Work experience at a vets...

[andyoxon]

Mini ao is thinking about doing GCSE 1 week w/e at a local (pets/exotics) vet.  Anyone have experience about what kind of things she might do?

Andy

[Feline]

She needs to make sure she writes to them well ahead of time to get a WE place there, most vets get dozens of kids all wanting so come on the same week/weeks and can only take one or at the most two of them.

In general the sort of things she is likely to get to do are:

• Watch consultations in the vets room
• Clean the table in between consults for the vet (this the price of the above privilege  )
• Some vets will let the WE kid help hold animals during examinations, but there are H&S implications if they are bitten so this will depend on the vet themselves
• Watch some operations in the operating theatre
• Help the nurses with cleaning up in the theatre and theatre prep area
• Help the nurses with nursing patients in the hospital, probably including some kennel cleaning (there will be wee and poo involved AKA u+ and f+ and possibly also v+ vomit and d+ diarrhoea)
• Possibly help with taking dogs outside to the toilet (if trusted by staff not to lose the dog!)
• WE kids aren't generally allowed to answer the phones, but can help the receptionist by going to get things customers are wanting etc.
• There are some menial repetitive type tasks the staff might give the WE kid to do at quiet times of the day, such as restocking supplies of syringes, cotton wool, gloves etc. in consult rooms, decanting liquid medicines into standard sizes bottles, putting together leaflet packs. When I saw practice as a kid I actually quite liked doing some of these tasks, it is much better than being bored and made me feel useful to the staff in exchange for the good bits I got to spectate on.

I hope she enjoys it! Even if she decides it's not for her, it will have been a useful experience to help decide that 

[L CC]

No1Daughter did a week at a vets as her work experience.
Apply early. No1Daughter got the position (ahead of a number of others) because her dad arranged it, with his farm's vet.

[Feline]

One thing I would add is before she goes have a chat with her about fainting. Some kids have never fainted and don't recognise the warning signs before they do. Standing still for a prolonged period of time in an operating theatre while not doing anything with unfamiliar smells and gory things happening is a perfect recipe for fainting, even in people who are not remotely phased by blood and gore normally. Warn her that feeling hot, sweaty, shaky or any vision disturbance are the only warning signs she might get.

All vets have seen this many times, and she should not feel embarrassed if she has to go out and sit down. They would much much rather she did this than hit the deck and hurt herself. I pride myself on spotting green-tinged WE kids and telling them to sit down immediately or even catching them as they fall. It is inconvenient as I then have to scrub back into my operation! If I was concentrating hard on what I was doing I might not notice they are about to do it. Around 80% of the WE kids I have had observe in theatre have either fainted or had to go out before they did. When I was about 14 I felt weird watching in theatre once myself and made it out of the theatre into the corridor where I woke up a minute later. Strangely this only seems to happen to people once.

Eating a good breakfast in the morning is probably a good idea too, as well as taking in a good packed lunch and a couple of snacks.

[Kim]

Bloody good point.  I fainted once while a nurse was taking a perfectly routine blood sample.  I had blood taken every 6 months for most of my childhood and am not even remotely squeamish about blood or needles, but it was a hot day, a fasting blood test, and she was digging about on her third attempt at finding a vein.  Utterly embarrassing.

For me the only reliable warning sign (feeling hot isn't much of an indicator when it's actually hot) is bilateral phasey tinnitus, which means I have at most 10 seconds to stop what I'm doing and lie down on the floor in a controlled manner before it happens anyway.  The trick is to get your head down first and explain what's going on later, otherwise it's "I'm going to black out." "What?" *thunk*

[graculus]

I share your embarrassment. I had a blood sample taken on Tuesday morning after fasting. First attempt produced about two drops of the red stuff (I declined the nurse's invitation to look to check). Second attempt was performed with me lying on the floor after I pre-emptively put myself there.

Record is three goes to get a sample, although this is the first time I have come close to fainting. It was the fasting that did it I think. I had wisely decided not to cycle to the surgery on this occasion.

[jane]

I am an experienced fainter.  I have always had low blood pressure which, in various situations, can drop even lower quite suddenly,  and then, whoops! Cue the wobbly feeling, as though your brain is having a bit of a lie down ( which is exactly what it wants you to do) occasionally even seeing stars.  Some of my fainting episodes have been quite spectacular.

[L CC]

I am an experienced fainter.  I have always had low blood pressure which, in various situations, can drop even lower quite suddenly,  and then, whoops! Cue the wobbly feeling, as though your brain is having a bit of a lie down ( which is exactly what it wants you to do) occasionally even seeing stars.  Some of my fainting episodes have been quite spectacular.

Me too. In fact, I think Kim has seen the 'collapse' in action, as it were.

[Kim]

In fact, I think Kim has seen the 'collapse' in action, as it were.

Indeed.  In fact, you made the usual mistake of announcing what you were about to do rather than getting on with it.  This made sure we were watching as you dropped your bike and stylishly flopped backwards into the obligatory bed of nettles.

(I can't really comment, given my habit of launching myself directly into the nettles from the bike.)

[Biggsy]

Tell Mini ao to lower her head whenever she starts to feel faint or grey out.  (I have to do this just when I stand up sometimes).

[Chris S]

I am an experienced fainter.  I have always had low blood pressure which, in various situations, can drop even lower quite suddenly,  and then, whoops! Cue the wobbly feeling, as though your brain is having a bit of a lie down ( which is exactly what it wants you to do) occasionally even seeing stars.  Some of my fainting episodes have been quite spectacular.

Me too. In fact, I think Kim has seen the 'collapse' in action, as it were.

Once again, I find myself giving serious consideration to wearing a magic hat when on the tandem. 

[Jaded]

Wiggle your toes in your boots, then squeeze your calves, then your thighs.

[andyoxon]

Thanks Feline/all - that's helpful; good point about fainting.  Apparently she chose to dissect a heart in the science class the other day, and actually enjoyed it.  Anyway mrs ao has spoken to vets - and mini written something.