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Thank you so much! I agree there are a lot of pretty negative videos/view points about veterinary medicine these days. A lot of days are hard, but in the end we get to help pets!

Thank you so much!

Great question! Unfortunately, since there are not an endless amount of diameter length combos, I usually end up picking my diameter as my priority. If you rely on too large a diameter you’ll be dealing with painful foot swelling, and I try to always prioritize patient comfort. For length, ideally a PICC will sit in the caudal vena cava, so measuring just caudal to the liver would be ideal placement. But, often times these catheters end up being a little short depending on your patients conformation, so as long as it samples well I’m also totally happy with my PICC terminating in a femoral vein.

Thank you! New video coming soon!

I’m glad to hear they are offering you a decent starting wage! It only goes up from there!

Thank you for watching, and good luck with your studying! Let me know if you ever have any questions!

Do it!

Thank you! Good luck with your studies!

There is going to be some natural variation in blood pressure readings taken at different places on the limbs, but the variations should be relatively negligible. So, it is appropriate to place the oscillometric cuff above or below the hock and I will usually choose based on patient conformation (I.e. really obese patients, patients with short/stubby legs, or patients with excessive fur above the hock I pay choose the place the cuff below). For Doppler the cuff is simply occluding the artery, while the crystal is taking the reading. So, placement of the cuff shouldn’t effect your readings if you are still getting good occlusion and release of the artery. I would place the cuff wherever it seems to fit best.

I usually go based on the reference lines inside the cuff, and I agree that some big or chubby kitties end up being a size 3. I think a lot of us were taught different reference ranges, and even when you read different textbooks you will see variation in listed normals. I honestly don’t get super nit picky about which reference people use unless it seems blatantly incorrect. I would argue that a systolic of 100-120 is pretty normal in a cat, and I think treating hypotension with a systolic below 120 is a little too aggressive as there are negative side effects to aggressive hypotension treatments as well (fluid overload, risk of arrhythmias from pressers, etc.). But honestly I usually only treat the MAP in regards to hypotension. I worry about the kidneys once the MAP drops below 70. If I had a MAP of 75, and a systolic of 89, I would be more worried about how accurate that reading was due to how close together those two numbers were. I would probably try my reading again, and check a Doppler if I was still worried. But, in the end, I am going to be primarily focusing on the MAP, and treating hypotension once that falls below 70.

I’m so sorry to hear that! It depends on what the underlying condition is. If it is for a toxin then very very good, and for treatment of IMHA usually pretty good, but prognosis can go down depending on how systemically sick the pet is. I hope she does okay!

Schooling is usually 2 years, and pay ranges from mid-teens without experience up in the 30’s with high specialty.

The pay is definitely bad in the beginning, but getting better. Hopefully with time and people lobbying for more respect and recognition, we can get the wages to be live-able for everyone.

Thank you and good luck!

Thank you! I’m hoping to keeping building into more advanced content as well.

I’m sorry you had to take a break, but glad you were able to recognize what you needed. Good luck coming back!

It sucks that people are dissuaded from doing something they are interested in due to poor pay because the field needs people so badly. Hopefully we can get the field to the point where this is not the case anymore!

Absolutely! Apologies for the late reply. TPE for IMHA is performed to remove the plasma antibodies that are causing the immune mediated destruction of red blood cells. We then replace the plasma we have removed with a combination of starches and donated plasma. This treatment is performed while waiting for immunosuppressive drugs to stop the primary process, and is usually reserved for very critical patients, although finances are usually a big factor as it is an expensive treatment which may need to be performed multiple times.

Is there a specific catheter you use for dialysis?

Yep, it’s a dialysis catheter which is basically just a really large gauge double lumen central line.

Thank you!

In progress!

Good luck!

@@jenniferlyonsvts Would you like helping me on how to prepare for this :

Thank you for watching!

Thank you!

Most tech schools will require basic biology so that’s a good place to start!

Haha it’s their world, I’m just living in it.

Thank you, and I agree! I recently read somewhere that people that stay with the same job for a long time are more likely to make less money than people who take new opportunities as they come up. Employers are more likely to offer pay increase to new employees than to existing ones. So keep that in mind!

Thank you so much!

Thank you! Just posted one but let me know if there’s anything specific you had in mind!

Thank you for working overnights, it is an often overlooked position that the whole hospital NEEDS to stay open!

Thank you! I’m also glad I finally got it up!

Unfortunately I’m not very familiar with Canadian tech or DVM schools, but maybe these websites can help: www.canadianveterinarians.net/education-and-events/accreditation/animal-health-technology-veterinary-technician-programs/ www.canadianveterinarians.net/public-resources/careers-in-veterinary-medicine/veterinary-colleges/

Thankyou so much 😊

I definitely could’ve expanded on the pros, but for consistency decided to just do an equal number of each.

@@jenniferlyonsvts I get it... been an LVT for 40 years. I have a love hate relationship... LOL

Thank you so much!

Haha thank you! She is the biggest trouble maker, and she always loves when I have the camera out 😂

That’s awesome, good luck! Let me know if there are any topics you’re super interested in!

I’m so glad they’re helpful! Good luck with your application!

Thank you so much that's so exciting to hear! I am planning more in the coming weeks so if you have any requests I am all ears! (next video planned is likely ECG interpretation)

Yes you definitely get “used” to seeing sad cases. You learn to compartmentalize, or disassociate what you have to deal with at work. When I first started I always thought euthanasias would be the hardest and would always be the hardest. But after a few years my opinion changed and I realized euthanasia isn’t the hardest thing to deal with because those pets aren’t suffering anymore, and were able to pass on in a peaceful way. I always tell my clients that helping patients pass peacefully is our responsibility, and we have the privilege of preventing suffering. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy though. I still cry and am mad sometimes. And I’ve just decided that’s I am okay with feeling sad and angry sometimes. The harder cases are the ones where owners decline care. In those cases all we can do is make sure multiple techs, doctors, managers have talked to the clients. And to alert the authorities to do welfare checks when the patient is being treated in a manner consistent with neglect. So at the end of the day I can still feel like I did everything in my power to help that pet.

@@jenniferlyonsvts Thank you very much for your answer ❤️

Dipper blood pressures give you the systolic pressure, the peak pressure during pumping. Digital blood pressure machines usually give the systolic, diastolic, and mean. Digital blood pressures are less accurate in cats, particularly if their blood pressures are high or low.

Respiratory arrest is the term used when the respiratory system fails before cardiac system, which is common in pets without underlying heart disease.

The emotional toll can definitely be a big one. I have also worried about bringing disease home to my cats, and will often undress before interacting with my cats and shower quickly upon getting home.

@@jenniferlyonsvts I used to do that too but my hair was very angry at me for washing it everyday lol. My cat got really sick once (turned out to just be calici but he acted like he was dying) and their first thought was that he had something contagious. They tested him for everything and even told us to expect it to be FIP. Safe to say I had an emotional breakdown until the vet (tried to) reassure me that it wasn’t very likely because of me. I never even considered that to be a possibility before I started in the veterinary field.

Thank you so much, and good luck with your journey!

I will add that to my list!

Yes, it’s a requirement to have workers comp. All my injuries have been covered by my employers.

I hope you follow through and continue with your dream!

Good luck! PennFoster is an online program that’s both popular and sometimes part of the cost can covered by certain companies (usually larger corporations like BluePearl, MedVet, maybe NVA although I don’t have personal experience with them).

San Juan College is an online program that is great too if you haven't found anything that suits you yet. The clinicals can take place at your local vet@@mmoll13

Thank you so much and good luck getting back into the swing of it!

I’m really sorry about your experience that sounds like it was a hard situation to be in with your pet. I appreciate you asking questions and advocating for your pet! I will say the doctors I work with never speak to reps directly and do not get anything for recommending one brand of drug over another. But drugs can be really complicated and sometimes have unfortunate negative side effects that aren’t anticipated.

Thank you for your concern and reply. I'd practiced myself in a hospital (human) and worked closely with anesthesiologists & OR staff, so I can at least look up these drugs and know what to investigate when things go sideways. The general public (like myself at the time) would not know what questions to ask and what to watch for. We explained the difficulties we were experiencing, but the response (not from the actual vet----they don't take phone calls), by the assistent at the vet office, was to just direct us to an "emergency vet" clinic. This was incredible, most the medical staff I worked with would deal with issues on their patients. I really wish this was just an isolated incidence, but we unfortunately concluded this is what passes for animal care in our area among vet staff. @@jenniferlyonsvts

They’re distracting for me too 😳