My Goals:

– I would like to improve my ability to ask questions to help understand other people’s points of view.

– I would like to learn to how experts identify problems in various situations.

– I would like to learn about technical medical methodologies within my desired field of study of veterinary sciences.

My Growth:

Throughout my work placement I have improved my ability to ask questions to help understand other people’s points of view. An example of this is after watching a surgical procedure where a dog got spayed, I reviewed the sheet that the veterinary technicians fill out whilst the animals are going through their surgery. There were some markings that I did not understand, so I asked the vet tech what they meant. She explained the legend on the side of the page and the significance of each of the symbols. After the vet tech explained this to me, I better understood her perspective on what she must pay attention to during the surgery.

I had the privilege of sitting in on several medical appointments between pet owners and veterinarians. I watched the veterinarians and vet techs analyze x-rays and they explained to me the nature of what they were looking for. From these experiences I learned more about how problems in various situations are identified. At one point during my work placement, I was in the room with two veterinarians while they were looking at an x-ray of a hamster. The hamster appeared as if it had an extremely large midsection. The veterinarians were debating whether it could be fluids, a lump, both, or something else entirely. The veterinarians decided to give the hamster an ultrasound. After completing the ultrasound, they were fairly certain there were fluids inside the hamster. I found this to be an outstanding example of real-world problem solving through discussion and use of technology.

During the past few weeks at Port Coquitlam Animal Hospital, I expanded my knowledge of the many different technologies used to treat animals. The vet clinic can run a few of their own blood tests. When testing blood, a syringe is used to extract a small sample of blood from the animal. After the blood is obtained it is put into small tubes that fit into blood testing machines. I learned that before the tube of blood is allowed to be placed in the machine you must tip it upside down a couple of times. This is done to prevent blood separation which can invalidate the test. I learned that this does not happen in living animals because the heart is pumping constantly, ensuring that the blood is flowing and continually mixing. If the blood wasn’t shaken the machine wouldn’t be able to get a proper reading on what it is supposed to be testing as it would only be reading the water in the blood as opposed to the actual blood.

Core Competency Reflection: