Y2S2 Week 18: Emergency Medicine, CPR Simulations, and lots of Clinical Pathology!

This week started off similarly to the last few; a quick run with Churro followed by an exam. This was our fourth, and second to last, exam of the block. I then ran to the gym to do some strength training before heading back for our morning pharmacology lectures. That afternoon our class schedule was light, and we had some time blocked off to prepare for the upcoming discussions. After reviewing some material, Churro and I went on a nice walk and hung out on the field before heading over to the undergraduate campus for the KLOHC course. This week we had another awesome guest lecturer, Dr. Heather Fritz! Dr. Fritz is a veterinary microbiologist, and she shared about antimicrobial resistance and the role that veterinarians play in keeping their patients, as well as the humans behind them, safe.

Tuesday morning started off with a quick run with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. We then had two clinical pharmacology lectures on drug-to-drug interactions and how a patient’s disease status may impact the pharmacodynamics of a drug. We then transitioned into a clinical pathology discussion on shock, hypoxia, and acid/base abnormalities. We had touched on these topics in the past, so this lecture was a great way to review the material and make sure that we were all on the same page.

During lunch I got in a quick swim before heading back to campus for the afternoon lectures on shock and resuscitation. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking Churro and reviewing lecture material.

Field time with Churro!

Wednesday morning started off with a 6-mile run with Churro followed by a radiology discussion. We were given 6 different cases and worked through identifying different pulmonary patterns and noting key abnormalities as a class. We then had a lecture on cardiopulmonary resuscitation which was a little preview for the lab that was going to happen on Friday. That afternoon I spent some time walking Churro and preparing for the next day’s discussions. I was also able to get a hot Pilates session in, which was a fun way to break up the afternoon.

Thursday morning began with a quick run with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. We then had a two-hour clinical pathology discussion on emergency bloodwork. This discussion emphasized the amount of information that you can gather from a few inexpensive tests along with how to quickly interpret them in the context of the situation. We then had another clinical pathology discussion on sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. We were given a few cases and tried to find patterns that indicated the type of disease process that was occurring in the patient. This week there was a lot of emphasis on clinical pathology and understanding how to read lab work in different settings. It was fun to see how much easier things have gotten since we saw our first CBC and chemistry in VET 402 last year.

During lunch I got in another strength training session before heading back for the final discussion section of the day. This session was focused on an emergency case, and we were given some clinical history and laboratory diagnostics. We then tried to figure out what was happening to our patient and create a treatment/anesthetic plan. This was a great way to tie together all of the information that we had been working through during this block and apply it to a real-life situation. The rest of the afternoon included some quality time with Churro and some studying.

Friday morning began with a 5 miler with Churro followed by a hot pilates class. We had a weird class schedule and didn’t have to be on campus until the afternoon, so I had an opportunity to get some studying in and prepare for the upcoming exam. That afternoon we had an awesome CPR lab. The lab was split into two parts; the first part was basic life support and the second was more advanced techniques. For the first hour we were put into teams of two and practiced different CPR techniques on a model. This included chest compressions, mouth to snout, intubation, and Ambu bagging.

Morning Run!

The second hour things leveled up and we were put into groups of 6 and went through an advanced life support case. The instructors made this scenario as life-like as possible and used a model that had pulses, a heartbeat, and lung sounds. It had pokable veins, an intubatable trachea, and was hooked up to a monitoring system that changed based on the actions that we took. We could administer emergency drugs, IV fluids, and there was also a defibrillator incase our patient had a shockable rhythm. We were given a scenario and then the model started reacting (pulses became weak, heart rate dropped, etc.) as a team we had to run the code and try to save the patient. After each scenario we regrouped and debriefed. This was a fantastic way to make the information from lecture come to life and understand the key things to do in the face of an emergency. I do not personally have a lot of experience in emergency medicine, so this lab was a nice way to run through things in a controlled environment and understand how to approach these situations.The rest of the day involved some quality time with Churro and some studying.

Saturday morning started off with a 9-mile run with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. I then went to the farmer’s market before heading home. The rest of the day was spent getting some things done around the house, meal prepping, and studying for the upcoming exam. Churro and I also spent some time on the field playing frisbee and relaxing in the shade.

Sunday morning started off with a 5 miler with Churro followed by church. I then got in a quick swim before running some errands. The rest of the afternoon was spent studying for the upcoming exam and hanging out with Churro.

Quote of the week: “On our scale of abnormalities, they are close to the death line” -Dr. Epstein

Ducklings :)