We were delighted to help so many patients yesterday. We started the day with some radiographs for a beautiful staffie whose owner travelled over an hour to get to us. He had a TPLO surgery for cruciate disease on his right hind leg with us a few years back; and sadly his left stifle has the same problem now; and he needs our help again. He’ll have surgery with us in a couple of weeks. He was examined. diagnosed, radiographed, treated and scheduled for surgery in less an hour.
On to a challenging laparoscopic spay in an XL bully. This is a super option for deep chested breeds with minimal complications. She did very well and we successfully removed her ovaries through tiny entry pints; giving her a safe surgery with minimal complications. Onwards they to our orthopaedic surgery case of the day where we had a luxating patella case in a little patient who is a regular in our clinic. Vet Hermann was busy operating all morning.
The day was winding on whilst consults were ongoing; and our ward was filling up with other little cats and dogs that needed our help- a kittie with crystals in his urine; a doggy with query foreign body; another kittie with anorexia and a serious medical emergency in a dog to name a few…
And lastly little Echo who is 13 needed help with her nose. She has had a purulent nasal discharge for a while. We took some time to get some intraoral radiographs detailing the inside of her nose; and then she had rhinoscopy – this means we use a camera up to image her nose. We’ll put her on a course of treatment and see can we help her.
Lots of young vets now want to specialise in very narrow areas of veterinary such as just surgery; or just cardiology; or just ophthalmology. But for anyone with a passion for pets; you just can’t beat general practice. We just love it. The variety and brilliant mental stimulation it gives is unmatched; along with the fabulous reward we get from helping our little patients every day. Most of the wonderful vets who I count as friends and practice owners could have specialised in any field… but I knew deep down I could help the most pets by becoming really proficient in general practice. We’re not allowed to call ourselves experts without lots of extra letters after our names.. indeed I saw a “Professor of general practice” title to a wonderful speaker at the london vet show last week; who works mainly in a university setting.
I leaned to a pal and said gosh.. I feel like a real underachiever when I see all these wonderful academics lecturing on conferences. She just smiled and reminded me that I’ve been busy growing a family too!
It’s too late for me to formally become a professor of general practice.. my university days are long in the distant past now; but most of us who love this job don’t need an extra cap and gown to keep learning and keep at the forefront of our profession. Every day is a school day and we learn something new from every case we see. All you need to be a really good vet is to have a genuine passion for pets, really good training; and a certain amount of natural aptitude; to keep studying and learning; and the pets themselves teach you the rest.
