Have You Got a Job Lined Up Yet?
Fresh off the plane from Sri Lanka, I had a mere three nights in my own bed before re-packing my bags and setting off on yet another veterinary expedition. This time I’d be driving several hours south for two weeks of clinical placement at my favourite country practice. I spent my first ever week of placement at this clinic, and during the drive down it dawned on me that this would be my last! Two more weeks of being ‘the student’. Next time I find myself in a clinic, I’ll have the title and responsibility of ‘veterinarian’!
It was nice to see some familiar faces when I arrived and catch up on some of the country gossip - most of which revolved around sightings of a panther that had escaped from a circus over 70 years ago, and a thylacine (an extinct carnivorous marsupial) *eye roll*. I stayed with a couple of the vets, both of whom I really admire and look up to as mentors, on their new farm just out of town.
The first week was pretty eventful and I saw my fair share of interesting cases and procedures, including a steer with a corneal ulcer, several non-healing wounds, a dog with an acute hepatic injury, two ram castrations, a horse dental float, a cat with pericardial effusion, a lame bull, a sheep with lambing paralysis, lymphoma in a dog, a recumbent horse, and a cow that had retained foetal membranes, metritis, mastitis and pneumonia.
One of the vets introduced me to the clients by saying, “this is Steph - she’s an almost-vet”. Every single person I met during the first week asked me if I have a job lined up at the end of the year. I hadn’t even started looking! I wasn’t at all concerned until now! The vets also started testing my knowledge by saying, “you’re going to be a vet in a few months - how would you treat this case?”. Generally I was pretty wrong, but at least I know the answers now… and I still have five months to learn everything!
The vets I was staying with killed one of their sheep and I spent an evening helping them cut up the carcass. It was quite an experience and oddly relaxing! Their four year old son gave us all an anatomy lesson as we worked. Once every last scrap of meat had been scraped off the bones, we chucked some on the barbecue and had lamb chops for dinner. The real country experience!
One morning during my second week, I had the choice of getting a lift with one of the vets who had a gelding to do, or driving to the clinic myself to help another vet with a lame bull. After much deliberation (and being acutely aware that whichever I chose would be the wrong choice), I decided on the bull. After listening to the first vet’s car engine fade into the distance, I hopped in my own car and turned the key. It wouldn’t start. Brilliant. I just sat there for a second, mentally kicking myself. Typical! Most of my day was spent getting lifts from other people, on the phone to mechanics, and organising the car to be towed into town. I ended up missing out on going to see the bull anyway, and the other vet rubbed salt in the wound by telling me he had an exciting day involving a foetotomy, prolapsed uterus in a cow, and two equine geldings!
In between frequent trips to the auto shop, I observed and assisted with some interesting procedures during my second week. There was a ferret dental, entropion corrective surgery, a grid keratotomy and third eyelid flap on a dog with corneal ulceration, another equine dental, a couple of colic cases, and a dog with sudden onset blindness in both eyes. The vets let me do a few sterilisation surgeries as well, and I impressed them with my intradermal suturing skills acquired from my recent placement in India. I also got to extract a canine from a cat (the tooth variety, not the barking type).
Towards the end of the second week, the practice owner tracked me down and interrogated me about my interests and plans for next year. It was obviously an interview and everyone in the clinic went quiet to listen in. I was really put on the spot! She explained they had plans to hire a new graduate vet next year and then invited me to dinner the following night. Once she left the room, everyone said, “oooh, she’s sussing you out Steph!”. I was admittedly a little terrified about the invitation, but it was actually very casual and enjoyable. As soon as I arrived, I was put to work drenching their newly acquired sheep. I suspect that was a subtle test as well! We had pork chops for dinner (again, meat from their own pigs). The following day, I accidentally walked in on a discussion between the practice owner and some of the staff about potential candidates for the vet position. I didn’t hear a lot, but I guess time will tell.
Despite my misfortunes, I really enjoyed my final two weeks of placement and learnt a whole lot. Although I’m terrified of graduating and stepping out into the big wide world, I’m also really excited about becoming a vet in just a few short months. It’s time to dust off the old CV and start hunting down some referees!
