Personal opinion here, so feel free to ignore, but...I don't know about refusing to treat a certain animal in need just because you don't like it. is it okay not to like it? Sure. I don't have the greatest time ever when I handle pet tarantulas, roaches, etc. Will I ever say 'No, sorry, I refuse to treat x because I don't like them'? No. You also won't ever be comfortable with animals you refuse to expose yourself to, either. I have a lot of friends who really don't like birds and have made efforts to desense themselves to birds by working in our wildlife clinic. They don't plan on seeing birds as part of their GP, but want to be able to at least stabilize a bird in an emergency situation so the client can get to the closest exotics practice (many clients often have to drive hours to see a vet that is experienced in exotics).I want to pursue DVM to help decrease stray dog populations but that doesn't pay so eventually I will work in a clinic... but I don't like rodents and reptiles. I wonder if it's still worth it to go for DVM if I am limited in what animals I feel comfortable/willing to treat?
What do you guys think? Thanks
Should I refuse to treat them?
Personal opinion here, so feel free to ignore, but...I don't know about refusing to treat a certain animal in need just because you don't like it. is it okay not to like it? Sure. I don't have the greatest time ever when I handle pet tarantulas, roaches, etc. Will I ever say 'No, sorry, I refuse to treat x because I don't like them'? No. You also won't ever be comfortable with animals you refuse to expose yourself to, either. I have a lot of friends who really don't like birds and have made efforts to desense themselves to birds by working in our wildlife clinic. They don't plan on seeing birds as part of their GP, but want to be able to at least stabilize a bird in an emergency situation so the client can get to the closest exotics practice (many clients often have to drive hours to see a vet that is experienced in exotics).
Frankly, I don't like pugs. Like at all. I haven't met a pug that I do like, including my best friend's dog
It's one thing to turn away clients with exotic pets because you don't have the experience to see exotics on a GP basis. Most clients with exotic pets will either already have a dedicated exotics vet (which wouldn't be you), or will be calling around looking for someone to see their exotic pet for an emergency. If you're the last clinic open, the closest, whatever...
Maybe I'm being unrealistic, as I've quite often found myself being handed a species I've never worked with before/am not comfortable with and being told to triage (I've literally been handed an alligator before...) and have told myself to get over my hangups and do what I can with the knowledge I have. I understand that others may not be willing to do something like that.
Besides my soapbox moment..I think it's quite realistic to go into the field with the desire to work with only cats/dogs. A decent percentage of practicing vets do just that, although exotic pets are only becoming more common (as is the client's desire to provide these animals with veterinary care, aka revenue for the clinic).
Edit: Referring to the 'Grossest Things' thread too...but should I also refuse to see a patient covered in maggots just because they make me gag and dry heave?
My context was moreso on an emergency basis. Either way, opinion.
But you still were willing to see a bird in dire need of emergency euthanasia, so...that's my point exactly. You didn't say 'Sorry, I don't like them, it's going to have to die on it's own/keep calling around.' An exotic pet doesn't need an exotics expert to stop a bleeding blood feather, stabilize a fracture/get pain control so the owner can make the drive to the exotics expert two states away, and so on. Heck, you don't even need to know much to euthanize. You just need to know what to expect when euthanizing a reptile or amphibian.
I actually did work for a vet who would see minor emergencies (wounds, almost anything non-surgical) when the only local LA/farm vet couldn't get there in a reasonable time frame. She saved several goats acutely down from pregnancy toxemia once and did a few other quick saves/stabilizations while I was with her. She by no means called herself an experienced farm vet and knew her limitations, but could help when in a pinch, at least until the other vet could make it to the location.
Typical...Luckily for me, the exotics experts are 10-30 minutes away.
But I really wouldn't feel comfortable stabilizing a fracture on a bird...do I need to sedate? How? What is safe? Will my techs know how to monitor? There's also the staff knowledge and safety aspect to consider too.
But, yes, I will euthanize most anything if needed. Might have to VIN how but I'll get it done.
As an aside: My tech got chewed out this morning because we wouldn't see her hamster on an emergency basis. The owner stated he's been having an emergency since Saturday and the owner only bothered to call us and wouldn't look up other clinics Saturday night or Sunday. But, of course in typical client fashion, it is all our fault. Sigh.
Are you serious? Euthanizing reptiles - depending on the situation obviously - is hardly a simple task. They're not easy to confirm death on and anatomy and physio is utterly different than normal companion mammals.
Spoken like someone who has never had several different rooms going at once and a walk in and an emergency in the back trying to die. No, I've never given clavamox to a rabbit, but without thinking twice about it I did use a steroid containing ointment on a cloacal prolapse patient like two weeks into working as a vet... arguably near the same level of negligence. And I like exotics and see quite a few. Bird was fine, but it's that sort of stuff that is so easy to do when you're already flying by the seat of your pants and busy.Although if you want to get into details, one would argue that using Clavamox/oral beta lactams in a rabbit is asking to get your license taken away/malpractice. It's pretty well known that it is completely contraindicated. If you don't know it, it's on VIN as well as probably hundreds of other reliable sources. You'd hope that if you truly had no clue and were in fact still trying to see exotics on a GP basis, you'd do some research or have at least a textbook. You would have to be looking up the proper dosage at some point and come across this info (basic logic? cats =/= dogs and have different dosages, so you'd hope someone would make the conclusion that a rabbit would have a different drug dosage too). I'd call anything else irresponsible at best
Although if you want to get into details, one would argue that using Clavamox/oral beta lactams in a rabbit is asking to get your license taken away/malpractice. It's pretty well known that it is completely contraindicated. If you don't know it, it's on VIN as well as probably hundreds of other reliable sources. You'd hope that if you truly had no clue and were in fact still trying to see exotics on a GP basis, you'd do some research or have at least a textbook. You would have to be looking up the proper dosage at some point and come across this info (basic logic? cats =/= dogs and have different dosages, so you'd hope someone would make the conclusion that a rabbit would have a different drug dosage too). I'd call anything else irresponsible at best
Not really going to address all of the other responses because there's no point now, but this is what I mean when I said "as long as you know what to expect."
