Vet Times

Tag: Clinical pathology

  • The messiness of medicine

    The messiness of medicine

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    My career has taken a very academic turn recently; I’m now a resident in clinical pathology, after (mutter mutter) years in general practice. It’s been a huge change and enormously interesting, and one of the things that has surprised me greatly (and said with caution, given I have general pathology exams looming) is how much…

  • Christmas special: sporties versus foodies

    Christmas special: sporties versus foodies

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    Ho ho hello and welcome to another Christmas edition of my blog. Once again, my editor has cruelly dismissed my “compilation” idea that radio and TV shows seem to get away with at this time of year (picking the best words from my previous blogs, mixing them up and printing the result). As a result,…

  • A defence of generalism

    A defence of generalism

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    Ahh, veterinary medicine. Look at it, stretching out over the horizon – so pretty. Look at all those referral centres. Of course, I remember back when it was all fields. Back in my day, you could be a proper mixed vet, expressing anal glands with the lingering scent of cowpat on your fingers, and an…

  • Role recognition: credit where credit’s due

    Role recognition: credit where credit’s due

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    Bloggers Jane Davidson and Nick Marsh team up to consider how much of each task on a typical invoice for surgery would, and could, be undertaken by a VN or vet. It reveals how, despite its importance, the role of the VN goes unnoticed and unrecognised. When Jane suggested writing a blog together, I thought…

  • Under the microscope: lessons from pathology rotation

    Under the microscope: lessons from pathology rotation

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    The past couple of weeks on rotation have largely consisted of looking down a microscope or performing postmortems – and despite clinical and anatomic pathology being very different, a running theme seemed to exist across both. On the clinical pathology week, we pored over slide after slide of blood smears and cytology samples, trying to…

  • At the bottom of the learning curve

    At the bottom of the learning curve

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    Life has taken me to some unusual places recently: sitting in a small boat surrounded by creepy puppets singing It’s a small world after all; somewhere called “soft play” (which is rather like being trapped inside the 1960s Batman TV show); and, most recently, a clinical pathology lab where I now spend the bulk of…

  • Semi-detached: the pros and cons of life as a locum

    Semi-detached: the pros and cons of life as a locum

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    Towards the end of 2015 I made a few changes in my life; I decided to try to exercise a little more, drink a little less, and finally give up the evils of celery once and for all. I also left my long-term job of 13 years and started working as a locum. For the…

  • Totally pathological

    Totally pathological

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    As is no doubt clear by this point in my blogging career, I am a with-it and hip sort of chap with his finger on the pulse of youth culture. Consequently, I am aware when a youngster brings his pet to me and says “my dog is sick, man”, he may actually mean the animal…