The Savvy VetTech

It’s a summer afternoon and you’re working as a vet tech in a busy general practice, shortly after receiving your license. The day is fully booked, with multiple doctors on duty, back-to-back appointments, and several walk-in patients that need to be worked into the schedule.

The Scenario: You’re working a quiet day shift at a small animal general practice. One of your coworkers comments that it is a slow day, prompting you to joke that they just jinxed the afternoon. Sure enough, the phone rings a few minutes later! It’s Mrs. Smith, a longtime client.

Mrs. Smith tells the receptionist that she saw her cat, Rudy, chewing some tinsel from the Christmas Tree a few days ago, but didn’t think much of it at the time.

I had just started my internship after finishing veterinary school. I was on my emergency overnight rotation, and I was the only one on duty.

One of the veterinary technicians took a phone call from a frantic client that stated her dog had been impaled by a stick through its chest. The owner was obviously told to bring the dog in immediately.

Anesthesia is routine in practice. However, it is important not to become complacent. All patients tolerate and react to anesthesia differently, and monitoring every patient closely is extremely critical.

This is Spunky. He is a 6-month old stray kitten that was brought in for a neuter and first FVRCP vaccination. He did well under anesthesia during his neuter and upon recovering was given his vaccine. A few minutes after receiving his vaccination, he acutely stopped breathing. Luckily the technician who was closely monitoring him was astute enough to recognize something was wrong. The doctor in charge immediately began chest compressions and ventilations as his heart had stopped and he was in cardiac arrest. Please take a moment to review CPCR technique. Review on CPCR Technique

A 10-year old Golden Retriever presents with a history of unsteady gait. The owner reports she is walking like she is drunk and she has vomited a few times. You are taking a history in the room and notice her tilting her head to the left. Upon closer look at her face you see that her eyes are moving side to side rapidly. The veterinarian asks you to perform a blood pressure. The blood pressure is 200/120 mmHg. Answer the quiz questions, then scroll to the bottom for the answer explanations.

1) What medication may help to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) in this dog?

a) Benazepril
b) Prednisone
c) Phenobarbital
d) Furosemide