Emotional in vet school

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sundoggie

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Ok..so I was taking a look at a dog this morning that my mother had recently adopted from a shelter (cocker spaniel). His ear had been bothering him, so I was checking to see if it was infected. Well, he decided at some point that he had enough and he was going to take a large chunk out of my hand and anything else he could get a hold of. He didnt do much damage, but left a nice bruise and a bit of bleeding. It didnt really hurt, nor did it really scare me, as I was half expecting it and got hold of him again quickly. However, I couldnt help but start to cry afterwards...I guess the adrenaline release or something... Anyway, it was super embarrassing 😡 and even worse because everyone was asking if I was ok, etc...which I was..but I was crying anyway.

What kind of vet am I going to be if I cry every time something bites me??? I am not the type of person to get worked up about that sort of thing at all, but I couldnt help it. Has this happened to anyone else? What do you do about it? 😛
 
Getting bitten really isn't something you should be dealing with on a regular basis. It is something you (we) will always need to be aware of -- but more from a prevention stand point.

If it isn't something you can get over & it happens -- just leave the room, and don't interact with the client until you have your composure about you.

If any breed is going to be the subject of breed-specific legislation it should be cockers with ear infections. 👎

At least, that's my 2 cents.
 
Getting bitten causes a huge fight-or-flight response (or at least it has for me!) and can cause you to do funny things afterward when the adrenaline subsides. I know people who have cried afterward, and it's totally understandable. I tend to curse like a sailor 😀
In any case, in a professional situation it's best to leave the room, clean the wound, and try to breathe and regain composure as AuburnPreVet said!
 
On a quick note about Cockers: my first "best friend" was a Cocker who my mom almost made me get rid of after she bit me (I was maybe 8 at the time). When we called the vet for some last effort advice, a tech out of the blue asked "does she have ear infections?" Surprised, my mom answered yes. The tech responded, "Well, you'd probably bite someone too if you had constant pain like that." Just my way of simultaneously acknowledging the high bite risk that is a cocker with an ear infection while saying im still a bit biased towards the breed. 🙂

As for the getting emotional part, I have the same concern! I'm concerned whether or not I'll be a "good vet" and thus I know I'm in for some emotional rollercoasters when an animal bites me, or the first time I misdiagnose a patient, etc. etc. But I'm reading a REALLY good book right now (seriously, I HIGHLY recommend it) about training dogs called "If a Dog's Prayers were Answered, Bones Would Rain from the Sky." At one point in the book she says the best bit of training advice she received was to "learn to train without ego." This is something I'm DEFINITELY going to try to incorporate into being a vet.

Here's the thing. My guess is the reason you got so emotional today was because, in our minds, we're going to be the VET and then something like that happens, and it makes us feel as if we're going to be a bad vet or we did something stupid. (Trust me, I have been in this place time and time again). But a truly confident (and good) vet will still probably get snapped at from time to time. The difference will be that he/she will look at the situation to see if there's something to be learned from it, and then move on without dwelling on it. We're still at the point where we get emotional about it. 🙂 Someday I hope to learn to work as a vet without ego, because I think that's truly the place where we can learn to be the best vet. And hey, on that note, I've gotta learn how to be a good vet student without ego! My problem is that I take situations like getting bit as a personal reflection on myself, and then I lose confidence. Instead, I need to realize that every situation is a situation I can learn from, and that I'll never know EVERYTHING or do everything right. And besides, I'm sure there'll be times I do everything textbook perfectly, and something still goes wrong.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be so hard on yourself. Is there something you can do differently next time so that you don't get bit? If so, be happy for the situation today, because then you're already further ahead than, for example, I am. And just remember to be confident in yourself; if you exude confidence in front of your clients (even when you don't necessarily feel it 🙂) they will be confident in you, regardless of what happens. I hope that helps a bit; just remember: many of us are in the same boat! 🙂
 
sundoggie said:
What kind of vet am I going to be if I cry every time something bites me???
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The physiologically normal kind. 😀

I agree it's a common enough post-adrenaline reaction. I tend toward uncontrollable shakes myself, which is also embarrassing because it makes me look like I was really frightened and am not in control, and pretty much means I'm useless to actually complete whatever the procedure was.
 
In addition to the good advice regarding the emotional issue, it's a good idea to have any non-trivial bite wound to the hand checked by a doctor. Hand infectious can be nasty or even disabling. Antibiotics are usually indicated.

Also make sure vaccinations are up to date, tetanus for you and rabies for the dog.
 
Thanks guys! I am glad I am not the only one. I didnt take it personally. Dogs bite sometimes. In retrospect, I probably should have had someone holding his head, but I didnt want anyone else getting bitten either. Like a couple of people mentioned, I knew what I was getting into with a cocker spaniel with an ear infection.

It's just strange because at first it was purely a chemical reaction...of course, then fueled by the fact that I was embarrassed about my reaction. I need to retrain myself to laugh maniacally instead. Though maybe that is a bad idea too... :laugh:

The bite itself is quite superficial...just an abrasion with a small bruise. No puncture wound. We cleaned it and everyone is up to date on their shots. So I am not concerned. I would still rather get bitten by a dog than by a human patient!
 
As an update, my mother took the pup in to the vet. It took TWO assistants plus the vet to hold him..and they finally had to sedate him to even look in the ear! He has an infection in both ears and is blind in one eye. So....all things considered..I would have bitten me too 🙄
 
In regards to getting bites checked out by doctors.....scratches, especially from cats can get badly infected to. just consider what they are scratching at each time they use their box...
 
I'm sure it'll only get better with time. You'll know what to expect and learn how to gain (or at least fake) your composure. Your human!! 😀
 
Bill59 said:
... it's a good idea to have any non-trivial bite wound to the hand checked by a doctor. Hand infectious can be nasty or even disabling. Antibiotics are usually indicated..
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you mean a vet right? 😉 seriously though, most techs i work with will just start themselves on meds from our hospital instead of going to a 'real doctor.' 😛 i think it's funny that our animal meds (generic ab's etc) come with labels for humans.

on another note, we had a very girly tech working with us (not for long) and when she was bit she made a huge fuss about it. the wound itself was barely worth looking at, very superficial and unexciting. she complained about it all day and the vet was fed up and sent her to the doctor. $1000 later (that the vet had to pay- literally $1000), the tech got her hand cleaned with AB scrub and was put on cephalexin. 😱
 
sofficat said:
seriously though, most techs i work with will just start themselves on meds from our hospital instead of going to a 'real doctor.'
Click to expand...

I used to do that too. Got a cat bite on the hand once, cleaned it up and started Keflex. Everything was fine until 4 days later when my hand swelled up and I had a red streak running up my arm. I had to tell the MD I had been quacking on myself. I still think he started me off with a deep IM injection in the butt just to teach me a lesson before he started me on PO antibiotics.

I also know a vet student who had a cat bite that ended up with a joint infection in his finger that needed to be cleaned out surgically. He was in the hospital a week on IV antibiotics and there was serious question as to how much use he would ever have in the finger.

'Lefty' is a good nickname if you're a baseball pitcher. Not so much if you're a surgeon.
 
I'm going to chime in with a yikes! to those stories!
 
Last week I had a new neighbor dog go a little protective with me. He didn't bite me but he was riled up. His owner was incredibally embarassed, he's usually only dog aggressive, etc. I have to reiterate some of what was said here. I told her not to worry about it. I saw it as a learning experience. It gave me an opportunity to take a step back and say okay what did I do to set this dog off. Only one other dog has ever done this with me and ironically that owner also said that he was dog aggressive. So I took a step back and reminded myself to remember my dog behavior. That sure 95% of dogs are fine with my approach but that five percent aren't and how do I change that.

On the cat bite note. I had a roommate who was in the hospital so I was taking care of his cats in addition to mine. His cat bit right through my palm. I started with the no big deal, clean the wound well, etc. Within a few hours I was in the ER. The hand was swollen and the infection was heading up the arm. So just be cautious with these bites. I've had two other cat bites in the past that didn't affect me at all but you never know.
 
sofficat said:
most techs i work with...
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That's not necessarily the kind of thing you want to reveal in public! If the vet knew about (encouraged?) it, I'm guessing he/she could face sanctions at the very least, and maybe lose his/her license (depending on how draconian your state's licensing board is). It could quite possibly be twisted into breaking some labor laws, too, if there was a disgruntled employee looking to make some cash.

I know, "everyone" does that kind of stuff... And if access to this site were actually restricted to people on our side of the business, the post wouldn't be very risky. But nothing on the internet is ever quite as anonymous as you'd like to think, and who knows when in the future somebody might have a reason to be digging up dirt on that clinic.

(I figure Bill can admit to whatever he wants, because presumably he bought the keflex on his own license. Outing somebody else, though...)
 
i guess i should reword that to 'some techs.' honestly, i've never done it and that last place where i saw that happen was years ago at a different job.


cat bites are freaky. i'm from a family of 6 and i have been the only one not sent to the hospital by our loving family cat. 😀
 
4theanimals said:
So I took a step back and reminded myself to remember my dog behavior. That sure 95% of dogs are fine with my approach but that five percent aren't and how do I change that.
Click to expand...

So what did you conclude?
 
Wow...I'm glad I'm not the only one with this kind of reaction. I volunteer at an avian and exotics hospital, and the hospital mascot is this magpie with a mischievous (I say evil) streak. I've done nothing to him, I can sometimes give him neck scritches (which he likes) and feed him out of my hand, and yet, he randomly dive-bombs me and attacks my head for no reason. One day I just got so fed up I almost started to cry because I could not, for the life of me, figure out why he has to make my life miserable. The worst part is when he attacks me as I'm trying to actually do something with another patient, like syringe-feed a rather skittish rabbit. Or better yet, when I'm cutting fruit with a nice sharp knife.
 
Moonpaw said:
Wow...I'm glad I'm not the only one with this kind of reaction. I volunteer at an avian and exotics hospital, and the hospital mascot is this magpie with a mischievous (I say evil) streak. I've done nothing to him, I can sometimes give him neck scritches (which he likes) and feed him out of my hand, and yet, he randomly dive-bombs me and attacks my head for no reason. One day I just got so fed up I almost started to cry because I could not, for the life of me, figure out why he has to make my life miserable. The worst part is when he attacks me as I'm trying to actually do something with another patient, like syringe-feed a rather skittish rabbit. Or better yet, when I'm cutting fruit with a nice sharp knife.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have a good case of workplace harassment against the magpie. You should sue him. :laugh:
 
Moonpaw said:
Wow...I'm glad I'm not the only one with this kind of reaction. I volunteer at an avian and exotics hospital, and the hospital mascot is this magpie with a mischievous (I say evil) streak. I've done nothing to him, I can sometimes give him neck scritches (which he likes) and feed him out of my hand, and yet, he randomly dive-bombs me and attacks my head for no reason. One day I just got so fed up I almost started to cry because I could not, for the life of me, figure out why he has to make my life miserable. The worst part is when he attacks me as I'm trying to actually do something with another patient, like syringe-feed a rather skittish rabbit. Or better yet, when I'm cutting fruit with a nice sharp knife.
Click to expand...

Wow, If that were me, I would have to leave the place! I am terrified of birds (I know, wierd)! That would haunt me day in and day out I would probably have panic attacks! And somehow I know I am going to have to deal with this in the future in school somewhere, so I better get use to the idea, but geeez! I'm so sorry!! :scared:
 
sundoggie said:
Ok..so I was taking a look at a dog this morning that my mother had recently adopted from a shelter (cocker spaniel). His ear had been bothering him, so I was checking to see if it was infected. Well, he decided at some point that he had enough and he was going to take a large chunk out of my hand and anything else he could get a hold of. He didnt do much damage, but left a nice bruise and a bit of bleeding. It didnt really hurt, nor did it really scare me, as I was half expecting it and got hold of him again quickly. However, I couldnt help but start to cry afterwards...I guess the adrenaline release or something... Anyway, it was super embarrassing 😡 and even worse because everyone was asking if I was ok, etc...which I was..but I was crying anyway.

What kind of vet am I going to be if I cry every time something bites me??? I am not the type of person to get worked up about that sort of thing at all, but I couldnt help it. Has this happened to anyone else? What do you do about it? 😛
Click to expand...


Aww, don't worry. People tend to say that you WILL get bitten eventually in this profession, so maybe you won't get bitten again now that you have gotten it out of the way. 🙂

Just think of it as a learning experience. Perhaps you did something incorrectly that agitated the animal. At my school they tell us to hold the ear at the base. That way you have more control and better visualization of the inside of the ear. It also prevents pain in case the animal really does have a sore ear. Touching the pinna can make a cranky dog want to bite you.

Whenever the techs at my dad's clinic gets bitten, they're advised to see a doctor if it is too deep. They can put you on antibiotics. Anyways, don't worry and good luck!
 
VelcroSky said:
So what did you conclude?
Click to expand...

Ironically - basically remember my behavior. Most of my work is with shelter animals where the rules of behavior sort of go out the window. I think the main problem was I approached these dogs head on without hesitation. That would be okay with some animals but particularly with these guys and their dog aggression I think they saw me as a threat.
 
To me, the only time you are allowed to yell, scream, or throw a tantrum is after you are bitten. I think being bitten stimulates the same sort of visceral reaction that kept our ancestors alive when they were being pursued by saber-toothed tigers and the like. Even a minor bite causes a huge, huge adrenaline rush and to me, any response that doesn't cause physical harm to anyone is acceptable as long as you compose yourself as quickly as possible.

The more important thing is to evaluate what you can do differently so you don't get bitten again in a similar situation. Bites are an occupational hazard in this field but most are preventable.
 
VeganSoprano said:
To me, the only time you are allowed to yell, scream, or throw a tantrum is after you are bitten.
Click to expand...

An anecdote...

I used to volunteer at a school for children with special needs that specialized in animal assisted therapy. One day while helping a bunch of kids, all around 10 years of age, tack up their horses my attention to the horse I was in front of fell below what would be a desirable level. One of the kids was assaulting me with about a thousand questions and so the 1000 pound beast disappeared from my radar. The first stimulus to find me was the jingle of the metal on his harness. That was only an instant before his muzzle found me - or found my nose to be more specific. Now I've had bloody noses before, but this was something new for me. You would have thought that I had severed a major artery in my nostrils. The blood was just pouring out - this was the Niagra of nosebleeds. Somehow through all of that though, I remembered that I was surrounded by young kids and I just put my hands to my face and calmly walked out of the stable assuring everyone that everything was fine. I managed not to curse once!

So I don't know what the moral of this story is. Perhaps if you get bitten, just pretend that you are in a room full of impressionable children.
 
All this talk about cat and dog bites, is making lg animal sound even nicer.... if a horse kicks your head, your simply put out of your misery and are dead..... if they dont kill u.... get up off the ground and kick it back in the belly as hard as you can (short of hurting your foot, which happens occasionally, steel toed boots work well, see previous post about steel toed boots) once belly kick has been preformed then you can get back to work. If you get kicked take one or two methocarbanol tabs for a few days and youll be fine.
 
well, dang, cowboyup! makes us sound like a bunch of *******
 
cowboyup said:
if a horse kicks your head, your simply put out of your misery and are dead..... if they dont kill u.... get up off the ground.
Click to expand...

Ummm.... or, you get to become a vegetable. Sigh... I'll still take my Chihuahua nips.
 
An update on the magpie situation:

So I finally did cry last week, when I was holding and attempting to socialize another not-very-social bird. The magpie landed on my head and pecked and scratched and would not leave. And I was afraid to do anything, because I was holding another bird. The tech chased him off and put him away, but yeah...I was a baby and started crying. And now I have a fear of being attacked by him again. I mean, I'm still going to that place, but I have to literally work up the courage to walk past him, and when I do, I have to keep an eye on him at all times, and I can't stand to have my back to him.
 
I might be missing something, but, isn't there a concern that the magpie could attack another patient (let alone you or other staff) that you're working on?
 
Actually, the magpie did once grab and pick up a hamster, but the tech acted quick enough to get him to drop it. Attacking me is one thing, but I'm really shocked that they still let him out when he attacked a patient. I mean, I get a bit terrorized and scratched, but it's really my ego that's hurt more than anything. A hamster or a tiny baby gecko, on the other hand, is risking its life in the presence of this magpie.
 
Moonpaw said:
Actually, the magpie did once grab and pick up a hamster
Click to expand...
Jeez. You'd think if he's a much-loved mascot and they want to let him out on a perch, they'd at least keep his wings clipped, or train him to jesses or... *something* to keep him grounded.
 
Moonpaw said:
An update on the magpie situation:

So I finally did cry last week, when I was holding and attempting to socialize another not-very-social bird. The magpie landed on my head and pecked and scratched and would not leave. And I was afraid to do anything, because I was holding another bird. The tech chased him off and put him away, but yeah...I was a baby and started crying. And now I have a fear of being attacked by him again. I mean, I'm still going to that place, but I have to literally work up the courage to walk past him, and when I do, I have to keep an eye on him at all times, and I can't stand to have my back to him.
Click to expand...

oh, how i love corvids!! i'm sorry you are having troubles with this particular magpie, but the thing to remember is that corvids are probably the smartest birds out there and, especially ones "kept," can become just like collies who have nothing to do. sounds weird, but i bet he knows how he irks you and is having a grand time of it!! stand up to him - don't be meek. also, there is no such thing as really taming a corvid - they are ultimately going to do what they want. i would really advocate keeping him in his enclosure (which he should have) when there are other patients around. good luck!
 
Thanks for the advice. Every time I anticipate him coming, I really try to duck/swat, but most of the times when he does actually get me, I'm busy with another patient, so both my hands and my mind are elsewhere. I'm really trying to 'punish' him (put him in his cage) when he attacks me, but he doesn't really listen to me so much. Although we are working on making him his own aviary, so hopefully he'll be out of my hair soon enough. And I have heard that corvids are smart, but according to the other employees, he's kind of stupid as far as corvids go--he bashed his head open once, from repeatedly flying into a mirror.
 
Cowboyup, I'll take horses over cats anyday (when it comes to torturing 😉 them, I love cuddling both), but the other day a horse had a weird aggression reaction to sedation (xylazine followed by dorm and torb for shockwave) and bit me in the stomach! That hurt! I had a fist-sized bruise and scrapes that the buckle of my pants kept rubbing. My problem is that when horses hurt me I am too disabled by shock and surprise (and pain) to have my wits about me enough to execute a CTJ* moment.

*CTJ = Come To Jesus, aka religious session
 
I know you may not have the guts to bring up the issues with your supervisors, but I dont think it is unreasonable to ask for the magpie to be caged when are around. You are working with patients! God forbid you screw up a delicate task because they have a wild animal on the loose in the clinic. I am sure he is entertaining and fun to have around, but they need to be more responsible! It sounds like he is attacking people enough that leaving him loose is no longer appropriate. Grabbing the hamster is just outrageous! How would they explain that one to the client?

I worked at a wildlife clinic where we had a small owl loose, but he was not in the areas where we worked with patients and he only rarely dive bombed people. Even those few times he did, however, we discussed the fact that there would come a point when we might not be able to let him free anymore. He did dive bomb me once when he was in an especially bad mood. So, you arent the only one getting dive bombed by birds. Don't worry!
 
eventualeventer said:
the other day a horse had a weird aggression reaction to sedation (xylazine followed by dorm and torb for shockwave)

Yeah Ive seen that sometimes, ive heard it termed "rompun rage" not exactly sure why. I have seen horses shake with torb, small muscle twitching.... id rather be bitten than kicked though
Click to expand...
 
cowboyup said:
ive heard it termed "rompun rage" not exactly sure why.
Click to expand...
I hope I'm not misinterpreting your question and thereby sounding really stupid, but Rompun is/was a brand name for xylazine - I think actually it may have been a cocktail of xylazine with something else, usually used on large (domestic) animals and big wildlife. Anyway I dunno if that particular brand is still in production, I've only rarely heard that name used, and usually by older vets.

If you mean you're unsure why or how xylazine sometimes causes excitability/aggression instead of (or on the way to) anesthesia... Well, I don't know either. 🙂
 
I would say just work with some Yellow Nape Amazons, or Quaker Parrots for a while. Maybe even some untamed Scarlet Macaws, or lovebirds. Then you'll learn a little something about dealing with bites. 😀 I'm just joking.

I'm a Junior in High School, and I just love browsing these forums!
 
I don't want to sound like I'm over exaggerating or something.. but

has anyone been seriously injured while handling animals??

I mean like.. near death? 😕

and is it really that bad when you get bitten?
 
I think most people here have had a dog bite here and there but when you learn the necessary precautions to take (i.e. approach cautiously, apply muzzle, etc.) you minimize the chances of it being severe. I've been handling horses for as long as I can remember and it's the same thing. When I was a kid I sustained a broken foot after being stepped on and I've been bitten a bunch of times but you kind of learn to read the animals and take measures not to let those things happen again. Did something happen to you or what sparked this question?
 
I have to admit that I was just bitten for the first time after working at the same place for 6 years. The husky I was holding was nervous but not unusually so and inbetween vaccines and before we drew blood he suddenly twisted out of my hands (I still don't really know how) and had my hand in his mouth. No growling, no staring, lip raising, nothing to show that he was getting pissed until he had my hand in his mouth. It turns out he is a kennel dog that doesn't get much contact with his owners other than feeding and watering him. Luckily he was restrained in his munching and only broke the skin in one place! At the time I didn't even realize he had actually broken the skin. Needless to say before we drew blood we muzzled him!

So you are likely to get bit, or stepped on, or kicked at some point in your life as a vet. Just take the precautions you can and try your best to stay out of the way.
 
Well caffienefree, you can definitely get very injured if you're not careful. One of my professors told us about a vet that was putting his own horse in a stall after a time in the paddock. The horse was happy to be back and gave a kick of glee (as some horses are known to do)....landed right in the vet's abdomen, ruptured his spleen, and he died. I've also read an article about a vet that got kicked in the face by a bull. She survived, but had a rough recovery.
Cat bites can be really bad because of the shape of their teeth. They push the bacteria in making it really hard to clean. These bites if left untreated can become infected and may result in loss of limb, possibly life.

So yeah, it has the potential to be dangerous but if you know what you're doing, you can avoid a lot of that. Just be careful and use chemical restraint whenever possible with horses.
 
caffienefree said:
I don't want to sound like I'm over exaggerating or something.. but

has anyone been seriously injured while handling animals??

I mean like.. near death? 😕

and is it really that bad when you get bitten?
Click to expand...
well sure... like spartanvet said, horses and cows (and i'm sure others) can be lethal with one swift kick. i recently saw a video at a LA Emerg Rescue clinic that showed a vet branding an ill-restrained horse; he got nailed in the chest and was apparently dead before he hit the ground.

as far as SA environments, i don't *think* many people have had near-death experiences with dogs/cats in a clinical setting. but yeah, you gotta be careful when dealing with any animal.
 
The force that carries this man as he gets kicked makes the video appear as if it is in fast forward. It is hard to believe that it's real. Poor old man.

Poor horse, too.
 
See now guys, you have me scared for LA clinics! I feel much more comfortable around food animals even though a girl in my class had her ACL kicked out with a bull jumped OVER her and kicked her in the knee! Also, I went to a job interview at an emergency clinic and the vet interviewing me said he broke 3 bones during LA clinics. And, lastly (is that a word 😀?), I am scared of horses because my 2nd day going out with the equine vet I said a handler get his collar bone broken by a mustang. Needless to say, I jumped that fence fast. Yikes!

Give me a cat bite any day! And speaking of cat bites, I was properly restraining a cat of a jug stick and he managed to twist his head around exorcist-style and bite my chin. I've also been bitten in the nose by a dog, but that was my fault.
 
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