#savetstudent

I’m starting with ICU Night Shift tonight so thought it was fitting to do one of those what’s in my bag posts (which just by the way I’ve always wanted to do)!

So here’s a list of all the things I take with me to clinics and why: 

Extra Doctor’s Jacket - When working with sick patients it is very likely that you are going to get urinated or vomited on at some point so I always take an extra jacket with just in case. 

Name Badge - Because who doesn’t love wearing a name badge!! PS Can’t wait till it says Dr and then my name! 

Lunch Box - I always take a sandwich or snack with me (which I haven’t made yet in this picture!) 

Snack Bar - I really struggle to function properly if I haven’t eaten anything in awhile and it’s not always possible to sit down and have a proper snack or meal. I always have a snack bar in my pocket so I can eat something super quickly if I’m starting to feel like I need it. 

Something to Drink and Bottle of Water - I know coke is not the healthiest thing in the world but I don’t drink coffee so hoping the caffeine will help get me through the long nights of ICU! 

F10 Hand Gel - F10 gave us these awesome little bottles of hand gel which are the perfect size to keep in your bag and really useful if you need to wash your hands on the go! 

Thermometer - Need I say more! PS This is my second one in 2 weeks so I have a feeling I’m going to be buying a lot of these over the next year! 

Lip Ice - Those hospital air conditioners nail your lips! 

Small Pair of Scissors - Useful for cutting off bandages etc. 

Small Notebook - I always need to jot something down quickly but it also helps to write down interesting facts that you’ve just learnt or if there’s something you want to read up more about later. Trust me you will forget after a long day! 

Pens - Always have a black pen for important documents and patient forms. 

Pencil - To mark your blood smears. 

Ruler - Because I have an obsession with rulers and love to have one on me at all times, don’t ask! 

Calculator - Some people just use their phones but I prefer to use my scientific one if I’m doing hectic drug calculations just so I can see the whole equation and double check to make sure it’s correct. 

Plasters - Because I’m still a rookie and manage to poke myself with needles all the time! Although I generally end up using the colourful elastoplast because it looks so pretty! But these are also useful for blisters if you’ve been on your feet all day. 

Stethoscope - With a dog tag with my name and number. I’d hate for it to land up in someone else’s hands and go missing! 

Artery Forceps with an Elastic Band - For occluding veins. 

Patella Hammer - For reflexes! 

Slip Lead - Trust me some dog’s can get out of their cages at the speed of lightning once you open that door and having a slip lead handy helps a tonne to catch them! 

My Medication - I’m on chronic medication which I always take at night so for ICU I need to remember to take my own medication and not only make sure the dogs and cats have there’s. 

Some Coins - For if I feel like a midnight or 4am snack from the vending machine! 

Other than that I always make sure I’ve got a watch on me for TPR’s and a warm jacket because it’s winter here at the moment and it gets really cold at night and in the early mornings. 

I hope I haven’t forgotten anything but I guess if I have I’ll find out tonight. 

So I’m sure you’ve noticed over the past few weeks I have been posting photos from what I have been referring to as “clinics”... Only to realise now that I haven’t ever explained what clinics are and how they fit into my studies. 

Here in South Africa the veterinary degree takes 6 years to complete. The first 5 and a half years are mostly theory based with some practical sessions and during these years students do a variety of different subjects which, if you’re interested, you can find out more about what exactly these are here.  

For the last 18 months of the veterinary course, vet students do what we refer to here as “clinics”. This means that you no longer have structured lectures but rather do practical work rotating through the various departments of the academic teaching hospital. 

How it works is each student has to a number of Core and Elective Clinics. Core Clinics are clinics that every student has to complete during the 18 months. These include things like Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Equine Medicine and Surgery, Anaesthesiology, ICU, Dairy etc etc. I will compile a full list of the core clinics sometime if you are interested. 

The Elective Clinics are an extra 20 clinic weeks that you can do in a particular field that interests you. 

There are five elective choices you can apply for and these are: 

Small Animals and Exotics 

Equines 

Rural Veterinary Practice (includes more production animal medicine and wildlife)

Intensive (includes feedlots, poultry, pigs etc.)

State Veterinary Practice 

Research 

Of the 20 Elective Clinic weeks, 10 of these are spent at the university campus and the remaining 10 are spent in private practices of your choice in order to gain some additional exposure to the veterinary world outside the confines of the academic hospital. 

So far I have completed my State Vet Clinic, Exotic Animal Practice Clinic, Anaesthesiology Clinic and I am currently doing the ICU Clinic.