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AMAZING!
I literally just got back after five hours of shadowing surgery, and I had an absolutely amazing time. I'll start by saying that everyone at the office was great, from the veterinarian to the techs, the secretaries and the office manager. They all made me feel so welcome and by the end of the day, it felt like I had been there ten times before.
The day started out with a few exams from a local humane society. Most of them were minor things... checking weight, grooming, etc. Then we moved on to the surgeries. There were a total of six surgeries that I shadowed, which, according to the office, was actually a rather busy morning. The first, which obviously goes down in history as my first surgery viewed, was a spay on a 6 month old Malamute. I was a little nervous at first... especially after all the many horror stories I heard. And the veterinarian did tell me ahead of time to go sit down if I felt faint, and they promised there would be no teasing or shame. 😀 That was another thing, they were completely normal people. The vet I shadowed and the main vet tech who was with us the majority of the day both had senses of humor and the atmosphere wasn't anywhere near as rigid as I thought it would be. They put on music in the surgical room, too. It wasn't loud or anything and it was mainly some background noise, and I actually thought it was really helpful to concentrate your mind on something else. So, anyway... I was completely fine during the surgery. I had a moment through the first one where I started feeling a little hot, and my palms got a little sweaty, but it passed and I was completely fine the remainder of the surgery and the rest of the day.
The second surgery was another spay on a 5 year old Rottie. This surgery was a little more invasive because it was a more mature dog who had already had one litter in her life. There was much more bleeding and it was a little more extensive, but I was completely fine! I was so proud of myself. Next was a dental on a chihuahua... she just had to have a tooth pulled. It was pretty minor and it only took about 10 minutes.
Then there was a female cat who was also from the humane society. The vet wasn't sure if she had been spayed or not because she had a scar, but it's placement was a little low and she said it didn't really look like a spay scar. We opened her up to double check, and it turns out that she was indeed spayed. Better safe than sorry, especially since she was going to go back to the humane society to be adopted. So anyway, since we already had her opened up, the vet decided it was a good opportunity for a little anatomy lesson. She showed me the bladder, spleen, and pulled out most of her small intestine to show me. It was so interesting! I'm amazed at how the body works. So then after her there was another cat who had to be spayed, and so we actually spayed her... 😛.
The last surgery of the day was a little orange kitten who had to be neutered. That was the most uncomplicated thing I saw the whole day! Seriously, after watching it once, I feel like I probably could have done it, or at least assisted. Along with watching the surgeries, I helped with moving the animals afterward and monitoring them as they woke from the anesthesia. The vet I shadowed was awesome. I asked her questions throughout the whole day and she explained everything to me. Each and every thing she did during the surgery, she explained what it was and why she was doing it. I really feel like I learned a ton and I'm so excited for my next shadowing day. Which brings me to saying, that my next opportunity to go back and shadow will probably be not next Wednesday, but the following one. So... two weeks from today. I told her that and she said if there were and cool or rare surgeries that were non-emergency that she could hold until that day, she would.
After today...so excited, so happy, and feeling SO right about this vet aspiration I have going.
😍 Good feelings!
By the way, kudos if you read all that!
I literally just got back after five hours of shadowing surgery, and I had an absolutely amazing time. I'll start by saying that everyone at the office was great, from the veterinarian to the techs, the secretaries and the office manager. They all made me feel so welcome and by the end of the day, it felt like I had been there ten times before.
The day started out with a few exams from a local humane society. Most of them were minor things... checking weight, grooming, etc. Then we moved on to the surgeries. There were a total of six surgeries that I shadowed, which, according to the office, was actually a rather busy morning. The first, which obviously goes down in history as my first surgery viewed, was a spay on a 6 month old Malamute. I was a little nervous at first... especially after all the many horror stories I heard. And the veterinarian did tell me ahead of time to go sit down if I felt faint, and they promised there would be no teasing or shame. 😀 That was another thing, they were completely normal people. The vet I shadowed and the main vet tech who was with us the majority of the day both had senses of humor and the atmosphere wasn't anywhere near as rigid as I thought it would be. They put on music in the surgical room, too. It wasn't loud or anything and it was mainly some background noise, and I actually thought it was really helpful to concentrate your mind on something else. So, anyway... I was completely fine during the surgery. I had a moment through the first one where I started feeling a little hot, and my palms got a little sweaty, but it passed and I was completely fine the remainder of the surgery and the rest of the day.
The second surgery was another spay on a 5 year old Rottie. This surgery was a little more invasive because it was a more mature dog who had already had one litter in her life. There was much more bleeding and it was a little more extensive, but I was completely fine! I was so proud of myself. Next was a dental on a chihuahua... she just had to have a tooth pulled. It was pretty minor and it only took about 10 minutes.
Then there was a female cat who was also from the humane society. The vet wasn't sure if she had been spayed or not because she had a scar, but it's placement was a little low and she said it didn't really look like a spay scar. We opened her up to double check, and it turns out that she was indeed spayed. Better safe than sorry, especially since she was going to go back to the humane society to be adopted. So anyway, since we already had her opened up, the vet decided it was a good opportunity for a little anatomy lesson. She showed me the bladder, spleen, and pulled out most of her small intestine to show me. It was so interesting! I'm amazed at how the body works. So then after her there was another cat who had to be spayed, and so we actually spayed her... 😛.
The last surgery of the day was a little orange kitten who had to be neutered. That was the most uncomplicated thing I saw the whole day! Seriously, after watching it once, I feel like I probably could have done it, or at least assisted. Along with watching the surgeries, I helped with moving the animals afterward and monitoring them as they woke from the anesthesia. The vet I shadowed was awesome. I asked her questions throughout the whole day and she explained everything to me. Each and every thing she did during the surgery, she explained what it was and why she was doing it. I really feel like I learned a ton and I'm so excited for my next shadowing day. Which brings me to saying, that my next opportunity to go back and shadow will probably be not next Wednesday, but the following one. So... two weeks from today. I told her that and she said if there were and cool or rare surgeries that were non-emergency that she could hold until that day, she would.
After today...so excited, so happy, and feeling SO right about this vet aspiration I have going.
😍 Good feelings!
By the way, kudos if you read all that!
