We spent the past week in Copenhagen learning about the veterinary program at the University of Copenhagen and shadowing vets in the area. Two others along with myself worked with the veterinary clinicians and students at the University Hospital for Companion Animals.
The first day at the hospital I followed around students on the surgery rotation. I saw two sterilizations - one spay and one neuter. It was interesting to compare and contrast the surgery preparation and suites of their hospital and the ones I have been in before. They had a flexible endotracheal tube for smaller animals that went right past their larynx. It was small and easy to remove, especially from the cat. The students were given close to free reign, and the clinicians on staff made sure that everything was going well and answered any questions and addressed any problems the students had. The medication guidelines baffled me a bit. They cannot open a medication container and give a certain number of pills. They have to prescribe the entire package of tablets and give instructions to the client to only use a specified amount. For more controlled substances, my host told me that people normally have to come to the clinic to get the medication. Daily. The strangest part of the day was their workday. Even though they technically got off at 4, all the surgeries were done by 2:30, making it an unfamiliar low key afternoon at a vet clinic.
The second day at the hospital I followed around students on the internal medicine and acute rotations. In the morning, I got to help with a check up on a chronic pancreatic dog whose owner impressed me with her knowledge and care of her pet. We also performed an ultrasound on a beagle for liver and prostatic biopsies. I know very little about ultrasounds, and the clinicians were really amazing and were willing to explain the images and biopsy process to me. Later in the day a Rottweiler with a two year history of exercise intolerance came in. He had previously had multiple clinicians look at him, one of which took a full body CT scan, but no one had found anything. At the university hospital, the clinician on staff found that his right atrium was enlarged on echo and his PaO2 was dangerously low during his episodes of exercise intolerance, which should help point the case in a direction to finding an answer. After, a French bulldog (which are everywhere!) came in on acute with ascites. Radiographs showed right sided heart failure and a dilated caudal vena cava. The ECG and echo supported the diagnosis of right sided heart failure as well. A fecal sample showed Angiostrongylus vasorum, the French heart worm, was the root cause of the frenchie's problem. A. vasorum is one of the most common causes of right sided heart failure for them.
Our last day in Copenhagen we took a tour of the city and visited Tivoli! It's incredibly small (which you realize on the swing ride that you can see Sweden from), but definitely bursting with energy. Tivoli was great and tons of fun, as was the entire time on Copenhagen (especially when my hosts took me out to see the Little Mermaid!), and I would like to go back again.
We spent our second free weekend in Vienna, after spending the better part of a day in Berlin where we visited the Jewish Museum. It was my first night train, but I was so exhausted I didn't even notice we were moving. Vienna has been absolutely amazing. The city is incredibly beautiful, and I wish I could spend more time here. We went on a city tour and visited the Schonbrunn Palace and the House of Musak. We also stumbled upon a beautiful rose garden and the Life Ball, which was spectacular. I also saw my first opera ever in Vienna at the State Opera House. It was a French comedy, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and it was wonderful. I hope to visit Vienna again soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment