RANT HERE thread

[alyssa13]

also part of the re-using drape club. we would autoclave it and reuse it until it became discolored and or too soiled.

please my doctor would just use the same surgery packs on different animals if there was multiple in the same day. yep the same bloody tools would be used on 2-3 animals quite frequently WITHOUT being at least scrubbed between.. at least we would use new drapes but god the level of care was awful
Edit: also the reuse of ET tubes.. he would tell us to soak them in chlorohexidine solution to be able to reuse them since he didnt want to buy more. they would be stained blue and still get used. since being there may-march i did not see any new ones..

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[pp9]

Edit: also the reuse of ET tubes.. he would tell us to soak them in chlorohexidine solution to be able to reuse them since he didnt want to buy more. they would be stained blue and still get used. since being there may-march i did not see any new ones..

I don't think I've worked at any clinic that didn't reuse ET tubes (Bluepearl included, not just small private practices). Single use ET tubes are not a thing in vet med, despite what the packaging tells you. I can actually tell you about a horror story where an ET tube wasn't properly cleaned (it had a small crispy clog) and it ended up killing the patient.

Life hack: Don't soak things in chlorhexidine for more than 10-20min to avoid blueifying everything

 

[JaynaAli]

Y’all used ET tubes for things besides dentals? Lol.

Though to be fair, they were/are using mostly injectable anesthesia (ket-xy) which doesn’t make them stop breathing nearly as much as the inhalants and prop do.

 

[supershorty]

I have not had >24 hours off and out of the hospital since the beginning of January and lemme tell ya fam, my mental health is a duuumpster fiiiiiiiire

next week I'm using some time off and going home for a few days, and I desperately need it

 

[fauna]

the place i just started working is the first place where we DON’T reuse ET tubes and i nearly cried haply tears when i found that out. and ditto to the drapes literally turning like brown. thank god we don’t do that here either. we try to reuse some stuff, current pet peeve is the plastic suction tubing (cannot express to you how easy this is to come by for us. we are a specialty surgery department). i just throw it away and say it was beyond repair bc its a pain in the ass to dry them. i feel like i have more authority here as opposed to a GP to stand up to cheap stuff like that, with what we charge people lmao.
oh and reusing gastric tubes grosses me out.

 

[fauna]

please my doctor would just use the same surgery packs on different animals if there was multiple in the same day. yep the same bloody tools would be used on 2-3 animals quite frequently WITHOUT being at least scrubbed between.. at least we would use new drapes but god the level of care was awful
Edit: also the reuse of ET tubes.. he would tell us to soak them in chlorohexidine solution to be able to reuse them since he didnt want to buy more. they would be stained blue and still get used. since being there may-march i did not see any new ones..

JAIL! IMMEDIATELY!

This is the same place that just let you go?

 

[katiemcat]

I have not had >24 hours off and out of the hospital since the beginning of January and lemme tell ya fam, my mental health is a duuumpster fiiiiiiiire

next week I'm using some time off and going home for a few days, and I desperately need it

You are an icon!!!

 

[_rae_]

also the reuse of ET tubes..

the first place where we DON’T reuse ET tubes and i nearly cried haply tears

..........even my big, corporate, specialty, high budget hospital re-used ET tubes. Is this not normal? When I was working rad onc, ET tubes would sit in a water/dawn/chlorhex solution until the end of the day (so the last patient's tube sat the shortest amount of time), when they'd be brought down to surgery, dried, and autoclaved. We only threw them out if they had a leak in the cuff or if they got cut stupid short for something and weren't really practical for a different animal.

 

[fauna]

..........even my big, corporate, specialty, high budget hospital re-used ET tubes. Is this not normal? When I was working rad onc, ET tubes would sit in a water/dawn/chlorhex solution until the end of the day (so the last patient's tube sat the shortest amount of time), when they'd be brought down to surgery, dried, and autoclaved. We only threw them out if they had a leak in the cuff or if they got cut stupid short for something and weren't really practical for a different animal.

the kind we purchase here literally say single-use on them. at my former GP, we didn’t even autoclave them, just soaked in chlorhex. i never thought it was abnormal because i never knew anything else. we reused them at the corporate specialty surgery place i worked before this. now i work for a private place and we don’t. i still wouldn’t clutch my pearls to find out somebody reuses the ET tubes— i am just so glad to not have to do it anymore bc it’s less work LMAO

 

[pp9]

..........even my big, corporate, specialty, high budget hospital re-used ET tubes. Is this not normal? When I was working rad onc, ET tubes would sit in a water/dawn/chlorhex solution until the end of the day (so the last patient's tube sat the shortest amount of time), when they'd be brought down to surgery, dried, and autoclaved. We only threw them out if they had a leak in the cuff or if they got cut stupid short for something and weren't really practical for a different animal.

I've never even autoclaved/gas sterilized an ET tube in my ~15 years of being in the field I've always seen ET tubes rattling around in drawers (unwrapped) or on the wall rack thing (unwrapped). You'd think putting something unsterile directly into an airway would cause more problems than it does.

Even in the zoo world, we reuse everything and it's all used across multiple species. Yes, even zoo primates carry a lot of nasties, so you'd think reusing after them wouldn't be a thing....but it is. We don't sterilize ET tubes either...more likely to just toss them if they are really gross or we have a concern (fungal respiratory diseases come to mind, but then in theory your entire circuit is contaminated....).

ETA:

the kind we purchase here literally say single-use on them. at my former GP, we didn’t even autoclave them, just soaked in chlorhex. i never thought it was abnormal because i never knew anything else. we reused them at the corporate specialty surgery place i worked before this. now i work for a private place and we don’t. i still wouldn’t clutch my pearls to find out somebody reuses the ET tubes— i am just so glad to not have to do it anymore bc it’s less work LMAO

Start perusing your drug carton inserts and see how many injectables are supposed to be tossed x hours after first puncture, or are designated for 'single patient use only' lol

 

[fauna]

Start perusing your drug carton inserts and see how many injectables are supposed to be tossed x hours after first puncture, or are designated for 'single patient use only' lol

oh i know DAMN well we probably break these rules all the time. we share nocita among patients and that says single patient use, but otherwise we would be throwing away sooo much.

also interesting insight! esp on the zoo med aspect.

 

[twelvetigers]

wait did they autoclave syringes/needles for reuse?

Oh, don't worry - I checked them for barbs on the end first. With my fingers. And I could throw away the syringes once the stoppers got too dried out and squeaky to use. I would always put the reused ones in the back so they would be used for pets under anesthesia. You know, when they got the SQ penicillin that every single spay and neuter was given, no matter what...

I still hate baby powder because I would have to re-powder the insides of the gloves before they went back into the pack to be autoclaved.

I gasped. that is insane. i used to have to reuse drape to wrap surgery packs that was very clearly one-time, disposable use only (literally paper) and THAT pissed me off.

The surgery drapes were fabric and would go home in a laundry basket to be washed at the vet's house and then brought back in to be folded and autoclaved. They weren't paper but they were old enough that they could get a learner's permit, I suspect.

Also, this is a good one - taking the vial of rabies vaccine and using it to mix with the powder for the FVRCP vaccine (instead of the sterile water) and then just giving that all together, so there are 'less pokes' for the cats.

And yet, I'm a bad employee... lol.

 

[twelvetigers]

please my doctor would just use the same surgery packs on different animals if there was multiple in the same day. yep the same bloody tools would be used on 2-3 animals quite frequently WITHOUT being at least scrubbed between.. at least we would use new drapes but god the level of care was awful
Edit: also the reuse of ET tubes.. he would tell us to soak them in chlorohexidine solution to be able to reuse them since he didnt want to buy more. they would be stained blue and still get used. since being there may-march i did not see any new ones..

Well I think that they at least used a new pack MOST of the time, but there was a chlorhex tray where a bunch of tools lived so maybe they would rummage in there for a neuter or something. I swear there was a scalpel blade in there that would get used however many times before it was retired. And that's also where the guillotine-style nail clippers lived which were brought out for declaws.

Y’all used ET tubes for things besides dentals? Lol.

Though to be fair, they were/are using mostly injectable anesthesia (ket-xy) which doesn’t make them stop breathing nearly as much as the inhalants and prop do.

Anesthesia (read: gassing down) was used for spays and dog neuters as well as dentals. There was a pulse ox. That was all. And dentals were great because no dental radiographs. I mean, no regular radiographs either.

But that penicillin shot... *chefs kiss*

 

[fauna]

this is absolutely awful— TELL US MORE!

i also used to have to monitor dentals, spays, and neuters with just a pulse ox that was finnicky already. i didn’t know any better at the time and i mean i guess i’m glad i learned the importance of watching the patient closely instead of just watching machines. but hooooooly shiiit, in retrospect, i am so lucky that nothing terrible ever happened.

 

[twelvetigers]

this is absolutely awful— TELL US MORE!

i also used to have to monitor dentals, spays, and neuters with just a pulse ox that was finnicky already. i didn’t know any better at the time and i mean i guess i’m glad i learned the importance of watching the patient closely instead of just watching machines. but hooooooly shiiit, in retrospect, i am so lucky that nothing terrible ever happened.

Hmm. Ordering the largest size of Frontline and then splitting them up into little plastic pipettes and sealing them with a heat sealer, and selling them that way (to make more profit). So, the smallest size was 0.67mL, second smallest was 1.32mL... still have those in my brain. I'm sure the drug rep would have loved to know about that...

The other tech would do lots of Amitraz (Mitaban) dips with no gloves on. I'm sure that was a great idea.

I'm sure there's more stuff I've forgotten in the last uh...17 years?

 

[DVM882029]

this is absolutely awful— TELL US MORE!

i also used to have to monitor dentals, spays, and neuters with just a pulse ox that was finnicky already. i didn’t know any better at the time and i mean i guess i’m glad i learned the importance of watching the patient closely instead of just watching machines. but hooooooly shiiit, in retrospect, i am so lucky that nothing terrible ever happened.

Premed with ace, gas down, intubate but not inflate the cuff or tie it in, zero monitoring except my hand on the chest during a spay. No mask or cap, just sterile gloves and a single cloth drape that wasn't clamped anywhere, take the gas up to 8 when they get light from pain, carprofen injection post op for spays only. Sandwiches for lunch on the OR counter next to the suture.

Convinced that their low infection and complication rate was because they were fast AF. Looking back, absolutely shocked more pets didn't die.

 

[_rae_]

take the gas up to 8

TAKE THE GAS UP TO 8??????????

 

[DVM882029]

TAKE THE GAS UP TO 8??????????

Regularly. The patients were often anywhere from 2.5 to 4 for most surgeries, and if they got light we took it up and gave some breaths til they went down (what I know now: til their BP plummeted and they saw a white light before we made them painful again).

Oh, and the only time we placed an IVC was for a leg amp. Nothing else got catheters. Ace was given IM or SQ (can't recall).

 

[alyssa13]

JAIL! IMMEDIATELY!

This is the same place that just let you go?

yes thankfully😅😅

 

[alyssa13]

I didnt realize how regular it was to use ET tubes, i just worked at one place as a tech and the doctor was NOT good so i assumed everything he did was wrong but I guess he dis one thing right🤣 regardless I could still go on and on. My favorite thing I didnt mention.. putting on sterile gloves then touching his phone to make a call to a friend WHILE OPERATING. i dont get what went on in his mind but i also do not want to🙃

 

[DVM882029]

I didnt realize how regular it was to use ET tubes, i just worked at one place as a tech and the doctor was NOT good so i assumed everything he did was wrong but I guess he dis one thing right🤣 regardless I could still go on and on. My favorite thing I didnt mention.. putting on sterile gloves then touching his phone to make a call to a friend WHILE OPERATING. i dont get what went on in his mind but i also do not want to🙃

Reuse is only appropriate when they're properly sterilized. Soaked and cleaned, dried correctly, and ETO gassed.

 

[DVMDream]

I also worked for a vet who did very questionable things. Re-using syringes and needles, re-using gloves, minimal anesthesia monitoring. They didn't even have a tech or assistant really monitor, it was just the vet in there doing surgery with a pulse ox on the patient and the vet would reach over themselves to adjust the gas as needed--- with their sterile gloves on. Medical records were hand written on index cards.

I will say, while I know his practices were not good, he was the kindest veterinarian I ever worked for. He cracked me up on more than one occasion. One I remember in particular, the clinic was just closing when a client called up demanding to be seen. We told the client we were closed and she said she is coming anyway. The veterinarian mentioned this particular client was crazy as crazy can be and then locked himself in the Dr. office.

Client shows up and beats on the door, which is locked because we are closed. Suddenly, the phone rings and one of the other assistants answers it. The vet is calling the clinic. He is all "is crazy lady gone? I need to come get my truck." We were so confused because he had just locked himself in the Dr. office.

Turns out he escaped out the back door and ran away from the clinic to avoid the crazy client and he was calling to see if it was safe to return.

Obviously being kind doesn't excuse poor medicine. It wasn't the best place for learning the proper way to do veterinary medicine, but if you wanted to feel supported and treated well, it was amazing.

 

[Trilt]

TAKE THE GAS UP TO 8??????????

(this was probably sevoflurane where the dial goes higher)

(still horrible obvs)

 

[overcastkidjuno]

I dropped my wallet in the grocery store & someone returned it to customer service within an hour! After completely emptying it of all my cash, even my coins... 75$ stolen from me...

 

[DVM882029]

(this was probably sevoflurane where the dial goes higher)

(still horrible obvs)

No, no, it was iso. That clinic had never heard of sevo. Perhaps it was 7, not 8? It's been 13 years, but suffice to say, crank the dial up to max works.

 

[twelvetigers]

I also worked for a vet who did very questionable things. Re-using syringes and needles, re-using gloves, minimal anesthesia monitoring. They didn't even have a tech or assistant really monitor, it was just the vet in there doing surgery with a pulse ox on the patient and the vet would reach over themselves to adjust the gas as needed--- with their sterile gloves on. Medical records were hand written on index cards.

Mine at least used Quickbooks for records! Lol. No surgery caps, no catheters or fluids, expired lactated ringers (not my biggest concern but yanno). Acepromazine alone as a surgical pre-med, given SQ myself without any help because the drop-offs came before the vet showed up and no one else was ever there.

Obviously being kind doesn't excuse poor medicine. It wasn't the best place for learning the proper way to do veterinary medicine, but if you wanted to feel supported and treated well, it was amazing.

Well. Mine was also mean, so I don't feel bad for you. 😠

(The smileys are all strange these days)

 

[fauna]

I cannot express to you all the experience I had reading this— absolutely clutching my pearls and just gasping at my screen. Much appreciated.

Iso on 8 was particularly mind boggling for me, living over here in surgery world. Who needs any blood pressure anyway?!?

 

[_rae_]

I cannot express to you all the experience I had reading this— absolutely clutching my pearls and just gasping at my screen. Much appreciated.

Iso on 8 was particularly mind boggling for me, living over here in surgery world. Who needs any blood pressure anyway?!?

Can't be painful if your blood pressure is 30/Jesus!

 

[shaakshi15]

Got accepted into Penn and waitlisted at Cornell but everyone I talk to tells me to go to Cornell if I get pulled off. I’m so anxious about my future and have just heard so many things about both schools. I just need some guidance and have no idea what to do.

 

[JaynaAli]

Got accepted into Penn and waitlisted at Cornell but everyone I talk to tells me to go to Cornell if I get pulled off. I’m so anxious about my future and have just heard so many things about both schools. I just need some guidance and have no idea what to do.

Congrats on your acceptance. Realistically, your education will be fine at either school. Both will make you a competent DVM. Minor differences likely exist in the day to day operations, but those aren’t going to matter in the grand scheme of life/life after vet school. But also…you currently only have one option, so you’re probably needlessly stressing at this point. It’s fair to be thinking ahead so you know what you’re going to do off you were called off a waitlist, but was your goal to be a Penn vet student vs a Cornell vet student, or is the ultimate goal to be a veterinarian? If it’s the latter like I suspect, then that’s great because you’re well on your way with an acceptance, no matter where it is. Keep your eyes on the end prize. Should you get called off the Cornell list, my advice would be that Vet school is short but the debt is usually around a lot longer. I’d recommend you go to the cheapest school you get accepted to, whichever option that may be.

 

[shaakshi15]

Congrats on your acceptance. Realistically, your education will be fine at either school. Both will make you a competent DVM. Minor differences likely exist in the day to day operations, but those aren’t going to matter in the grand scheme of life/life after vet school. But also…you currently only have one option, so you’re probably needlessly stressing at this point. It’s fair to be thinking ahead so you know what you’re going to do off you were called off a waitlist, but was your goal to be a Penn vet student vs a Cornell vet student, or is the ultimate goal to be a veterinarian? If it’s the latter like I suspect, then that’s great because you’re well on your way with an acceptance, no matter where it is. Keep your eyes on the end prize. Should you get called off the Cornell list, my advice would be that Vet school is short but the debt is usually around a lot longer. I’d recommend you go to the cheapest school you get accepted to, whichever option that may be.

I really needed to hear that, thank you so much.

 

[DVM882029]

Can't be painful if your blood pressure is 30/Jesus!

Also can't move during the surgery, for some that's a win/win.

I cannot express to you all the experience I had reading this— absolutely clutching my pearls and just gasping at my screen. Much appreciated.

Iso on 8 was particularly mind boggling for me, living over here in surgery world. Who needs any blood pressure anyway?!?

We'll call it Schrodinger's Blood Pressure: Is it consistent with life, or is it it not? If you don't check or monitor these things, it's both!

 

[battie]

I have such a hard time with the single use stuff in medicine when it comes to things like the ET tubes. Everywhere I've worked reuses them for surgeries. And like has been mentioned, we shockingly do not see a lot of *documented* issues with it. So I'm all for reusing things if we can document it's effective to reuse.

But then my biology brain freaks out too. Cause things are generally under reported in vet med in general. So then I spiral in the thought process.

 

[pp9]

No, no, it was iso. That clinic had never heard of sevo. Perhaps it was 7, not 8? It's been 13 years, but suffice to say, crank the dial up to max works.

interesting, I’ve never seen an iso vaporizer that went up to 8%. I have seen sevo vaporizers used with iso, though, lol. Or the dual vaporizer units that get filled by people who are not paying attention

I have such a hard time with the single use stuff in medicine when it comes to things like the ET tubes. Everywhere I've worked reuses them for surgeries. And like has been mentioned, we shockingly do not see a lot of *documented* issues with it. So I'm all for reusing things if we can document it's effective to reuse.

But then my biology brain freaks out too. Cause things are generally under reported in vet med in general. So then I spiral in the thought process.

This would make for an easy study for someone if it hasn’t already been done. Culture all of your ‘clean’ ET tubes after they sit in their storage for x days and see what grows

 

[battie]

This would make for an easy study for someone if it hasn’t already been done. Culture all of your ‘clean’ ET tubes after they sit in their storage for x days and see what grows

Paging every hopeful vet student 🤣

 

[DVM882029]

Senator Booker is on his 15th hour of protesting on the Senate floor.

 

[vampyrica]

Senator Booker is on his 15th hour of protesting on the Senate floor.

he's still going!

 

[katiemcat]

Came home from school to my apartments AC busted *cries in Florida*

 

[DVM882029]

he's still going!

Still going! Hope he breaks the record of 24 hours and change set by a racist SC Senator in opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.

 

[RespectTheChemistry]

Still going! Hope he breaks the record of 24 hours and change set by a racist SC Senator in opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.

He has officially set the record now! 🙂

Watch highlights from Cory Booker’s record Senate speech

In a feat of determination, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday evening, setting a historic mark to show Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s sweeping actions.

apnews.com

 

[DVM882029]

He has officially set the record now! 🙂

Watch highlights from Cory Booker’s record Senate speech

In a feat of determination, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday evening, setting a historic mark to show Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s sweeping actions.

apnews.com

I watched and cheered in my little home office.

 

[honeypot999]

Being told to not report a dog who is continually killing neighborhood cats and potentially could turn into a dangerous dog if given the chance makes me sick to my stomach.

I understand that it might not fall under any laws, have owner liability, or be an actual problem because of “prey drive”, but that dog needs to be trained and muzzled

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Being told to not report a dog who is continually killing neighborhood cats and potentially could turn into a dangerous dog if given the chance makes me sick to my stomach.

I understand that it might not fall under any laws, have owner liability, or be an actual problem because of “prey drive”, but that dog needs to be trained and muzzled

Is the dog getting out or the cats going into the dogs yard? I can't really blame the dog if the cats are going into its yard. If the dog is getting out that's a different issue.

Because I don't know the situation I am going to play devil's advocate and side with the person saying not to report-if there are no rules, laws, liability, actual issue the ACO may or may not show up depending resource availability and take a report that goes nowhere. In my community reporting would be a waste of resources because our ACOs have such bigger issues to deal with. Literally they don't show up to most cat calls because there are no ordinances regarding cats where we are (for better or worse)

My dogs chase cats. I'm sure my malinois would kill one if she got ahold of it but only if it's in their yard, otherwise they're leashed and aren't going to be going after cats.

 

[honeypot999]

Is the dog getting out or the cats going into the dogs yard? I can't really blame the dog if the cats are going into its yard. If the dog is getting out that's a different issue.

Because I don't know the situation I am going to play devil's advocate and side with the person saying not to report-if there are no rules, laws, liability, actual issue the ACO may or may not show up depending resource availability and take a report that goes nowhere. In my community reporting would be a waste of resources because our ACOs have such bigger issues to deal with. Literally they don't show up to most cat calls because there are no ordinances regarding cats where we are (for better or worse)

My dogs chase cats. I'm sure my malinois would kill one if she got ahold of it but only if it's in their yard, otherwise they're leashed and aren't going to be going after cats.

No you’re probably right. To me it sounds like there isn’t a fenced area and the dog is just on a chain in the yard. So that doesn’t help with legality either.

AC website said to report to the humane society, and reading news articles about a similar situation in the town AC doesn’t care about cat calls.

The only recourse I’ve found is reporting to the humane society and letting them decide since AC suggest them. I think my biggest issue overall was that the owner of the dog, knew the owners of the cat personally, and decided to dump the cat’s body in the woods instead of telling the cat owners.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

No you’re probably right. To me it sounds like there isn’t a fenced area and the dog is just on a chain in the yard. So that doesn’t help with legality either.

AC website said to report to the humane society, and reading news articles about a similar situation in the town AC doesn’t care about cat calls.

The only recourse I’ve found is reporting to the humane society and letting them decide since AC suggest them. I think my biggest issue overall was that the owner of the dog, knew the owners of the cat personally, and decided to dump the cat’s body in the woods instead of telling the cat owners.

Thats hard. That's sad poor kitty people. Sounds like the dogs o stinks.

 

[pp9]

What my back needs right about now:

 

[twelvetigers]

I have a rather sizable kidney stone... I hear those are lots of fun 🙄

 

[JaynaAli]

I have a rather sizable kidney stone... I hear those are lots of fun 🙄

My bestie from our class had one of those and said the kidney stone was almost as bad as her unintentionally unmedicated childbirth (got to the hospital too late for an epidural with kid #2). It took her almost a week to get it out. Fingers crossed yours passes quick!

 

[_rae_]

10% tariffs on everything, 54% tariffs on China, and a brand new Kesha song. Did someone say incoming recession???

 

[twelvetigers]

My bestie from our class had one of those and said the kidney stone was almost as bad as her unintentionally unmedicated childbirth (got to the hospital too late for an epidural with kid #2). It took her almost a week to get it out. Fingers crossed yours passes quick!

It's about 2x1.5x0.7cm so, I think I'll need lithotripsy or whatever.

Do you remember Pope telling us about his kidney stone during Phys I? It was equally dour. Sigh