A day in the life…
Laura Frost reveals a day in the life of a general practice veterinary surgeon
I can honestly say that for me, no two working days are ever the same. Why then, you might ask am I writing an article depicting ‘a day in the life of…’?
I hope to give the reader a glimpse into life behind the scenes, on the understanding that any day I pick would be vastly different from the next. Typically, the day starts with inpatient rounds, coffee in hand. Today we have a dog that had fracture repair yesterday, kept in overnight for pain relief and a stray cat that has returned home after two weeks missing. It has been on a drip overnight to hydrate it and needs sedating for wound cleaning today. The dog is comfortable, has a good appetite and is ready for the owners to collect later in the morning. Bloods are taken from the cat to check its kidney function, so the results are ready after morning consultation.
Nine am, and the first two consultations are already here. Over the next hour and a half I see six appointments. Three of them are routine boosters, one of which is a kitten with an eye infection. I perform health checks on all and give advice based on any concerns the owners have. Another is a check up from an ongoing medical case. After weeks of illness, following anaemia and a blood transfusion the patient is well and bounding into the consult room. This is a sight that makes my day. It is surprising how resilient my patients can be.
Next, I admit a dog for an ultrasound scan, suspicious of bladder stones, followed by removing a grass seed from a springer spaniel’s ear. The final consultation of the morning is a euthanasia, which is always emotional but goes smoothly, with dignity. The first thing I do after consultations is to check on the inpatient’s blood results. The cat still shows signs of dehydration, but nothing too serious. I call the owners to give them the good news. Having checked over the animals admitted for surgery today between consultation, I find that the first cat spay has been given its pre-med by the nursing team and is ready go.
This operation takes around 20-30 minutes. Just time for a few mouthfuls of tea before my next case; taking out a cat’s thyroid gland. This surgery is a bit more fiddly than the cat spay and takes just over an hour. Next is the ultrasound from earlier in the morning. The dog has at lest five bladder stones and is scheduled for surgery the next day. Ten minutes until afternoon surgery, so a quick sandwich while reading through the list for the afternoon. Luckily, there are a few free appointments, so we get a little bit of a rest and time to do the paperwork that goes with a busy morning.
I see several upset tummies, two dogs with ear infections and a geriatric cat check up, in which we do routine bloods, blood pressure and urine analysis. This cat has an overactive thyroid which has been picked up early by our screening program. Just as we are winding down for the afternoon a member of the public rushes in with a cat that has been hit by a car. We quickly give it emergency treatment including oxygen, fluids and pain relief before assessing the damage. It has been very lucky, with no broken bones, and responds well to the treatment of its shock. It also has a microchip so the owners are contacted and come to visit when the cat is feeling up to it.
Today is my shorter day so I am not working evening surgery. I hand over to my colleague who is working until 7 and head out for a quick run in the remaining daylight. What will tomorrow bring?
Laura Frost MRCVS MA VetMB is a vet at local veterinary practice Pengelly and Mizen
Pengelly and Mizen Veterinary Surgeons 89-93 Park Road, Peterborough PE1 2TR T: 01733 554953 Emergencies only: 01733 896000
www.pengellyandmizen.co.uk
