This term has been different than the previous ones due to the increased hand on laboratories that go along with the classes I am in. We are starting to learn more things that will be directly applicable to working in a vet clinic rather than the strict memorizing type classes that I've had in the past. For example, this term I am in introductory surgery and anesthesia classes and the labs are more hand on. In surgery lab we have done things like learn suture patterns, bandaging and casting, surgical gowning and gloving, scrubbing in for surgery, learning the names and uses of surgical instruments, and doing abdominal surgery on carpet model simulators. This week I will take my practical lab exam which will include showing actual surgeons that I am proficient in these various skills. I'm a little nervous for it but I'm also excited and hope that I will do well. In a couple weeks for my anesthesia lab, we will be anesthetizing dogs for spay/neuter surgeries in small groups. These labs are meant to help get us ready for next year where we will be responsible for both anesthetizing and performing spay/neuter surgery on shelter dogs/cats. Check out some pics below of some of these things!
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| Suture Practice Model |
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| Rubber leg with a cast that I applied and then got to remove |
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On the weekends I've had the opportunity to do some cool things as part of the Zoo, Wildlife, Exotics club that I'm a member of. We've gone on trips to the Oregon Zoo and to a drive through park called Wildlife Safari. Both were fun experiences. We toured the new vet clinic at the zoo which was really nice and at Wildlife Safari, the highlight for me besides seeing some really cool animals roaming around, was that I got to talk one on one with the veterinarian at the park and ask him questions about being a zoo vet. He gave me some good advice should I choose this career path...
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| 10 week old Cheetah cub at Wildlife Safari |
I finally was able to take Scout to the beach this past Friday after class. I've been looking forward to doing this all year! It was so much fun seeing his first experience with the ocean. He loved the water and took off right into it first thing. The best part was that he suddenly decided that after all these years of not being interested in fetching that he would fetch now. I threw that ball for him for an hour straight and had a fabulous time with my dog on the beach. (:
Earlier in the month was the schools annual Pet Day event. It's put on every year by the 1st and 2nd year students for the community. Proceeds go to helping us pay for graduation as well as other school expenses. I had fun once again painting faces. This year I did the 5k Fun Run with Scout which was a blast and then Scout stayed around and watched me paint faces and made friends with the students and kids at our booth.
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5k Fun Run as part of Pet Day
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| Pet Day at the Vet School. I was in the committee that had games for kids and I painted faces |
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Pet Day
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This term has been different than the previous ones due to the increased hand on laboratories that go along with the classes I am in. We are starting to learn more things that will be directly applicable to working in a vet clinic rather than the strict memorizing type classes that I've had in the past. For example, this term I am in introductory surgery and anesthesia classes and the labs are more hand on. In surgery lab we have done things like learn suture patterns, bandaging and casting, surgical gowning and gloving, scrubbing in for surgery, learning the names and uses of surgical instruments, and doing abdominal surgery on carpet model simulators. This week I will take my practical lab exam which will include showing actual surgeons that I am proficient in these various skills. I'm a little nervous for it but I'm also excited and hope that I will do well. In a couple weeks for my anesthesia lab, we will be anesthetizing dogs for spay/neuter surgeries in small groups. These labs are meant to help get us ready for next year where we will be responsible for both anesthetizing and performing spay/neuter surgery on shelter dogs/cats. Check out some pics below of some of these things!
