Christmas Karma

By: Scott Dudis

Cornell University, Class of 2014

Remembering perspective is, perhaps, the best way to deal with stress. As exams were wrapping up this December, I was thinking about wrapping up presents and packing a suitcase as I bragged to “less fortunate” classmates whom I knew were scheduled in the clinic on the holiday. I boasted that I would be home, with my family, enjoying my time off. Instead of surprises in the form of many glorious gifts, I was visited by the Ghost of Christmas Irony as I, too, spent several hours at the emergency animal hospital with my own dog, all night on December 25^th. In short, she apparently decided it was Santa who had left her a small box of Dove Dark Chocolate Truffles under the tree, not one of my relatives who had, in fact, accidentally left it unattended while we were all away.

Click to read more ...

"Tubology" Wetlab

By: Alli Biddick

Oklahoma State University, Class of 2012

This Spring, the Oklahoma State University SVECCS Chapter was awarded a grant by SAVMA Education and Professional Development Committee to hold a wetlab for the students entitled "Tubology". We believe that SVECCS provides students with an invaluable opportunity to get practice with hands-on techniques. We strive to teach students how to do practical things in a clinic setting (that they won't get to do in class), with an emphasis on emergency techniques! The wetlab was held on Saturday, November 13, 2010. Thirteen students attended, with the majority being first and second year veterinary students. We had four instructors present: three clinicians in our teaching hospital (Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital) and the head RVT at the teaching hospital.

We had cadavers set up at four different stations. At one station, the students learned how to properly place and suture chest tubes. This is vitally important for animals who present with pneumothorax and are in need of emergency chest evacuation! The next station was set up to allow students to practice inserting urinary catheters into male and female dogs (a technique every veterinarian will learn to love). The third station was all about esophagostomy tubes! This is a very important procedure in critically ill animals who cannot eat on their own. The final station, led by our head RVT, taught the students how to place central lines in the jugular vein of dogs. The students had so much fun learning about the various "tubes" and when they are indicated. The lab was a great hit for all who attended! The students feel they now possess extra knowledge that will help them when they are working this summer, when they are fourth year students, and of course throughout their career! OKSTATE SVECCS would like to thank SAVMA EPDC for helping make this lab possible!!

Bridgett

By: Rachael Reith

Mississippi State University, Class of 2011

Pencil Drawing

Lessons for Life

By: Tiffany Beck

Mississippi State University, Class of 2013

I stood off to the side, feeling very out-of-place.  I wished I could melt into the floor, or at least surreptitiously run out the door and vanish for a couple hours.  The still form of a dog lay on the radiography table, surrounded by the almost equally still forms of the technicians and doctors.  After a sudden illness and a frustrating diagnosis, this pet had finally lost the fight.  I can still see as clear as day in my mind's eye the doctor who had worked the case, my internship mentor, leaning against the wall, his eyes bright with tears, frustration hardening the lines of his face.  He had just lost a patient...and he did not know why.

Click to read more ...

A New Look at Vaccines

By: Laura Stoeker

North Carolina State University

Our companion animals are routinely vaccinated against infectious diseases that target the respiratory, intestinal, and reproductive tracts, collectively known as mucosal tissue. Veterinarians typically inject vaccines into the muscle, leading to a system-wide immune response. However, recent research suggests that vaccine effectiveness may be improved by administering a vaccine at the pathogen’s point of entry, leading to a stronger local immune response that may prevent initial entry of the pathogen into the host.

Click to read more ...