RVP (Rural Veterinary Practice)

Last week I finished up another month long rotation. The rotation was RVP or Rural Veterinary Practice which involved going on farm calls! At times I felt like I was in a James Herriot novel as we would go to various farms and treat the animals with supplies from our vehicle like portable ultrasound and x-ray. 

The rotation is split into 1 week each of Farm animal medicine, Equine medicine, and Theriogenology (Animal Reproduction). The fourth week you got to choose an extra week of whatever. I ended up doing 2 weeks of theriogenology mostly because on that service you get to see both large and small animals. For example, in one day I helped breed some dogs, ultrasounded pigs for pregnancy, helped with a C-section on a goat, and performed breeding soundness exams on some bulls. It was a very busy service full of baby animals.

My skin closure on a goat C-section

On Farm Animal week we saw a lot of cattle, sheep, and goats. One day we were at the dairy all day long rectally palpating cows to either determine if they were pregnant or to confirm pregnancy. There were at least 70 cows total that were palpated split between 2 other students and the clinician. Of course the clinician would double check all of the students and I'm sure glad that he did! I've decided that I was not meant to be a dairy cow vet although it was a good experience despite the bruises that I acquired on my left arm. 

On the equine service I got to perform equine dentals which involved using instruments (basically power tools) to smooth and even out the surface of the cheek teeth. I was also able to perform some local nerve blocks and extract some incisors. It was fun doing lameness exams to try to determine where the cause of lameness was arising (hoof vs hock) with gait assessment and nerve blocks. 

Horse dental tools

Overall, I enjoyed the rotation. I learned a lot and enjoyed that this rotation was one of the more hands-on rotations. I got to do a lot of things I will probably never do again in my veterinary career like de-horning, ear tagging, and applying tattoos to cattle. I got to do regional limb perfusion with antibiotics on a goat with a foot infection. I helped collect semen from stallions and bulls for breeding soundness exams. The list goes on but you get the idea. I got to do a lot!

Equipped with my helmet in preparation for collecting semen from a stallion.

Also last week I presented my Senior paper with a powerpoint presentation to my peers and some faculty. It was stressful  but I feel like a did a good job and my mentor Dr. Warnock was very helpful. I presented on orthotic devices in dogs. Now I just have to finish writing the actual paper and turn it in. Once complete, that will be a big weight off my shoulders. 

Lastly, I've officially started my job hunt. I'm mainly looking for a position as a veterinarian in northern Utah so I can be near my family.  So far I haven't had great success but I have had one phone interview and I'm looking forward to a working interview in April. It's hard not knowing exactly what my life will be like or where I'll be after graduation but I'm sure that things will work out and one way or another I will end up exactly where I am supposed to be.

Large Animal Medicine

I traded in my white coat for my green coveralls during the past 4 weeks for my large animal medicine rotation. Large animal refers to Horses, Cattle, Llamas, Alpacas, Donkeys, Pigs, Sheep, Goats, and Ponies. I saw most of these species on my rotation but some more than others. I was worried about the rotation because I am not as comfortable around these types of animals as I have little background working with them prior to vet school. All of the clinicians and techs were very helpful and understanding and by the end of the rotation I felt more comfortable around these animals. 

Entrance to the Large Animal Hospital

Basically the whole process was similar to what I did on small animal medicine by acquiring a history, doing a physical exam, talking to a clinician about possible diagnostics and treatment options and coming up with a plan. Sometimes the patient was hospitalized for further care or diagnostics. I practiced skills such as drawing blood, giving medications, calculating fluid rates, etc. Different from the small animal side was the number of patients that I had over the four weeks. I only had 7 patients total but that was enough to keep me busy. 

Equine Treatment Area

Also during my rotation we took part in the "Alpacalypse" where approximately 175 alpacas which were seized by the state arrived in Corvallis. Some required medical attention as most of them were malnourished. The medicine students played a big role in caring for the hospitalized alpacas. We also learned how to wrangle alpacas out in the field to do brief physical exams, vaccinate, determine their body condition, listen for heart murmurs, and check for pregnancy by balloting their belly. It was a long process but I felt like I'd accomplished something when we were through. I got to castrate an alpaca, trim toe nails, and trim long incisors. It was a good learning experience and the baby alpacas, or crias were also very cute.Several news crews came through the hospital and I was in the background of several news reports.

Equine Row - where hospitalized horses are kept

In addition to the alpacalypse, this rotation was unique because we had another big snow storm that caused the school to shut down for 2 days. With patients still in the hospital and needing care we still came in for shifts to help care for them. The driving conditions were not ideal and I'm sure glad that my car has 4 wheel drive. The hours on this rotation were long, ranging from 50-73 hours/week. I was fortunate to never be called in while I was on call. 

Horse halters and lead ropes

I was able to do some cool things on this rotation such as belly taps, place IV jugular catheters, thoracocentesis (chest tap) on a horse to drain 9 L of fluid, ultrasound pregnant alpacas, bottle feed a baby alpaca, milk an alpaca, frolic with a 1 week old foal, and the list goes on. One thing about this rotation  for me was it helped solidify that I just want to be a small animal veterinarian. I did enjoy the experience however and I'm glad that I'm more comfortable around large animals now. 

The medicine crew after wrangling alpacas - Alison, Dr. Cebra, Jenni, Me, Kim, Robyn, & Lance

Currently I'm one week into the next rotation, RVP (Rural Veterinary Practice). This rotation consists of 1 week of theriogenology (reproduction), equine practice, food animal practice, and an extra week of one of the above. More info to come in my next post. 

The OSU resident cows C-cow and E-cow