Today was my first day at on my preceptorship at Gap Veterinary Associates in Gap, PA, right in the heart of Amish country.
I went out with Dr.Harvey (Nate) (I feel really weird calling vets by their first names but if that’s what I remember…) and we dropped off some drugs and looked at some down cows and pulled a calf at one farm and then at another we looked at a cow with a possible LDA but couldn’t find a ping. For lunch we went to WA-WA which is a gas station at which you can get a sandwich. Not just get a sandwich but order it via touchscreen. It was weird and cool all at the same time.
Dr. Harvey was really nice. He graduated from Penn in 2003 (and you could tell) after that he did five years of internship/residency there. He was eager to teach.
In the afternoon, I went out with Dr.Kohut (Nick) who I am staying with. His wife is a super energetic little thing that is super talkative and nice. (Quite different from my last experience.) Anyway, we had a uterine torsion and delivered that calf followed by a cow that had a fever and was just ADR. We couldn’t find really anything wrong with her other than having a fever. Then home before five. This practice lets you go when all the calls are done, which is nice because as learned at SDI, why wait around?
Tuesday, I went out on one call for some preg checks and a mastitis call before being sent back to the office to meet up with Nick for several more herd checks. We also did some dehorning which just leads me to believe that I need to figure out what I like and go with it. (These little hand held things seem too small even though that aspect of it is nice.) There were some umbilical hernias and Nate was called to repair one via surgery instead of just banding it like you would for tail docking or castration. I helped with the surgery and actually did quite a bit. It was fun and as usual, I am a dirt magnet and came away bloody, iodine-y and muddy/poopy. While there, someone from Land O’ Lakes came out and introduced themselves, when told from that I was from Missouri, he remarked that I didn’t even have a Southern accent.
The week would continue with me finally seeing a DA surgery. This practice does it laying down-a left paramedial approach. This could be easier for me since I have such short arms. I also helped to clean out a cow that was carrying a dead calf and had been carrying this dead calf for like a week. The calf was literally soup. And somehow, I ended up with it on my leg. Friday night, I met up with a slightly less dead calf in a cow-while dead this calf was still connected. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get all of the calf out of this cow and left to see if we could on Saturday, but still couldn’t. Also on Saturday, we did another DA surgery but this one was without gloves.
Anyway, there are several things that I wonder about and hope to sort out some answers as the week progresses. Is a practice with five male veterinarians considered an ‘old boys club’? Have they had females work for them before? Are they open to it? Would their Amish clients be okay with it? What about when that female vet was pregnant and working? What about then? Only one Amish man remarked about things that women couldn’t do (because of strength) and I countered that with having smaller arms there would be things that I could do. I also later found out that one of the vets did not take me out on his calls because there was a lack of bathrooms and that male students could just use the gutter.
The practice doesn’t have any diagnostic equipment nor an autoclave which I find weird. Would they be willing to get one? No ultrasound either.
Apparently at one point, Nate spent some time trying to give some management advice to a farmer and was scolded for it because it took up time in his day. The practice theory/method is to get in and get out. Even though I don’t want to be or become a consultant, I still think that if a veterinarian identifies a problem that they should discuss solutions with the farmer for it even if the solution is simply-‘here’s the number for someone that could help. You should call them.’
I’m not sure that I would want to work in a practice that doesn’t allow its associates to even discuss problems and solutions (does that make me a hypocrite since I don’t want to be a consultant?) with the farmer or doesn’t have at least an autoclave. I mean come on!
I wonder what I could offer up to a practice such as this. Would even my minimal amount of interest in consulting be too much and lead to frustration on everyone’s part? Would wanting to branch into equine be considered a negative if I became solely responsible for it? Would they be willing to purchase needed equipment?
Essentially, it boils down to this practice being somewhat primitive. Instruments were sterilized via cold sterilization and while a valid method, autoclaving probably is better. Cows DO have an amazing immune system and contamination when doing surgery in a barn in almost impossible to avoid, but wearing gloves would certainly help decrease this and any possible complications. Using a CB radio is still a valid method of communication, but if I use it, I want a handle. (I think ponygirl is suitable, ten four.) I think this type of practice is slightly more primitive than I would like to practice in. I understand that the difference between a real world practice and the university is huge, like Grand Canyon huge. However, there are things (such as gloves) that can be translated into practice. I still want to practice in the area, still want to practice in an area that has small farms and where the farmer/owner is involved. I don’t mind IVing calcium, cutting DA s or pulling calves. That’s the type of practice I want to enter into. As stated before though, I also suppose that I want to give the farmers some information that will help them whether or not they listen.
Amish country looks pretty good still. And I won’t be using my $100,000+ education to educate someone that barely finished 8th grade how to do something that took me four years to learn (not including undergrad). Yes, I’m talking about teaching the Hispanics. No, its not racist if its 1) the truth and 2) I wouldn’t want to teach anyone regardless of who it was. If some Amish guy wanted to learn how to roll and toggle (something I don’t know how to do), I would suggest he finds someone else to teach him. (And not just because I don’t know how, but because I find it possibly unethical in addition to cheating myself.)
[EDIT-Originally published to Blogger on 8/7/11.]
I went out with Dr.Harvey (Nate) (I feel really weird calling vets by their first names but if that’s what I remember…) and we dropped off some drugs and looked at some down cows and pulled a calf at one farm and then at another we looked at a cow with a possible LDA but couldn’t find a ping. For lunch we went to WA-WA which is a gas station at which you can get a sandwich. Not just get a sandwich but order it via touchscreen. It was weird and cool all at the same time.
Dr. Harvey was really nice. He graduated from Penn in 2003 (and you could tell) after that he did five years of internship/residency there. He was eager to teach.
In the afternoon, I went out with Dr.Kohut (Nick) who I am staying with. His wife is a super energetic little thing that is super talkative and nice. (Quite different from my last experience.) Anyway, we had a uterine torsion and delivered that calf followed by a cow that had a fever and was just ADR. We couldn’t find really anything wrong with her other than having a fever. Then home before five. This practice lets you go when all the calls are done, which is nice because as learned at SDI, why wait around?
Tuesday, I went out on one call for some preg checks and a mastitis call before being sent back to the office to meet up with Nick for several more herd checks. We also did some dehorning which just leads me to believe that I need to figure out what I like and go with it. (These little hand held things seem too small even though that aspect of it is nice.) There were some umbilical hernias and Nate was called to repair one via surgery instead of just banding it like you would for tail docking or castration. I helped with the surgery and actually did quite a bit. It was fun and as usual, I am a dirt magnet and came away bloody, iodine-y and muddy/poopy. While there, someone from Land O’ Lakes came out and introduced themselves, when told from that I was from Missouri, he remarked that I didn’t even have a Southern accent.
The week would continue with me finally seeing a DA surgery. This practice does it laying down-a left paramedial approach. This could be easier for me since I have such short arms. I also helped to clean out a cow that was carrying a dead calf and had been carrying this dead calf for like a week. The calf was literally soup. And somehow, I ended up with it on my leg. Friday night, I met up with a slightly less dead calf in a cow-while dead this calf was still connected. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get all of the calf out of this cow and left to see if we could on Saturday, but still couldn’t. Also on Saturday, we did another DA surgery but this one was without gloves.
Anyway, there are several things that I wonder about and hope to sort out some answers as the week progresses. Is a practice with five male veterinarians considered an ‘old boys club’? Have they had females work for them before? Are they open to it? Would their Amish clients be okay with it? What about when that female vet was pregnant and working? What about then? Only one Amish man remarked about things that women couldn’t do (because of strength) and I countered that with having smaller arms there would be things that I could do. I also later found out that one of the vets did not take me out on his calls because there was a lack of bathrooms and that male students could just use the gutter.
The practice doesn’t have any diagnostic equipment nor an autoclave which I find weird. Would they be willing to get one? No ultrasound either.
Apparently at one point, Nate spent some time trying to give some management advice to a farmer and was scolded for it because it took up time in his day. The practice theory/method is to get in and get out. Even though I don’t want to be or become a consultant, I still think that if a veterinarian identifies a problem that they should discuss solutions with the farmer for it even if the solution is simply-‘here’s the number for someone that could help. You should call them.’
I’m not sure that I would want to work in a practice that doesn’t allow its associates to even discuss problems and solutions (does that make me a hypocrite since I don’t want to be a consultant?) with the farmer or doesn’t have at least an autoclave. I mean come on!
I wonder what I could offer up to a practice such as this. Would even my minimal amount of interest in consulting be too much and lead to frustration on everyone’s part? Would wanting to branch into equine be considered a negative if I became solely responsible for it? Would they be willing to purchase needed equipment?
Essentially, it boils down to this practice being somewhat primitive. Instruments were sterilized via cold sterilization and while a valid method, autoclaving probably is better. Cows DO have an amazing immune system and contamination when doing surgery in a barn in almost impossible to avoid, but wearing gloves would certainly help decrease this and any possible complications. Using a CB radio is still a valid method of communication, but if I use it, I want a handle. (I think ponygirl is suitable, ten four.) I think this type of practice is slightly more primitive than I would like to practice in. I understand that the difference between a real world practice and the university is huge, like Grand Canyon huge. However, there are things (such as gloves) that can be translated into practice. I still want to practice in the area, still want to practice in an area that has small farms and where the farmer/owner is involved. I don’t mind IVing calcium, cutting DA s or pulling calves. That’s the type of practice I want to enter into. As stated before though, I also suppose that I want to give the farmers some information that will help them whether or not they listen.
Amish country looks pretty good still. And I won’t be using my $100,000+ education to educate someone that barely finished 8th grade how to do something that took me four years to learn (not including undergrad). Yes, I’m talking about teaching the Hispanics. No, its not racist if its 1) the truth and 2) I wouldn’t want to teach anyone regardless of who it was. If some Amish guy wanted to learn how to roll and toggle (something I don’t know how to do), I would suggest he finds someone else to teach him. (And not just because I don’t know how, but because I find it possibly unethical in addition to cheating myself.)
[EDIT-Originally published to Blogger on 8/7/11.]
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