Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP Sydney* is a 41-year-old credentialed veterinary technician with more than twenty years of experience in the field. She typically works 40-50 hours a week at a busy small animal specialty practice, and she loves her job despite the high level of stress. Recently, her 10-year-old son was diagnosed with a…
What is Vet BLUE®? FAST is an acronym that stands for Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma. It is an ultrasound exam developed by trauma surgeons (yes trauma surgeons) in the 1990s and used in people as a screening test for the detection of free fluid in the abdominal cavity, ascites, and the pleural cavity…
Pit viper envenomation is a common emergency throughout a large portion of the United States. Pit vipers are snakes in the family Crotalinae and include rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths. Envenomations may range from mild to severe. Dry bites—where no venom is injected—can occur, but are rare and happen in fewer than 15% of cases. This…
Non-traditional Diets and DCM Update: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a devastating disease of the heart muscle which causes the heart to become enlarged with poor pumping function. It is the second most common heart disease in the dog with chronic degenerative valve disease representing 75% of cardiovascular disease in this species. Primary DCM is presumed…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP Naya* is a twenty-six-year-old veterinarian who is seeing her last patient of the day. The patient, a seven-year-old Golden Retriever named Clara*, is bright, alert, responsive, and very affectionate. Clara’s owners explain that they are seeking humane euthanasia because of Clara’s chronic skin problems. Currently Clara has severe alopecia and…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP In the last article we met Sydney*, a longtime veterinary technician who was experiencing feelings of guilt surrounding her need for a job change. After examining the ways in which her work in the veterinary field both contributes to her core identity and impacts her other roles and responsibilities, she…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP In the last article, we followed longtime veterinary technician Sydney* as she investigated job opportunities and identified potential areas of career interest. After using the O*NET Interest Profiler to learn about her RIASEC code, Sydney was able to feel more confident about evaluating potential jobs and finding a good fit…
While we all enter this field with the goal of helping patients, it soon becomes apparent that not all of our patients want or appreciate our help! Many pets become stressed in the veterinary hospital, and this stress can be especially pronounced in cats. Not only is stress unpleasant for our patients, it can make…
Coralsnake envenomation is an uncommon but very dangerous occurrence throughout the southern United States. Coralsnakes are in the family Elapidae with other snakes such as cobras, kraits, and sea snakes; they are the only elapids native to North America. As with pit vipers, envenomations can range from mild to severe. However, unlike most pit vipers,…