For our first vet skills workshop of this year, students came out to learn about five different important technical skills from some of the UC Davis vet students. Here is a breakdown of each of the stations provided:
Stations
1. Suture
Suturing is a technical term for stitching up an incision or wound. It is definitely a skill you want to learn for a future in veterinary medicine. At the suturing station, students got some valuable hands-on experience and learned how to close up an incision on a sponge. Yes, you read that right. A sponge. (Sidenote: it’s a really cheap and easy template to practice on for those of you who want to prepare for the future). Students were each provided with a needle driver, tweezers, suture material, and a cut sponge to practice on. They were taught two different suturing techniques, simple interrupted and simple continuous. For more details and a practice video on suturing click here.
2. Catheter
Club members learned how to insert an IV (intravenous) catheter into a pseudo dog arm which was supposed to mimic the cephalic veins. The cephalic vein is the main vein used for small animal medicine (dogs and cats). It is located on the front forelegs, running between the wrist joint and elbow of the animal. IV catheters are important for veterinary medicine because they supply medications and fluids directly into the patient's bloodstream, providing rapid relief and care. At the station, students were given a pseudo dog arm with straw veins, IV catheter, and some tape to practice with. They learned how to stabilize the vein, angle the catheter (30 degree shallow angle) and “advance”(push) the catheter into the vein. The vet student also taught them how to check to see if they are inside the vein. Vet student Michelle said, “You should feel a resistance when you first insert the needle and then you should feel an easy, smooth entrance when you’re in the vein”. After students placed their catheters inside the straw veins, they learned how to correctly tape the catheter onto the arm.
3. Radiology
Radiology looks at different imaging techniques such as X-rays, ultrasound, CT scans, etc. to diagnose and treat the body. For the workshop, students focused on the basics of interpreting an X-ray. They were taught that denser tissues and bones absorb the x-rays, while x-rays just go through air and less dense tissue. That is why bones and thick tissues tend to look more opaque in X-rays. In this station, students were shown sample radiographs from real life cases and learned how to identify the problems. They learned how to look for primary bone tumors, neoplastic disorders, fractures, and enlarged organs of a dog.
4. Restraint
Restraint is important for keeping the animal under control so they do not injure themselves or the people around them. At the restraint station, the vet student showed and explained to students the different kinds of common restraints used. For cats, students learned that scruffing them is the only way to go. Scruffing is when you pinch along the cat’s neck or upper back to pick them up. It actually mimics the way in which a mother cat picks up her babies and it supposedly immobilizes them. (If you’ve ever scruffed a kitten or a cat, you have probably seen them have a spaced-out look in their eyes.) But if scruffing doesn’t work you can also wrap the cat in a towel and make a cute kitty burrito (a purrito). As for dogs there is more of a variety of restraints you can use. Students practiced the common standing restraints, lateral recumbency restraint, and muzzle hold on a demo dog.
5. Vitals
For our last station, students learned the basics of how to check vitals for a dog. They used a stethoscope to listen for the heartbeat of the demo dog. To take the heart rate of a dog or cat, you can count how many pulses you feel in 10 seconds and then multiply that number by 6 to get that one minute. The normal heart rate for dogs is between 60-140 bpm and 160-240 bpm for cats. In addition, you can also feel the pulse by placing your hand on the femoral artery on the inner sides of the thigh. This is called the femoral pulse. Another important component the students learned was how to check for enlarged lymph nodes. They learned how to identify and feel for the popliteal lymph node and the mandibular lymph node. This is essential because an enlarged lymph node can be a sign of cancer.
Some afterthoughts about the workshop from your fellow PSSD members:
Name: Rebecca Aguayo
Year: Second
What was your favorite skill you learned today and why?
I really enjoyed the suturing station. I liked learning how to close an incision, and it was cool learning how to make the different knots. Overall, it was a good hands-on experience.
What did you think about the workshop overall?
I thought it was very informational and went really well!
What other skills would you like to see at future workshops ?
I think an ophthalmology workshop would be great.
Year: Second
What was your favorite skill you learned today and why?
I really enjoyed the suturing station. I liked learning how to close an incision, and it was cool learning how to make the different knots. Overall, it was a good hands-on experience.
What did you think about the workshop overall?
I thought it was very informational and went really well!
What other skills would you like to see at future workshops ?
I think an ophthalmology workshop would be great.
Name: Amna Shaikh
Year: Third
What was your favorite skill you learned today and why?
I really liked the suturing workshop. I liked how hands-on it was and it was a really good experience. I always like seeing myself progress and saw myself progress in suturing. At first it was hard, but I got better at it by the end.
What did you think about the workshop overall?
I really liked it because it gave me an insight of what I would be doing if I became a veterinarian. Overall, it was a really well put-together workshop.
What other skills would you like to see at future workshops?
I think pathology would be a good option. It would be really cool if we could look at tissue samples through a microscope and learn about different diseases.
Year: Third
What was your favorite skill you learned today and why?
I really liked the suturing workshop. I liked how hands-on it was and it was a really good experience. I always like seeing myself progress and saw myself progress in suturing. At first it was hard, but I got better at it by the end.
What did you think about the workshop overall?
I really liked it because it gave me an insight of what I would be doing if I became a veterinarian. Overall, it was a really well put-together workshop.
What other skills would you like to see at future workshops?
I think pathology would be a good option. It would be really cool if we could look at tissue samples through a microscope and learn about different diseases.
Name: Victoria Noto
Year: Fourth
What was your favorite skill you learned today and why?
I enjoyed the catheter station because it's hard to get that kind of experience elsewhere. It really gave a sense of how to insert a catheter without it having to be on a live animal.
What did you think about the workshop overall?
I thought it was really fun and educational. It was perfect!
What other skills would you like to see at future workshops?
It would be interesting to learn about ophthalmology, hematology, phlebotomy, and orthopedics.
Year: Fourth
What was your favorite skill you learned today and why?
I enjoyed the catheter station because it's hard to get that kind of experience elsewhere. It really gave a sense of how to insert a catheter without it having to be on a live animal.
What did you think about the workshop overall?
I thought it was really fun and educational. It was perfect!
What other skills would you like to see at future workshops?
It would be interesting to learn about ophthalmology, hematology, phlebotomy, and orthopedics.
Sidenote: For those of you who were not able to go to the workshop this quarter, do not worry we will be having more workshop opportunities in the future!
kelli chan
PSSD Historian 2016-2017