Vet Times

Tag: clinical

  • Buy a dental x-ray machine

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    If I am being perfectly honest, dentistry has never filled me with excitement. That said, attending a number of sessions on dentistry at the North American Veterinary Conference this year was fascinating and convinced me of the value of buying a dental x-ray machine. Goldstein (2015), to name but one speaker, evaluated the use of…

  • Crash prevention

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    Following the devastating news of the Germanwings crash last week, the co-pilot’s torn-up sick note and the early implication of mental health issues (later suspected to instead be eyesight-related), I witnessed a shocking flare-up of defence regarding mental health on social media. My gut reaction was of absolute disgust. Whether said sick note referred to…

  • Peer assessment in student veterinary nursing

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    Supporting a student nurse takes many forms. Once the nursing progress log (NPL) is complete, the task of getting in objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) practice arises. We use peer learning in our classes, and you can use it in practice too. In it together Peer learning and assessment is taking people of similar levels and encouraging them…

  • Big decisions

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    At the end of this month (March), my year group has to submit their choices for final year selectives. Over the coming week we will have a number of presentations on the different options to help us decide – which will no doubt cause further confusion. For a number of us, fear has ensued. Others (perhaps the…

  • The Doctor debate

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    One of the big discussion topics within the veterinary profession at the moment is the RCVS consultation on UK-qualified vets adopting the courtesy title of “Doctor”, or “Dr”. Given that the consultation closed on February 16, I may seem a bit late to add my two pennies’ worth, but I didn’t really know how I felt…

  • Openness and transparency

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    I recently discovered a veterinary practice in southern England that advertises the fact they have a glass wall looking into their prep room, as well as secure online access to their patient’s clinical records. This sounds like a brilliant idea for openness and transparency, as well as enhancing the access owners have to their pet’s…

  • Supportive feedback in work-based learning

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    As part of a course I’m studying, I have been looking at feedback in clinical education. This means feedback to students and qualified staff in educational institutions, as well as in the workplace. Surveying students (pre and post-qualification) finds the majority feel they have not had enough feedback, and what they have received has not been…

  • Sterile pyogranulomatous cysts are worth bearing in mind

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    I recently saw a very large, and very friendly bull mastiff that presented with what appeared to be typical interdigital cysts. These had been chronically recurrent and previous histopathology indicated a pyogranulomatous reaction. However his lesions responded poorly to three weeks’ of cephalexin antibiotic therapy and, in fact, he developed several lesions on his other feet. Cytology revealed mild bacterial colonisation, and it…

  • 2014: a year in review

    2014: a year in review

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    So 2014 has come to an end – and before we begin our journey through 2015 in earnest, it’s traditional to reflect on the past year and think about what has happened and what we’ve learned. Number one for me was: “Don’t take on too much at once” This is one of my biggest failures.…

  • Helping the hounds of the homeless

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    The homeless come with a certain stigma – particularly those with pets at their side. Should we be concerned for the welfare of those animals, whose owners cannot afford to feed themselves so surely cannot adequately care for a companion? Of course we should. However, instead of claiming these pets should be removed from their owners, Ruby…