General Vet knowledge

[lcheng]

Hi

I'm currently volunteering at an animal hospital and I wanted to learn more about procedures and general knowledge to be more prepared to help around. Are there any sites or videos I can read or watch to get some knowledge?

Thanks

[serena]

Hi lcheng,

You didn't say whether you were working in general practice or emergency/specialty so I'll just assume general practice. Since you're volunteering/I'm assuming looking for a reference from this place hopefully, I would say make sure you have their general cleaning/maintenance procedures down before you explore the specifics of appointments. Clinics REALLY appreciate this extra help (sweeping, mopping, organizing), and the vets there will probably be more willing to help you if they see you putting in this effort! This will also help you with a very important part of general practice--Getting to know your food brands (when organizing the food shelf! )-- I know this is probably NOT what you're hoping to learn--but trust me, nothing irks a technician more then a volunteer who continually observes and leaves the clinic a mess.

In terms of actual procedures I would do some reading on annual vaccines and heartworm testing/medication. This will be invaluable to you since the majority of general practice appointments involve this.

You should try and learn the normal heart rate of both cats and dogs, and what signs to look for to determine the stability of an animal.. The basic triage categories include: Temperature, Pulse, Respiration rate, mucous membrane colour, capillary refill time, and weight-- It is almost standard for vet clinics to include @ least a few of these when triaging/or admitting a patient for an annual exam.

Good luck

Serena

[lcheng]

Ahhhhh, that sounds great. Yah i do put effort into everything I do but on my first day the vet asked me about symptoms and treatment for upset stomach for a dog and I literally have no knowledge of anything.

Where would be a good site to learn this info?

Thanks

[guest30]

I'm sure with a little searching you can find websites with veterinary related information. For example:

www.petmd.com/

is a common website for searching topics related to pet health. It has A LOT of topics and information.

There is also:

mypeted.com/pet-health/articles/gastritis-upset-stomach-in-dogs-and-cats/

This website has DVM's write articles on pet health subjects, so you can enter something into the search bar (such as "ear mites") and you can check out some related articles vets have written on the topic.

Keep in mind with any google search or website search these can be biased and/or the opinion of a single vet and is by no means the be all and end all of learning about that topic!

Personally, I found it helpful to make a chart for myself outlining some basic information such as HR, temp and resp rates for different species, as well as some other information such as age of puberty/when to spay/neuter, common diseases, gestation times, ave. lifespan, as well as what kinds of common vaccinations and when they are typically given, and whatever kind of info you want to include.

But in the end it is far better to do as you are doing and volunteer and ask a LOT of questions and learn as you go. Don't stress too much about learning everything to impress the veterinarian or to feel like you are behind on your vet knowledge, that's what vet school is for!

[lcheng]

Yah I did feel a nervous or stressed haha.

Thanks so much, this is soooo helpful.

[Tarnia]

www.petplace.com also has some good articles.

Merck veterinary manual, while falling out of favour with a lot of vets/universities, does have some good general information stuff. It can be accessed online. Just be aware, it IS falling out of favour, and doesn't always have 100% accurate information (for example, I once quoted cattle vital signs out of it, and the teacher laughed in my face and asked where I got it, and when I said rolled his eyes and said 'that explains it').