As part of my food animal medicine rotation, I spent my first week on ambulatory and on-call duty. As someone who is interested in food animals, I like the idea of not knowing what may happen and when. I don’t like doing the same thing over and over so being on call has always been […]
Building Self-confidence
We are often taught that being confident is one of the most important skills for us as doctors. When dealing with cases, we need to be the boss of the case because no one else can be there and help you every time. As veterinary students, clinical rotations are just like confidence boosters in that […]
The Quiet Buzz in the Veterinary Field
There is a new buzz around the world of veterinary medicine in the United States concerning the honey bee (genus Apis, with many different species). With growing concern about bee health, mainly due to the rise of colony collapse disorder (CCD), the regulations around bee management have been increased in the United States. Starting in […]
My First Patient
After getting into the truck for our morning ride to work I was handed a small puppy. Just shy of ten weeks old, she wriggled in my arms. She was scared and did not want to be held. After some cooing and petting, she finally settled into my lap. It wasn’t until she became still […]
Don’t Forget to Breathe
The only thing I can hear over my heartbeat pounding in my chest is the fast pace of my labored breathing. At over 8,800 feet above sea level a metal cable is the only thing between me and falling from this nearly 90-degree vertical drop, I just climbed. Inside my head, the only thing I […]
Not a Veterinarian, Not yet a Vet Tech
I started to pursue my studies in animal health because I love animals; however, I have learned from my peers and teachers that it is the people, not the animals that pose the greater challenges to our love of the profession. After just one year of my studies to become a veterinary technician I have […]
A Cat’s Purpose
I promise you a cat’s purpose is not just to scratch at the sofa just in case gravity goes away… They will stay in front of your door to wake you up every morning so that you don’t have to be late for school/work…or they don’t have to miss their morning meal. They will lead […]
Speaking the Lingo
Free time away from school and work is a rare commodity; however, in the small amount of time in between the two I started rewatching one of my favorite TV medical dramas. While watching this show I am amazed that I understand exactly what the characters are saying. What originally seemed like medical mumbo jumbo […]
Pregnancy Diagnosis by Ultrasound
On the Livestock Herd Health and Reproduction Service, we performed pregnancy checks on multiple herds of ewes who had been bred by artificial insemination. The ultrasound was a great way to quickly and accurately diagnose which sheep were pregnant. Ruminats have a syndesmochorial cotyledonary placenta. This describes the attachment of fetal membranes and blood supply […]
Knowing Yourself
Recently we had to do an assignment that aimed to prepare us for interviews. We had to write several adjectives that we felt described ourselves and then had to write about situations in which we felt we exemplified those traits and ones in which we didn’t. It was sort of an infuriating assignment at first, […]
