Middlebury Animal Hospital
R. Emerson Tuttle, 2009
Last winter term I acted as an intern with the New England Aquarium, and I worked with the Penguin Colony. I was introduced to the practices of animal care and husbandry, but my interest was peaked by the interaction of the birds with the veterinarian. I am interested in the veterinary field, and would love to work with exotic animals at an institution similar to the New England Aquarium. As this year is my senior year, I wanted to stay on campus for my January Term. At the same time, I wanted to explore veterinary practices, so I opted to intern at a local small animal veterinary practice – the Middlebury Animal Hospital.
At the Middlebury Animal Hospital, I was free to come and go as I pleased, so ultimately this internship was what I made it to be. My schedule was four days a week (Monday-Thursday), and I typically arrived at 8:00am and departed for the day at 4:30-5:00pm. When my assistance was needed after that time or there was an interesting appointment scheduled or procedure to take place, I stayed on to help. The hours were standard, although business was not always typical: some days would be full of appointments, whereas others were sparsely scheduled. Any student taking place in an internship at the Middlebury Animal Hospital has the opportunity to make the best of an amazing opportunity while scheduling his or her own hours.
A typical day ran as follows – I would observe surgeries in the mornings (spays, neuters, hernia repairs, tumor removals, cystotomies, etc.). I would help in what manner I could to prep patients for surgery, which included inserting a peripheral intravenous catheter, injecting the animal with a sedative, shaving the surgery site, and cleaning the site thereafter. Aiding in surgery mainly involved observation, but I also learned invaluable lessons of the sterile technique. After surgery I would head off to lunch when I was free, and returned to help in office visits. The animals seen at the hospital are mainly composed of cats and dogs, and the occasional rabbits or rats, but they will see birds and reptiles if need be.
Though I was not capable in assisting in many procedures because I was completely new to the field, I did aid in whatever way I could. Some days that consisted of cleaning, taking animals outside, and reorganizing shipments of medications or food. Other times it meant I would restrain an animal for a doctor, would help calm an animal that was being restrained, or would administer certain injections. Broadly, the techniques I learned were: administration of intramuscular and intravenous injections, insertion of peripheral intravenous catheters, how to draw blood from the jugular and saphenous veins, how to restrain animal of all sizes, how to administer and monitor isoflurane anesthesia, general care of animals including nail and hair trimmings, and how to read ultrasound images and radiograph films. The staff was very helpful and wanted me to engage in these activities. They were always encouraging in their teachings, even if it took me more than one try. I was always eager to try new things, though some of them were very nerve-racking. I did not want to upset any animal, and if something was not working I would let a veterinarian take over to reduce stress. I now feel comfortable that I could be a good veterinary assistant at any small animal practice.
Some of the drawbacks to life as a veterinarian are the difficult decisions you have to help pet owners through. For example, when is it time to put an animal down? It is not the doctor’s decision, but I feel it is appropriate for the doctor to give their opinion of every situation. There were many instances when cancer was present in an animal and it had most likely metastasized. The veterinarian’s role was to talk the owner through the options – did it really make sense to put an animal through surgery? Did it make sense to put it down right away, or to wait until worse symptoms arose? What it really came down to in many instances was an analysis of the animal’s quality of life. Not only will it help me with my own animals in the future, but also with patients in the future, whether they are at a zoo/aquarium or a local practice.
I also found difficulty in the fact that money is always an issue in the decision making process. Ultimately the veterinary field is a business, and one must make a living. Unfortunately an animal’s health cannot always come first if there is no one to account for the payment of a surgery. There was one instance when a dog came in that went into cardiac arrest. We did our best to resuscitate it (and did so), but we could not stay overnight to care for the animal. If the owner’s had had enough money, they should have taken it to an emergency clinic, but that was not the case. Eventually the animal passed away, which was sad to see, but was an educational experience that I will value to have under my belt in future instances of ailing animals.
At the practice I accumulated over 125 hours of direct experience. As a student I wanted to try out the veterinary world before applying to veterinary school. Now that I have seen what life is like as a veterinarian, I am planning on matriculating into veterinary school in the fall of 2010. I feel confident in my skills and think that the veterinarians at the Middlebury Animal Hospital would be happy to write me a recommendation. My overall experience was a wonderful one. I loved the people I worked with based on the amazing atmosphere of the business, and I learned numerous techniques that will aid me in my future in the veterinary career. I would suggest this to any student who wants to remain on campus while still exploring if the veterinary field is right for them.
Contact the Career Services Office for more information on this internship.