Wow, I've been home for just over a month now! It doesn't seem possible that it has already been that long! The time has gone both quickly and slowly, but I can't believe I'll be back in Grenada in less than two months. I've been up to a variety of things so far this summer, I'm sorry that blogging has not been one of them. It is more difficult when I am at home simply because the days all run together and most of the time I do nothing exciting at all. How is that different from school? Well, I guess it isn't really, but this is a blog about life in vet school, so it's supposed to be about all those mundane details about school!
Anyhow, I've been at my summer internship for 4 weeks now. I am working for a general practice hospital that is part of a corporate chain. It has been an interesting experience so far. Most of my veterinary experience before school was in emergency medicine and specialty medicine. I did some shadowing at a general practice for a little over a year once a week, but that practice seems a bit different from the hospital I'm currently at. The main focus is preventative care. Vaccinations, routine blood work, dental prophylaxis, fecal exams, and a few other things are the main push for this clinic. They don't see a whole lot of sick visits, and for the most part, the sick visits they do see are relatively minor complaints (gastritis, coughing/sneezing, ear infections, etc.). Anything serious is referred to a specialty hospital. For someone who is used to being on the other end, it is really disappointing when an interesting case comes in but we don't really do much with it before referral. Sometimes we get a referral report back, sometimes we don't.
I haven't quite gotten the hang of wellness exams yet. I feel like there are always a million pieces of the checklist to remember when I am working with those clients and patients. I feel much more comfortable working with sick visits. I have been practicing a physical exam on most of my patients (unless they are really mean, painful, or I am extremely pressed for time). I feel like after just one year of school, I am still very impressionable, so if someone mentions a specific disease process or I come up with something on my own, I tend to really focus on that rather than seeing the big picture and all of the clinical signs. I think this is mostly because there are a lot of disease processes that I haven't learned or heard about yet. I shadow the doctors a little bit and that helps me get an idea of where they are going with their thought processes.
The staff and doctors are all very very nice and everyone gets along very well. They are all really good friends both at work and after hours. A lot of positive reinforcement is used at this practice, and I must say, as someone with a background in psychology, this is an excellent idea. I have already picked up some ideas for things to keep in mind when I am working in the future. A small praising for a job done well can really g a long way. The hospital is very small. Much smaller than I am used to. In addition to being very small in size, we often have 7+ people working at any given time. I find this a little bit stressful and overwhelming at times, because it's hard not to constantly feel like you are in someone's way! I work really cushy hours! Most days I work from 9-4, with a few 10-7, 10-5, 9-5, or 12-5 shifts thrown in. When I start surgery next week, I think I will be working 8-2 or 8-3 those days. I feel so spoiled! I work 5 days a week usually including at least one weekend day, but I don't really mind. I think I'd prefer to work longer hours over fewer days, but it sure does feel nice to get off of work early or to sleep in late!
I've been doing a lot of CE stuff while I'm home. My hospital has a lot of online learning available and I've been going through the material pretty quickly. I should be reviewing my notes from last year...eek! I am terrified of this coming fall! I have moments where I feel like I don't remember anything from last year and moments where I can't believe I only have 3 years left before I will be responsible for dozens of lives a month!
I've also done a little bit of baking since I've been home. I promise to post pictures soon! Pink lemonade cupcakes, a green and blue marbled graduation cake for my brother (school colors), snickerdoodle muffins, and Father's Day fishing cupcakes! All very yummy! I keep telling myself that I need to cook and bake more, after all, my roommate and I were practically drooling at all of the fun things we found on Pintrest last spring! I know the time is fast approaching where I will no longer have a full kitchen and easy access to ingredients!
My youngest brother and I have been working our way through a Legend of Zelda Wii game. He loves it so much and I know he just adores spending time with me playing the game. I love puzzles, so this type of game is perfect for me.
My guinea pig is enjoying my presence and affection. I miss her sooooo much when I'm away! She is so spoiled, words just can't even begin to describe how rotten she can be, but I love her more than anything in the world! She loves to come snuggle with me, and lets me know when I am late feeding her treats! She has since forgiven me for the bath she received shortly after I got home (but in my defense, it had been 9 months since the last one because I didn't want to stress her over winter break when she was recovering from her broken teeth).
My mom and I walk our dogs in the evenings usually. They are nearly 2 years old and 9 months old now. The older dog is very laid back (except for a few triggers such as the lawn mower, garbage trucks, a certain neighborhood dog, and geese), but the puppy is still very much a puppy! She gets into everything! You can't take your eyes off of her for even a minute, or she might go steal something she shouldn't! She is so very good at having a toy one minute, and then when you look away, she'll go steal something and start chewing it up! They are both very spoiled by my parents. For dogs with so much fur, they certainly HATE being brushed! It's kind of a problem when you have collies!
I haven't done any traveling so far. I'd like to go visit friends and see my family, but the time is going by so quickly! It is definitely nice to just hang out at home and sleep in my own bed though! Keeps things nice and simple! I was supposed to go to Tennessee for a weekend volunteer clinic, but things fell through with my plans and I ended up not making the trip. It would have been an 8 hour drive each way in 3 days, and it just wasn't feasible for me to go by myself. Oh well, hopefully next year!
Okay, I think that's enough for tonight! I promise to try to be better about updating and to get some pictures up soon!
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