Week 6 Day 5

Today was the last day of my anesthesiology rotation. After morning rounds we had our colloquium lecture on careers in vet med from an equine vet.  After that it was off to view some intubations and a lecture on intubation and IV catheter placement.  Just before lunch I got to help intubate a dog by restraining and placing EKG needles.  After lunch I watched a pig get anesthetized and then have its nails trimmed, ears and eyes cleaned, and have an ultrasound.  Near the end of the day I watched a horse be prepared to have an eye removed however before they made the first cut I had to go take the anesthesiology rotation quiz (which was extremely easy, we could talk to our classmates, and then we just went over the answers before we left).  After the quiz it was home for the weekend.  Tonight Loren's (one of my roommates) parents and sibilings came to our apartment for dinner.  I enjoyed getting to know them a little better. I will be heading to Tremont for a chili cookout tomorrow evening and then back home tomorrow night so I can be home for the U of I vet school open house on Sunday.

Week 6 Day 4

Today was another busy day in the anesthesiology rotation.  After rounds it was off to viewing and assisting where I could in prepping animals for surgeries.  At lunch we had a meeting for the vet school open house this Sunday.  I will be working the pathology booth from 1230 to 4pm.  After lunch I watched an alpaca surgery for a bit, had a lecture on pain management in surgery, and then watched an anal sac removal in a boxer.  The days definitely go by faster when there's more going on.  This evening I even got to do some quartet singing which was fun.  Tomorrow is my last day of anesthesiology and then its only two short weeks before vet school really kicks in with our core classes!

Week 6 Day 3

Today was a pretty good day in anesthesia world.  We started the day off with rounds, where one of the anesthesiologists review the anesthesia cases with the fourth years and us first years listen in.  Then it was off to colloquium for our second lecture on financial planning.  After that, it was back to the clinic to view some anesthesia procedures and then at 11 o'clock I had my assessment on intubating the mannequin and the parts of the anesthesia machine.  After lunch, I had my first go at intubating a dog.  I gave the premedication which sedated the dog a little bit.  Then, after an IV catheter was placed I administered some propofol which is the inducing agent and puts the animal out enough for me to place the intubation tube.  One of my classmates held the dogs head up and its tongue straight out, and I, with the help of a tool that helps open the airway, placed the tube down into the dogs trachea.  Then it was time to place the needles to measure the electrical activity of the heart, place the thermometer down into the dogs esophagus (its not a regular thermometer, it is a long, thin tube that can go down into the esophagus), start fluids through the catheter, and place the anesthesia tubing onto the endotracheal tube (the official name of the tube I had placed).  After that, two of my classmates and I monitored the dog until we had to go to our lecture on monitoring the anesthetized patient at which point a fourth year student came and took over.  I am now on a break from the rotation until four at which point we will afternoon rounds.  We already have 9 cases for tomorrow so I'm thinking we will be quite busy tomorrow which is nice!

Week 6 Day 2

Today was a much busier day than yesterday.  At the rounds this morning the board was full of procedures that were going to be done.  I spent the whole morning observing a case in which a boar (intact male pig) was lame on his hind end, he wouldn't even get up.  So, he was anesethized and x-rays were taken, and then one of the doctors stuck needles into the pigs growth plates to see if he could get some fluid out of them.  Apparently pigs are difficult to intubate (stick the breathing tube down their throat for anesthesia) so it took awhile to get that part done.  After lunch I pretty much just observed some other animals being intubated and prepped for surgery for a bit and then went to the Clinical Skills Learning Center to review the parts of the anesthesia machine, the flow of air through the machine, and how to intubate using the mannequins.  We ended the day with a lecture of the different parts of the anesthesia machine and what they do.  Tomorrow morning I will be assessed on my knowledge of the anesthesia machine and my ability to correctly intubate the mannequins.     

Week 6 Day 1

Well, today I had my first day of Anesthesiology.  First we had our colloquioum lecture on careers in large animal medicine which was pretty interesting.  Then it was off to our rotations.  After having a brief introductory lecture on the process of intubation and anesthesia, we were free to roam and observe any surgeries requiring anesthesia.  It was a pretty slow surgery day so we had a lot of down time but we did get to see an alpaca get anesthetized so that was neat along with some other minor things.  During lunch hour I went to Grand Rounds, where an interesting case from the hospital is talked about.  It just so happened that the case that was presented was a case that I had been involved in when I was on my equine rotation which was kind of neat.  It was during this presentation that I first saw this video in which I am featured as the main star which makes me famous I think.  Okay, maybe I just so happen to be involved with the mini horses that are being worked on and I the camera happens to pass over me momentarily so I'm not actually the star of the video, but hey, everyone needs to feel good bout themselves sometimes right? ;)  But seriously, if you would like to see just a little peek at what we do when we are working/learning at school here's the link:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRDpClhs2uQ

During the afternoon we learned how to intubate dogs via the models in the Clinical Skills Learning Center and also learned the parts to an anesthesia machine.  Counting this rotation I have three rotations left and then its onto our core classes.  I can't believe its week 6 of vet school though, its really crazy how the time is flying, September is almost over already.  Where does the time go?

Campout

This past Friday night was a young group/Sunday School campout.  The single members from University of Illinois and Champaign brought the sunday school students (4th grade and up) to Kickapoo State Park in Oakwood, Illinois where we were able to play games together and get to know each other better.  It was a lot of fun and I think the kids enjoyed it. 

Before I get too far, I have to post this picture of Kaleb.  Just an hour before he was telling me how he never lets anyone take his picture just for fun and how some people had all kinds of pictures of his hand in the camera.  Well, I got a good one of him right here, it was the first picture I took at the campground.  He was not expecting it so I caught him by surprise.

We had a nice set-up with straw bales around the campfire and the food tables next to the fire. 

We roasted hot dogs for supper on Friday night and then played games and sat around the fire before heading to the tents for a short nights rest

  

 

In the morning we had eggs and bacon over the fire.  Here's Tristan hard at work

One thing that was done for breakfast that I had never done before was to heat donuts over the fire.  They were actually quite good when heated this way.

It was kind of rainy overnight Friday night and then into Saturday so we did cut the trip a bit short and headed back to church to play some games with the students. First we had to get everything all cleaned up:

Here's most of the crew on Saturday (a few left late Friday night):

And of course, what fun would pictures be if we didn't have a goofy one:

The campout was a lot of fun despite the rain that rolled in.  I think we all can look back on it with fond memories.

Also, this past weekend I was able to spend some time with some of my friends from Connecticut.  We had a great time together and I look forward to seeing them again sometime!

One Health Rotation

Well, my week of One Health finally finished yesterday.  It was painful but I am still living so I guess I will just go on with my life ;)  I really like the professor who taught it, it was just the material was extremely boring so sitting through lectures and disucssions for hours on end just wasn't very fun.  We did have to give a presentation to the Illinois State Veterinarian and to the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service veterinarian for Ilinnois on Friday and it went well.  They were real nice and we had a nice chat with them after the presentation.  I just went on a young group/sunday school camp-out last night and had a really good time.  I do have pictures and will be posting them soon, as soon as I get the group picture that was taken.  I am excited to get to spend some time with people from Connecticut tonight and tomorrow.  It's always nice to see someone from home! Well, it's off to the shower and then on to Eureka!

Week 5

This week I have OneHealth, which is basically public health as well as vets and human doctors working together.  If today was any indication of the week to come (and I believe it was) it is going to be a long week.  Sitting around and talking about the difference between knowledge and learning and thinking for at least an hour is not my idea of a good time (or an educational experience for that matter).  And then having to write a "journal" about the most boring things, let's just say Friday afternoon will find me quite happy I must say.  Because it is such a boring rotation, I will not be providing day by day accounts of my experiences ("Yes!" some people say, "He acts like we're all really interested in what his life is like, always blabbing about everything that's going on in Illinois!") I will update my blog sometime later in the week or early next week as this weekend is (yet again) going to be a busy one. 

Sept 18

Today was a real nice day.  I went to church in Champaign and then was invited to a young group invite in which a couple from Champaign invited a bunch of their friends from when they were single to spend Sunday with them.  After church we headed to Lake of the Woods Park where we made soup packets for World Relief (basically our church's Red Cross).  We then had a delicious meal and sang some songs with a guitar.  I must say that singing some of those songs was rather moving.  Some people left and the rest went back to the couple's apartment where we played some games as a big group.  It was a lot of fun getting to know some new people and spending time with everyone.  Now its back to work as school begins for the week!

Week 4 Day 5

Yesterday was the last day of my equine medicine and surgery rotation.  First we had a colloquium session (where the whole class is lectured to for 50 minutes before going to our respective rotations) on pathology, right up my alley!  Then for most of the rest of the morning I worked on my online modules that I am trying to get done.  Over lunch hour we talked about some of the more interesting equine cases we had.  Then, after lunch, we learned how to scrub, gown, and glove.  After that we got to see them put a cast on a young horse that had a severe leg wound.  We ended the day learning how to suture on intestines which was neat because its a little different than suturing skin.  Thus ended my equine odyssey and now next week I will have OneHealth, which I'm not totally sure what I will be doing in that rotation but we will see on Monday! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

My New Position

I have just received notice that I have been elected as the Pathology Club First Year Representative.  I am excited about this opportunity to learn more about pathology and help host fundraisers, speakers, etc.  Although the poster that I had posted on here was never printed as it was just a joke, who knows, maybe it was a good luck charm! ;) 

I finally got internet at the apartment this morning so now its much more convenient for me to check my email, update my blog, research information, etc.  I am also having my first go as a host out here as I am having some of the young group (whoever did not go home this weekend) over tonight.  I am looking forward to that as well! I must say that I do enjoy Illinois although I definitely miss everyone back at home and am already looking forward to visiting home at Christmas.  If anyone is ever in this area let me know!

Pflederer Reunion

Last Saturday, September 10, was the Pflederer Reunion.  My great-grandma Beutel was a Pflederer so I went to the reunion for the first time in many years.  It was held at Matthiessen State Park in Utica, Illinois.  We had lunch under the pavillion there.

After lunch, some of us took a little hike down to a body of water that lies in a canyon.  At the beginning of the hike I saw this funny little caterpillar hanging out on the railing so I snapped a shot (I think that's my sister Heidi coming out in me ;)

Here are some photos down by the water in the canyon.  There are some small caves there too.

A popular activity down by the water is to crawl along the rock sides around the water.  If you slip, you're gonna get wet, but I believe that everybody made it without getting completely soaked.

The reunion was a nice time and I got to meet some family members who I don't know well at all!
That night I went to a hog roast and then on Sunday I went to the Beutel Chili Cookoff which was also a good time.  There was quite a few of the family there and I definitely enjoyed it as I have never made it to the chili cookoff before.  Overall, it was a great weekend!

Week 4 Day 4

Well, my fourth day of equine medicine and surgery is just about over!  We had regular clinic time this morning and then we learned how to bandage legs on horses.  After talking about some of the current cases with one of the doctors over lunch we spent some time in the afternoon learning about the horse hoof: how to pick it up, how to use a hoof pick, hoof testers and hoof knife, and how to watch for lameness in a horse.  After some afternoon clinic time we finished the day with afternoon rounds.

Week 4 Day 3

Today was an awesome day, probably one of the best in the three and a half weeks of vet school thus far.  We started out with a lecture on finances and then had rounds and then we had a really neat case.  The horse was having a problem of coughing so we did an endoscopy where we take a camera on a tube and stick it into the horse's nose and then down into its throat and even a little bit into its trachea.  We also got to see the guttural pouch, a canal running from the inner ear to the throat.  The camera magnifies the image so it is really neat.  Then, we had the horse trot inside and then out, and then it was off to the horse treadmill.  We wanted to watch the throat via the endoscope while the animal was running.  The treadmill ran at about 13 meters per second so that horse was really galloping along.  It was kind of tense because  you had the sound of the treadmill plus the horse running and the veterinarians yelling over the treadmill and horse.  This combined with the intensity of a horse in full gallop on a treadmill was an extremely neat experience.  At lunch we talked about the horse with the throat problem and also a horse with colic that had surgery this past Monday.  We also talked a little bit about bandaging legs.  After lunch we observed the horse with the throat problems getting a bronchoalveolar lavage, where they used the endoscope again and also flush about 300mL of fluid into the lungs and then suck it back up.  This is to see if there is anything growing in the lungs causing a problem.  The last thing I got to do today was to nebulize a horse.  We had to give a medication to a miniature horse foal so we had a machine that aerosolized the drug (made it go into the air as droplets) so the horse could breathe it in.  My fourth year student allowed me to add the solutions to the chamber, and then hold the mask up to the foal so that was also kind of neat.  It was an awesome day!

Week 4 Day 2

Tuesday started early (6AM) with treatment of my fourth year's case and hourly visual observations of all the horses in the hospital.  I was in the hospital pretty much all morning 'til 1145.  We even got to work on some miniature horses which was neat.  Over lunch hour we had a lecture on physical exams in horses and then went and practiced performing physical exams, blood draws, injections, and administering oral medications to horses.  I ended the day watching a horse euthanasia.  I have been learning a ton on this rotation and have really been enjoying it.

Week 4 Day 1

Today was a pretty busy day.  I am in equine medicine and surgery this week and am looking forward to a good week in which I hope to learn a lot as I know almost nothing about horses!  We had our colloquium this morning (the lectures that are from 8-850AM on MWF) on dissecting peer-reviewed journal articles and then it was off to ward 2 in the large animal hospital.  After an orientation session, I shadowed my fourth year student who was working on a horse who had come in slightly lame on its front left leg.  After lunch us first years had a session on basic handling of horses, basic restraint, and the external parts of the horse.  Having basically no horse experience at all, I must say that it felt good when I was able to halter a horse, take it for a very brief walk and then unhalter it all with no issues at all.  After our session we spent a couple hours watching a surgery on a horse who had an impaction/blockage in its colon.  We watched via a television in a small room in the large animal clinic.  The camera in the acutal surgery room is focused right on the action so you can really see what's going on which is real neat.  Tomorrow morning I have to be at school at 6AM to be with my fourth year when he starts treating his cases.  So, tomorrow will be a long day! Now, its time to get a little more work done on my online modules.  These modules are broken up into three parts: medical terminology, breeds and species, and drug calculations.  I have completed the breeds and species, am working on the drug calculations, and have yet to start medical terminology.  They take a considerable amount of time to complete them but I can't complain as that is my only homework for the eight weeks of clinical rotations. 
I will be posting about this past weekend sometime in the near future.

My Campaign Poster

Well, here's a photo for you all.  I am running for first year representative for the vet school's pathology club and a kid from my imaging rotation group created a "campaign poster" for me.  I got a real kick out of it! 

How can I not get selected with a poster like that?

Week 3 Day 4

Well, Friday is just about over.  I mostly sat around and worked on online modules and watched videos with my rotation as there were hardly any cases in imaging today.  I am just getting ready to head to rounds and then off to Tremont for a busy weekend.

Week 3 Day 3

Well, today was not the most exciting day thus far.  After rounds this morning we had a quick lesson on how to tube a dog (stick a tube down a dog's throat to administer substances directly into the dog's stomach.)  After that I got in on some x-rays of dogs and horses and then headed to the Clinical Skills Learning Center to prepare for our imaging assessment this afternoon.  The assessment tested our knowledge on the techniques involved with x-raying small animals, x-raying horses and also ultrasounds.  We then finished by looking at some horse and dog radiology cases in afternoon rounds.  Now its off to try to get some work done on my online modules.  Tomorrow is the last day of the imaging rotation and then the weekend!

Week 3 Day 2

Today started out with a lecture on "euthanasia and grief" which explained how to interact with clients who are putting animals down.  Then it was off to my imaging clinical where my group was lectured on the anatomy of the thorax, spine, and front limbs pertaining to x-rays.  After that, from 10-4, it was either helping with x-rays, ultrasounds or doing our online modules during our downtime.  I viewed a couple x-rays and then hooked up with my fourth year and helped hold a couple dogs for ultrasounds.  I then spent a couple hours working on my online modules and finished the day with rounds where we viewed x-rays, including one of a pregnant dachshund.  Tonight I will got to Champaign church however there is pizza night at church at 615pm before services so that should be fun.  Two more days 'til an extremely busy weekend in Tremont!

Week 3 Day 1

Today was a pretty boring day compared with the past couple weeks.  We started out by listening to some fourth year students present their "teaching cases" which are cases that have come through the hospital in the past however have their diagnoses blocked from the students view so they have to interpret the x-rays.  We then learned how to restrain a dog, cat, and horse for x-rays.  Then, just before lunch I watched a couple animals get x-rayed and went over my fourth year student's teaching cases (we were paired with fourth year students for this rotation.  After lunch we learned how to use a regular x-ray machine, a portable x-ray machine for large animals, and an ultrasound machine.  We wrapped up the day listening to a student present some x-rays from actual cases that are currently in the hospital.  Although there were a few neat things, the day was pretty slow and kind of boring.  Oh well, at least its only a four day week!

Labor Day Weekend in Forrest/Fairbury

Labor day weekend I spent in Forrest/Fairbury Illinois.  There were over two hundred people at the Saturday night dinner with many church young groups represented from Minnesota to Connecticut to Kansas.  It was nice getting to know some new people.  I also spent some time on a farm in the area.  I got to vaccinate calves, help sort calves, and palpate cows.  Speaking of palpating cows, I have a funny story:  I was right in the middle of palpating a cow (meaning I had my whole arm in the cows butt) when my phone rang.  I had my left hand outside the cow so I grabbed my phone and answered it.  On the other end my Mom says, "Hi, where are you at?" to which I respond, "I'm at the Zehr's with my arm up a cows butt."  Her response: "Oh, I guess its not a good time to talk huh?"  I got a kick out of the perfect timing! Well, week three of vet school is here!

Week 2 Day 5

Friday was my assessment for my surgical skills rotation.  They tested us on numerous skills that we had learned and corrected us when needed.  After lunch we learned how to use an endocscope to take biopsies and then had session where we practiced CPR on a dog and comforting distraught clients.  Apparently, "All good things must come to an end" is not an appropriate saying when comforting clients, who knew!? That ends my surigical skills rotation.  Next week, a four day week!, I have imaging for my rotation.

Week 2 Day 4

One more day and then a three day weekend! This morning we learned how to prepare the surgery site on animal by scrubbing the animal's skin to make it as clean as possible for surgery.  We also learned how to scrub up a cow for surgery and learned how to sew up a cow after surgery (all on models, not real cows).  We also got to practice suturing today on real animal tissue.  Each student had a dog leg that we could cut into and then practice suturing it up.  It was, I must say, far more interesting then suturing the canvas we had been using.  Tomorrow will be our assessment of the skills that we have learned.