Few things are as rewarding as being a teacher. Next year, it will be 10 years since I first entered into academic life, and nearly 25 years since I first started volunteering in practice as a high school student. It has always been my passion and I am honoured to be able to give back now as I teach future veterinary nurses.
One assignment came across my desk today, a portfolio of cases that the student had compiled carefully and with the greatest level of knowledge. I have seen so many cases come across my desk in all these years and some are beyond anything I could imagine. This case was one of those and not only did the student present it with such compassion and dedication that it brought a tear to my eye, it also was a case that never should have happened, and for that reason I was sickened and ashamed of my profession.
This case was one of a working dog who, in the line of duty, injured itself. The initial care included application of a sling and hospitalisation for a week to immobilise a limb. In the week that the dog was in hospital, the foot began to swell and the materials used for the sling did not allow for swelling. The bandage was not removed, so the bandage grew tighter and blood flow to the limb ceased to keep the tissues alive. In the ensuing weeks and months that followed, the dog was transferred to another clinic and my student undertook care of the complex wound. Tendons and muscles were lost and the dog faced an uncertain future as well as weeks of intensive care.
As I reviewed this case, I was truly in awe as my student presented the information with such depth of knowledge and care; but, at the same time, I couldn't overlook the fact that this was a preventable condition and I was dumbfounded at how we could still see this happening with modern practice. We are all taught of the dangers of bandages and the complications that can arise from treatments that we carry out, yet somehow these things still happen in practice. I dare not think of how often they really occur.
If there is one bit of knowledge that I can instil in my students it is to never become complacent. Yes it may be annoying to always wear gloves, or to do that extensive care plan, or to wear short sleeves on a cold day just so that you can maintain a ‘bare below the elbows’ ethic but if you save one patient in your career, it will be worth it. A VN that takes responsibility for their own knowledge and backs up his/her care with evidence and objectivity is not only the biggest asset to practice, we are life savers and I don't know any veterinary professional who wouldn't give everything to work with people like that.
It is so easy to lump responsibility on the veterinarian and assume that they have chosen the best treatment or have made the best choice for care but if I have learned anything in 25 years in the field, it is that medicine truly is an art as much as it is a science and we all are part of that team that makes it work. Each one of us carries responsibility for questioning ourselves, and those around us. For evaluating whether our actions are in the best interests of the patient and if they can be improved.
I am humbled to have come across this student and to have seen what exemplary care can mean for a dog who was all but written off, yet now is returning to work. Each time one of us cares enough to speak up, to research a case, to extend our knowledge with continuing education, we are making a difference, sometimes in small ways, and sometimes by saving lives.
We hope you enjoy this issue.