Deciding on Veterinary career

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Shins86

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Hello, I am really considering a career dealing ith animals. I do have some concerns and questions and was hoping some of you guys could help. I think I might try the tech route first and see if eventually I might want to try to go to vet school.

I shadowed a tech and enjoyed the time I spent there but she gave me some things to think about. She said she was never vaccinated for rabies, and lives each day worrying about possibly getting bitten, when I asked her why she just doesnt get the vaccine, she looked at me and said that she has her reasons. What could this mean?

She said that getting treated like dirt and getting bitten and run over by aggressive animals was starting to take its toll and she was looking for another career. She said to think long and hard about if the dangers of the job are really worth it to me. I replied that if you are vaccinated and are careful, I dont see why there would be a problem. Then she told me I wont think that way when I have to pay all my medical bills for treating wounds caused by animals.

I sure hope this was just a tired and unhappy vet tech as the more I look into the career the more it really interests me. Anybody have experience as a tech or have worked with them? Also any advice on my shadowing experience would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much.

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Like any profession, there are both pros and cons. Working long hours, getting scratched/bitten, not getting recognition are all cons that I've experienced and/or heard. But, for those who choose to pursue it, the pros outweigh the cons. The only way you'll know if this is the profession for you is to get first hand experience in the field. Apply for tech/assistant jobs, or if you can't find any job openings, see if you can find a vet who will let you volunteer. Many people think the idea of being a vet and "playing with puppies and kittens all day" sounds great, but then experience and realize it's not everything they dreamed of. For others, it's even greater than they could have imagined. You'll only know which category you fall into after you've put in some long, hard hours (the time I finally *knew* I wanted to be a vet was when I was driving home from work at 2am having been there since 7am dealing with emergency after emergency, had a huge grin on my face, and was excited to wake up in the morning to do it all over again).
 
Perhaps the tech you were talking to is one of those anti-vaccine people who doesn't believe in vaccines (for humans, at any rate)? That's pretty much the only reason I can see to *not* get a rabies vaccine if one is that concerned. I don't know how much it costs, though. I definitely don't spend each day worrying about getting bitten, however. I do what I can to avoid it, certainly, and I've only been really bitten once -- a Rottweiler to the ear. Luckily it was a nip from a "nice" Rottie (he had seemed great up until that point), not a bite from a suspicious-acting animal with a completely unknown history. I didn't have to get rabies vaccines or anything for it because the risk is so low in my area and he's a pet, not a wild bat. I also didn't have to pay anything for my visit to urgent care, workman's comp covered it. Despite that getting bitten is not something I generally worry about. Getting scratched though... lol.

Personally, as someone who's been working as an assistant for over a year and a half and who's now going to vet school -- it can be dangerous, but that's what learning proper restraint techniques, and using chemical restraint when necessary, is all about. If everyone works together on difficult animals then the chance for injury is pretty small.

This tech actually sounds a bit out of the ordinary for me -- the vast majority of techs I've talked to who are dissatisfied with the field are unhappy because of low pay, long hours, backbreaking work, seeing pets in extreme suffering, and dealing with mean clients who either can't afford their pet's treatment or won't pay for it even if they can afford it. Threat of personal injury actually comes up pretty low on the list for the people I've talked to -- it's part of the territory, whereas low pay doesn't need to be, you know?

Definitely get some experience working in a clinic if you're interested (though maybe not with that tech!). See if you can handle a) the mess animals make, b) seeing sick/suffering animals, c) seeing surgery, d) seeing or helping with euthanasia, e) dealing with people, good and bad, all day long. For some of us it's invigorating; for other people it's a nightmare. You won't know until you get firsthand experience which you'll find it to be.
 
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Was this a real veterinary technician or a lay person, veterinary assistant? A good vet. tech. should not be getting bit and injured on a routine basis. I can't remember the last time my technician was bit or scratched, although it's going to happen every now and then. Working with dogs and cats is just not that dangerous if you know what you're doing and are reasonably careful.

Large animal, especially equine, is a little more risky just because one mistake can be bad. But overall, there are a lot of jobs way more dangerous then being a veterinarian.
 
sounds to me like this was just an unhappy tech. and similar to what bill said, you shouldn't be getting scratched and bit every day. if you know what you are doing and how to properly restrain then you should never get bit and rarely scratched.
I would continue to shadow (maybe someone else!) and get a job as a vet assistant. you are never going to know if this is what you want to do unless you do it and put in many hours doing it!
 
If you get bitten, you can always get a post-exposure vaccine series that protects you in a large percentage of cases. Still, I would get a preemptive vaccine. It's not a dangerous vaccine as far as I know.
 
It sounds like that technician really needs to get another job. She sounds very unhappy where she is.
Yes, you do occasionally get bitten and scratched, but if you're good at restraint and you don't do anything silly, that should be minimal.
Every time I have been bitten by a dog it has been my fault. Either I wasn't paying attention, or I was rushing and not being careful.
I have been bitten three times. In two years of working in a vet hospital. I get scratched by cats more often (usually not mean scratches, but they cling when they're scared or playing). However, I am the cat wrangler for the vet's office, so that happens too.
Also, if the vet's office you work at is a good one, they should offer insurance to full time employees and ANY injury you receive on the job should be covered by workman's comp. We are required to fill out a report even for the tiniest scratches so that if it gets infected, we can get workman's comp.
Having said that, it is true that vet techs can be treated poorly at some clinics. Just like nurses. However, that is the clinic's issue and not all vet techs are mistreated.
I think going the tech route sounds like a great idea for you since you aren't quite sure you want to be a vet. It's a great way to make sure you actually WANT to go into vet med without a huge time and money commitment.
Good luck!
 
Thanks for all of the replies! I really liked the time I spent shadowing(just not the discouraging tech) I have seen 3 surgeries and 2 animals euthanized. I actually enjoyed observing the surgery. I really want to try the tech idea, but the way that tech told me about some other workers she has known get into some bad situations really made me question it. Your responses have helped a bit, but when you say your going to get bit are you talking bites that may hurt but require no medical assistance(stitches,infections) or severe bites such as losing fingers etc.

I dont want that to hold me back but I sure dont want to get bit all the time and have alot of infections. As far as getting feces or urine on me.. That doesnt bother me at all I used to work at a nursing home and got pooped,peed, puked on lol.

The low pay is a downside but I think it would be a great job to decide if vet med is for me. If anyone else has anything to add keep it coming!
 
If a bite requires medical attention you did something seriously wrong. Animals give pretty good indication when they are going to bite and its your responsibility to act accordingly. I can only speak for the vets I work with, but if I told one of the vets the animal was too fractious and I was uncomfortable they would be fine with me not doing. Its also fairly common for us to send owners away saying their animal will require sedation for their exam/vaccines/whatever.

Scratches are going to happen, its pretty unavoidable.
 
If a bite requires medical attention you did something seriously wrong. Animals give pretty good indication when they are going to bite and its your responsibility to act accordingly.

That's not always true. I've worked with vets with 20+ years of experience, who still got bit. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Not all animals give good indication of when they are going to bite, and some have pretty unpredictable personalities.

However, I agree with previous posters: the best way to find out whether risks are worth the benefits is to get a job as a tech. I would say the tech you're dealing with is pretty bitter. And the reason she didn't get a vaccine is probably due to some reported adverse effects to rabies vaccinations.

On a different note, all vet. students are required to get a rabies vaccine before school starts, and with a 50% discount, it still runs around $200. However, I doubt it's a breaking point for anybody.

Oh, and I got bitten once in 3+ years by a kitten, who was wrapped up in a towel, so I couldn't see what part of him I was grabbing. He was in pain (broken leg), so it wasn't unpredictable.
 
Getting bitten is pretty rare, assuming you're wise about what you're doing. I've never been bitten and have been working as a tech for almost 4 years. I've had few cat scratches, but most of them have just been when they claws got caught, etc., but when they were actually trying to nail me (although I've had some of those too). The only thing I've ever had to seek medical attention for was my first week of my first tech job, I got a cat scratch on my wrist that got infected. The incident was totally my fault. But, I had no idea how to restrain or what to look for. Live and learn!

If you're going into small animal, don't let the fear of getting bitten/scratched deter you. Once you get the hang of handling, it's generally a non-issue. Injuries still can and do happen (I work for a vet who has been out of school for 25 years and he got nailed by a Rottie last summer and required stitches), but they should be very few and very far between.

Thanks for all of the replies! I really liked the time I spent shadowing(just not the discouraging tech) I have seen 3 surgeries and 2 animals euthanized. I actually enjoyed observing the surgery. I really want to try the tech idea, but the way that tech told me about some other workers she has known get into some bad situations really made me question it. Your responses have helped a bit, but when you say your going to get bit are you talking bites that may hurt but require no medical assistance(stitches,infections) or severe bites such as losing fingers etc.

I dont want that to hold me back but I sure dont want to get bit all the time and have alot of infections. As far as getting feces or urine on me.. That doesnt bother me at all I used to work at a nursing home and got pooped,peed, puked on lol.

The low pay is a downside but I think it would be a great job to decide if vet med is for me. If anyone else has anything to add keep it coming!
 
I've been working part time as an assistant for 2 years now, and I started this job with zero experience and no formal training. I still feel highly inexperienced, and yet, I've only actually been bitten (so that it broke skin) once as far as I can recall -- by a 3 month old kitten. (I've also been nipped at by a hamster and ferrets, but never hard enough to break the skin.. and it usually has to do with having to readjust a scruff, because I have a terribly weak grip.) The experienced women that I work with are rarely bitten -- The one time I can recall, it was a situation the assistant should have never put herself into in the first place. If you do get bitten, most of the time it shouldn't be serious.

Scratches... Sometimes it seems almost impossible for me to avoid, but a lot of the time it seems to be because I could and should be holding the animal differently. I will say that my skin reddens very easily (and so makes even minor scratches look terrible), but I have never had one get infected.

The tech acknowledging that you get treated like dirt is true to a point, but, in my opinion, only for some clients. It shouldn't be an issue in the workplace with coworkers, and you will see that a lot of clients really appreciate what you do.

If you're going to use this time to see whether veterinary medicine is the way you really want to go, you may want to start off with something very basic, like being an assistant. If you're pretty confidant already, though, by all means, go the tech route. :)
 
The one time I got bitten, the Rottweiler in question had been extremely friendly, had good obedience training, and had just generally been acting nice the whole time. So, I didn't use a muzzle when I held him for vaccines. For the first vaccine he was okay, for the second when I went to put him in a bear hug again -- he growled and chomped my ear at the same time. There wasn't much warning (a few seconds at most) and neither the vet nor I had gotten a bad vibe off of him before. The bite was not severe -- a few puncture wounds and some bruising in my earlobe/on my cheek. I went to the hospital after cleaning it out with chlorohex, and they just gave me some topical antibacterial cream and I was fine. That was my most serious injury on the job, and the only time any of us in our clinic have had to go to the hospital for years.

In general, bites are very rare, and of those that do occur, are rarely serious. Scratches happen more frequently but with care generally do not get infected. People definitely don't lose fingers on a regular basis :)
 
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Find yourself a new tech to shadow! She seems like she is quite a disgruntled person.

Everyone here is correct, bites are definitely a rarity (or should be). Scratches on the other hand may be a bit more common. I'm working towards 13 years now in vet med and have been bitten twice. Both were from careless mistakes on my part (inexperience the first time, and too big of a muzzle on the other).

But yeah, danger from animals (including zoonotic diseases, ie rabies)--not a real reason to leave or stay out of the profession.

You just need to make sure you work in a place that provides quality medicine, provides for advancement/education, has an overall nice atmosphere. If you stay in a place that makes you feel like crap then you have no one to blame but yourself.
 
I just got back from my last few hours of shadowing and the original tech had the day off so I was with the part-time tech. He was awesome! He alleviated alot of concerns from the last tech, and said that he has been a tech for 8 years and not once had problems with bites(however he had been nipped and scratched).

He said the other tech has been very unhappy with her job for the last year or so and not to base my decisions on what she said. He did say that at his last job a tech was handling a dog and the dog turned fast and caught him pretty good on the wrist. The tech had rabies vaccine, but the vet told him to go to the ER to get post-exposure rabies shots as they were not sure about the dog. He said other than that nothing of note had ever been seen by him.

How often does hat happen in small companion animal practice to come in contact with suspicious animals that if you did get bit you would need to be worried? Shouldnt you be protected if you have had the vaccine? Sorry for all the dumb questions! I felt kind of stupid asking the techs, but the concerns are there so I need to ask. Thanks again!
 
I just got back from my last few hours of shadowing and the original tech had the day off so I was with the part-time tech. He was awesome! He alleviated alot of concerns from the last tech, and said that he has been a tech for 8 years and not once had problems with bites(however he had been nipped and scratched).

He said the other tech has been very unhappy with her job for the last year or so and not to base my decisions on what she said. He did say that at his last job a tech was handling a dog and the dog turned fast and caught him pretty good on the wrist. The tech had rabies vaccine, but the vet told him to go to the ER to get post-exposure rabies shots as they were not sure about the dog. He said other than that nothing of note had ever been seen by him.

How often does hat happen in small companion animal practice to come in contact with suspicious animals that if you did get bit you would need to be worried? Shouldnt you be protected if you have had the vaccine? Sorry for all the dumb questions! I felt kind of stupid asking the techs, but the concerns are there so I need to ask. Thanks again!

In all my years of volunteering/working, I have not come across any suspicious animals. It varies with where you work. The rabies vaccine should protect you, but every so often, you need to get your titer checked and make sure you don't need a booster. Not sure on the exact amount of time, I'm sure others on here can tell you.

At clinics I've worked at, I've only seen 1 person get bitten, and they were more concerned with bacterial infection than rabies (dog had its vaccines). Some people just like to be extra careful.
 
How often does hat happen in small companion animal practice to come in contact with suspicious animals that if you did get bit you would need to be worried? Shouldnt you be protected if you have had the vaccine? Sorry for all the dumb questions! I felt kind of stupid asking the techs, but the concerns are there so I need to ask. Thanks again!

I think you are taking what the first tech said more seriously than you need to... if rabies was a huge risk in this country we'd be hearing about people dying of it or needing vaccines all the time. There are areas where it is more of a risk and areas where it is less of a risk, but it's still not super frequent. I'm in Oregon and I don't know the last time that even ONE domestic animal was reported to have rabies. Last summer they found six bats and one fox with rabies... in the whole state. They didn't even offer me post-exposure rabies vaccines for my bite, it's so rare here. The only time we ever use the rabies pole we have at our clinic is for fractious animals, we've never ever had a suspected rabid animal.

I really wouldn't take anything that the first tech said seriously. As we've all pointed out, her views on things seem very skewed compared to what the rest of us have experienced.
 
Thanks again guys, your responses have been very helpful. I appreciate it very much! Good luck to everyone in your future!
 
We had a COW with rabies at the vet school within the last year. Interesting. But, the cow didn't bite anyone. They drew some spinal fluid that had to be taken care of, though.
 
We had a COW with rabies at the vet school within the last year. Interesting. But, the cow didn't bite anyone. They drew some spinal fluid that had to be taken care of, though.
I did a research project on rabies for micro...and it infects cattle and horses on a high enough level that it's listed on the CDC website. I was weirded out.
So was the cow displaying the other signs of rabies? Difficulty swallowing? Water issues? Temperament changes? I mean...what does rabies in a cow really look like.
It's just strange.
 
I think it was just restless and weird in general. *I* didn't get to see it, because I was busy in the lab. I also missed the baby giraffe (rabies free, just neat) for the same reason. Which is why working in the lab stinks sometimes.
 
Although human rabies is rare in the US (only about 50 cases since 1990), each year about 15,000 - 40,000 persons receive postexposure prophylaxis. Also realize that surveillance of animal rabies is almost entirely passive. Animals are usually only tested based on exposure to humans. The majority of animals with rabies are never tested so reported cases represent only a fraction of the total cases. The bottom line is wildlife rabies is endemic in every state except Hawaii.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that pre-exposure vaccination be offered to veterinarians and staff.

Recommendations for titers varies with the risk category. For veterinarians in rabies enzootic regions (frequent category), serology every 2 years with boosters as necessary. For veterinarians in regions with low rabies rates, serology is not recommended.

The benefit of pre-exposure vaccination is twofold, It simplifies post-exposure therapy by eliminating the need for RIG and decreasing the number of doses of vaccine needed. Second, it might provide protection in cases of inapparent exposures to rabies.
 
I've been doing the vet tech thing for two years now and have only been really bitten once, by a cat. It was a very nice cat and was even purring when I was petting it while I took history. It did fine in a scruff but at some point it just flipped out. I don't remember it showing any signs, it was just like someone flipped a switch. It clawed up my hand pretty good and bit me between where the thumb and index meet.

I was given some betadine and soaked my hand in it and a water mixture for 15 minutes then soaked my hand in salt water when I got home. Never even swelled (which is surprising had you seen my hand).


The only other time I've ever had my skin broken while working was when I poked myself with a needle when I was putting the cap on and missed entirely lol.


But you do get random scratches. I'll come home and have scratches I don't even remember getting. One time I took off my scrub top undressing to take a shower and in the mirror I had a looong scratch, at least 6 inches, across my stomach. I never even felt that one and have no idea where it came from.
 
But you do get random scratches. I'll come home and have scratches I don't even remember getting. One time I took off my scrub top undressing to take a shower and in the mirror I had a looong scratch, at least 6 inches, across my stomach. I never even felt that one and have no idea where it came from.

Those are my favorite, lol... I get home and wonder if I've been abducted by aliens because I'll have no idea where bruises/scratches come from sometimes. :laugh:
 
Then she told me I wont think that way when I have to pay all my medical bills for treating wounds caused by animals.

I just want to chime in and say that some places offer medical insurance if you work full time.

Good clinics don't make their employees feel treated like dirt. I'm fortunate and the clinic here is very friendly. Some clients are snots, that's always going to happen, but if you're lucky and find a really good place you gain a new set of family. Doing what I love and hanging out with people I enjoy and respect makes me not think of it as 'work'.

Good luck with exploring vet med! :) I think it's the best thing since sliced bread, but I'm a bit biased.
 
I setup another shadow with a tech for earlier today and it went great! They were so happy I asked questions and were very helpful. I explained my last experience and they were shocked at what I told them. They basically said the same as you guys and agreed she is obviously unhappy in her job. They told me if I get the pre-exposure vaccination I dont need to worry as even if a freak accident happened and the animal was suspicious, I go get 2 post exposures and then there is nothing to worry about.

They set up an arangement for me that I can work part-time this summer at a small Zoo close to my hometown helping with tours and after some training I can give educational demonstrations to grade schoolers coming for field trips. I wanted to thank everyone once again for helping me out!
 
The only other time I've ever had my skin broken while working was when I poked myself with a needle when I was putting the cap on and missed entirely lol.

Oooh, don't tell OSHA. Their standards as well as most hospital infectious disease control policies prohibit recapping needles in most circumstances. Most private veterinary hospitals tend to be pretty lax about this since we don't have to worry about things like HIV and hepatitis, but technically we're not supposed to do this.
 
The only other time I've ever had my skin broken while working was when I poked myself with a needle when I was putting the cap on and missed entirely lol.

Oooh, don't tell OSHA. Their standards as well as most hospital infectious disease control policies prohibit recapping needles in most circumstances. Most private veterinary hospitals tend to be pretty lax about this since we don't have to worry about things like HIV and hepatitis, but technically we're not supposed to do this.

Safety Vet will teach you to do it the right way! ;)

http://www.safetyvet.com/osha/onehanded.htm
 
Does OSHA also frown upon biting on the needle cap to pull it off also?

I pierced my finger once with a 22ga needle going to draw up a vaccine. Was pretty freaking painful. Still haven't figured out how exactly I managed it.
 
I wasn't going to admit it, but HopefulAg... I've felt your pain, with a 16 gauge needle.
 
How often does hat happen in small companion animal practice to come in contact with suspicious animals that if you did get bit you would need to be worried?

Daily "we" suspect; rarely is there a problem. If you do not have a direct history of vaccines by your clinic or another veterinarian, you have the owner's word about current vaccines. And what do owner's do? Uh huh ... lie. All the time. About vax, treats, etc.

Anyway .. if we aren't sure we consider the animal non-vaccinated and act accordingly. FWIW, the rankest critters I have dealt with were all vaccinated.

Now, go thee to the CDC and look up the incidence of rabies and how prevalent it REALLY is and where, how contracted, etc. Is it REALLY a serious problem? Of course, it being fatal (usually) tends to make one safe and adopt an "abundance of caution" approach.

Now put your thinking cap on and do the following exercise:

1. Find out how many auto accidents in your geographic area that result in a fatality.
2. Compare how many case of HUMAN rabies were contracted in your area (all cases are reported to the CDC so this is going to include vets, tech, animal control folks, etc.).
3. Compare.
4. Consider the total number of dog/cat/animal bites in the same area.
5. Consider the total number of post-rabies vaccinations that occured.
6. Compare.
7. Relax and go on to the next topic in life.

If you work with wildlife your chances go up considerably, but you are still not in some serious danger with proper precautions. There is an annual report on rabies available from the CDC website and it really is a must-read. For example, what major announcement from the CDC in Aug/Sept of last year directly dealt with rabies? How does that change the outlook of rabies as posing a danger to society?

You are far more likely to be killed driving to work than to be infected with rabies from an animal. Any animal. Heck, you are probably more likely to die in a plane crash than get rabies! (Operative word there is probably as I do not have the stats at hand on airplane fatalities, but I do know that 6 people have died recently in the 100 mile radius of where I am and nobody has been bitten or had a rabies problem in the same period of time, so ... )

You are more likely to get an infected wound from improper treatment than get a case of anything else.
 
The bottom line is wildlife rabies is endemic in every state except Hawaii.

Do you have a cite for this and some numbers? I love rabies info!
 
I wasn't going to admit it, but HopefulAg... I've felt your pain, with a 16 gauge needle.
...ow

I did it with a 22 gauge. I would think a 16 gauge would be less painful (more surface area so it wouldn't immediately go in) but if you were in a hurry and enough pressure was applied..ow.

I've since mastered the one handed cap so I haven't poked myself any more but one thing I HAVEN'T mastered is the reflex to grab something that's falling off the counter. I haven't done it yet, but a technician that used to work there before I came in had a syringe fall off the counter and grabbed to catch it. Well it wasn't capped (or the cap fell off or something) and ah, she caught it. I've had that story relayed to me at least 4 times. Hard to suppress the reaction.
 
Does OSHA also frown upon biting on the needle cap to pull it off also?

Probably. The also frown on eating or drinking in rooms with animals, but veterinarians never do that either.
 
Probably. The also frown on eating or drinking in rooms with animals, but veterinarians never do that either.

And we never keep soda or food in the same refrigerator as we keep biologics such as vaccines and medications either.

;)
 
here's a pretty crazy rabies story that i got from pro-med last week.

http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/04/09/news/latest/doc47fd5f5879b6d714087234.txt


Wow. I had a crazy dream last night where a raccoon (like, someone's pet raccoon) was following me around. And I couldn't tell if it was just really friendly or wanted to bite me, but random people in my dream kept telling me to let the raccoon come near me and that I should pet it. I kept thinking, though, "Raccoons don't normally approach people and I don't want to get rabies!" So maybe tonight people will be entreating me to pet an oddly acting fox.

(FYI, I don't have an all-consuming fear of being attacked by rabid animals or anything. I'm just getting very little sleep these days and my mind spits out weird dreams when that happens! The raccoon road kill I saw yesterday may have also had something to do with it.)

Um...sorry, tangent over. :D
 
I have a good friend with a pet racoon. Its actually going in to be neutered in the next month.
 
Wow. I had a crazy dream last night where a raccoon (like, someone's pet raccoon) was following me around. And I couldn't tell if it was just really friendly or wanted to bite me, but random people in my dream kept telling me to let the raccoon come near me and that I should pet it. I kept thinking, though, "Raccoons don't normally approach people and I don't want to get rabies!" So maybe tonight people will be entreating me to pet an oddly acting fox.

(FYI, I don't have an all-consuming fear of being attacked by rabid animals or anything. I'm just getting very little sleep these days and my mind spits out weird dreams when that happens! The raccoon road kill I saw yesterday may have also had something to do with it.)

Um...sorry, tangent over. :D

hehe, i completely understand. yesterday i took a nap (a rare occurrence) and i dreamed i was pet sitting for a client at work, and was walking from her house to my car and got attacked by amy winehouse. I woke up thinking WTF!! I don't listen to her music so I have no idea where that came from. hopefully now that the application process is over my brain will relax a little bit. probably not though knowing me.
 
That would be uber scary IMO. Did anything jump out of her hair?

her hair was all full of stuff, like papers and leaves. she was trying to claw her way into my car. it was pretty scary.
 
I've had so many madcap work dreams... last night I dreamed my bosses had a 100-pound Westie (dear GOD) and the night before I dreamed I was at work in my pajamas watching the Daily Show when I was supposed to be working, and then my more anal-retentive boss came in and I was like "OH ****, maybe I should actually put clothes on, I'm gonna get in trouble!" My work dreams are infamous throughout the clinic.
 

It was close to when I had first started working as an assistant. I had the cap in the palm of one hand, and something distracted me... It was done with great skill, and hurt terribly. I can't say I'm graceful (erm, at all), but I've at least been able to avoid repeating that. :rolleyes:
 
I was wondering about the post-bite use of the rabies vax numbers; 40-60k is one hell of a spread!

That number is harder to come by because national reporting of PEP is not required. The most recent estimate is probably 16,000–39,000 courses annually (an estimated incidence of 6.4–15.7 per 100,000 population). From:
Krebs JW, Long-Marin SC, Childs JE. Causes, costs, and estimates of rabies postexposure prophylaxis treatment in the United States. J Public Health Manag Practice. 1998;4(5):56–62.

Since someone mentioned dying in an air crash and I was interested, a quick search shows in 2005, 590 persons died in aircraft crashes.
 
Since someone mentioned dying in an air crash and I was interested, a quick search shows in 2005, 590 persons died in aircraft crashes.

That person would have been me. SO the chances of dying from rabies is kinda slim. Real slim.

Estimated post-exposure vaccination cases of 13,000-40,000 ? What a wild range (27,000 ... over double the minimal number!); so much so that the estimate has to be suspect. Are there any actual numbers to work with from anyone?
 
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