Y3S1 Week 6: Another Neuter, Pet Insurance and an Introduction to Emergency Medicine!

Week 6 is now in the books, and we have finished up our clinical ophthalmology block and our second junior surgery!

Monday kicked off with a 3 miler with Churro followed by a wonderful coffee chat with Dr. Rebecca Bellone. Dr. Bellone is one of our amazing geneticists who is also involved in the CVF club. It was wonderful get to spend some time with her and see her passion for leading people to Christ. I know that many students will be impacted by her presence. The rest of the morning included a lecture on the lens followed by a discussion on corneal colors. This discussion was a part of our comparative species track and was a helpful way to review conditions of the eye that can impact their external appearance.

That afternoon I had the opportunity to chat with Hanna from Evermore Pet food about some of their exciting plans for the future and brainstorm ways we could increase student knowledge/involvement with their company. I was then able to get in a quick swim at the rec center before heading home to spend time with Churro and review some lectures.

Tuesday morning started off with a quick run with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. We then dove into a lecture on the fundus, glaucoma, and the orbit. We are almost done with our ophthalmology sub-block so those lectures focused on tying in major disease processes that can impact the eye and how to approach them clinically.

During lunch I ran to the gym and did some resistance training which was a nice way to clear my head before heading into the afternoon sessions. The rest of the afternoon included a lecture on ocular pharmacology which connected a lot of topics from our previous neurology block. The last session of the day was a discussion on “red eyes” which is a common presenting complaint. There are countless things that can make an eye red so understanding how to approach that situation and how to thoroughly work through the issue is helpful to understand. The rest of the afternoon included a nice walk with Churro followed by some studying.

Wednesday morning started off with a quick 3 miler with Churro followed by our second surgery day. This time around, Ari was the primary surgeon, Gaby was the anesthetist, and I was the assistant surgeon . After meeting our patient, Davis, and completing our pre-surgical exam we had a lecture on ocular pharmacology and a discussion on visual disturbances. We are getting close to the end of our ophthalmology block, so these final sessions have been tying a lot of the big-picture concepts together.

Our little surgery patient, Davis 🐾

As soon as we finished those discussions we hopped into our pre-surgical “rounds”. This is when all the surgery groups meet with an internal medicine specialist and discuss any pertinent findings from our morning physical exams or blood work. It is always nice to review our findings and understand if any of our patients have underlying conditions that may make us postpone surgery. After rounds we jumped into surgery prep and then busted out our second neuter of the year. Things went even more smoothly than the first surgery day since we had an idea of how things were supposed to run, and I am so fortunate to have such an amazing team!

The rest of the afternoon included some playtime with Churro on the field, followed by some studying for the upcoming eye exam.

Thursday morning started off with a quick 3 miler with Churro followed by the morning surgery check. Little Davis was recovering well and after being checked by one of the faculty, he was cleared to return to the shelter and be put up for adoption. I then had a little break before the morning lectures, so I went for a swim at the rec. We then began our emergency/critical care /toxicology block which is about a week and a half long. We had a lecture on triage and then one on electrolyte abnormalities specifically focusing on potassium, calcium and sodium disorders. These lectures were fascinating, and it is interesting to see the stark differences between emergency medicine and private general practice. In emergency medicine, things are treated on a binary scale; either it is life-threatening, or it isn’t. The goal is not to get to the root cause of every condition; it is to stabilize the patient and decrease suffering.

During lunch I went for a walk at the arboretum and the rest of the afternoon included a little ophthalmology review discussion. This was a nice way to practice with some clinical cases and review for Monday’s exam. That evening, I had the opportunity to join the Sacramento Vet Valley Association for their monthly CE dinner. The topic was pet insurance which is something that is always changing and not touched on in our curriculum. Dr. Bowie presented a few different policies and addressed how veterinarians should assist interested owners in finding an appropriate plan that fits their needs. The hundreds of policies can be overwhelming to look through so having the ability to point owners in the right direction is crucial.

CE Dinner with Eunice :)

These talks always provide some insightful information, and it is also fun to network with the local veterinarians as well as mingle with other students.

Friday morning started off with a quick run with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. We then dove into two more emergency lectures; one on shock and the other on environmental emergencies such as heatstroke, extreme cold exposure, electrical injury, and drowning. These are all unfortunate accidents that can be commonly seen in our companion animal species, so it is important to be able to recognize the signs and understand how to provide adequate stabilization. We then transitioned into our comparative tract course and learned about minimally invasive surgery in both large and small animals. It was interesting to see the differences and similarities between these techniques and then compare it to what we have been doing in our junior surgery lab.

That afternoon we had another law lecture and Dr. Miller brought everyone homemade Rice Krispy Treats. We reviewed “minimum standard of care” and it highlighted how many hospitals don’t adhere to the standard putting them at risk of legal action. The rest of the afternoon included a quick swim at the rec. center followed by some quality time on the field with Churro. I then spent some time reviewing for the ophthalmology exam before calling it an early night.

Morning Run Views!

Saturday started off with a fun 6 miler with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. I finished off the morning with a farmers market run and got some things done around the house before doing some studying for the upcoming ophthalmology exam. That afternoon Churro and I spent some time walking around the arboretum before ending the night with some more studying.

Sunday started off with a nice 5.5 miler with Churro followed by some time with his friends on the field and church. I then did some grocery shopping before heading home to prepare for the upcoming week and ophthalmology exam. The rest of the afternoon included some playtime with Churro on the field and some extra studying.

Quote of the Week: “If you are going to put a fork in an outlet, do it in the US instead of Europe – voltage matters” -Dr. Kate Farrell