Suggestions on items to prepare for first year?

[PetVet23]

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Any suggestions on rubber boots? I just wanna be comfy and the first ones I ordered were not great

I highly recommend Muck boots! I have high arches and honestly can't wear rain boots because they just hurt, but I've never had that problem with my Muck boots and they actually have a little bit of arch support. The ones I have are 1/2 rubber and 1/2 neoprene, but I think they have styles that are full rubber if that's an absolute requirement for your school. They are a little more expensive, but that was a price I was willing to pay to not be in pain

 

[neocaridinadavidi]

I highly recommend Muck boots! I have high arches and honestly can't wear rain boots because they just hurt, but I've never had that problem with my Muck boots and they actually have a little bit of arch support. The ones I have are 1/2 rubber and 1/2 neoprene, but I think they have styles that are full rubber if that's an absolute requirement for your school. They are a little more expensive, but that was a price I was willing to pay to not be in pain

Thank you for the rec!

 

[PetVet23]

Second year but figured this seems like the right place to ask! Anyone know where I can order some decent suture to practice with that won't cost me an arm and a leg? I have a bunch of silk which I like for getting the gist of a pattern, but would like to have something a little more realistic.

 

[finnickthedog]

Second year but figured this seems like the right place to ask! Anyone know where I can order some decent suture to practice with that won't cost me an arm and a leg? I have a bunch of silk which I like for getting the gist of a pattern, but would like to have something a little more realistic.

Sometimes you can get expired suture for free if your school has/offers any. Maybe if there's a student surgery club or something you can ask them about it?

To be perfectly honest, if you have to pay more for it I don't think getting actual suture is worth it. I practiced with sewing thread and while it's different, I don't find the difference enough that I think the practice would have been significantly better with real suture. The difference between practice skin and real skin was the more significant adjustment for me.

 

[vetmedhead]

Sometimes you can get expired suture for free if your school has/offers any. Maybe if there's a student surgery club or something you can ask them about it?

To be perfectly honest, if you have to pay more for it I don't think getting actual suture is worth it. I practiced with sewing thread and while it's different, I don't find the difference enough that I think the practice would have been significantly better with real suture. The difference between practice skin and real skin was the more significant adjustment for me.

I also think that honestly just getting a rope or leash and practicing hand ties and instrument ties was REALLY helpful for me, as those get used a ton in practice but we spend comparatively much less time on them in school vs learning patterns and suturing. Once I nailed a fast modified miller's instrument tie and some basic square knot hand ties I cut my spay and neuter times practically in half

For practicing with actual suture I second looking for expired suture from someone. Also kind of gross but sometimes I used to ask my boss to save leftover/wasted suture for me at the end of surgeries if the tails were long enough and practiced with that at home

 

[EB73674]

This may be a completely ridiculous question, but it's something I've been noticing - every time I use an instrument at work (eg. hemostats to pluck ears) or do something very intricate with my hands, they seem to cramp very easily. Did anyone deal with this before starting vet school, and how did you overcome it? Should I be getting something like a stress ball? Wrist braces (which I obviously won't be able to use in surgeries eventually)? Start physical therapy now & see how it goes?

 

[SkiOtter]

This may be a completely ridiculous question, but it's something I've been noticing - every time I use an instrument at work (eg. hemostats to pluck ears) or do something very intricate with my hands, they seem to cramp very easily. Did anyone deal with this before starting vet school, and how did you overcome it? Should I be getting something like a stress ball? Wrist braces (which I obviously won't be able to use in surgeries eventually)? Start physical therapy now & see how it goes?

@PippyPony did you have any of these problems with your arthritis?

 

[PippyPony]

@PippyPony did you have any of these problems with your arthritis?

@EB73674

Yes, surgery is sometimes painful for me to do. Honestly I just take ibuprofen and try to rest my hands in the days leading up to when I know I'm going to need to use them for something intricate. I occasionally use hand braces that I got from an orthopedic specialist (outside of surgery, obviously) but I find that those can actually cause more pain over time because of how they compress my thumbs. Sometimes I sleep with them on if my hands have gotten a lot of use -- kind of helps to keep them from cramping overnight, I think.

Also, ice packs and heated rice bags. And gentle stretching.

I wouldn't recommend a stress ball unless you think it's from true weakness for some reason. I find they do more harm than good, although that might just be me?

 

[PippyPony]

And for a win-win situation, avoid plucking ear hairs in general 😉 That's kinda old school and can hurt more than it helps.

 

[finnickthedog]

I also think that honestly just getting a rope or leash and practicing hand ties and instrument ties was REALLY helpful for me, as those get used a ton in practice but we spend comparatively much less time on them in school vs learning patterns and suturing. Once I nailed a fast modified miller's instrument tie and some basic square knot hand ties I cut my spay and neuter times practically in half

For practicing with actual suture I second looking for expired suture from someone. Also kind of gross but sometimes I used to ask my boss to save leftover/wasted suture for me at the end of surgeries if the tails were long enough and practiced with that at home

I hate hand ties. No matter how much I practice them, I can do an instrument tie so much faster.

But we were tested on being able to do hand ties several times and I concur that practicing them with a rope or a leash is useful for getting them down.

 

[vetmedhead]

This may be a completely ridiculous question, but it's something I've been noticing - every time I use an instrument at work (eg. hemostats to pluck ears) or do something very intricate with my hands, they seem to cramp very easily. Did anyone deal with this before starting vet school, and how did you overcome it? Should I be getting something like a stress ball? Wrist braces (which I obviously won't be able to use in surgeries eventually)? Start physical therapy now & see how it goes?

Out of curiosity, how do you hold the instruments? Which fingers through the rings?

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

This may be a completely ridiculous question, but it's something I've been noticing - every time I use an instrument at work (eg. hemostats to pluck ears) or do something very intricate with my hands, they seem to cramp very easily. Did anyone deal with this before starting vet school, and how did you overcome it? Should I be getting something like a stress ball? Wrist braces (which I obviously won't be able to use in surgeries eventually)? Start physical therapy now & see how it goes?

Are you by any chance left handed?

The locking mechanism on right-handed instruments is a PITA to use if you are lefthanded, and my thumb was constantly cramping for the first couple years of school. It went away over time, though. If you are left-handed you could also look into buying a pair of left-handed instruments for your own use if the pain is getting to be too much.

 

[max_wildlife]

Are you by any chance left handed?

The locking mechanism on right-handed instruments is a PITA to use if you are lefthanded, and my thumb was constantly cramping for the first couple years of school. It went away over time, though. If you are left-handed you could also looking into buying a pair of left-handed instruments for your own use if the pain is getting to be too much.

I wasn't part of this convo originally but as a lefty I seriously appreciate this tip! thank you 🙂

 

[EB73674]

And for a win-win situation, avoid plucking ear hairs in general 😉 That's kinda old school and can hurt more than it helps.

Thank you so much for the advice, I will definitely give those a try! Yeah, if I had my druthers I wouldn't be doing it, but a few of my doctors like us doing it, so I'm a little stuck on that point. I'll try those other options, though!

 

[EB73674]

Out of curiosity, how do you hold the instruments? Which fingers through the rings?

I tend to hold most instruments with my thumb & either middle or ring finger - my hands are honestly a bit too small to use my index fingers on our standard instruments, do they make smaller ones that I could order for myself?

 

[EB73674]

Are you by any chance left handed?

The locking mechanism on right-handed instruments is a PITA to use if you are lefthanded, and my thumb was constantly cramping for the first couple years of school. It went away over time, though. If you are left-handed you could also look into buying a pair of left-handed instruments for your own use if the pain is getting to be too much.

Ooh good to know it's possible it might resolve! I honestly don't do it all that often, it's the every-blue-moon situation of using hemostats or (weirdly) yesterday when I was expressing some really rolly/tricky AGs. It's typically my carpal & metacarpal area that seem to be affected the most, but my pinkies & thumbs can also get affected. Not a lefty though, so I don't think that'd particularly help. Thank you for the advice though!

 

[battie]

I tend to hold most instruments with my thumb & either middle or ring finger - my hands are honestly a bit too small to use my index fingers on our standard instruments, do they make smaller ones that I could order for myself?

We're taught that you're supposed to use your thumb and ring finger to hold instruments.

 

[JaynaAli]

You can also cradle them in your palm if using the rings is painful. It takes some practice but works.

 

[Coopah]

You can also cradle them in your palm if using the rings is painful. It takes some practice but works.

This method was suggested to me by a few surgeons, it allows you to temporarily flip one instrument out of the way while using a second one and flip back to make everything faster.

 

[JaynaAli]

This method was suggested to me by a few surgeons, it allows you to temporarily flip one instrument out of the way while using a second one and flip back to make everything faster.

Yep. In school we weren’t given left handed instruments and just had to make do with right handed stuff. It wasn’t too awful for me to do surgery right handed because Even though I write left handed I have always used scissors right handed. I think palming the instruments makes it much easier for a lefty to open and close the ratchet portion...the “squeeze and push away from you” motion required to operate right handed instruments in your left hand was easier for me when my fingers weren’t stuck in the rings. But I’ve definitely seen even right handed surgeons palm them and be super quick and efficient with their motions.

 

[vetmedhead]

Yep. In school we weren’t given left handed instruments and just had to make do with right handed stuff. It wasn’t too awful for me to do surgery right handed because Even though I write left handed I have always used scissors right handed. I think palming the instruments makes it much easier for a lefty to open and close the ratchet portion...the “squeeze and push away from you” motion required to operate right handed instruments in your left hand was easier for me when my fingers weren’t stuck in the rings. But I’ve definitely seen even right handed surgeons palm them and be super quick and efficient with their motions.

I also know quite a few surgeons with either very large or very small hands who prefer palming instruments as a matter of course - both because it's hard to get their hands in the rings right (too tight on big hands and little hands slip straight through to the knuckles too easily). I'm bog-standard average women's glove size and took a crack at it and I also like it a lot. Once you get the feel of the motion you have to do with the base of your thumb to open and close things it's really fast

 

[EB73674]

Ooh those are excellent ideas, I'll give that a try! I was hunting around on Youtube and found a video of a doctor using that, I'll give it a try when I go in today! Thank you all so much, glad to know I'm not a total weirdo with this!

 

[Lupin21]

You can also cradle them in your palm if using the rings is painful. It takes some practice but works.

yup! I switch back and forth all the time depending on what crazy angle I am needing to get a needle through. haha

 

[stealthoscope]

Tbh as a leftie I have never been able to palm right-handed instruments

I used to have days where I was in surgery all day and my thumb would end up with a linear indentation from the needle driver handle. Over time I got a nice callus on my thumb and now it doesn’t hurt to suture anymore

 

[EB73674]

Tbh as a leftie I have never been able to palm right-handed instruments

I used to have days where I was in surgery all day and my thumb would end up with a linear indentation from the needle driver handle. Over time I got a nice callus on my thumb and now it doesn’t hurt to suture anymore

It'll be like the summer I ended up riding so many sweaty Thoroughbreds with hard mouths I developed a permanent rein finger callus - good to know my skills will serve me well 🤣

 

[mwnewt]

I know there are likely already threads on this topic but I really don't know how to work the search on sdn in my favor. If someone could do my a huge favor and link some threads about suggested supplies for first year or for vet school in general, that would be awesome and much appreciated!

 

[WonderingStudent]

This is the thread you are probably looking for

Suggestions on items to prepare for first year?

Hello, i'm sure this has been asked before so feel free to link me to another thread answering it. Either way, I was wondering what are some stand-out items that have helped you throughout your veterinary degree. They could be books, supplies, clothes, resources, etc. So far i've been told a...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Also another helpful one possibly:

Studying in vet school

So just curious if my methods of studying right now will be useful in vet school or if I won't have time for them. Currently, all my professors give PowerPoints. I listen to the ppts 1.5-2x speed and annotate anything they said that isn't on the slides. I then after class will make flashcards...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[SkiOtter]

And another helpful thread

How to search for topics BEFORE starting a new thread

It can be hard to sift through so much information at once. I know it's easier to just ask whatever it is you want to ask about. But... when everyone starts a new thread any time they have a question, things get congested and even more confusing. Using the search function is easy. Here, let me...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[turnandburn]

Second year but figured this seems like the right place to ask! Anyone know where I can order some decent suture to practice with that won't cost me an arm and a leg? I have a bunch of silk which I like for getting the gist of a pattern, but would like to have something a little more realistic.

I got expired suture through our clubs. For me, I liked practicing with different types and sizes because I quickly learned the difference in strength between say 0 and 4-0, or even tension I could use on 3-0 and 4-0.

 

[turnandburn]

And for a win-win situation, avoid plucking ear hairs in general 😉 That's kinda old school and can hurt more than it helps.

Agreed. I very rarely recommend doing this.

 

[WonderingStudent]

Bumping this thread for incoming first years.

 

[Stroganoff]

@cdo96 (Or anyone here who nerds out on gigantic whiteboards to study):

It's been a few years, but do you remember where you (and/or your dad) got your whiteboard? I'm in the market now. 6' wide x 4' tall or maybe 5' tall. Magnetic and fancy material (melamine or better?).

 

[cdo96]

@cdo96 (Or anyone here who nerds out on gigantic whiteboards to study):

It's been a few years, but do you remember where you (and/or your dad) got your whiteboard? I'm in the market now. 6' wide x 4' tall or maybe 5' tall. Magnetic and fancy material (melamine or better?).

It was either Amazon or Wayfair! I’m leaning towards Wayfair? But we checked both websites for sure