After jumping head first into a
busy week when I first arrived, my second week was more manageable. I was
surprised how quickly I settled in to the routine and how well I am fitting in
here. It is all thanks to the people I work with; they made me feel right at
home. This week, we said goodbye to Dr. Jason Dickey as he has completed his
internship year and has accepted a position in Ohio. Dr. Keith Brown also
turned 40 this week, so we had two things to celebrate. On Wednesday, we took
the afternoon off and threw a party at the clinic for them. It was nice to
relax with good food and good company.
Since Dr. Dickey left, I have taken
over most of his responsibilities. I start of in the morning by performing
short physical exams on all of the in-patient horses and helping the
technicians administer morning medications. Most medications are antibiotics or
pain meds given orally or intravenously through a catheter. The rest of my day
is spent assisting the veterinarians during appointments and surgeries.
Assisting can mean anything from restraining, sedating, and drawing blood to
shooting radiographs and scanning the plates. I still need a lot of practice
shooting radiographs (it took me seven tries to get an acceptable navicular
skyline), but everyone assures me that I am getting better. I am also getting really good at
pulling blood and giving IV sedation. At this rate, I will be a pro by the end
of the summer!
Probably the most exciting aspect
of this week was that I got to scrub in on another surgery. This week, it was a
bilateral palmar digital neurectomy. Neurectomies are fairly common surgeries
as a last resort for horses with hoof pain that does not respond to special
shoeing or joint injections. During the surgery, I accidentally contaminated
myself (major whoops), but Latasha the technician on anesthesia came to my
rescue with a new set of sterile gloves. Besides that, the hardest part for me was identifying each
instrument Dr. Brown needed and quickly giving it to him (apparently my
hand-off needs a lot of work.) I hope I get a lot more opportunities to
improve.
Here is a mini virtual tour for those interested in what Brown Equine Hospital looks like:
Here is a mini virtual tour for those interested in what Brown Equine Hospital looks like:
Work-up area, Stocks, and Lower Barn for the critical patients
Preparation Room and Recovery Stall of the surgery suite
Surgery Table and Room
Upper Barns- outside and in
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