im really happy after these two classes this semester in my confidence in the microscope department. i found it pretty fascinating when something shows up under the scope, especially if it was unexpected. like the lungworm i found wednesday from fecal float of a jersey milk cow. it was alive and squirming around! it was neat to see, and good practice in identifying the correct species from my notes. i also found a crazy looking mite from a hedgehog fecal, that i used my textbook to identify. this is why i liked the parasite course, but i have no idea what i am going to do on the exam without my notes. wayyyy too much info. i really wished the parasite course would have just focused on clinical issues, it is information overload to read about small, large, and wildlife. not to mention the last set of notes regarding treatments; i couldnt even see straight after reading all those medical ingredients. and a 50% gradient to the final exam? wow, i really feel like i am in trouble on the parasite course.

as for the microbio course, i really appreciated the layout of the notes and assignments this semester. it really helped me stay on track having an assingment every week, and helped to reinforce the lessons. i found the assignments in microbio class to be a better review than the quizzes in the parasite class. this course was very very well organized. it was fun to see the growth on the BAPs because i have never done anything like that before. it was also great doing the assignments and viewing first had what our notes were talking about when i came to micro and macro details. it was challenging doing both of these classes lab assignments because our clinic is so small we send everything out for analysis, so i havent had any experience doing any of these diagnostics myself. also, because there is no tech on staff, there is no one to really conference with about things, or saving anything of interest for me to look at. i found that really hard this semester. i appreciate that for the final we will have the aid of our flowcharts available. i find this to be very reasonable that it is not expected that we memorize this.

after this semester i am feeling like i would like to explore more into what larger clinics are doing with lab diagnostics and if the techs are spending a lot of their time gram staining and preparing slides, ect. i hope to be in a larger clinic after my program so i can really utilize these skills, because we are learning so much, i want to be able to use it all!!

more microscopin'

yahoo i was so excited when i successfully viewed both of my gram stains from my BAP growth on oil immersion!! it was realllllly cool to see. it was especially interesting looking at the different orientation and sizes between the two different bateria. now im working on the sleuthing end of things to try and I.D. what exactly i was looking at.... :)

also, i was happy to see that my one slide was ok after leaving it overnight before i had a chance to view it. i had time to stain one of my slides but no time yesterday to view it, so i ended up leaving it at room temp until this afternoon, when my other BAP was ready so i could make my second slide. i was worried that i might lose something, but it turned out to be just fine.

anyone know how long could i save a fixed and stained slide at room temp? better refridgerated?

i had a nice moment with a client on friday that i wanted to share

the mom, son, and daughter were bringing in their 11 yr old yellow lab who they suspected of having a stroke. when they arrived i went out to the car to help them carry him in as he could not walk. the daughter and i were about the same age, and we hoisted that big fella in from the parking lot and in the back door to the exam room by ourselves. i commented on her being pretty strong (i like to think i am too! haha) and she replied that they were "farm kids" and so she was used to it. once we had the lab on the exam table, it was obvious that he was in rough shape. his extremities were cold and he had laboured breathing, but you know labs, he was still smiling and wagging his tail. <3 the clients did not wish to do any testing or try any treatments, they were set on having him put to sleep right then. again, the farm lifestyle. the mother and son were both pretty upset and did not want to stay during the euth, so they left to take care of the bill and wait outside. the daughter said she wanted to stay and asked if she could help me with anything during the euth. i thought it was interesting that she asked that, nobody ever has asked me that. and i replied that all she had to to was talk to her dog and give him comfort. while the DVM was prepping, the two of us were left in the exam room, and she told me that she works in a health care home for seniors. she said that she saw the lab's laboured breathing and felt his cold paws, and that it was just the same symptoms she saw in some of her patients, and that she wished that she could help them out of their suffering. that is why she wanted to be with the dog while we put his suffering to rest. she was telling me this with a very cool manner, no emotion, very factual. it made me realize that she must see as much, of not more, death than we do in our positions, and that she must need to keep her emotional side in check. i let her know that i understood what is was like to feel like you must keep your emotions controlled during work, and that it was fine to feel that way now, but that she must also remember that this was her pet. she can be as strong and mature about this situation as she could right now, and she may not feel like crying or being upset at this momement, but i asked if she would be able to maybe have a good cry about him later that night. she smiled at me and totally knew what i ment, and said that she most definatly would. she agreed with me and said she knew that its not healthy to always bottle up emotions, especially with her line of work and not to mention their farming lifestyle!

he went to sleep very peacefully, and then we wrapped him up in his blanket. i left her alone with a box of kleenex and told her she could stay as long as she needed, and that she could leave out the back door when she was done. about 5 mins later, she came out and i was working in the back room. she had a few sniffles i could tell. :) but she had pulled herself together enough to professionally ask if i needed help carrying him off of the table. (the family had decided to live him with us for cremation.) i just said "you dont have have to worry about that, we will take good care of him" and she smiled and left.

i usually wouldnt have gotten that involved in disscussing the grief with a client normally, but it just seemed like something between us clicked enough for it to be a natural conversation. i sure found it comforting to talk with someone my own age about those feelings, and i found it interesting that we felt the same way in dealing with both our different species of patients! none of my friends work in the health field, so i dont really get to talk about that kind of "work stuff" with people my own age. i think that having a place like this blog to write it down is also a good substitute for getting those feelings out. (and that's just what the above post is for :) )