Riding with large animal vets closes out externship

Posted September 1, 2016

My time is Eastern Ontario has come to a close. I’ve just finished another two weeks riding with the large animal vets and will be travelling to Ravena, New York to The Equine Clinic at OakenCroft for two weeks of solely equine practice. While I have been able to see some equine appointments, the majority of the calls that Vankleek Hill Veterinary Services receives have to do with cows. While most of the calls are for routine pregnancy checks or farm visits another common call is for a cow ‘off feed’ or with a ‘twist’.

A long and winding road

Posted August 16, 2016

Becoming a vet can be a long and winding road. As a veterinary student I have spoken at high schools, given tours for ‘take your kids to work day’ and been a representative at the Ontario Universities Fair (OUF) in Toronto. I have no problem giving out my email and helping out students who aspire to be veterinarians. Before I was accepted at the OVC I was lucky enough to have a current student help me...

Finessing communication skills in two languages

Posted August 4, 2016

One of the things that I mentioned in my original post about doing my externship in Eastern Ontario close to the Quebec border was that I was worried about the French language barrier. My mother (an optometrist) originally practiced in Hawkesbury her first year out of school and told me that one-third of the population speaks English, one-third speaks French and English (but would prefer to speak French) and one-third speaks ONLY French. On the files at the Hawkesbury Animal Hospital (HAH) we usually mark in the file which language the clients prefer...

Who owns who?

Posted July 26, 2016

An important part of veterinary medicine from a more legal aspect is ownership of a pet. Who owns those dairy cows? Well the farmer of course. Who owns those horses? Well it might be a group of owners in the case of racehorses. Who owns a dog, normally a whole family. Who owns a cat… no one, the cat owns you.

The case of ownership can sometimes be more difficult to discern though. What about the stray cats that frequent multiple households? In the country it can be...

Transitioning to coveralls and steel toe boots

Posted July 15, 2016

I have transitioned from the world of business casual small animal to the coveralls and steel toe boots of large animal. With the small animal staff I discussed seeing them later at the community center for zumba, with the large animal veterinarians I practice my karaoke as we belt tunes between calls (suggestions for duets appreciated). One of the major differences between this past week and last is the amount of time we spend seeing each patient versus how much time we spend getting to each patient.....

Cystotomy surgery an interesting learning experience

Posted July 8, 2016

Another successful week in small animal practice. Thankfully we have slowed down a bit, although one thing I have learned is to not say the ‘B’ word – Busy – until the day is done. Saying the words “it’s not that busy” guarantees that all of the next appointments will...

Externship offers everything imagined and more

Posted June 23, 2016

I've only recently started my externship in Eastern Ontario and so far it has been everything I imagined it would be plus a little extra. I will be alternating biweekly between small animal at the Hawkesbury Animal Hospital and large animal at Vankleek Hill Veterinary Services.

To start out I have been...

See you in June!

Posted June 2, 2016

I will be doing my externship even closer to the Quebec border than where I am from originally. I will be living with my roommate from undergrad in Vankleek Hill and doing my externship placement at not one, but two clinics - Vankleek Hill Veterinary Services (large animal) and Hawkesbury Animal Hospital (small animal). I have ridden along with the large animal vets...