What a day today!!!

First, I started this blog to chronicle the daily grind of being a "vet tech in training". I'm at an animal hospital in Jacksonville, FL. It's a small practice...2 veterinarians, 3 techs, 5 kennel staff (3 FT and 2 PT) . I started working there right after Thanksgiving 2004. I had NO prior experience other than the pets I'd had throughout my life. The owner of the practice decided to take a chance on me and hired me on as a kennel attendant. At first, I loved it. I was thrilled to be doing something I felt more suited for and looked forward to learning more and more of the world of veterinary medicine in general. It didn't take too long before I grew bored from the lack of intellectual challenges. Once the routine is learned, there's not too much else to being a kennel attendant. Granted, you need to have more than a few brain cells to be a kennel attendant because it's not exactly easy. I just became bored with the constant and unchanging schedule of bathing, cleaning and picking up poop. Granted, I still clean and pick up poop (along with other nasties), but it's interjected with lots of interesting, er....interjections!

I was always curious about the other things that went on in the hospital and when a spare moment presented itself, I'd find myself hanging out watching surgery, assisting the techs and vets with minor tasks when they needed an extra body or another set of hands. I found that I liked that aspect of the daily operations and made myself more and more available as opportunities presented themselves.

When the hospital ended up with a shortage of techs, down from five to a meager two, I naturally found myself being needed more and more often. I allowed them to realize that I was quite handy since the techs were working 7 days a week and were exhausted both physically and mentally/emotionally. It wasn't long before I was "promoted" to "Tech In Training" and relieved of my duties in the kennel.

It's grueling work some days, a breeze on others. Everyday I learn something new and I love it. Some days it seems like it will never end, the monotony of annual exams, itchy skin and diarrhea. Those are the days you wonder how you keep from going insane from the repetition.

Then there are days that are full of the interesting, bizarre, emotionally draining, physically demanding, and downright hilarious series of patients. Days that you are so busy that your mind doesn't leave the four walls surrounding you for hours on end. There are those days where everyone is working together like a well-oiled machine with a seemingly strange sort of ESP. It feels good to get through a huge schedule of patients plus the ones that just "show up" that you think would throw us off our game.

We also have the days that it seems NOTHING goes right, we're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off, bumping into each other, trying to get "our game on" and failing at every turn. The chaos is exhausting and draining.

Naturally, it's the former of the two that I naturally prefer. It feels good knowing that you survived (although it doesn't seem like it at first) and came out ahead.

Today was the day that for the most part ran smoothly (although heavily) despite some of the patients/problems that came in to the hospital. Two long time patients came in at the same time and neither left alive. Their medical condition basically demanded euthanasia since there was no further quality of life in their futures. You'd think that situations such as these would make any of us an emotional wreck, and it does, just not for the reasons most people think.

No, none of us are heartless humans that could care less if a patient dies, regardless of the road it takes to get there. If we were, wouldn't be doing what we do. Acknowledging that euthanasia can be the kindest treatment of all is easy when you see the patients as they decline and are no longer the pets they once were. The emotional gut wrencher comes from seeing the "parents" as they desperately beg the physician for any hope that their pet will again be the pet they knew. It's difficult when you KNOW it's not possible, no matter what heroic measures could be performed. Sometimes it's just the end and that's that.

Maintaining composure and professionalism can be difficult at times. Normally under those circumstances, most people would think that as long as you don't have to see or hear the owners during this time, then you'll be okay. That's very true. However, when you're the tech that has to stand by, unable to escape the owner's overwhelming emotions, it's very difficult. I was "lucky" today that I was only closely involved in one of the two situations.

My only consolation is knowing that next time, it just might be a little easier. As time goes by, you learn to cope.

But, after such a physically and emotionally draining day, I found myself asleep at my desk an hour after my last sentance. Which means that it's time to head for the bed.