovering when I left.
-The next case was a golden retriever, Baxter, approximately 5 years and with a history of vomiting. Came in because owner saw that the dog had eaten a tarp (found bits in vomit), and was lethargic. He came in last night and was on fluids, but no improvement. Did bloods, but I didn't get to see the levels, x-rays revealed no blockage, but they did find something a bit more interesting: strange lumps on the liver. On speaking with the owner, they elected euthanasia since dog was not improving and the lumps were thought to be possibly cancerous. Necropsy results showed large angiosarcomas on spleen and one on the heart approximately the size of a golf ball. Blood was not clotting, and the thorasic and abdominal cavities were filled with blood.
On a more personal note, while both cases were fascinating, it brings home just how lucky we all are (both animals and humans) to be healthy and alive. Both of those dogs were young, geriatrics were not a factor here. The golden was born with this, and the shepard mix probably picked it up during her spay (so says the doctors). Hopefully her thread is a bit longer than the golden's, though.
I didn't know that they had euthanized Baxter until one of my coworkers asked me to move a body and I went into the room and there he was, on a stretcher with a blanket on him in a dim room, lights off, and the sun shining down outside. I've seen a fair number of euthanasias since I started here. My first was an older lady with a very old cat. I helped hold off the vein, although that cat would not have been able to move if it wanted to as she was already on her way out, but she was just skin and bones, nothing left. I know that they are never easy, but I had to count to ten, twice, in order to not start crying along with the lady. She was funny, though, crying and laughing in that really tragic way that people have when they're sad. She said that she was crying because the cat had hated her ex-husband, and the damn cat was right about him all along. I felt for her, talking because she couldn't bear not to, telling a little ball of fluff that couldn't hear her that it was okay, it was all right, she could sleep now.
Going into that room, picking up the dog and taking it out back....only to go right back into that room to clean it for the next patient waiting in the lobby just seemed so wrong. It was a beautiful summer day, sunny and green, and that golden should have been playing out somewhere, not lying dead while I cleaned its memory out of room two.
Sigh.
Just one of those days.
---
On a different note, the necropsy was fascinating. I assisted (held the dog, basically), while Colleen was elbow deep in the rib cage. She hauled out the omentum, broke through the diaphram and took out a very bloated pericardium, which bled something fierce. After, I tried to put the intestines back in and sort of tidy up, but when the dog went back down on its side they fell out again in a lake of blood. I've heard that humans have 2 gallons of blood in their bodies, and after seeing how much came out of a dog, I can believe it. It went all over the floor in the kennels horror-movie style in a big lake. Gross, but really interesting.
-Did some admits and a pre-op medications. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable with admits. Today was a lot of spays and one declaw (kitten). For cats, we give metacam when they first come in, and usually use telazol or propfol to knock them down. For declaws, they'll use a ketamine/xylazine mixture.
-Helped hold dogs and give pre meds. Ran bloods (the vet test is my friend....when it doesn't freeze). Did my very first vet cyte test! Extremely simple, so much so that I wasn't sure I had done it right. You just put the sample in a hole, check the reagent, and close the door.
-I learned an important lesson today: ketamine does not make kitties happy. I have a few new scars from a 3 pound kitten to prove it. I felt so bad for her, though....she was tweaking out after she started to wake up from her anesthesia when I tried to clean up her belly (spay) and calm her down. Had to give her some acepromazine.
-Did another dental today! Scaling and polishing and then some xrays (regular ones, not dental ones). Learned how to figure out the 'heat' to use, measure the area, run the machine (the little pedal and the overhead light), and a bit about their measurement chart.
-Got snapped at by a yorkie. Ankle biter.
There were two big cases today and I'm going to go through them individually.
-First was Kayla, a 2 year old spayed female shepard mix. Came in presenting vomiting, lethargy. Admitted, took bloods, had some high creatitine, but otherwise within normal limits. X-rays revealed large amounts of gas in the intestines. Went under for exploratory and in the abdomen they found the omentum and mesentary stuck together and to the side of the body wall, twisting into knots and obstructing bowel flow. They removed some necrotic tissue, freed the intestinal loops, and closed. She was recovering when I left.
-The next case was a golden retriever, Baxter, approximately 5 years and with a history of vomiting. Came in because owner saw that the dog had eaten a tarp (found bits in vomit), and was lethargic. He came in last night and was on fluids, but no improvement. Did bloods, but I didn't get to see the levels, x-rays revealed no blockage, but they did find something a bit more interesting: strange lumps on the liver. On speaking with the owner, they elected euthanasia since dog was not improving and the lumps were thought to be possibly cancerous. Necropsy results showed large angiosarcomas on spleen and one on the heart approximately the size of a golf ball. Blood was not clotting, and the thorasic and abdominal cavities were filled with blood.
On a more personal note, while both cases were fascinating, it brings home just how lucky we all are (both animals and humans) to be healthy and alive. Both of those dogs were young, geriatrics were not a factor here. The golden was born with this, and the shepard mix probably picked it up during her spay (so says the doctors). Hopefully her thread is a bit longer than the golden's, though.
I didn't know that they had euthanized Baxter until one of my coworkers asked me to move a body and I went into the room and there he was, on a stretcher with a blanket on him in a dim room, lights off, and the sun shining down outside. I've seen a fair number of euthanasias since I started here. My first was an older lady with a very old cat. I helped hold off the vein, although that cat would not have been able to move if it wanted to as she was already on her way out, but she was just skin and bones, nothing left. I know that they are never easy, but I had to count to ten, twice, in order to not start crying along with the lady. She was funny, though, crying and laughing in that really tragic way that people have when they're sad. She said that she was crying because the cat had hated her ex-husband, and the damn cat was right about him all along. I felt for her, talking because she couldn't bear not to, telling a little ball of fluff that couldn't hear her that it was okay, it was all right, she could sleep now.
Going into that room, picking up the dog and taking it out back....only to go right back into that room to clean it for the next patient waiting in the lobby just seemed so wrong. It was a beautiful summer day, sunny and green, and that golden should have been playing out somewhere, not lying dead while I cleaned its memory out of room two.
Sigh.
Just one of those days.
---
On a different note, the necropsy was fascinating. I assisted (held the dog, basically), while Colleen was elbow deep in the rib cage. She hauled out the omentum, broke through the diaphram and took out a very bloated pericardium, which bled something fierce. After, I tried to put the intestines back in and sort of tidy up, but when the dog went back down on its side they fell out again in a lake of blood. I've heard that humans have 2 gallons of blood in their bodies, and after seeing how much came out of a dog, I can believe it. It went all over the floor in the kennels horror-movie style in a big lake. Gross, but really interesting.
6/27/07
Another good one, better than yesterday (felt crappy with allergies, but good work-wise).
-Didn't do any more dentals, but did do a cat neuter. It was a 'closed' castration, which means that when the scrotum is opened, the vaginal fascia is not cut into. It was again a little odd to open them up, pull out the testicle and feel it 'pop' through the membranes and fat. I used hemastats to make the knot and hold it outside so it wouldn't snap back inside.
Stayed late and did a few go homes, which was fun (er, sorta). Had one cat that was trying to eat me through the cat carrier. Charming. Helped to clean up a nasty hot spot on the neck of a cat, but other than that, it was a day filled with talking to clients and doing the neuter. Good experience.
Today at school, er, work, I did:
-Cat neuter (closed)
-Drew blood (dog, back leg)
-Hot packed
-Restrained (dog)
-Helped set up a spay
-Spoke to clients (go home and gave advice)
-Drew up and recorded drugs
-Vaccines (cat)
-Dewormed (cat)
-Gave medications (orally, IM, SQ, in both dog and cat)
-Took out a catheter
-Played with a kitten!
-Did bills.
That's it!
-Didn't do any more dentals, but did do a cat neuter. It was a 'closed' castration, which means that when the scrotum is opened, the vaginal fascia is not cut into. It was again a little odd to open them up, pull out the testicle and feel it 'pop' through the membranes and fat. I used hemastats to make the knot and hold it outside so it wouldn't snap back inside.
Stayed late and did a few go homes, which was fun (er, sorta). Had one cat that was trying to eat me through the cat carrier. Charming. Helped to clean up a nasty hot spot on the neck of a cat, but other than that, it was a day filled with talking to clients and doing the neuter. Good experience.
Today at school, er, work, I did:
-Cat neuter (closed)
-Drew blood (dog, back leg)
-Hot packed
-Restrained (dog)
-Helped set up a spay
-Spoke to clients (go home and gave advice)
-Drew up and recorded drugs
-Vaccines (cat)
-Dewormed (cat)
-Gave medications (orally, IM, SQ, in both dog and cat)
-Took out a catheter
-Played with a kitten!
-Did bills.
That's it!
6/26/07
Good day! I was the late person which is always a challenge since I walk in on things in progress. I've been trying to take the inititive and draw up meds for animals when they come in (surgery medications, not prescription refills), and get them situated. So far, so good! I'm excited to start pharmacology and toxicology next semester, I'm learning tons right now, I just need the practice.
Did my first full-on dental today, although with no extraction, which was good. I keep prying Murphy's mouth open to gauge his tartar level, which is mild at this time. It's so satisfying to know something, to learn it, and then put it into practice....and have it actually work! No stand out patients today, but I did learn how to calculate a drip rate for a dog (or cat). Neato!
Did my first full-on dental today, although with no extraction, which was good. I keep prying Murphy's mouth open to gauge his tartar level, which is mild at this time. It's so satisfying to know something, to learn it, and then put it into practice....and have it actually work! No stand out patients today, but I did learn how to calculate a drip rate for a dog (or cat). Neato!
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