Veterinarians Referring to the Books

[FantasyVesperia]

During my internship today, after the dental, one veterinarian was taking a tooth out, and she was going by the hospitals Veterinarian Dentistry book. One day, one veterinarian was referring to an Internal Medicine book. I do see this a lot, and I'm wondering, do veterinarians forget a lot of things when they practice?

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[OwlandPussycat]

Yes. They do.

 

[PetPony]

There is way too much information available for a vet to know everything. They know what they regularly use in their area of work, but may not remember every single detail of another field because they don't usually need to know those details. There is just too much to be able to know everything.

 

[rustysmom]

During my internship today, after the dental, one veterinarian was taking a tooth out, and she was going by the hospitals Veterinarian Dentistry book. One day, one veterinarian was referring to an Internal Medicine book. I do see this a lot, and I'm wondering, do veterinarians forget a lot of things when they practice?

Yes and no. Vet school is 4 years of information on a variety of species given to you through a fire hose. Think of your hardest class to date - now imagine that class condensed into 3-4 weeks (if you're lucky). Now imagine taking 8-9 other classes just like that. And you have 2-3 exams every week. And you have to pass all the classes to move on. That's what vet school is like. For most people, myself included, there is no possible way you can remember every thing that was taught in school. So, yes, in that respect, vets forget a lot of things, especially if it's something you don't use. There's only so much information you get in vet school - my school didn't have very much on small animal dentistry so I looked up what I needed to know when I did my first few tooth extractions.

When you get out in practice, the more you use information, the more you remember. Example - I've been managing some new diabetic patients. The first diabetic patient, I had to look up a management protocol. Second one - I didn't need to look it up. So, no, in that respect, I won't forget my diabetic management protocol.

Plus, as you go through school, you learn where your weaknesses are. I cannot keep drug dosages in my brain no matter how much I use them. So I have a "cheat sheet" (as my techs call it ) of the drugs I most commonly prescribe and I always, always, always double check my dosages before I write the prescription.

Not all animals follow the textbook on diseases either. If there's something weird going on or it's something I haven't seen before, I always go look it up. I also let the client know that I'm not sure what's going on right now but I'm going to do some research/talk with the other doctors I work with and will figure out what's going on with their pet. I then let them know what I find as soon as I can It's been my experience (so far) that clients appreciate my honesty and willingness to do extra work to figure out what's going on.

I hope that helped. Sorry for the wall of text

 

[nyanko]

A veterinarian who never looks anything up is probably going to do something terribly, terribly wrong at some point.

 

[Bracco Pointer]

A veterinarian who never looks anything up is probably going to do something terribly, terribly wrong at some point.

I second this. The vet I work for is always looking stuff up and showing clients explanations in books for treatment, etc. At first I thought it was weird, but it helps get clients involved and he's always up to date on current recommended drug dosages and the like. Especially with new drug guidelines and new drugs available, it's a smart thing to do IMO.

 

[dyachei]

I look things up all the time. I also consult with other vets all the time. The only way to stay on your game is to constantly be learning. The amount of things they teach you in vet school is immense, but they can't teach you everything.

 

[FantasyVesperia]

Thank you guys so much~ I just didn't want to ask the veterinarians, because I thought that it might have been rude to do so.

 

[T_Rose]

Yep! I've seen several veterinarians refer to the books. I've also seen one refer to veterinary forums, but that was to look for a second opinion on a treatment for an uncommon species. There was one veterinarian that made me look up answers to my own questions in the books rather than answering them. After I looked it up, he would explain if I still had questions.

Also, I really like your avatar, FantasyVesperia!http://forums.studentdoctor.net/member.php?u=447848

 

[Tiger369]

Yeah, the animal hospital where I job shadow at, the doctors refer to each other and ask each other questions all the time. I think it's really cool that they do that, because vets can't know everything.

 

[kakurubird]

I LOVE that the vets I work with are constantly consulting with each other, referring to different books or old notes, looking things up on VIN, etc. There is just so much to remember (especially with drug dosages for things they don't use every day) that I would worry if they weren't looking things up.

 

[NStarz]

I LOVE that the vets I work with are constantly consulting with each other, referring to different books or old notes, looking things up on VIN, etc. There is just so much to remember (especially with drug dosages for things they don't use every day) that I would worry if they weren't looking things up.

Agree completely, kakuru! I remember thinking that it was SO COOL that vets are so collaborative and consult each other if they are unsure of something.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Yup, I look things up frequently, either in books on on line (VIN) - not only because I've forgotten something, but sometimes because I never knew it in the first place. We certainly don't know everything there is to know when we graduate and learning is a life-long pursuit.

 

[LetItSnow]

Yup, I look things up frequently, either in books on on line (VIN) - not only because I've forgotten something, but sometimes because I never knew it in the first place. We certainly don't know everything there is to know when we graduate and learning is a life-long pursuit.

I was in surgery yesterday with a 20-year experienced vet that I would be 100% comfortable trusting with my animal any day of the week .... and I had to go get an anatomy book for her in the middle of surgery. It doesn't diminish my confidence in her at all. If anything, it increases it - I place a really high value on people who are smart enough to say "I'm going to check on this."

The people who get into uncertain situations and forge on because they're afraid of looking like they don't know it all? Those are the folks I don't trust.

 

[squirrelsrule]

Yep, I've seen several vets get into exploratory surgery and have the techs running to get books for them and look stuff up.


However, there was one vet I shadowed that had to look EVERYTHING up because she didn't know basic stuff that even I was pretty sure on. Now that is scary! I think she was just really nervous though because she was a recent grad. The other vets were really nice and they'd have pow wows with her cases and go over it with all the vets around and discuss everything.

 

[nyanko]

However, there was one vet I shadowed that had to look EVERYTHING up because she didn't know basic stuff that even I was pretty sure on. Now that is scary! I think she was just really nervous though because she was a recent grad.

Yeah, I think there's an intimidation factor that goes with being The Doctor early on, plus the old Dunning Kruger effect where essentially the more you know, the less confident you actually become. Probably because the more you know, the more you realize you DON'T know!

 

[Lupin21]

Yeah, I think there's an intimidation factor that goes with being The Doctor early on, plus the old Dunning Kruger effect where essentially the more you know, the less confident you actually become. Probably because the more you know, the more you realize you DON'T know!

This is so true!!!

 

[Tco87]

Yeah, I think there's an intimidation factor that goes with being The Doctor early on, plus the old Dunning Kruger effect where essentially the more you know, the less confident you actually become. Probably because the more you know, the more you realize you DON'T know!

I agree. I feel like every day I'm learning more and more... about how much I don't know.

One thing I've seen veterinarians reference a lot is surgery textbooks. Keep in mind, in vet school they usually only have students do spays and neuters and maybe a few other procedures. While vet students may see other surgical procedures, seeing and doing are very different so I understand why they have to reference textbooks for surgeries that they either don't do often or have never done.

 

[sunshinevet]

Yeah, I think there's an intimidation factor that goes with being The Doctor early on, plus the old Dunning Kruger effect where essentially the more you know, the less confident you actually become. Probably because the more you know, the more you realize you DON'T know!

I am actually going through a huge crisis about this right now! Totally feel like I know SOOOO little and there's SO LITTLE TIME til graduation! I'm not smart enough to be a vet! Fingers crossed with clinics I'll gain a bit of confidence and come out the other side...

 

[dyachei]

I am actually going through a huge crisis about this right now! Totally feel like I know SOOOO little and there's SO LITTLE TIME til graduation! I'm not smart enough to be a vet! Fingers crossed with clinics I'll gain a bit of confidence and come out the other side...

You are definitely smart enough to be a vet. I've watched as you've been on SDN and have no doubt. You will be surprised at what you do know.

 

[Papillons4me]

Yes and no. Vet school is 4 years of information on a variety of species given to you through a fire hose. Think of your hardest class to date - now imagine that class condensed into 3-4 weeks (if you're lucky). Now imagine taking 8-9 other classes just like that. And you have 2-3 exams every week. And you have to pass all the classes to move on. That's what vet school is like.

 

[Dsmoody23]

That said, I did catch a doctor (from an ivy league school) on wikipedia last week, reading about sebaceous cysts.

A DVM doesn't make you a wizard.