Yeah, it was kind of like that but 100 times slower. They told me it was a really slow day (especially for a Sunday) and not to expect it to ever be like that. I got there around 3:30 pm. I met Christina, a vet tech in the know, who showed me around randomly until the tech I was to shadow, Susan, arrived. Susan is probably in her early 40's, and she's a very good vet tech. So I learned how to read medical charts. We do chart updates every two hours, and what the update consists of depends on the animal - it might be as little as making sure the cage is clean and the animal is still breathing or as much as administering medications and taking TPR (temperature, pulse, respiration rate). I saw a few catheters placed and medicine given, although I didn't do any myself. Also, I was told to watch all the techs holding techniques on the animals - it is our job to make sure no one (especially the vets) gets bitten. Techs are all assigned to vets (about three techs per vet), and Susan, Jennifer, and I were under Dr. Sarpong (she's a nice, very young-looking vet - good, though).
Some of the cases already there included Buck, an old epileptic wirehaired Fox Terrier feeling off; Smokey, a gray kitty hit-by-car (HBC) with a broken jaw that was awaiting a Monday surgery; Billie Badass, a fluffy orange kitty HBC; a dog with distemper in isolation; and three 3-week-old kittens who'd lost their mom and were awaiting foster care. My favorite was Lilley, a Calico who'd actually died on Saturday night from respiration problems (air in the chest cavity compressing the lungs) - all the techs and vets who'd seen her on Saturday were amazed she was still alive - and she was doing awesome. She was in an oxygen cage when I got there but was doing so well she got moved to a regular cage. She was super affectionate and loved ear rubs. Whenever I had a free moment I'd go over and pet her.
Some cases that came in while I was there: a dog with a three-pronged fish hook in its mouth. A dog that had been vomiting and either had an upset stomach from eating spoiled chicken or Parvo (let's all hope it was the former) came in - its owners tried to con their way out of the bill and probably did (the mom signed a promissory note that I doubt she'll return to pay). We gave the dog fluids subcutaneously and sent it home...it'll probably die...Dr. Sarpong wanted to have them sign the animal over to us but they refused. I saw a torti cat that looked almost exactly like Whiskers but with stunning green eyes who'd been attacked by a dog; she did okay. There was a Boston Terrier with a broken leg - super cute. Then there was an old dog who was attacked by another dog (of the same owner) at a dog park because it was weak and had spine problems. It was going to be put to sleep on Friday because of the spine, so basically the owners were having their last week with the dog, but then it got attacked by another of their animals and so they went ahead and had it put down at the clinic. Then I got to learn what we do with dead animals - bag them up, put a tag on the back identifying them and indicating whether they're destined for private or communal cremation, and put them in the freezer. Not the best part of the job. There was also a young stray dog HBC with leg problems that had to be put down too because no one was there to authorize payment. All the techs working on him were trying to get one of us to adopt it (they hit me extra-hard because I was new). I would've loved to have saved it, but at the same time, I'm glad that living here with Mom and Dad automatically prevents me from picking up strays. I don't have the money or the place in life to start my animal collection. Yet. Just wait. Everyone at the clinic has multiple animals. It is only a matter of time. :) But I seriously can't get a pet right now. Especially not one that requires thousands in medical treatment right off the bat.
So yeah, it was good. I learned a lot and next Sunday will be great starting with some knowledge already in hand. My feet hurt like crazy when I got home around 12:30 am. I think I'm going to get some of those nursing clogs that resist blood and whatnot but are also super-comfy. Oh, and all I got on my scrubs this time around was peanut butter.
No comments:
Post a Comment