staging.vettimes.com

Tag: vet school

Out of Africa: two weeks in the wild
Shamwari Game Reserve, South Africa.

Wildlife veterinary medicine is more than being a good shot with a dart gun and knowing what anaesthetics to fill the darts with.

I know this because I was part of a group from Glasgow vet school that visited the Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa to find out exactly what wildlife medicine entails.

Minimal intervention

Generally, as the animals on the reserve are considered wild, the main aim is to keep veterinary intervention to a minimum.

The majority of the veterinary work is translocation (involving mainly sedation and/or anaesthesia) but there are a few exceptions, which are often dealt with in the reserve’s rehabilitation centre – particularly if the animal in question is rare or highly valuable.

Although we learned a lot about anaesthetics (which was surprisingly easy to relate to practice at home), there’s far more to it than meets the eye.

In-depth knowledge

During our two-week stay we learned that an in-depth knowledge of animal behaviour, among other aspects of conservation, is the vital foundation of the veterinary work.

For example, the length of time an animal will spend in transit and whether the animal will be woken up in the field will have an impact on drug choices – a prey animal needs a complete and rapid recovery in the field to avoid showing weakness to the herd or any predators in the vicinity, whereas an animal travelling halfway across South Africa would require longer lasting sedation.

Species differences are also important to consider; drugs that are highly dangerous in some animals may be the sedative of choice in others.

Additionally, the reaction to being darted needs to be carefully evaluated in terms of both the animals’ and the staff’s safety. We were particularly aware of this when working with buffalo and having to judge the right amount of sedation reversal to allow them to wake up completely, while giving ourselves enough time to dash into the truck and put a safe distance between us before they did so.

A different perspective

The team at Shamwari were eager to give us a practical, hands-on experience – which was great.

Image courtesy Shamwari Conservation Experience.

Not only was it an awe-inspiring couple of weeks, but it was also incredibly useful in terms of consolidating knowledge and practical application of pharmacology – particular anaesthesia.

Experiencing all aspects of conservation in addition to the veterinary work also gave a different perspective to veterinary medicine.

It was exhilarating to be working with such beautiful and potentially dangerous animals – I could certainly feel my heart going through the roof when taking blood from a lion whose snores sounded suspiciously like growls.
- Learn more about Shamwari Game Reserve.
July 15, 2015
What is normal in the veterinary world?

Teddy is poorly… 🙁

As veterinary students (and probably later as vets), we have a very distorted view of “normal”.

Exam season (for Glasgow) is now over, but during revision, the social media stakes noticeably increase. While many of my non-veterinary friends share photos of their piles of notes captioned “T-minus 2 weeks”, “Revision hell” or the like, in return they get photos of me gloved and gowned up or an “animal” (cuddly toy of some description) draped up (in tea towels) ready for “surgery”.

This isn’t just me playing vet for their entertainment – these skills were assessed in our practical exams – but my friends still find it bizarre it counts as revision.

The student halls I lived in during my first year had a high proportion of veterinary students, as they were sited very close to the vet school. Being in catered halls, we all ate dinner together, and soon there were a few “vet tables”. If we’d all come in from anatomy practicals, with no second thoughts about discussing the intricate details over dinner, it was no surprise no one else regularly ate with us.

Even when you restrain from comparing the consistency of some body fluid or other to the pasta sauce you’re eating while out with friends, you’ll probably notice something in your hair that could easily be either blood or poo. If your friends notice, they’ll either laugh or be disgusted, but to you it’s just a normal occurrence after a day on a veterinary placement.

Teddy has been prepped and draped, ready for “surgery”.

Every so often, a comment snaps you back into the non-veterinary world and makes you realise we really are quite strange.

While back home and studying, my five-year-old brother (in order to evade bedtime) decided to “help” me revise and was fascinated by a picture of a dissected lizard, which in his opinion was “a turtle with it’s shell taken off so you can see its insides”.

Thankfully, he wasn’t too bothered by it, but I was slightly concerned about giving him nightmares.

It’s easy to take the weird and wonderful world of veterinary life for granted, especially when you’re surrounded by like-minded people during term time. My family think I’m insane when I tell them I was watching postmortem videos at 3am on the day of my pathology exam.

Aside from the gore, there is also the stress element. Every round of exams, various friends or family members ask how I’m doing. When I reply “terrible”, “convinced I’m going to fail”, “will get no sleep during exam week”, their response is “you always say that, and you’re always fine. Just get an early night”.

When I relay this to my vet friends, the response is “what’s an early night?”

May 30, 2015
Corporate feminisation

In a previous blog, I alluded to the feminisation of the profession. Here, I speak very carefully to avoid confusion of this with feminism.

I’m not going to preach equal rights or pick holes in generalisations, but the facts are unavoidable: feminisation of the profession is happening and we need to find the best way to embrace this.

57% of practising vets in the UK are women[1.Source: http://vetfutures.org.uk/resource/vet-futures-literature-review/], and this balance looks set to tip even further in the female direction. However, I don’t feel this accurately reflects the male presence in veterinary education, which is significantly lower.

Less than a quarter of students embarking on their veterinary degree in 2012 were male and – upon discussion with other students – it is evident that some schools are worse than others.

So why is the gender imbalance significantly worse in education than in veterinary practice?

It has been shown that men are likely to stay in the profession for longer than women, with more women than men opting for part-time work, so the suggestion that males are being put off the degree because it is seen as a less “manly” career choice seems a bit absurd to me – especially as sexism is still extremely prevalent, despite the female shift.

In one of my interviews for veterinary school, it was suggested the reason males are declining in veterinary education is simply because females are outperforming them academically and so they just aren’t achieving the grades needed to make the offer for a place at vet school.

Image ©iStock.com/DSGpro

You can speculate as much as you want to try and discover the reasons why, but feminisation is happening and the profession is changing as a result. Corporate chains of veterinary practices are increasing in number, bringing with them rock bottom prices that individual James Herriot-esque practices can’t compete with. But is the attraction of part-time work and “normal” working hours that the corporates offer more attractive, especially to vets (particularly female, but also male) with children?

I think many of the fairytale illusions that some of us entered the veterinary world with are long gone. The profession is changing rapidly, and must continue to do so in order to accommodate for things like feminisation and increasing graduate numbers.

While corporate practices may be a short term aid, and potentially offer a better work-life balance, I don’t think they are the ultimate answer.

April 15, 2015
Crash prevention

Image ©iStock.com/mevans

Following the devastating news of the Germanwings crash last week, the co-pilot’s torn-up sick note and the early implication of mental health issues (later suspected to instead be eyesight-related), I witnessed a shocking flare-up of defence regarding mental health on social media.

My gut reaction was of absolute disgust. Whether said sick note referred to mental illness or not, the co-pilot was not 100% mentally sound, otherwise he would not have deliberately crashed an aeroplane into the Alps, killing 149 innocent people.

An article I read describing the rescue efforts to retain the pieces of the bodies (explosion on impact meant there were no bodies intact) was particularly distressing. And yet people preached online, directly referring to the plane crash, that people with clinical depression should be able to hold such jobs. I’m not advocating denying sufferers of severe mental health problems the right to work – but perhaps not in a job that could result in this sort of sickening situation. Can we have some context please?

While a vet may not have it in his or her power to destroy innocent lives to such an extent as pilots, how does this translate? Vets have access to dangerous drugs that could have drastic consequences if used wrongly due to mental instability, and perhaps provide a more accessible option of suicide than the non-medical general public. They also carry responsibility during surgery or other procedures with the potential to act inappropriately with implications on the lives of animals in their care.

Image ©iStock.com/gong hangxu

You wouldn’t necessarily get on a plane if you were told the pilot had severe clinical depression, so would you leave your dog requiring general anaesthesia with a vet who is?

I think where the confusion has occurred is that word that gets thrown around too easily regarding mental health: “stigma”.

There is a certain stigma regarding mental health, but instead of ranting about discrimination due to mental health, a step forward would be acceptance.

One of the major factors in suicide within the veterinary profession is vets themselves not admitting they need help. In order to prevent professionals (in any sector) slipping through the net and putting on a brave face with unexpected devastating consequences, we need them to accept that they are unwell or stressed in order to take a step towards gaining help to get back on track.

To do this in a veterinary context, we need to remove the fear of being prevented from practising. The words “fitness to practice”, even within vet school, send a ripple of fear through one’s skin. I’m aware of students who have deliberately concealed medical conditions from the faculty through fear of being thrown out. I can only imagine this is carried through to qualified vets, frightened of “being struck off”.

It shouldn’t be that way.

The profession as a whole needs to work towards distinguishing clearly between taking a break from practice to get yourself better and being irreversibly banned from practising as a vet. We need to make it “okay” for vets to admit they need help to have any hope of reducing suicide, among other consequences of mental ill-health, within the profession.

April 1, 2015
Big decisions

“Options we can select include further practice in food producing animals, equine and small animals, as well as many ‘niche’ areas such as pigs, poultry and fish” – image ©iStock.com/Pickledjo

At the end of this month (March), my year group has to submit their choices for final year selectives.

Over the coming week we will have a number of presentations on the different options to help us decide – which will no doubt cause further confusion.

For a number of us, fear has ensued. Others (perhaps the older or postgraduate students) feel excitement as the light at the end of the tunnel seems one step closer. But for everyone, the initial introductory presentation served as a reminder that the “real world” is not that far away.

As with most things in vet school, people hear different things and rumours based on half-truths spread like wildfire. Lecturers and mentors contradict each other, with some advising you to pick options you think you’ll enjoy regardless of future career choice, while others claim you must pick specific options if you have any hope of becoming a particular type of surgeon or clinician.

The options we can select are in addition to the core final year rotations that everyone must undertake, and cover a number of areas. These include further practice in food producing animals, equine and small animals, as well as many “niche” areas such as pigs, poultry and fish.

And along with many of the selective options comes the attractive opportunity for travel.

Following the introduction to the selectives, the question “what do you want to do?” (swiftly altered to “what do want to do when you graduate?”) was thrown about, ultimately making many of us consider for the 1,000th time what we actually want to do after vet school.

During work experience, I changed my mind from farm practice to definitely-not-farm-practice, to definitely-not-only-small-animal to something involving orthopaedic surgery. However, during vet school, the idea of farm and equine has grown on me – although I understand the likelihood of finding mixed work encompassing mainly equine and farm is fairly small.

While working on a stud yard last summer, I think I changed my mind daily about equine work depending on the vet-client interactions and whether I think I could tolerate horse owners day in, day out.

Even now, the more EMS I do, the more I feel I need more experience in different areas to make an informed choice about the direction of my career.

I also do not see myself in clinical practice in the UK for a great deal of time, and instead want to work abroad and ultimately switch path to marketing and publishing. If only you could map out your life that finely and it all work out to plan…

The only thing I know for certain is that I will change my mind at least another 10 times before graduation.

March 2, 2015
Represent, support, engage!

The AVS committee poses for an official photograph at the association’s annual ball.

The AVS (Association of Veterinary Students) Congress marks one year since my involvement with the association began.

Last year, in Nottingham, I stood up at the AGM and gave a hustings speech. Before long, I found myself elected the editor of JAVS (the Journal of the Association of Veterinary Students), which is sent out to students in all of the nine veterinary schools. More importantly, this meant I had joined the AVS committee, which has allowed me to gain an insight to the workings of veterinary education and the profession as a whole.

The first full AVS meeting I attended at BVA headquarters in London was a bit overwhelming, but I soon realised how much capacity AVS has to reach out to students and implement changes in order to maximise the veterinary student experience.

Since then, in addition to the annual congress and the infamous AVS sports weekend, the committee has accomplished many things, with just a few outlined below.

The policy sub-committee announced the AVS Workforce Policy, which outlines the concerns over the impact of rising numbers of veterinary schools for the future of the profession. This has been viewed more than 2,000 times on the website and, ultimately, impacted on a national policy.

The marketing sub-committee has been extremely successful this year too, especially with the new website and push on the committee’s part with social media, which has encouraged members to engage with AVS more than ever before.

The equine rescue practical from AVS Congress 2015, held in Glasgow.

A direct example of this is the RCVS consultation on the use of the courtesy title of “Dr” – while members of the BVA MSG (members services group) committee were indifferent or against the proposal, the AVS junior vice president, who was present at the meeting, was able to respond with evidence of the student opinion.

AVS posted about the consultation on the website, Facebook and Twitter. The initial post was seen by more than 22,000 people, 1,719 of which followed the link to the RCVS website. AVS then carried out a quick poll, in which 290 people voted, and 281 of these were pro using the title. Hence, there was an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the consultation and the use of social media has widened the ability for AVS to engage with their members and accurately represent the veterinary student body.

Another example is BVA’s stun before slaughter campaign, which AVS was involved in the initiation of when the reality of non-stun slaughter came into the public eye last March (following the ban of slaughter without stunning in Denmark).

The stun before slaughter e-petition gained an immense amount of support, and has just passed the 100,000 signatures mark – the target required in order for the subject to be considered for parliamentary debate. AVS has been supporting and promoting the e-petition online and, as a result, many of those signatures have come from veterinary students.

Our MSG (members services group) sub-committee has produced a preclinical EMS guide for first year students, which advises many things including what to expect on different types of placement and how to find placements. Having been produced and written by students, it is hoped that the guide will be relatable and useful to help support freshers embarking on EMS for the first time.

AWF (Animal Welfare Foundation), the BVA’s charity, has been hosting talks and debates in each of the universities throughout the year, allowing students to engage with hot animal welfare topics.

Student welfare is also integral to the role of the welfare sub-committee. Just discussing different methods of promoting student welfare and support allows the AVS representatives to share ideas and take those back to their respective schools. As a result, Glasgow has followed in the footsteps of Liverpool and recently set up its own network of peer supporters within the vet school, who have had intensive training to allow them to be proficient in their roles.

In one year, we have achieved so much, and yet there is so much potential for long term aims too, such as the production of an AVS app, consultations on EMS provision and involvement in the Vet Futures project run jointly by the BVA and RCVS.

The AVS marketing sub-committee came up with a “tagline” for AVS: represent, support, engage – and after reviewing all we have done over the last year, you can see this accurately and concisely sums up what AVS stands for.

Since I stood up and shakily gave my plea to become an editor, not only have I made great friends across all of the vet schools, but I have also felt part of a community that has the ability to really stand up and make a difference for our students; and I have not regretted it for one second.

January 30, 2015
Sterile pyogranulomatous cysts are worth bearing in mind

An interdigital cyst in the paw of an English bull terrier – image by Nottingham Vet School (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) via Flickr.

I recently saw a very large, and very friendly bull mastiff that presented with what appeared to be typical interdigital cysts. These had been chronically recurrent and previous histopathology indicated a pyogranulomatous reaction.

However his lesions responded poorly to three weeks’ of cephalexin antibiotic therapy and, in fact, he developed several lesions on his other feet.

Cytology revealed mild bacterial colonisation, and it occurred to me this might be an immune-mediated reaction (his blood work and TSH/T4 were all within normal limits) – and, hey presto, we got a rapid clinical response to steroids.

In spite of being under control he has also developed an acute erythematous otitis externa, so I think a food trial is my next line. Watch this space…

January 26, 2015
Hitting the third-year wall

Jordan and her peers, not even halfway through their course, feel they are fighting to keep their heads above water – Image: ©iStockphoto/Anton_Sokolov

Everyone had heard rumours third year at veterinary school was the worst. On coming back to university after a long summer of extra-mural studies and relaxation, we were nervous. Two weeks in, things didn’t seem too bad and we were sceptical.

We were indifferently meandering through the bewildering world of Latin names and impossible-to-spell drugs, resigned to a fate of an increased workload and new subjects, but not overwhelmed just yet. It happened to different people at different times, but, seemingly out of nowhere, the third-year wall hit. And it hit hard.

Whether it was the hours of straining to make sense of indiscernible pinky-purple mess under the microscope, or trying to differentiate one parasite from the next by the subtlest of morphological changes, or even just trying to fathom the hideous amount of Latin that had forced itself into our lives, veterinary school suddenly got the better of most of us.

While drowning under the sheer amount of information to take in, the realisation we’re not even halfway there really seemed to set in this term, making it almost impossible for us to keep our heads above water.

A week of very little sleep, long hours studying and eight exams will mark the halfway point for my year group. The most disturbing part of this revelation is the feeling we’ve been at vet school for a long time (can anyone even remember freshers’ week?), and yet we still have that same length of time left to go.

Several of us have been questioning our aspirations of late – why did I want to be a vet? Why am I putting myself through this? Is it worth it? Is this as hard as it gets? These are just some of the whispers heard around vet school.

Image ©iStockphoto/pick-uppath

It’s often comforting in itself your classmates are feeling as fed up as you are, but you also need to find a way to combat your doubts and climb the wall, or punch right through it. Veterinary students are particularly susceptible to stress and mental health issues – we’ve all heard the statistics, which is why it’s vital to know how and where to access support should you need it.

The student-run welfare system at Glasgow’s veterinary school has boomed this year, with multiple welfare talks and the start up of many new clubs and societies aimed at stress relief, including relaxing yoga classes to help you reboot or a high-energy Muay Thai sessions to help you release all that pent-up stress. Following in the footsteps of Liverpool, Glasgow vet school is also currently developing a peer-support network to provide an ear for those students who need someone to turn to in times of need.

Of course, your own interests can distract you from the stress of vet school, and while it’s tempting to entirely prioritise your studies, it’s really important to ensure they don’t consume your entire life. For me personally, writing, editing and riding keep me afloat.

One lesson I’ve learned this term is you also need to keep on top of your own health. You may have a persisting issue that you keep putting off because you haven’t got time to see a doctor and have too much work to do. But it doesn’t pay off in the end. I allowed back muscle pain to get to the point of me being barely able to walk before shaking some sense into myself and seeing a physio. After a couple of sessions, I felt a million times better and regretted putting it off for so long. Just remember you need to look after your body to keep your mind on top form.

On the upside, by the time our “halfway ball” comes around in February, we’ll be over the hump, and just a little bit closer to graduation. Or in other words – a little bit closer to fulfilling our ambitions or dreams that many of us have had from a very young age. We just need to find a way to hold on to the light at the end of the tunnel, so we don’t run out of steam.

December 17, 2014
D-day

To the victor go the spoils…

It’s that time of year again, when vet students become more competitive than ever and inter-school rivalry (friendly and, for the most part, light-hearted) culminates in the biggest sporting event in the Scottish vet school’s calendar.

The renowned “Dick Day” – the annual event where Glasgow’s vet students take on those from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (AKA Edinburgh) – was held in Glasgow on November 19.

After recovering from the AVS (Association of Veterinary Students) Sports Weekend only ten days previously (where the only part of the body that got much exercise was the liver), Glasgow was pumped and ready to fight harder than ever for victory.

Totalling nine matches, Dick Day hosted more sports than ever before – and we weren’t sure whether the new additions were going to put us at a disadvantage or add to our strength.

After a stressful morning on my part (having organised the riding competition), the hard work paid off and the Glasgow vet riding team were again victorious.

The other scores started coming in fast, and we were drawing with Edinburgh, having lost ultimate frisbee, lacrosse and hockey, yet triumphing in riding, netball and men’s football. Netball in particular was a huge success, with this year’s match being the first time the Glasgow vets have won in years.

Glasgow fought to victory in both the men’s and women’s rugby.

With another victory in women’s football, we only had to win one rugby match to secure the title – and after a tense couple of hours, Glasgow fought to victory and won both men’s and women’s rugby.

Having finished on a score of winning six out of the nine sports, Glasgow claimed the Dick Day cup for the first time in more than 10 years!

Every team had trained harder than ever and thoroughly deserved the success. Spirits were high even before the games began, and every Glasgow vet was thrilled with the result. All those involved in organising the day put in a mammoth effort, which made the victory so much more rewarding.

I think all the students that took part or supported their schools will agree that it’s great to have that sense of community and teamwork within veterinary, even when doing something entirely non-vet related.

December 1, 2014
Vet School’s Got Talent

When you apply to vet school, there are certain boxes you have to tick: achieve the right A-Levels (or Advanced Highers), complete a number of weeks of work experience, and pass that dreaded interview.

What nobody tells you, however, is that being a vet student requires a number of other skills that seemingly have nothing to do with the veterinary profession.

Star Baker

After completing a week of EMS at a vet practice, there is the unspoken expectation that you should produce some form of teeth-rotting goodness as a thank you. Your vets would probably appreciate a box of Celebrations, but they’re going to be far more impressed if you turn out to be harbouring secret Mary Berry-esque talents.

Not only that, many clubs and societies use baked goodies to lure in new members, and some vet schools even host an anatomy themed bake off, for which the more exceptional entries often leave us questioning whether their creators are in the right profession.

Salesperson Extraordinaire

Fundraising is a common theme at vet school, whether it’s for a charity event, to reduce the ticket price of halfway ball or for a veterinary society to hold a practical session.

Getting fellow students to part with their hard-earned cash can be more difficult than you’d expect, but persuasion is a great skill to develop, especially when you may find yourself moving on to trying to entice large pharmaceutical companies to sponsor a much bigger event.

Perseverance (or rather bugging people on Facebook and through emails) can really pay off.

Catwalk Designer

Jordan (far left) and the other Glasgow Gnomes prepare for the AVS sports weekend.

Vet students are notorious for their love of fancy dress. Perhaps the results aren’t quite what you’d expect to see on the cover of Vogue, but it is astonishing what we can whip up out of nothing in five minutes flat (or perhaps three hours that may have been better dedicated to studying).

Movie characters, gnomes, circus, thrift shop, “anything but clothes”… There hasn’t been a theme that has baffled us yet.

Rally Driver

We may not all be the next Sébastien Loeb or Lewis Hamilton, but driving is a pretty important skill. Granted, not every vet student holds a licence, but those that do find it a lot easier to get to the numerous EMS placements we have to fulfil during our time at vet school.

Many of us have other attributes from being sporty or musical, to being a fluent multi-linguist or technology whizz. These may stem from trying to boost our personal statements prior to applying for vet school or could just be personality traits.

However, if you don’t enter vet school as a “well-rounded” person, you’ll certainly come out as one.

October 30, 2014