RANT HERE thread

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Yeah, I'm guilty of that as well. Sometimes I wonder if life would be easier if I just kept myself on IV maintenance fluids all day, but then there's that pesky fluid pole...
It be easy if she could poke me full of SQ fluids but apparently that's not a thing in people?

Grrr... she's like "you're tachycardic, and I can tell you're dehydrated from 10 feet away..."

Me: "But I treat animals?" :laugh:
 
They are both similar sorta "how to" cookbook type of books; no deep pathophys in either of them - just "here's how to handle this type of problem."

In that sense, they are great for a new grad to have handy kinda in the same way that Clinical Veterinary Advisor is handy in a broader GP sense.

Both of them have some outdated info, so you have to use decent judgment. But I still find them (especially Plunkett) useful for quick reference sometimes.

What are you getting these for? An actual class? Rotation? Planning to use them after graduation? Unless you're planning on doing emergency/critical care work I don't really think either of them are necessary.

Ok, cool. I'll have to take a read through each maybe. I appreciate your comments! Thank you!

The place I worked for over the summer is a 24 hr GP + emergency service hospital and I really loved the emergency service and how it all worked in that type of set-up (didn't really expect to, honestly). So I'm setting my hopes on working in that kind of practice when I graduate or at the very least some emergency work eventually.

Taking a class right now but it's only ~20 hrs which is really disappointing.
 
Was so excited to be going home today, now due to flight issues, missed my connection, only one more flight to my hometown tonight. It's already oversold, so I probably won't get on it. Another flight after to the bigger city an hour away, may get on that but nobody can drive up to get me until tomorrow, so I probably won't even get home tonight after all. 😢 And it's only a three day weekend, so now I'm only going to get one full day at home instead of two.

You could come stay with me
 
Had one of the worst nights of my life tonight by far. The next few months are gonna suck and I'm not looking forward to them. 🙁 Also,I have to go back to work for the first time tomorrow after my surgery and I'm nowhere near physically ready and now not emotionally either. It's gonna be a long night of no sleep and a long day tomorrow.
 
It be easy if she could poke me full of SQ fluids but apparently that's not a thing in people?

Grrr... she's like "you're tachycardic, and I can tell you're dehydrated from 10 feet away..."

Me: "But I treat animals?" :laugh:
we don't have the SQ space.

I have a new med that has to be injected SQ and it sucks....


Also, you probably know this, but you being dehydrated hurts your patient care. So you need to take at least a few minutes to keep hydrated between patients.
 
Also, you probably know this, but you being dehydrated hurts your patient care. So you need to take at least a few minutes to keep hydrated between patients.

I know 🙁 I drank 3 liters of water today and I still feel lousy. Not okay. If I still feel like this after work tomorrow, I'm going to the ER. I really shouldn't be around patients like this...
 
Rough last couple cases at work. Currently on my surgery rotation. My left adrenalectomy case (caused functional HAC) ended up being a more complicated procedure as the mass was much larger than we had anticipated. The cranial mesenteric and celiac arteries were essentially attached to the capsule of the adrenal gland so they were compromised with removal. We were mainly concerned about the damage done to the celiac artery and blood flow to the stomach so we prepared the owners that he might not recover. Post op the dog was O2 dependent and then went into DIC. Apparently passed peacefully with the owners present, but sucks.

Another case involved a dog where my gut was screaming brain tumor, but the only abnormality making me feel that way was that he just didn't seem appropriate. No cranial nerve deficits that I could detect. BW normal. Only abnormality was a UTI so I treated that since they declined hospitalization (fairly dehydrated). Came in like two days later, falling to the right and head pressing.

And my joints (especially my left hip) have been aching a ton the last 3 days.


And my Grandmother told me she has Parkinson's today. Glad my family has been keeping thay from me for a while.
 
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I am so appalled by my sister's behavior right now I can't even think about it. I got an interview at Iowa and I was so happy. I asked the standard pet sitter to watch the dog but they were out of town that weekend. So I had to board my dog. He's very old and on hospice care, so I'm terrified of leaving him there and causing undue stress. I asked my sister to drop him off on Friday morning because our flight left at 7am and the boarding place didn't even open until 7:30am. No problem, sure. I asked if she might be able to pick him up on Saturday since we don't land until 10pm. She wanted to check her schedule a little closer to the date. Sure no problem. I asked a little closer, and she said it looks like she will be playing softball that day and she doesn't feel comfortable leaving him alone in her house. Um ok I was asking you to drop him off at my place on Saturday, I'll arrange for one of my nephews to watch him. Ok sure she can totally do that. I check in a little closer, suddenly she has to work and she's not sure if she can take time off to pick him up and watch him and she doesn't feel comfortable leaving him alone in her house. WTF I just told you a few days ago you only had to drop him off at my place?! Ok sure she can do that no problem. I must be an idiot because I believe her and we're leaving tomorrow and she's playing softball again and it's really too much of a hassle to drive there pick him up, drop him off at my place, and drive to softball. So she's just not gonna do that... with one day's notice :bang:. Why did you say you would and then flake out at the LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT?! I'm shaking with anger by this point but politely text her that's fine, can you drop him off on Friday still. Suddenly she'd all offended and doesn't like my attitude, and I should just be an adult and drop him off on Thursday because she's doing me such a huge favor and she doesn't have too. Leave him there until Sunday too. He's just off chemo, has maybe months to live, but sure stick him in a boarding facility for four days, because that's the responsible thing to do. I'm terrified I'm going to have to leave him there for days because she didn't want to tell me no in the beginning. Sorry for the really long angry rant, I'm just super upset by this. 🙁

Well that's completely miserable and I am so sorry. You've reminded me how blessed I am to have siblings that see my dog and horse as their "neices" and parents who see them as "granddog/grandpony" and would do anything to help me out with them if I needed it.
 
My boss's hypocrisy just boggles my mind.

A few months ago we had to refer a patient to the vet school for a diagnostic procedure that we can't do ourselves. While they were there, the client mentions that their dog has another issue that's unrelated to what their referral was for. My boss had been seeing the dog regarding that issue, but it was an ongoing thing that hadn't been figured out yet. The vet school offered to have their specialist talk to them, and they said yes please. So they meet with this specialist and the client is happy with their trip to the VTH, and they go on their way.

My boss was FURIOUS when she heard. How dare they (the vet school) steal her patient like that? The client was there for xyz only and the school should have sent them back to see boss lady for the other issue. My boss ranted for days about how unprofessional the school was to do that, and how wrong it was, and on and on.

So. We have a deal with the low cost clinic in town that Dr. Whatsit can send patients to us for radiology, we'll take the pictures, and then we'll send everything back to Dr. Whatsit. We won't decipher the pictures or come up with a treatment plan - they're Dr. Whatsit's patients, and we're just taking the x-rays.

My boss and her special brand of I-always-know-better is notorious for getting in the way and trying to treat Dr. Whatsits patients when they come in. We had a dog today for x-rays. Dr. Whatsit told us what views she wanted. My boss took the clients into the exam room first and warning bells started going off in my head. She spends 30 minutes with them, decides to write an Rx, and decides not to take pictures.

WTF boss lady. You would have been so offended if you were Dr. Whatsit. Do you not remember the 'unprofessional' VTH doctor you ranted about for weeks? What the hell. Really. The patient wasn't a referral. They didn't ask to be seen (like our client did at the VTH). They weren't yours!

God, my fuse is short lately.

4 more weeks of boss lady and then never again.
 
I don't think I will ever not be annoyed by how much home football games interfere with getting to the vet school here.
I lose the shortest way to get to a bomb Mexican restaurant on campus when we have home games....


Also, this last quarter was so extremely difficult for me that I honestly had some concerns about passing. I know I wasn't the only one, so the fact that our course coordinator just sent an email telling us that at least no one completely failed the quarter...maybe it's time to get instructors that don't apologize for their bad teaching during lecture? My GPA is probably not going to recover a this point, at least not with the way our curriculum is here.

At least I passed. That is a small achievement on its own.
 
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Same here, we lose all of our parking!
Yup. Glad it's not just us. No parking unless you tell them you're trying to get to the vet school, and even then they get annoyed. All the hospital staff has to move their vehicles from the staff parking lots the night before at like 6pm because they're used for tailgating. And if I get called in for field services today I'm not entirely sure I'll make it there in time.
 
A Belted Kingfisher (see photo below) has decided to fish near my home.

It looks like an angry punk rock star with a spiked Mohawk hairdo!

Kingfishers are notorious for making loud penetrating "rattling" cries and "scream" cries.

So, my cat has been in a hopeless frenzy for the past 2 hours, frantically trying to get outside to catch the Kingfisher. The Kingfisher has been landing on my outdoor deck - to mock, taunt and torment my cat. It's working ... my cat is climbing up the screens, chattering, and running all over the place!

I'm leaving for the hospital in a few hours ... and I'm wondering if my home will be in shambles by the time I return later today!

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I don't think I will ever not be annoyed by how much home football games interfere with getting to the vet school here.
Same here, we lose all of our parking!
Same...We're close enough that our parking lot is now "VIP Parking" on football saturdays and we have to park elsewhere with a special pass. Our community practice is just not open on saturdays during football season and our ER tries to direct as many emergencies as possible to our offsite location because it may take hours to get to the vet school without the emergency pass.
 
Same...We're close enough that our parking lot is now "VIP Parking" on football saturdays and we have to park elsewhere with a special pass. Our community practice is just not open on saturdays during football season and our ER tries to direct as many emergencies as possible to our offsite location because it may take hours to get to the vet school without the emergency pass.

Yuck. It can be a PITA here too, but not that bad. The back lot usually doesn't fill up completely (but if it did there are other lots not used for game parking a short walk further) and they'll let students park who need to be here. But it's still a bit of a cluster and traffic can be terrible at times. The upside is, we use it as a fundraising opportunity; $20 a car to park in the lot with a portion of it going to the school and the rest to the first year class (who runs it and does all the work.) My class took away an average of 5.5k per game so all that money covers our class parties, graduation expenses and what not. Generally there's a chunk leftover and the norm is to put it towards a class gift for the hospital. 2016 gifted a portable ultrasound machine to the ICU.
 
Halfwayish of a rant, but as expected bloodwork showed my uric acid was high. But for now, all hail prednisone! I can walk again without being in agony :laugh:

Follow up with the doctor in a week or so once this flare up is totally over, repeat bloodwork, settle on a long term treatment, be mindful of my diet, and hopefully this will be put to rest, for a while at least. Because holy bajeesus that was painful.
 
Yeah, we can't park on campus on game days either. Even with Saturday evening games, they close down all the lots first thing in the morning. I don't live on the bus route, so I can't easily get to school another way. And all the coffee shops in town are packed on game days till a few hours before they start, so I also can't go there to study in the morning on game days if I want. It's such a pain!
 
Yuck. It can be a PITA here too, but not that bad. The back lot usually doesn't fill up completely (but if it did there are other lots not used for game parking a short walk further) and they'll let students park who need to be here. But it's still a bit of a cluster and traffic can be terrible at times. The upside is, we use it as a fundraising opportunity; $20 a car to park in the lot with a portion of it going to the school and the rest to the first year class (who runs it and does all the work.) My class took away an average of 5.5k per game so all that money covers our class parties, graduation expenses and what not. Generally there's a chunk leftover and the norm is to put it towards a class gift for the hospital. 2016 gifted a portable ultrasound machine to the ICU.

Yeah, the school subcontracted/rented parking lots to an outside company for a number of years so we see zero dollars from what they made. I think they're charging $40 a car to park in out lot on game days.
 
Yeah, we can't park on campus on game days either. Even with Saturday evening games, they close down all the lots first thing in the morning. I don't live on the bus route, so I can't easily get to school another way. And all the coffee shops in town are packed on game days till a few hours before they start, so I also can't go there to study in the morning on game days if I want. It's such a pain!

I think the thing that gets me the most here isn't the parking, but that the stadium is like two blocks from the vet school, and directly between it and my house. The cops set up cones and block off roads and make a lot of roads one-way when games let out to help control traffic...which makes it annoying and time consuming if I need to be going between home and the hospital.
 
Yeah, the school subcontracted/rented parking lots to an outside company for a number of years so we see zero dollars from what they made. I think they're charging $40 a car to park in out lot on game days.

Boooo. I mean I guess they don't have any obligation to, but it's a nice compromise I think. Helps cover some of our costs, still makes some moolah for the school, and is some form of repayment for the inconvenience the students have to deal with on game days since they steal our parking. Most of the students are happy to help out, only takes a couple hours out of a couple of your Saturdays.
 
Halfwayish of a rant, but as expected bloodwork showed my uric acid was high. But for now, all hail prednisone! I can walk again without being in agony :laugh:

Follow up with the doctor in a week or so once this flare up is totally over, repeat bloodwork, settle on a long term treatment, be mindful of my diet, and hopefully this will be put to rest, for a while at least. Because holy bajeesus that was painful.
So much yay! :soexcited:

I hope you can keep out of the owwie zone for a good long time!
 
Interview went well. Hopefully an offer is coming my way. Fingers crossed, the interview started with the interviewers introducing themselves, then asked me to introduce myself. Then they gave the official start and the questions where straight off sdn prep site. They asked follow up questions or asked me to elaborate in a few places. Then they told me it was the end of the interview. Then they asked if I had any questions. Overall I think I did pretty well. I had one of my interviewers chuckling almost the while time. Overall very relaxed, just be yourself. Good luck to everyone else!
 
Y'know, for a restaurant that touts "Freaky fast delivery" as their slogan, getting my sandwich sure is taking quite a bit longer than I would have expected. It's been about an hour without even a phone call. I haven't eaten all day (bad, yes, I know). I want my food. 🙁

Just a bit peeved, is all.
There are 20+ Jimmy Johns in Columbus and my house is not in any of their "call ranges". 😡
 
Interview went well. Hopefully an offer is coming my way. Fingers crossed, the interview started with the interviewers introducing themselves, then asked me to introduce myself. Then they gave the official start and the questions where straight off sdn prep site. They asked follow up questions or asked me to elaborate in a few places. Then they told me it was the end of the interview. Then they asked if I had any questions. Overall I think I did pretty well. I had one of my interviewers chuckling almost the while time. Overall very relaxed, just be yourself. Good luck to everyone else!
So exciting @Coopah ! Sounds like a successful interview to me...congrats
 
I don't think that this is a rant, haha. 😉 Glad to hear that you enjoyed your day, though! I know the people organizing the interviews work very hard to make you guys feel welcome!


Urgh, I don't know how I'd survive... I love my Jimmy Johns too much. 🙁

Whoops! Meant to post on the iowa thread, guess that's what happens while type on a plane before take off. 😉
 
Set up a euthanasia appointment for my dog. Still not sure I'm ready for this. Still feels too much like I'm doing it for me and not for him. I've gotten about 15 "second opinions" that all agree and it's still not making it any easier. Ugh. My poor Chevy monster.
 
Set up a euthanasia appointment for my dog. Still not sure I'm ready for this. Still feels too much like I'm doing it for me and not for him. I've gotten about 15 "second opinions" that all agree and it's still not making it any easier. Ugh. My poor Chevy monster.
You are doing it because you love him, and therefore it is completely for him and not at all for you. Someone once told me in regards to pet euthanasia, better a week too early than a moment too late. I'm sorry you are faced with this decision and I know how hard it is. Chevy is lucky to be so loved.
 
Set up a euthanasia appointment for my dog. Still not sure I'm ready for this. Still feels too much like I'm doing it for me and not for him. I've gotten about 15 "second opinions" that all agree and it's still not making it any easier. Ugh. My poor Chevy monster.

So sorry to hear this. I recently went through something similar with my kitty about a month ago. An AUS showed a fairly large mass in her bladder, which explained why her "UTI" signs weren't resolving with ABs. I had her on pred for a couple weeks after that which helped a lot, but then her signs came back. I increased the pred and she went back to normal, but I knew it was only a matter of time. On the day I had her euthanized she was feeling really good, eating well, etc--so I felt really bad, but I knew the pred would stop working again soon. Chevy is so lucky to have you and you are doing what's best for him. Best of luck <3.
 
Set up a euthanasia appointment for my dog. Still not sure I'm ready for this. Still feels too much like I'm doing it for me and not for him. I've gotten about 15 "second opinions" that all agree and it's still not making it any easier. Ugh. My poor Chevy monster.
I'm so sorry 🙁 It will never be easy.
You are doing it because you love him, and therefore it is completely for him and not at all for you. Someone once told me in regards to pet euthanasia, better a week too early than a moment too late. I'm sorry you are faced with this decision and I know how hard it is. Chevy is lucky to be so loved.
This was great advice I've been given when I've had to make the decision.
 
I'd been working at the hospital for about a year when it was time to euthanize our family dog. We made the appointment and took her in, but my boss didn't want to 'give up' on her, and she talked us out of euthanasia. That is one of the biggest regrets I have. I wish I'd fought harder to have my opinion heard and respected, or I wish we'd taken her to another clinic and had her euthanized by someone else. She had no quality of life and I wish we could have saved her from the last months we spent with her. It's hard, but I absolutely agree with what others have said. You know when it's time more than anyone else, and the choices you are making are because you love him.
 
A friend from the UK who still lives over there just asked me if I knew anything about obese beagles...I do but 99% sure I'm going to say take her to a vet that can actually examine her.

And i'm sorry @cowgirla. Making that decision is never easy.

And I 100% agree on doing it too early rather than too late although I likely will have to have someone encourage me when it's my current dog. I sometimes wonder if we waited too longer with our first corgi. We were fairly certain he had degenerative myelopathy and my mom had been considering putting him to sleep in December of my first year of vet school. He was still ambulatory but decently ataxic. He was also proteinuric and had CKD (think his UPC initially was like 4) which he was k/d and benazapril for. He ended up passing in February very suddenly in my mom's arms at the vet. Sort of sounds like a potential PTE but I was in school at the time and wasn't around. I hate knowing that he he passed that way. He deserved better and I wish he had made a decision sooner. Granted, it was sudden and my mom had just purchased him a cart so his QOL was about to improve from ambulation standpoint and he got a good week out of it and was able to chase his ball again. Knowing that bit makes it a bit easier, still sucks knowing what he went through at the end.
 
I'd been working at the hospital for about a year when it was time to euthanize our family dog. We made the appointment and took her in, but my boss didn't want to 'give up' on her, and she talked us out of euthanasia. That is one of the biggest regrets I have. I wish I'd fought harder to have my opinion heard and respected, or I wish we'd taken her to another clinic and had her euthanized by someone else. She had no quality of life and I wish we could have saved her from the last months we spent with her. It's hard, but I absolutely agree with what others have said. You know when it's time more than anyone else, and the choices you are making are because you love him.

I agree with the general sentiment - when it's time it is time, and an owner knows that best.

But just one comment ... I wouldn't put that on your boss as 'lack of respect'. Everybody in the process deserves to be comfortable with the procedure, not just the owner. That includes the vet who actually has to do the euthanasia.

One of the (many) problems in our profession is people expecting DVMs to behave as if we're merely their slaves to carry out their medical wishes - good or bad - for their pets. We aren't. We're people too, and we have to live with what we do.

Certainly you know your pet better than the doctor, and if you are convinced it is the right time ... you're right. But if a vet refuses to do the procedure, don't make that a lack of 'respect' - just take it for what it is: them being uncomfortable with it for *whatever* reason. And that's ok. They deserve to sleep with what they've done just like anybody else. Just politely find another vet who is more comfortable.

You'll feel this more acutely when you've been practicing a while. I'm pretty new, and euthanasia doesn't usually bother me too terribly much (though I struggled for a few weeks after euthanizing my own pet). Some patients I'm a bit uncomfortable with, but most of the time I don't hesitate. I have a colleague - a really excellent doctor - who has been practicing 25 years, has done god-only-knows how many euthanasias, and has a lot of signs of burn-out, PTSD, whatever. Over the last year it has gotten REALLY hard for her to euthanize anything unless it really is clearly ready to die. It just rips her up. Obviously she needs to deal with that - I'm not saying she doesn't have issues - but when she tries hard to talk an owner into more treatment, waiting a little, or whatever ... I don't think she isn't respecting them, even if it's a patient I might have euthanized without blinking. I just understand that the emotional space in her head is such that she can't euthanize those patients and go home and sleep at night.

No disrespect meant by this post. It just struck me that your comment seemed kinda typical for a lot of clients who consider only their side of things, and forget that it is a human being on the other end of the plunger performing the euthanasia.
 
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(though I struggled for a few weeks after euthanizing my own pet)

I find this really impressive/interesting/not sure what word to use. I've worked in 2 SA clinics over the span of 10 years and can't say I've ever seen a vet euthanize their own pet (maybe there has been a time or two and I don't remember). Was this something you did by choice? Were you just okay with doing it? No disrespect here at all--I'm genuinely curious about how you were "able" to do it. I had to leave the treatment room when my own kitten got microchipped at work--of course, I've never seen treatment nor euthanasia of my own pets from the DVM perspective, so I don't actually know what I would or wouldn't do as a vet myself. I'm sure it just depends on the individual and how they feel about it.
 
I agree with the general sentiment - when it's time it is time, and an owner knows that best.

But just one comment ... I wouldn't put that on your boss as 'lack of respect'. Everybody in the process deserves to be comfortable with the procedure, not just the owner. That includes the vet who actually has to do the euthanasia.

One of the (many) problems in our profession is people expecting DVMs to behave as if we're merely their slaves to carry out their medical wishes - good or bad - for their pets. We aren't. We're people too, and we have to live with what we do.

Certainly you know your pet better than the doctor, and if you are convinced it is the right time ... you're right. But if a vet refuses to do the procedure, don't make that a lack of 'respect' - just take it for what it is: them being uncomfortable with it for *whatever* reason. And that's ok. They deserve to sleep with what they've done just like anybody else. Just politely find another vet who is more comfortable.

You'll feel this more acutely when you've been practicing a while. I'm pretty new, and euthanasia doesn't usually bother me too terribly much (though I struggled for a few weeks after euthanizing my own pet). Some patients I'm a bit uncomfortable with, but most of the time I don't hesitate. I have a colleague - a really excellent doctor - who has been practicing 25 years, has done god-only-knows how many euthanasias, and has a lot of signs of burn-out, PTSD, whatever. Over the last year it has gotten REALLY hard for her to euthanize anything unless it really is clearly ready to die. It just rips her up. Obviously she needs to deal with that - I'm not saying she doesn't have issues - but when she tries hard to talk an owner into more treatment, waiting a little, or whatever ... I don't think she isn't respecting them, even if it's a patient I might have euthanized without blinking. I just understand that the emotional space in her head is such that she can't euthanize those patients and go home and sleep at night.

No disrespect meant by this post. It just struck me that your comment seemed kinda typical for a lot of clients who consider only their side of things, and forget that it is a human being on the other end of the plunger performing the euthanasia.

When someone says something that's probably true but I don't want to hear it . . . 😳

When she told me that she didn't want to give up, I felt like I was being shamed for wanting euthanasia. Like I was trying to give up on my dog, and that it wasn't my place to decide anything about her care because I was an employee and not a client. That's what it felt like to me, no matter what her actual reasons or intentions were.

I'm mostly angry at myself for not going elsewhere and for being too afraid to push for what I thought was right. I've been angry at my boss for making me feel ashamed, but that's not fair and I can acknowledge that.
 
I find this really impressive/interesting/not sure what word to use. I've worked in 2 SA clinics over the span of 10 years and can't say I've ever seen a vet euthanize their own pet (maybe there has been a time or two and I don't remember). Was this something you did by choice? Were you just okay with doing it? No disrespect here at all--I'm genuinely curious about how you

Poor choice of words on my part. I meant when I decided to have her euthanized. I actually took home drugs from work to do it at home .... and then couldn't do it. I had to call a dvm friend and have her come over and do it for me. I think a lot of vets could/do euth their own, and I thought I could, but then I realized I wanted to be able to focus on her and not the 'task'.
 
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