Extern Final Diary I can’t believe 3 weeks has gone by so quickly and it is already my last day! It has been a fantastic experience at the Long Beach Animal Hospital and I’m sorry to say this will be my last post. The road through veterinary school is long, but filled with many interesting stops and I have many people to thank for helping me at this clinic. First, I need to thank North Carolina State University (especially Joy Strickland), Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and the Long Beach Animal Hospital for working together to make it possible for me to even have this opportunity! A huge thank you to all the doctors who took time out to explain cases, tasking me to formulate treatment plans and set great examples of how to work as highly skilled veterinarians. A special thanks to Dr. P for really going all out to grill me on information, challenging me to think about cases like a real doctor and showing me around the area. Dr. Ridgeway, Dr. Seto, Dr. Baccaro, Dr. Yamamoto, and Dr. Scott were wonderful to work with and always took time to answer my questions or point out interesting cases. All of these doctors took an active interest in my education and have taught me valuable lessons about working in a veterinary clinic, communication and medicine. The nurse and animal care staff also deserve a round of applause. A hospital can’t run without a support team and LBAH has a great team! They were friendly, hard working and always positive. They really showed me how a team of doctors and nurses can work together to help a patient. They were fun to work with and always willing to lend a hand, whether I needed help examining an animal, taking radiographs or just looking for a pair of scissors. Finally, I am grateful to the clients who graciously allowed a student doctor to examine their pets. A huge part of my experience has been meeting many of the wonderful clients at LBAH and their furred, feathered or scaled family members. As my last case to discuss today, I wanted to share a success story from the wildlife program. A coot was brought to us a few days ago after being found disoriented and unable to fly. Coots are birds that are very adept at swimming and diving underwater. To help them in the water, their legs are set up similarly to boat propellers – located very far back on their bodies. Unfortunately, they are not so adept at maneuvering on land and need to be on a body of water in order to take flight. If they mistakenly land too far away from water, they can be in serious trouble. This coot was found far from the water so it is likely he inadvertently landed and was unable to take off again. We gave him a full exam, including radiographs, to look for any problems. After getting a clean bill of health, he was released at a local lagoon, where he quickly joined a flock of coots already on the water. What a great ending to a great externship! Maria Pyrdek
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 19:02:43 +0000