Vet Times

Tag: Eyes

  • Confronted by prejudice

    Confronted by prejudice

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    The consultation had been going well. The FLUTD was cured – at least for the moment – and the cat was safely back in its box, presumably experiencing the strange sensation of being relieved to find itself in a carrier. As I wrote the notes, my conversation with the owner – a large, middle-aged woman…

  • If only they could talk

    If only they could talk

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    “It must be so difficult,” the old woman says, as I listen to her cat’s chest. As ever, this puts me in the awkward position of either taking the stethoscope out of my ears and interrupting my clinical exam, or politely ignoring her so I can listen. As usual, I opt for the third, least…

  • On killing

    On killing

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    “It must be the hardest part of your job.” In my early career I would nod solemnly, sigh, and say “yes, it is,” while I thought about the myriad other things about my job I was finding harder than euthanasia: challenging ongoing clinical cases out-of-hours work the stress of responsibility the fear I was blundering…

  • Bonus culture

    Bonus culture

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    Things are changing in veterinary medicine, and quickly. Close your eyes for a few minutes, or – more accurately – take a few months off from general practice, and you can feel rather lost when you’re greeted by all the new products on the shelves. Except most of them aren’t new at all, they’re the…

  • Animal abuse: are we right to be suspicious?

    Animal abuse: are we right to be suspicious?

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    When I was 14, I watched a documentary aired as part of Channel 4’s “Banned” season. Called The Animals Film, the programme was about the way humans use and abuse animals for their own ends, with the emphasis very much on abuse. I didn’t sleep very much that evening and became a vegetarian overnight. The…

  • Human euthanasia

    Human euthanasia

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    This is a personal blog, filled with personal opinions, and it’s not that funny. Skip to the one about CPD if you fancy a chuckle, and, as ever, if you strongly object to an opinion of mine, bear in mind it was probably implanted by space aliens, so it’s not my fault. *** “We’re so lucky…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Journal clubs – the future of vet nurse CPD?

    Journal clubs – the future of vet nurse CPD?

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    With the introduction of the register for veterinary nurses – just one of many steps we have taken in our mission to be a recognised profession – came compulsory CPD. Despite this, we’re still not completing CPD to the level of our human counterparts. While we work on a three-year cycle, allowing us to spread…

  • The consequences of making a mistake

    The consequences of making a mistake

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    Fertility work makes up a large proportion of cattle veterinary work in the UK and, after spending a month on the farm rotation at university, I can appreciate the importance of getting it right – and how hard it can be. Experienced large animal vets make it look easy – they scan the uterus and…