Vet Times

Tag: Dogs

  • 10 minutes

    10 minutes

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    I have been doing this for a little while; at a conservative estimate, I have carried out more than 60,000 consultations during my career. Sixty thousand. That makes me feel a little strange (and a lot old). For the majority of my time in practice, my allotted consulting time has been 10 minutes. Sixty-thousand 10-minute slots…

  • Using canine pancreas-specific lipase test

    Using canine pancreas-specific lipase test

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    Accurately diagnosing pancreatitis in dogs is so tedious and difficult, we used to wish for a single test that could save all that hassle – hence the arrival of the pancreas-specific lipase (PL) test, designed to help vets worldwide with this difficult situation. So, how do I use this test? I don’t use it to…

  • CPD – why we do it

    CPD – why we do it

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    The door closes behind the client and you breathe a sigh of relief. The last three appointments are booked off, and even with this extra unexpected cat bite abscess, you’re going to finish in time; you might be there 10 minutes late, but you’ll make it. That’s when your receptionist pops his or her head…

  • Final-year students get their kit off for charity calendar

    Final-year students get their kit off for charity calendar

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    As the end of vet school draws ever nearer, my fellow final-year students have been busy not only completing rotations, but also organising a number of events and keepsakes to act as a well-deserved send-off. With the final-year dinner, graduation ball, final-year holiday and yearbook, we have been inundated with requests for ideas, contributions and…

  • An acceptable degree of uncertainty

    An acceptable degree of uncertainty

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    The second I put the phone down and lie back in bed, the uncertainty arrives. Initially, it’s just a nagging feeling at the back of the mind, but a few minutes later it’s in full flow, whirring around my mind, stopping me from sleeping: did I say the right thing? It was a very simple…

  • Are vet nurses hidden in plain sight?

    Are vet nurses hidden in plain sight?

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    As a community, we vet nurses sometimes feel we are not noticed. We know the rest of the vet community sees us (we’ve had the RCVS petition to show support for protecting our title and now have the Schedule 3 working party to look at what we do every day) and people outside our community…

  • New year, new us

    New year, new us

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    With the Christmas festivities over and 2017 already upon us, many of you will have taken the time to make a new year’s resolution you won’t keep. It is estimated only 8% of people succeed in achieving or keeping their new year’s resolution (so the odds are against you), but if you feel this is…

  • Cat-proofing the Christmas tree

    Cat-proofing the Christmas tree

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    Having acquired two new bundles of fluffy joy this year, our Christmas tree is looking a little worse for wear. Now six months old, our kittens’ new favourite game is trying to de-decorate said tree at lightning speed. Many clients are aware of the edible dangers to pets at Christmas time, but the tree itself,…

  • The blind leading the blind

    The blind leading the blind

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    As part of one of our small animal rotations, I spent a couple of days with the ophthalmology service at the University of Glasgow Small Animal Hospital. Not exactly the most clued-up on eyes, I was going in almost blind. I had an idea of common eye conditions and how to manage them, but recognising…

  • Don’t you miss them?

    Don’t you miss them?

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    Odd spot of locum work aside, I have been out of general practice for a few months now, and a number of people have asked the same thing: “Don’t you miss the patients?” That’s a tricky one – simply because the gut reaction of “of course I do” gets complicated when I start to think…