Y2S2W9: Pet Insurance, Necropsy, and Symposium Planning Meetings!
This week started off with a quick run around the block followed by a hot yoga session. We then had a lecture on rabies followed by a lecture on botulism and tetanus. These were interesting lectures and helped make sense of why specific clinical presentations are associated with these diseases. Botulism and tetanus are both under the category of clostridial diseases but they have two polar opposite presentations. A dog infected with C. botulinum exotoxin will have flaccid paralysis due to the toxin blocking the release of the excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. On the other hand, C. tetani exotoxin, tetanospasmin, blocks the release of inhibitory neurotransmitters Glycine and GABA causing rigid paralysis. We then learned about immune deficiencies and autoimmune conditions. Since we are almost at the end of this block, we have already been through how the immune system works regularly and now we are learning what happens when things go wrong.
The rest of the afternoon included a nice walk with Churro followed by some studying and a meeting with the SAVMA Symposium event planning team. Ari and I then taught the KLOHC class. Our topic this week was on how access to veterinary care connects to the concept of “One Health”. One Health is a “collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health”. This directly relates to the accessibility of veterinary care because of how tightly human and animal health are interconnected. At its core, if animals do not receive preventative care, they are much more likely to transmit diseases to their owners. The increasing price of veterinary care further exacerbates this problem leading to a vicious cycle.
Tuesday morning started off with a quick run with Churro followed by the fifth exam of our infectious disease block. We then transitioned into two lectures on retroviruses. These viruses are fairly interesting and helped distinguish the main differences between FIV and FeLV which are often lumped together since they can be assessed with the same diagnostic test. Feline Leukemia Virus is often known as the "friendly feline retrovirus" because it can be transmitted via allogrooming (when cats groom each other) since it can be spread through saliva. On the other hand, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus is often known as the "aggressive feline retrovirus" since it can be transmitted via bite wounds.
During lunch we had a nice lunch talk on pet insurance. Personally, I do not know much about pet insurance and say that I’m Churro’s pet insurance. He just can’t get hurt for two more years. During this talk I learned that pet insurance is under the umbrella of property insurance since animals are considered to be “property”. Another important thing to note is that most pet insurance companies require the owner to pay the whole veterinary bill upfront before they can submit the claim. There is one pet insurance company, Trupanion, that helps take care of the bill upfront which is more like human insurance policies. Other companies have tried to copy this model but have had legal actions taken against them. As soon-to-be veterinarians, it is important to have a general understanding of these policies so that we can advise our clients on what policy might work for their lifestyle.
After lunch, we had a team-based learning activity. This activity was centered around the autoimmunity lecture from Monday and was a nice way to dive into different clinical autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematous, immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, and Crohn’s Disease. The rest of the afternoon included a nice walk with Churro and Clover followed by some studying.
Wednesday morning started out with a nice 8 miler with Churro followed by a necropsy with Dr. Melissa Macias Rioseco. We had a month-old baby goat, and it was interesting to work through the case and understand the little one’s cause of death. The rest of Wednesday included a chiropractor appointment followed by a lot of studying, some acupuncture review, and quality time with Churro.
Thursday morning started off with a quick whirl around the block with Churro followed by a nice hot yoga session. I then had a little time to review the lectures from Tuesday before jumping into a lecture on large animal zoonotic diseases. The morning finished up with a lecture on large animal viral diseases. During lunch I attended a talk on euthanasia and depopulation. This topic is obviously not the most enjoyable thing to discuss but it is such an important thing to understand and something that needs to be done correctly.
That afternoon we had our final team-based learning activity and dove even deeper into some of the autoimmune diseases that we had previously discussed on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the afternoon included a walk at the arboretum with Churro followed by some studying.
Friday morning started off with a nice 7 miler with Churro followed by a lecture on reportable diseases. We then had two lectures on nosocomial infections which are infections that are acquired at the hospital. During that lecture, we learned that IV catheters are one of the most common reasons a patient becomes bacteremic. We also learned about the formation of biofilms and how they can attach to surgical implants and cause a slew of issues including the need for explant surgery. At the end of this lecture Dr. Raegan brought some props and had us practice trying to take gloves off without getting our hands “contaminated” as well as assess our own hand washing techniques. These activities hammered home the topics that she had presented over the past two hours and were a nice “interactive touch” to the lectures.
The rest of Friday included a Symposium committee meeting followed by an event run-through with the AVMA team, event planning team, and the UC Davis tech team. We talked through all of the events that will be taking place that weekend and made sure that we had everything set and ready to go. We are officially 10 days away from the event!! I then spent some quality time outside with Churro where he met three little kids who all enjoyed giving him belly rubs and seeing his repertoire of tricks. The rest of the afternoon included an acupuncture review session with Dr. Koh over Zoom followed by some additional studying.
Saturday morning started off with a nice 9 miler with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. I then stopped by the local farmer’s market to pick up some veggies. The rest of the morning was spent getting some things done around the house and studying. The afternoon was spent taking Churro on a walk and studying acupuncture. Sunday followed a similar schedule. After a short run with Churro, I went to church and then spent the rest of the day prepping for the upcoming exam. I was able to get in Steve's mid-day hot pilates class and also mixed in a little acupuncture studying since that course ends in about one week!!
Quote of the week: “Take a Border Collie, put it on uppers and you get a McNab” – Dr. Krystal Raegan
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