Life on the Wild Side
A new grad trying to figure out life after school. |
You can hear the carts from miles away--the squeaking wheels that have never seen an ounce of grease, metal handles scraping on metal holders. As the two carts get closer, you can hear them. Their pitiful voices rise up above the screeching. They are the Burn Victims. Four plastic blue carriers rest on each cart. Five humans, dressed in their hospital scrubs, perch in the hallway, surrounding the carts, ready to spring into action when called upon. Solemn faces with eager eyes, each human takes one or two cats. Their voices, not more than a whisper, communicate details of their plans. We are the Burn Team. We maneuver the carts to a special room, prepared solely for this purpose. A window in the thick wooden door reveals a constant stream of people, a reminder that the world outside the room is moving by. Inside, the silence is palpable, penetrated only by occasional soft mews. It’s as though no one wants to raise their voice above a whisper, no one wants to disturb the victims. Four stations are set up, consisting of a metal table, blankets and towels, gauze, cotton padding, and multi-colored bandaging material. This is the Burn Unit. I reach into a carrier and pull out a fluffy grey cat. I place him on the table. The smell of smoke permeates his fur and wafts through the air. as pieces of ash float onto the pristine white towel. He curls up, terrified of the new environment. Working as a team, we start to examine him. His fur is scorched and missing on parts of his belly. The whiskers are approximately ⅓ their original length, curled at the tips. His ears resemble elephant’s skin--thick, leathery, and hairless. The most striking finding is the paws. All four paw pads had sloughed off, leaving a red, oozing emptiness in their place. What he experienced--slinking through the burning underbrush to try to escape the flames--is something too horrible to imagine. And yet, he is one of the lucky ones. This is a Burn Victim. There is no “best method” to heal a burn. Over the course of the two weeks the burn cats were in our care, I worked with multiple doctors to clean and bandage the cat’s paws. Some days we would use Manuka honey, others we would use silver sulfadiazine cream. Each paw on each cat was meticulously tended to--unwrapped, cleaned, soaked, rewrapped--some as often as once or even twice daily. We came in on days off, stayed later, and woke up earlier. We are the Burn Team. The cats had a separate ward in the hospital. At any given time, you could walk in and see them sleeping in fluffy beds, purring for attention, or eagerly trying to remove their foot bandages. They weren’t all thrilled to be there, as most cats don’t appreciate staying in the hospital. We liked to think they at least appreciated their cat “suite”, but then again, we all know how cats are. This is the Burn Ward. As time passed, the cats healed, the burn unit was converted back to an exam room, the burn ward returned to normal patients, and the burn team carried on with their veterinary paths. To this day, the burned smell of the cats, and their sad meowing bring back vivid memories of helping them. You always see the heroes fighting the heat of the fire on the news, but behind the scenes, unsung heroes fight for those who survive. As both of my homes, northern and southern California, fight raging fires that ravage through communities and farmland, I am especially reminded that you never expect to be hit with natural disasters, but they are occurring more frequently these days. I am proud to be part of such a selfless community of veterinarians who donate their time and resources day in and day out to save lives. This is Veterinary Medicine. If you'd like to help with these cats care and other animals affected by the fires, please donate here: https://give.ucdavis.edu/go/firecare
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I started my career as most animal enthusiasts do – pursuing veterinary school. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that vet school wasn’t my calling – and that’s okay. While the vet path wasn’t for me, it did serve as an entry point to other, less mainstream career paths working with animals. If vet med is your passion – great. If it’s not, that’s great too. The trick is to be honest with yourself; don’t remain on a path only because it seemed like the right one at first. This requires more courage than it may seem (or, if you’re like me, this seems plenty scary). I was at a dinner with undergraduates and current vet students when I first knew. The vet students were discussing obscure diseases and unrecognizable organs when an undergrad turns to me and says, “I can’t wait to understand what they’re talking about!” Here she was, bright eyed and excited, and all I could think was, “I can.” I couldn’t care less. And this was the moment I realized I needed to rethink my life. The choice to not apply to vet school saved me a lot of headaches; I no longer needed to reach a certain number of hours in a clinic or fit several required classes into my schedule. However, I had lost my certainty. Applying to vet school involves a fairly clear, determined pathway and makes answering the dreaded question of, “What are you doing after you graduate?”, a lot easier. Veering off the vet path left me with no answers, no guidelines, and an urgency to find both. I knew to be successful in my field, and employable, I would need a PhD. My greatest struggle was being unable to pinpoint exactly what I was passionate about or what I would study. So as an undergrad, I resisted the urge to jump around to different research labs and instead invested in one project that allowed me to gain valuable, transferable research skills. It became more about learning skills that I could apply to any work, and less about the subject matter (although researching elephant behavior wasn’t all that bad). I learned to focus on building up marketable strengths and skills while maintaining a healthy degree of self-compassion. I would not be applying to graduate school in time to start right after my undergraduate graduation. There are few things more unsettling than graduating college without a clue as to where you will be or what you will be doing. But this was also a blessing in disguise, and something we’ll talk more about later. So the take away? You may need to rethink your life too. Harsh? Probably. It’s not a comfortable position to be in, I know. But this decision led me down a new path that now allows me to study something I really care about. For this reason, I believe it is incredibly important to share my journey and what I’ve learned along the way (either from advice I’ve received or lessons learned the hard way). Buckle in; we’re about to take the path less traveled. Everyone’s heard the old adage “If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” In today’s world, we are constantly adapting, so I’ve adapted the adage to “If something happens, but it isn’t posted on social media, did it really happen?” You must all be thinking, if that’s true, then this girl has been sitting around doing nothing the past few months. Sorry to disappoint, but I promise I’ll share some stories from Oncology and Radiology (and maybe even some vacation stories!) soon. For now, I want to share a few stories from my first week in the ER that highlight just how amazing and crazy our profession truly is (and maybe touch on the power of social media while I’m at it.)
" How do you have time for that?" A question I often get asked, and I often ask myself. As a pre-veterinary student, the idea that there is no time to do anything besides study in veterinary school is a common theme. I often got asked how I had time to work (about 25-30% of veterinary students work based on an unofficial poll of vet students at UC Davis), how I could take care of my two dogs (most veterinary students have a pet of some kind), and if I was ever able to see my friends (yes, multiple times a week/month). Time-management is an important concept that is preached over and over again. Here are some tips that I've found useful in managing my time (both in and out of veterinary school): 1. Prioritize: Things with a hard deadline should be done first, with the things that are due first taking priority over things due later. Tasks aren't always enjoyable, but if they have a deadline, you should always try to meet it. 2. Don't procrastinate: Long, multi-step projects that aren't due for over a month shouldn't be put off until the last minute. Doing things in little pieces makes the task seem less daunting. Working on one part or for one hour a night actually gets the task done quicker. 3. Focus on the task at hand: Often times, people get distracted by Facebook, TV, Netflix, texting, games etc. This makes doing tasks take longer and often times, you lose interest in the important things in favor for the new show or exciting thing your friend did today (trust me, been there done that!) By focusing on the task, you not only get things done more efficiently, you will find yourself having time for those other things you want to do. 4. Schedule self-care: Mental health is extremely important, especially in our profession. Schedule time to hang out with friends, to watch your favorite show when it comes on TV, or to walk the dogs in the evenings. By carving out time to take care of yourself, your mind will feel refreshed and you'll be more energized to do important things that are maybe less exciting. In veterinary school, I managed to work 5 jobs, serve as president of multiple clubs, maintain a social life with my close friends, snuggle with my dogs every day, and keep up to date on all the important news and new Netflix shows. Here I am, a fourth year veterinary student, and I find myself spending all my days in the hospital (even weekends). I still manage to find time to snuggle my dogs (Zeus is curled up next to me serving as a great reminder of that as I type), see my friends (anyone want to join us for trivia night?) and pick up new hobbies (I've recently started to fence). Our profession is hard (in the next blog post, I'll tell you about my experiences on Oncology, one of the most emotionally difficult rotations I've had yet.) It's the little things that we do each day for ourselves that keep us afloat. Remember, this concept of "free time" isn't just a figment of your imagination, it's totally possible to be able to do the things you love in veterinary school! My two weeks on shelter medicine were a combination of "What my friends think I do" and "What I think I do" (albeit on different species in each instance.) Kitten season hits shelters hard during the spring and summer months, and that means lots of adorable animals to cuddle with. When I arrived at the shelter each day, there was a new batch of kittens to cuddle with. What a tough life, I know. From the chill orange males that wanted to cuddle in your arms to the playful calicos that were sweet on the outside and feisty on the inside, there was always something to look forward to.
These kittens posed a unique challenge though. Because California has a law that requires all animals to be spayed or neutered prior to being adopted from a shelter, and the fact that kittens are at an increased risk of catching life-threatening diseases the longer they stay at a shelter, we were tasked with the important job of sterilizing the kittens so they could find their forever homes. Male kittens are easy to neuter. They don't even require a completely sterile surgical field. Kitten neuters themselves take less than 5 minutes to complete. On a day we deemed "Testicle Tuesday," I neutered five male cats in the span of less than 30 minutes. (The time constraint involves a lack of multiple technicians to anesthetize the kittens, not my surgical skills.) The kittens wake up from anesthesia in a matter of minutes, and when you check on them at the end of the day, you can hardly tell they even had surgery! Each female kitten poses a unique difficult and learning opportunity. Because we spay the kittens at a really young age, some are only 1.5 pounds at time of surgery! Tiny kitten means tiny incision, and that doesn't give you much room to maneuver around the abdomen! On one kitten, I clearly remember making the skin incision, but when I got down to the body wall, I saw her abdominal organs! Her body wall was paper thin and translucent. I called the supervising doctor over to confirm that I hadn't already cut through the body wall, and she guided me through the most nerve-wracking 30 seconds of the entire procedure. In veterinary school, we perform one dog neuter, one cat spay, and one dog spay over the course of our third year. At the shelter, I performed 30 surgeries in 2 weeks. I made every mistake a novice surgeon could make: I accidentally cut a blood vessel that I wasn't supposed to, I dropped a pedicle (ovarian blood vessels that could potentially cause a lot of bleeding), I made incisions too long, I sutured things incorrectly, and many other mistakes. Each mistake helped me grow and by the end of the second week, I felt like a more competent and confident surgeon. I can't wait to get back into the operating room (in 2 months...) For now, I'm hoping to partake in "What I wish I could do," and I'll leave you all with a kitten mountain from the shelter! Adopt don't shop! "Pop Culture and Fashion."
Those were the two categories of topics standing between me and the surgery that I was hoping to perform. While I watched the surgery video and performed the surgery on a cadaver in lab in my third year, all the preparation in the world came down to whether I could answer the resident's questions about Pop Culture and Fashion. We started scrubbing at our respective scrub stations. I had asked my friends during anesthesia prep time about current pop culture, and we came up with "Justin Bieber sang a song about babies." That's how much time we had for pop culture in our clinical year. One minute of scrubbing passed. Two minutes of scrubbing... She asked me about the structure that I'd want to avoid cutting. Angularis oculi vein. She asked me what the first thing I'd want to do in surgery is. Make sure we are removing the correct eye. What the first step was? Lateral canthotomy. Five minutes of scrubbing... Clinical pathology, though a necessary and important rotation, was not the most interesting. We would often find ourselves finished with our work and scrolling through Facebook before the afternoon was over. When I received a text from a doctor friend of mine, I immediately read it.
"Are you by chance on a cruisy rotation? Do you want to help me feed puppies tonight?" She warned that it would be a night without much sleep. As a vet student, that didn't phase me. Of course I wanted to feed and cuddly with 12 hour old puppies! The rest of clinical pathology that afternoon flew by. Davis Vet School is unique in many ways. One of the things that makes Davis particularly unique is the amount of career preparation you receive, regardless of what path you want to go down. Last week, I participated in a 1 week business rotation. We learned important life and job skills, such as interview tips, how to negotiate a salary, and how to communicate with people in your workplace in an effective manner. We also received tips on financial planning and loan repayment. While many pre-vet students don't think about the massive amount of debt that most veterinary students face at graduation, that debt burden is now about to become a reality for many of my colleagues. Luckily for us (and future generations to come), the profession has a bright future! Here are some of the interesting tidbits I learned from my business course.
As application season gets into full swing, I often get asked "What do you think made you stand out as an applicant?" or "Why do you think you got into veterinary school?" Honestly, I don't really remember what my application looked like anymore. Getting into veterinary school is hard, but it's not the hardest part. Succeeding in veterinary school is harder. As I finish up my first month in the clinics though, I've begun to realize, no matter how unique your application is, there are certain traits about veterinary students that help them succeed. All veterinary students have them, and if you have them, you're well on your way to vet school success. What are these traits you ask? There are the basics that anyone would probably guess: you like animals, you're intelligent, you're driven. These are extremely important, and they'll serve you well through your first three years. When you get into clinics and into the "real world" you need more. Here are the top 5 things I've found to be useful in my first month of clinical rotations: 1. Team mentality. Sometimes you're swamped and you need help. Sometimes your classmate is swamped and they need help. Instead of letting each other drown, because their problems aren't your problems, helping others out means that they'll (hopefully) return the favor. Having a team mentality in clinics (and veterinary school, and the professional world) is the number one way to succeed. Unlike in undergrad, the people you work with in veterinary school are not your competition, they're your future colleagues. The sooner you realize that everyone is here to help each other, the easier school will be. 2. Responsibility. A few days ago, a classmate asked me to help her out by copying treatment sheets for her. Of course I helped out. When I was done, she asked if she could double check my work. At first I was a little peeved--did she think I couldn't copy a sheet of paper correctly? But then I realized, she was taking responsibility for her own patients. If something had gone wrong, it would have been her fault. Taking responsibility for your patients and knowing what is going on with them is crucial, especially in a hospital with many people working on many patients. 3. Ask Questions. All throughout my schooling, it's been difficult for me to ask for help when I don't understand something. I grew up with the idea that asking for help was a sign of weakness or lesser intelligence. However, in veterinary school, there is so much information that you aren't expected to be an expert in every species and every disease process. Asking questions is a sign that you're thinking about the material and that you're engaged. I learn so much more when I ask questions, because even if the response is "Look it up in this book and let me know what you find," I'll then be able to engage in a conversation about the topic, rather than internalizing it and potentially never finding out the answer. 4. Time Management. You have three appointments for the day, which are expected to last multiple hours each. All are going to need multiple diagnostic tests, discussions with owners and clinicians, and treatments performed. All need records written. How do you do all that and still make it home before dark to walk your dogs and cook dinner? From experience, it's not always possible. Sometimes the dogs go without their evening walk. But the key here is managing your time appropriately. While you're waiting for blood work results, start typing records. Make the most of the time when you're sitting. And write everything down, so when you do have time to write records, you remember how busy of a day you've had! 5. Have fun! Clinics can be stressful. Your patients may pass away. But every client poses a different opportunity to learn, and learning is fun! Find the humor in every situation and the silver lining around every gray cloud. Maintaining a positive attitude is the number one way to get through each day and make the clinic experience more enjoyable, both for you and everyone else on your service. Never lose your passion and love for helping animals! Most veterinary students I know try their best to exhibit these traits, though they may exhibit them in different ways. It's true what they say about the types of people in a profession: birds of a feather flock together! The back hallway of the VMTH is long and narrow. At 6:30pm on a Saturday, it was mostly deserted. A classmate and I walked towards each other. Classmate: "Did you just get called in?" Me: "Yeah, just did." Him: "That sucks." Me: "Yeah, well, it is what it is." And then we parted ways, me to my after-hours call and him to his patients in the hospital. The brief conversation we had reflected the views of many of my classmates: being on call on a weekend pretty much sucked. But on this particular Saturday, I was excited (if not a bit nervous) to be called in--I was going to examine a Great Horned Owl with a broken wing. Two things stuck with me with this particular owl. As I peered into the XXL dog-crate that she was brought in, I was first struck by her giant, round yellow eyes staring back at me, never losing focus. Her eyes were wise, like she knew I was there to help, yet wary of new people, new places. When we took her out see what we could do, a second thing hit me: her wing was broken. Ordinarily, we can fix broken wings, but this majestic animal had pieces of wing sitting on the bottom of the dog crate, completely detached from her body. The only thing we could do for her was put her out of her misery, and as quickly as possible. Being a veterinarian requires more compassion than any other profession. Looking at an animal and wanting to do everything you can for them, yet knowing that sometimes the most compassionate decision you can make is to end their suffering, it takes a toll on the soul. The excitement I felt initially when I received the call to help an owl quickly turned to dismay and heartbreak. I remind myself: Today I helped an animal. Tomorrow is a new day with more animals to help. I am a fourth year veterinary student and I know this is just the beginning of a long career ahead of me. I hope to never lose the excitement and wonder of treating and helping animals. But I also hope that I can show every animal as much compassion as we showed the owl. R.I.P Great Horned Owl. Thank you for teaching me one of the most important lessons I can learn as a veterinary student. |
AuthorKatie is rotating intern at Atlantic Veterinary College in Canada. She graduated from veterinary school at UC Davis in 2018. Archives
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