The Expanding Field of Integrative Medicine

Thank you to Tiffany Murphy from Ross University for sharing with us her experience working with a rehabilitaion clinic.

The Expanding Field of Integrative Medicine

Primum non nocere can be translated to, “first, do no harm”. While this phrase is short, it is what I believe to be the most important phrase in veterinary medicine. Our primary goal is to cure disease and prevent or alleviate suffering. While traditional medicine solves most problems, sometimes the normal routes are not an option and clients wish to seek other modalities. At Georgia Veterinary Rehabilitation, Fitness & Pain Management (GVR) veterinarians are able to provide acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage, chiropractic, laser therapy, and rehabilitation to help promote healing after surgery, weight loss for a better quality of life, and pain management for temporary or non-curative diagnosis. The facility also provided the ability to get casts and carts fitted to animals in need.

Upon initial examination, the veterinarians were able to do an orthopedic examination on each animal to determine range of motion, crepitus, pain, and swelling of each joint. They also examined the vertebrae to determine pain and misalignment as well as the limbs for conscious proprioception. Depending on the responses of the patient, the veterinarian may determine to refer the patient for radiographs, ultrasound, or bloodwork. If the patient did not need a referral, the client could elect to begin some of the modalities offered.

Laser therapy was the most commonly used modality as it is a method of alleviating pain that nearly all patients had upon visiting the clinic. Laser therapy utilizes specific wavelengths of light to penetrate the skin and promote healing by vasodilation of the blood and lymphatic vessels.

Acupuncture was another commonly used therapy because it was helpful in stimulating nerve pathways in animals with weakness or loss of function in limbs. I was able to view three different types of acupuncture: traditional acupuncture, aquapuncture, and electroacupuncture. Aquapuncture was performed using B12 injections. Traditional and electroacupuncture were set up in the same manner except for the addition of electrodes placed on needles with electroacupuncture. Both types typically consisted of 20 needles in variable locations based on specific points used to heal different parts of the body.

Finally, the most common reason people were referred to GVR or sought out the facility was in search of rehabilitation. The rehabilitation sessions were monitored to the patient’s abilities and needs. Hind limb lameness often started with the underwater treadmill where a rehabilitation therapist was able to monitor the pet’s gait and level of tiring. Once the animal became stronger, they were able to do land sessions. Land sessions consisted of weave polls, wobble boards, and other equipment that would help strengthen specific muscle groups. Forelimb lameness or weight loss animals were often placed in the pool. They would wear a float coat and a therapist would be standing with them the entire time. With both the treadmill and the pool, the patient’s time moving increased as well as their speed depending on how the animal was doing currently and how the treatment effected the pet previously if done before. Following rehabilitation sessions, the animal would be stretched to help promote a range of motion.

My experience with GVR was beneficial in giving me the opportunity to visualize modalities that are not strongly incorporated into the veterinary curriculum. The therapies I was able to observe do not work in every patient, but have minimal negative side effects. Some therapies were used alongside traditional therapies or used when traditional therapies failed. This experience also allowed me to communicate with veterinarians about cases as well as view records of patients which allowed me to incorporate western and eastern medicine. I would encourage all students to get an experience that promoted further learning in the field because it has many studies proving its effectiveness, has limited adverse effects, and many clients are seeking alternate therapies because of the risks associated with some traditional methods.

Yerington, NV

Cherise Hill - Oregon State

Experiences

The SAVMA Public Health and Community Outreach Committee awarded Cherise a $500 "Underserved Populations Externship Stipend” for her externship in Nevada.

For the first week of Christmas break, in my third year at Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, I completed a small animal surgery and medicine externship at Greenfield Animal Hospital in Yerington, Nevada. Much of Nevada provides a unique challenge for veterinary care as the region has many communities that are too small to supporta veterinary service on their own.  Greenfield Animal Hospital is the sole veterinary hospital in Yerington and also provides veterinary services to people traveling from the surrounding communities: Smith Valley, Schurz, and Hawthorne (nearly 60 miles away).  Both Drs Justin Smith and Jody Roderick have been incredible mentors ever since I worked there in high school, and were incredibly gracious to open up their hospital to me for a weeklong surgery and medicine externship.

                Every morning I performed preoperative physical exams for the surgical procedures that day, checking for any clinical signs that would preclude the elective surgery, such as a severe heart murmur or respiratory disease.  Many of the dogs that I had the opportunity to spay or neuter came from the Paiute Native American Tribe in Schurz and from the local Yerington Animal Shelter. I then spent the morning in surgery, working to perfect my skill with Dr. Smith giving me tips on how to be most efficient—from what he had learned at one of the other OSU’s – Oklahoma State University. Most of the dogs and cats were young adults with no complications. There was one dog in particular that I was concerned about because she was an older bulldog that had whelped several litters of puppies. I was happy when her anesthesia went very smoothly, and though there was increased hemorrhaging due to her pregnancy history, the surgery and recovery went well. By the end of the week, we had completed seven neuter or spay surgeries, and I felt incredibly more excited about being in the surgery suite for the rest of my life! Towards the end of the week a beagle came in with large abscesses and bite wounds on its neck, so was excited to clean out the abscesses and place a Penrose drain to allow the wounds to continue to drain.

                In the afternoons I followed both Dr. Roderick and Smith in medicine cases. Many of them were the typical vaccination appointment, but I did get to see some cases that would be of interest to a veterinary student and I will mention three that stand out to me: One middle-aged gray tabby cat that came in for vaccinations had copper colored eyes, making me wonder if she had a portosystemic shunt. She had of course been healthy all her life, so there was no need to perform further diagnostics, but I’ll always wonder! A middle aged Siberian Husky  with the classic ‘tragic facial expression’ was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and although he didn’t appear to me to have alopecia, I would assume that could easily go unnoticed with the northern breeds who have a thick coat to begin with. And finally, having just taken a surgery exam on repairs for a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), I was excited to have a look at the radiographs of a Shepherd mix at the 8 week recheck appointment, and rehearse the advantages and disadvantages of the three main CCL repairs.

                On Wednesday morning I visited the Yerington Elementary School to give an hour-long presentation that I called “The Jobs of a Veterinarian.” When I arrived at the school I discovered the size of my audience had more than tripled because of the interest of other classrooms. In all, there were about 80 kids there, ranging from 4^th grade up to 7^th grade. I began by explaining the various types of jobs a veterinarian can have, including the lesser known jobs such as wildlife, and lab animal veterinarians. The kids were especially excited to learn about the veterinarian that attends to the dogs of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race! I gave the kids some interesting animal trivia, talking about how heart rates vary from large mammals to tiny hummingbirds in flight and why cephalopods have blue blood. One of the teachers had been cleared with the principal to bring her dog into the school, so I performed a brief physical exam and among other things, highlighted the importance of regular dental cleanings and keeping their pets at a good body weight.  Finally, I spent the last 20 minutes answering questions the students had and was happy that so many of them were curious about veterinarians and other jobs that involve animals.

The week that I spent in Yerington was incredible –the doctors and staff at Greenfield Animal Hospital were phenomenally welcoming and patient with someone who didn’t know where anything was located in the hospital. It’s not a surprise in the least to say I highly recommend looking them up for an internship – it may not be the high volume clinic that you might see in a large city, but I certainly saw many cases that made me rethink my approach to certain diseases (the absence of the classic alopecia of a severely hypothyroid dog, for example).  Most of all, it was exciting to give back to the community I had grown up in, both by raising awareness of the need for veterinary care with the kids at school, and also practicing my surgical skills to make some pets behave like much better citizens. 

MARVET: Marine Veterinary Workshop

Entry, Experiences

Vera Kazaniwskyj, Ohio State

MARVET is a marine veterinary animal workshop run every year in 3 different locations, Florida, Mexico and the Cayman Islands.   This past summer I participated in one of the MARVET workshops in the Grand Cayman, British West Indies.  It was hosted by St. Matthew’s University School of Veterinary Medicine and taught by a wide range of aquatic and marine animal veterinarians.  The purpose of this workshop was to give students an introduction into the field of marine veterinary, conservation and wildlife medicine.  I am pursuing a career in zoo/wildlife animal medicine, with a specific focus on veterinary medicine.  Since we do not learn much about this field at school, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get a more well-rounded education and meet those interested in similar goals.  

 

Every morning we would attend lectures that ranging from anatomy and physiology of marine species and emerging diseases, to wildlife ecotoxicology and diagnostic surveillance.  We also learned about conservation of coral reefs and mangroves.   These lectures and discussions gave us an overall understanding about all the different facets to get involved in as a marine animal/wildlife veterinarian.  It was interesting to see all the ways veterinarians are connected not only to medicine, but also conservation and preservation of environments as a whole.

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Primate Research Center Externship

Entry, Experiences
Keiko Petrosky, Tufts 

During my externship at the New England Primate Research Center Division of Comparative Pathology and Primate Resources at the Harvard University, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Andrew Miller, a veterinary pathologist who is an expert in experimental and diagnostic pathology. Along with four Kyoko Okabe (Osaka City University) and Keiko Petrosky (Tufts University), both STP Travel Award winners.summer students in the department, I attended gross and histology rounds, observed a necropsy, and interacted with residents and scientists. Dr. Miller also lead us through mystery slide readings, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology slide readings, and slide examination of classic lesions in the non-human primate.

 

The highlight of my summer was working with Dr. Miller directly on a project to describe more thoroughly lesions found in the brains of SIV-infected rhesus macaques. For this project, I worked closely with a histologist to learn immunohistochemistry and to perform this task independently. I was also able to attend the Society of Toxicologic Pathology Annual Symposium that was held in Boston with Dr. Miller and the veterinary pathology residents at Harvard, where I interacted with students from all over the world!

Fun activities included an ice cream social and a pool party with Gregory Miller’s lab (no relation). The NEPRC is located in an idyllic forest, worlds away from the nearby residential and industrial areas of the city of Southborough. I saw a white-tailed deer en route to the NEPRC, and Dr. Miller illustrated bracken fern toxicity during rounds by going outside and harvesting a frond! Dr. Miller and his team make pathology entertaining and after my experience, I would highly recommend that anyone curious about veterinary pathology, non-human primates, or research in general spend some time at the NEPRC.

Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Internship at the Mote Marine Laboratory

By: Madoka McAllister

Class of 2014, University of Illinois

In January 2010, I had the distinct pleasure of taking part in a marine animal rehabilitation internship at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida.  I had had some previous rehabilitation experience but never with marine animals so it was a very new, exciting opportunity for me.  Although the Rehabilitation Hospital at Mote takes in sea turtles, dolphins and whales, our patients were exclusively sea turtles during my time there.  Having gone into the internship knowing little about sea turtles, I was amazed to discover how intelligent and graceful they are.  Many had distinct personalities and over the duration of my internship, I became very fond of them.  

Florida experienced a sudden cold snap this past winter, with water temperatures dropping 5-8 degrees below average, resulting in the second coldest winter on record in many areas.  Most wildlife and plant life was severely impacted, including thousands of sea turtles that were cold-stunned as a result of the unusual weather.  Cold-stunned turtles are extremely weak and were unable to swim properly, often floating at the ocean's surface or washing up on shore.  I arrived at the Mote just in time to help out with the inflow of cold-stunned sea turtles. 

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