Clinic Day

[cjsmith]

These clinic posts are now unlocked. :-)

[LJ-CUT TEXT="Learning stuff: TPR, cleaning surgery instruments, and how to unconstipate a cat"]

At the clinic yesterday, I started to learn how to take "TPR" -- temperature, pulse rate, and respiration rate. I've done these things before, particularly temperature, but never in front of a client. This time I was helping an experienced tech "check in" a client and dog into an exam room, so there I was with the stethoscope and the minute hand, in front of the animal's owner, pretending I knew what I was doing, counting and hoping I heard right. (Did you catch that? I was wearing a stethoscope in front of an actual client.) I need practice. When I have a free moment, I'll practice listening to the hearts of animals who are boarding or who have been dropped off for the day. Sometimes I can hear nothing but pulse, and breath eludes me; other times, the breathing is like thunder and I can't hear the heart. Experienced techs assure me that different stethoscope placement gives heart sounds from different valves and chambers. They're not pulling my leg. I know the theory; I just can't DO it. Yet.

Also learned to clean and package stuff for the autoclave. They must be doing surgeries on Fridays now. (Construction at the clinic is wreaking havoc on the normal schedule.) We had a lot of instruments to pack up. Some of the shapes are terrifying, yet when I was told what they were for, I'd realize there's no other shape they could really be. That was way cool. Object that looks bad but turns out to be most harmless: towel clamp.

I'm getting better at other things: drawing vaccines, stocking the drawers with supplies, packaging up samples and writing the lab slips. (Now that the other folks know I can and will handle a fecal, I bet I'll be the only one who does them for a while. Heh.)

Speaking of that, we had a badly constipated kitty. It took four of us to, uh, help him. I'll spare you the details, but boy that cat was mad. When we finally saw what he'd been trying to deal with, we totally sympathized. Poor guy.[/LJ-CUT]

I got to say hi to a client I happen to know. Sadly I couldn't stay and talk, and I couldn't even be helpful in a "professional" capacity, as mostly what I do is clean things. :-) But it was cool to see a friend!

Busy day, two emergencies, but all around not too bad. Nobody died. Everything was cute. I stayed caught up on laundry. Boy are my feet sore. :-)

Comments

[evilegg.livejournal.com]

How did you make the cat poop?

[dafydd.livejournal.com]

Because some of us really do want to know! :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not shy. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

1. Reach inside with finger, pull out everything you can pull out.
2. Use a poop loop - I can't find a picture of this, but maybe you know of it? It's a long plastic thing with a loop shaped like the eye of a needle on the end. The "needle eye" tends to get plugged up, so it's good for snagging a fecal sample when nothing else is working. Dig around with that in the hopes of breaking things up. Repeat 1 and 2 for a while.
3. Give enema.
4. Wait for explosion.

The explosion contained something bigger than a golf ball. I'm ten times his size and that rock scared me.

[evilegg.livejournal.com]

Oh yes... the poop loop.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

That's exactly it! What's its real name?

[evilegg.livejournal.com]

In Latin it's poopus lopi.
I have no idea.

[inflectionpoint.livejournal.com]

Dear lord.

That's about the same as what they do for humans. My sister is a nurse. Her hands are very small. She's learned to not let physicians see this, otherwise, it's another day in the world of manual disimpaction. Poor kitton.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

My hands are small too. I sense a few details of my future. :-)

[recordersmith.livejournal.com]

"Object that looks bad but turns out to be most harmless: towel clamp."

Someday I need to take pictures of the sewing machine feet that came with my grandma's old treadle singer. They look like medieval torture devices.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, some of my sewing gadgetry doesn't look very friendly either. I've got one of those third hand things that is remarkably like a device kinky people use for pain. :-)

[wordripples.livejournal.com]

thump,thump,thump,wheeze...

Well, that's all so cool...sounds like you're in the water up to your shins, at least now! Can't wait to see you going down the rapids!

I bet that kitty loves you now--it's gotta be a big deal to be minus the golf ball.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Those rapids look pretty scary to me!

That kitty may never forgive us. As far as he's concerned, we stuck that golf ball in there while we were poking him. :-)

[wordripples.livejournal.com]

Well, now that you told me you made it through MIT, I have every confidence in you making it through vet school!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was a lot younger then, and possibly smarter too... and those grades sucked. BUT I'm more focused now. Fingers crossed. :-)

[chalepa-ta-kala.livejournal.com]

Speaking of that, we had a badly constipated kitty. It took four of us to, uh, help him.

Oh dear.

Awesome implements, though.