Sooo, here are some things I learned about myself and the profession at work last night...
#1--I've decided that I blabber uncontrollably. When an emergency comes in and I have to breif the doctor on why they're here, I seem to spit out segements of sentences that might make sense when you put them all together. I think it's just nervousness. When I go on vet school interviews (if I'm invited to any) I'll be able to use this as a weakness. It's curable, right?
Like last night for example: "Dog and owners are here. Waiting half hour. Head tilt to the right. They're worried about his seizures." I mean, I know what I meant by that, kind of.
I just need to learn that if it takes me a couple of minutes to explain to the Dr on duty what's going on, that's ok. It's not a life and death situation. I guess I just like to take up as little of the Dr's time as possible so I don't get in their way, back up appointments, etc. I just want to make everyone happy.
#2-- I learned how to use the blood glucose (BG) monitor. I should have already known how to use it seeing as though my dad is diabetic.. But I didn't. Dr R showed me. He's very patient, and I love when he kinda takes me under his wing. They're really simple little devices. I guess a dog's range is usually upper 90's into the 100's. This dog's level was at 36.
Dr R has showed me a lot of what I know now. How to develop x-rays, do snap tests, take x-rays, use the refractometer, find levels of red blood cells in an animal's blood, etc. I'm sure there will be tons more he can teach me as time goes on.
I helped Dr R take blood from a couple of animals, 2 were for thyroid tests and 1 was for a profile. I was able to hold all the animals, so I felt good about that. I mean, it's very rare when I have a hard time with a difficult animal, but there was one dog that was very squearmy. I could handle it tho
The little minpin who was in last week came in for a recheck. It was 5 weeks old and had a broken R hind leg when we first met "Pup Pup". I guess the owner's son either dropped the dog, threw the dog, stepped on the dog (you get the idea), and the leg had snapped completely in a clean break. Last week we had taken x-rays of the leg and set it in a cast while the pup was on oxygen and anesthesia. (Which I really need to learn how to set up). This week we unwrapped the outermost layers of the cast and reset the plastic cast higher on the leg. Dr R says that there's no reason for the pup to come back next week unless there's a problem, so we'll be seeing Pup Pup in 2 weeks (of course I scheduled the cutie on a day when I was working ) to to take x-rays and whatnot.
#3-- It's really frustrating to work with someone who doesn't know their job.
#4-- Wipe off bill slips would be a good idea.
That's all for now