Blog 22: Final Lesson Refection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of my activity. I felt that it was engaging and the people in my presentation had fun with it. They enjoyed role playing a vet and vet tech as well as playing with the stuffed animals. I had many people share out what they did to help their fictional animal at the end and it was very interesting to watch.

(2) Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

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b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

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(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

My mentorship really worked for me during my project. I learned a lot from observing the staff in the clinic. There were a lot of hands on learning and I gained a lot of knowledge from my mentor and the staff.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

To improve my senior project, I might have improved upon my essential question. It was a good question; it was just hard to find research to back it up. It was hard to find reliable sources that were also informative.  I would have also done more research to get examples of ways that the veterinary staff communicates and works together.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

Before this project I wanted to be a veterinarian. But after researching and mentoring I learned that going into this field might not be something that I truly want to do. It was a great experience and I learned a lot, such as how to give an injection and wrap an injured leg. I have also improved on my communication and people skills, both through my mentorship and volunteer work at Priceless Pets. Since I am majoring in communications, improving on my people skills will be very important to my future.

Blog 21: Mentorship

Literal

•       Updated log
•       Dr. Gene Metzger, Country Animal Clinic

Interpretive

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

I feel like the most important thing I gained from this experience was the relationships with the staff at the clinic. I was able to learn from them and understand their point of view on the field. They were very helpful in answering my questions and I feel I gained a lot of knowledge about veterinary medicine from them.

Applied

     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

By mentoring at the clinic, I was able to see how the veterinarian and technicians work together. This allowed me to come up with my three answers to my essential question. All of my three answers are ways that the vet and veterinary technicians worked together at my mentorship.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

1. What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

My essential question is, how can a veterinarian and veterinary technician work together to best help an injured or sick animal? My first answer is they can work together to perform examinations, x-rays, and health tests. My second answer is by ensuring the animal goes home with the proper medication and fully recovers. My last answer is by communicating what they believe to be wrong with the animal and why. My best answer is my last answer, which is through communication. Communication is the foundation to a successful practice and without it the veterinarian and the technicians wouldn’t be able to fully help an animal. This allows the vet and vet tech to work together to figure out what is wrong with an animal and/or how to best treat/help it. By having a clear line of communication, the veterinary practice will benefit and thrive.

2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

I read articles and books and almost all mentioned the importance of communication, not only between the vet and vet tech but with the owners as well. I also thought back to the Animal Health Science class that I took for my first independent component and how the professor talked to us about why communication is important in a practice. She told us many stories of instances when the staff didn’t communicate effectively and it affected the practice.

3. What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

I had a hard time coming up with an essential question. To solve this, I wrote out different questions and tried to come up with potential answers for them. Once I came up with answers, I had to decide if I could find information on those answers to back up my essential question. It was a long process, but it was worth it in order to develop a good essential question.

4. What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

One source that really helped me was the book Vet Confidential: An Insider’s Guide to Protecting Your Pet’s Health by Louise Murray. This source I recently found. It addressed many aspects of each of my answers. I felt it gave me great examples of how my answers are used in the clinic and how they answer me essential question.  The second source is the book Vault Guide to Veterinary and Animal Careers by Liz Stewart. This book outlined what the job of a vet and vet tech are and talked about the current trends in the veterinary field. It was helpful in giving background information on the field and giving a general idea of what it’s about.