A call comes in that an actively seizuring patient is on its way to your hospital. Your brain starts cataloging what you need to do to be prepared; alert a doctor, ready you clippers, set up a catheter, get endo tubes, grab some valium and Phenobarbital, get flushes, pull your Dextrose from the fridge, and […]
When does the physical exam begin? The exam starts the moment the patient is presented to you. What do we mean? Take your time to observe the patient prior to physically touching the patient.There is a lot to learn from observing. Is the patient timid or social, BAR, anything unusual in their gait/ posture, shaking […]
Here is an idea for a harness you can make in the hospital using 3 leashes. It’s great for those fractious or otherwise difficult to handle dogs that are going to be hospitalized for whatever reason and must be taken in and out of the cage safely. It eliminates the need to try to throw […]
SETTING UP THE HESKA INFUSION PUMP AND PUMP OPTIONS When your Heska infusion pump first arrives you will need to plug it in and let it charge for 24 hours. Once it has a full charge you need to call 1-800-GO-HESKA where their technical support team will walk you through a step by step calibration. […]
Here’s what teaching “Go to Place” can mean to you, your dog and your entire household. It’s that time of night again; time to make dinner, but tonight as your making dinner Spike your 2 year old retriever is not under your feet or looking for a quick snack. Where’s Spike you may ask? Well […]
One of the technician’s most dreaded questions when admitting a patient into the hospital for any type of procedure has to be “How much is this going to cost?” second only to “Is he/she going to make it?”. There is no getting around the fact that medical care for a pet, especially a sick one, […]
Fungal cultures are a common in-house lab test, but need to be performed and evaluated correctly for accurate diagnosis of ringworm. Figure 1: Clean the sampling hemostats with cotton ball moistened with alcohol. This will help prevent any introduction of bacteria into the culture which may make interpretation more difficult.
Foraging is occupying time performing productive behavior In the wild, birds are constantly looking for food; they are rarely lucky enough to sit down and have a full meal like our pet birds do. Foraging for food is a major part of a wild bird’s day as they fly from tree to tree looking for […]
A veterinary technician today has unlimited potential for professional growth. We are no longer limited to the narrowly defined traditional path. Look at yourself, be honest about what you love to do, carve out your place in the veterinary world and get adequately compensated for it!