Y2S2 Week 15: Chicken vs Dog, Dr. Spray, and an Abdominal Explore!

This week started off with a quick run with Churro followed by the first exam of the block. I then made a quick trip to the gym to work on some resistance/strength training. As many of you already know, I am a cardio junkie at heart so strength training is not always my go-to. That being said, I recently signed up for my first ultramarathon so now I am taking strength training more seriously and making sure that I am doing what I can to prevent any injuries and build a strong foundation.

After that little gym break, we had a lecture on equine abdominal surgery followed by a radiology discussion focusing on the abdomen. We haven’t had a discussion on radiology in a while, so it was great to review some of the things that we had learned during the past few blocks. That evening Ari and I taught the undergraduates about some zoonotic diseases and the role that veterinary professionals play in mitigating disease spread.

Abby!

Tuesday morning started off with a quick whirl around the park with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. We then had a lecture on pharmacology followed by a lecture on hernias and finished off the morning with another radiology discussion but this time we were focusing on the thoracic cavity. I then had the chance to meet up with Abby, one of my awesome club swim teammates, for a quick school tour. Abby recently got into UC Davis for undergrad, so it was super fun to reconnect and show her some of the beautiful parts of Davis! We spent some time in the arboretum and got to see all the little ducklings along with the blooming flowers.

The rest of Tuesday afternoon included a nice swim followed by some quality time with Churro and studying. That evening, I hosted a study session for the Cal Poly Systemic Anatomy and Physiology class since their midterm was rapidly approaching. I love teaching and specifically love the material that is presented in this course, so it is always a blast to hop on a Zoom call and review the sticky parts of the material with eager students! I am so fortunate that I can still be involved with Cal Poly from 5 hours away.

Wednesday morning was kicked off with a run with Churro followed by two lectures on fluid therapy. We then had a clinical pathology discussion where we had the opportunity to review four cases and analyze different lab values. This block has been a great way to review topics that we had previously learned about in a “systems approach”. Now we are looking at the patient as a whole, not just one organ system.

Diamond getting prepped for surgery

Wednesday afternoon started with a short Integrative Vet Med officer team meeting for all the new officers. It was so fun to get to meet the new team members and I think that this upcoming year is going to be fantastic! After the meeting I had the opportunity to hang out with some horses and witness chicken surgery! One of the poor chickens had gotten its neck mauled by one of the ranch dogs but somehow all the major vessels were still intact. Luckily, this chicken lives at a ranch where the owners first plan was to try to preserve its life rather than immediately take a shovel to its neck. Another thing that was in this chicken’s favor was that Kristen, an awesome vet whom I had shadowed during my first year in the Integrative Vet Med Center of the hospital, was available to help. She cleaned the wound and was able to suture it back together giving the chicken (Diamond) a fighting chance!

Diamond enjoying mealworms after her surgery

The rest of the afternoon involved a chiropractor appointment followed by a large animal dinner talk with a very special visitor. Dr. Spray was in town for a CAHFS advisory board meeting and during her short time in town she made time to team up with a few of our large animal clinicians to present at a case-based dinner event. She presented on a foal, and the others spoke about a sheep outbreak scenario and an alpaca dystocia. While I am not a “traditional” large animal student I love learning about them and want to know as much as I can about as many species as possible. I also could not miss the opportunity to learn from Dr. Spray and join in on the little Cal Poly reunion. It is seriously amazing to see how widespread her impact has been and seeing small animal students sitting through a two-hour large animal event goes to show how much people adore her.

Dr. Spray with a few of the Cal Poly students she trained ♡

Thursday morning started off with a hot yoga session followed by a lecture on the clinical approach to antimicrobial selection. This lecture was built off material that we had learned about in our Infectious Disease block but was tailored towards a surgical approach. We then had a two-hour discussion on fluid therapy where we were given different cases and needed to formulate a fluid plan as a group. This was a great way to practice the calculations and talk through different plans to find the best fit for our “patients”.

After that session I did another strength session at the gym before heading home to study for the upcoming exam. That afternoon I had the privilege of quickly connecting with Dr. Spray one last time before she hit the road. She is one of my favorite people and where I am today is largely due to her support and training over the past 6 years.

Friday morning started off with a 6 miler with Churro followed by a slew of surgery lectures and discussions. We began the day with a lecture on hollow organs and their surgical principles. We then talked about surgical complications followed by the post-operative care of the patient. The last session of the morning was an interactive discussion on body cavity decision making. These sessions were extremely clinically relevant! That afternoon we had two awesome surgery labs. The first lab involved performing a mass removal, drain placement, and tie-over bandage on a cadaver. We also got to practice suturing the different skin layers and attempting different suture techniques. I was able to work on my intradermal suture pattern and learned how to bury my knot.

The second lab was an abdominal explorer on the same cadaver. As a team of three we practiced opening the body cavity and identifying all of the organs. After spending a decent amount of time working through the abdomen, we practiced closing the different abdominal layers starting with the linea alba. All the clinicians were extremely supportive and helped answer all our questions. It was nice to be in an environment where everyone was focused on making sure that we could learn as much as possible and regardless of how trivial the question may have seemed they were always smiling and willing to help. These labs were one of the highlights of the week and it is a fun little reminder of just how close we are to starting our junior surgeries!

Happy Runner ♡

Saturday started with a 4-mile run with Churro followed by a hot Pilates session and a quick swim. This upcoming training block is going to focus a lot on cross training so that I can continue to increase my running milage without injury. After the swim I stopped by the farmer’s market before heading home to study. The afternoon included a nice walk with Churro followed by some more studying.

Sunday started with a 7-mile run with Churro followed by church. I then went grocery shopping, did some meal prep and spent the rest of the day hanging with Churro and studying for the upcoming exam.

Quote of the week: “Most of these guys bounce, they don’t break” – Dr. Eric Johnson while talking about a feline radiology case

Tired Pup