We all sometimes wish we could go back in time or redo some situations. Often, when looking back with hindsight and more life experience, we wish we could have done things a little differently, or focused our time and energy in a better way.
I have been reflecting and, while I am incredibly proud of what I have achieved and where my journey has brought me, I have five things I would say to the young Gerardo Poli about to start university. Here is the first:
Signalment
When I was writing my study notes at university in preparation for my exams, I don’t recall writing down a lot about the typical signalment for different diseases. At the time I couldn’t see the relevance, nor importance, of it – especially when so many more pathophysiologies were waiting to be memorised.
Fast forward a few years when I started working, and the first thing I want to know – even before I lay eyes on the patient – is its signalment. It is the one crucial clue that helps me narrow down a long list of differential diagnoses and, from there, help develop a diagnostic plan.
Starter for 10
Signalment can be so telling in some cases that my colleagues and I will often guess what the patient presented for.
For example, a young Labrador retriever that presents with protracted vomiting is most likely going to be an intestinal foreign body, until proven otherwise, while a geriatric cavalier King Charles spaniel with dyspnoea is likely in congestive heart failure, secondary to its genetically predisposed mitral valve disease.
Obviously, just knowing the signalment isn’t everything to reaching a diagnosis, but it gives you a place to start.
With age comes wisdom
The difference between an experienced and inexperienced vet is the former is a lot more familiar with the types of disease and illness a particular demographic of patients is predisposed to, whereas the latter is not.
My advice is to read up on as many clinical cases as you can, and don’t forget to look at the patient’s signalment.
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