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.

April Post

I completed my 50 hours of mentorship at the clinic. I was able to also finish my independent component, which was extra hours at the clinic. The extra hours really helped me gain more knowledge on the topic. I learned so much from my mentorship and I'm glad I got to do my senior project on veterinary medicine. I met so many great people at the clinic and learned a lot from them. I was glad I finished my mentorship so I can focus on my presentation and how I'm going to execute it.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

LITERAL

(a) “I, Jessica Castillo, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

(b) My mentor, Dr. Gene Metzger and the entire staff at Country Animal Clinic and Priceless Pets Orphanage.

(c) Hours up to date.

(d) I did extra hours at Country Animal Clinic and volunteered at Priceless Pets. I went to the clinic after school on Fridays and on Saturdays. I helped the staff prepare for their low vaccination clinic and then helped run it on Saturday. At Priceless Pets, I helped walk dogs, cleaned around the orphanage, informed customers about the animals, and helped at adoption center.

INTERPRETIVE 

By doing extra hours at Country Animal Clinic, I was able to talk more with the staff and gain more insight into the field. I witnessed how important it was for them to work together during low vaccination clinics. There were always people waiting outside to get in and the staff was always busy running around trying to see everyone. This also showed me how well the staff at the clinic communicated with each other. It allowed things to run smoothly. Volunteering at Priceless Pets allowed me to use and improve on my people skills. It is important to the veterinary practice and is part of the communication answer to my essential question. I was able to talk with customers and inform them about animals they were interested in. It was an overall great experience to both volunteer and do extra hours. I gained so much more knowledge and was also able to have fun.

Molly at low vaccination clinic.

Sara volunteered & helped find a home for Belle at an adoption event.

Couple that adopted Bandit.

APPLIED

I was able to do extra hours at the veterinary clinic. This helped further my knowledge in the veterinary field, but also allowed me to see other ways in which a vet and vet tech work together to help animals. My volunteer work at Priceless Pets allowed me to help animals in need, as well as improve my people skills. These people skills are needed in the veterinary field and are a form of communication, which is one of my answers to my essential question. I was able to use my learned people skills and knowledge from my extra hours at the vet clinic and apply it to real life. This gave me a deeper understanding of the field and taught me the importance of communication with those around me.

March Post

I have gotten close to the staff at Country Animal Clinic. They are great people and are very informative. They will show me x-rays or have me look at a sample under a microscope and explain what it is. This month I learned a lot about how the technicians test blood samples. They showed me how the machine works and how to insert the different types of samples into it. They have been very helpful in my senior project and have taught me a lot. Unfortunately, I only need two more hours to complete my 50. I am planning to visit one last time and complete my interview. While I am nearing the end of my mentorship, I know I will continue to be great friends with the entire staff at Country Animal Clinic and will see them occasionally when I take my dog in for checkups.

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Preparation

1. How can a veterinarian help their staff prepare for emergency situations?
2. How do you feel about euthanasia?
3. What is some advice you can give to someone looking to go into this field?
4. Why is communication important between the veterinarian and veterinary technician?
5. What is needed to run a successful veterinary practice?
6. When can you decide if euthanasia is necessary?
7. What is the first thing to do when a sick animal is brought in?
8. How many years of experience is needed to feel comfortable and really know what to do in emergency situations?
9. What is the first thing to do when an injured animal is brought in?
10. What is the most important role a veterinary technician plays within a practice?
11. What is the most important role of the veterinarian within a practice?
12. This is my essential question, _____. How would you answer this?
13. What ways do the veterinarian and veterinary technician work together?
14. What could happen if the veterinarian and veterinary technician don't communicate effectively?
15. What important skills are needed for this job?
16. How can the veterinary staff help the animal feel most comfortable while recovering from surgery?
17. How does the veterinary staff help an animal recover?
18. What is done to prepare an animal for surgery?
19. What are the most common illnesses among dogs? Cats?
20. Why are x-rays, health checks, and examinations important to the health of a pet?

Blog 17: Answer 3

1. EQ
How can a veterinarian and veterinary technician work together to best help an injured or sick animal?

2. Answer 3
Lastly, they can work together in ensuring a full recovery of an animal.

3. Three details to support the answer (fact and example)
- Technicians need to make sure the animal is able to breathe correctly and on its own after being put under with anesthesia. At my mentorship, there is a vet tech assistant that makes sure the animal is fully under and to make sure they wake up and breathe on their own after surgery.

- Part of the recovery is making sure the wound is healing properly and no infection becomes present. An example of this would be when the vet has to cut open and animal and stitch them back up; the vet has to make sure the stitches are tight and won't come undone. This ensures no infection will come to the sight of the surgery and allow for little scaring.

- The veterinary staff also needs to ensure the animal goes home with the proper medication. This could be antibiotics or pain medication. It could also include a cone, or e-collar, to ensure the animal doesn't lick the sight of the wound and cause infection or the stitches to come undone.

4. Research sources to support details and answer
- Helping Your Dog Recover After Surgery, assisianimalhealth.com
- Pets and Anesthesia, tufts.com
- Anesthesia for Pet Surgery: Risks and Safety, healthypets.mercola.com

5. Concluding sentence
"We have more to learn from animals than animals have to learn from us." - Anthony Douglas Williams - Inside the Divine Pattern