Blog #1: My Workplace: Tuesday Oct 11th
My workplace is called Noble Veterinary Clinic and it treats all types of animals. It is a medium sized business located next to the Hayward Animal Shelter off of Jackson Street in Hayward, CA. In the front there are a few parking spaces, when you are a client at Noble Vet you usually only see the reception area and the two exam rooms where the pets get their check up. Those who work and intern at Noble Vet are usually the only ones who go into the back area. From the reception area you wouldn't think that the back of the building is fairly large. There is a surgical room, radiography room, an exam area, dental area, laboratory, lunch area, and the kennels for the dogs and cats that go in for surgery or treatment. There are about fifteen paid employees at Noble Vet. Many students from a vet tech college go to Noble Vet to complete their rotation. My workplace employs animal lovers who have a passion for helping out and caring for animals. There are two certified veterinarians at Noble Vet Office, two registered vet technicians, and three vet technicians. The veterinarians both received a four year college certificate. Dr. Singer graduated from UC Davis and Dr. Soto graduated from Cornell University. The vet technicians all have a technical certificate. My workplace serves all pet owners from Hayward or Bay Area and many shelter animals from the Oakland district. The strengths of my workplace are that they are highly organized and work cooperatively with each other. They have a great sense of humor which makes the day go by faster and love what they do which brings a great energy to the execution of their work.
Blog #2: My Mentor: Tuesday Oct 18th
My mentors name is Jose Ibarra and he is the manager and one of two registered veterinary technicians at Noble Vet office. To the left is a picture of his daughter named "Kit". When he sees another dog that he thinks is cute he says that they are also "Kit" because all dogs loved to be called "Kit". A typical day for my mentor is going in at 8A.M. and getting out around 5P.M. with an hour lunch to go to the T-Mobile store and complain as his phone is always breaking down on him. At times it can be very stressful and take a toll on emotionally while working at Noble Vet because they care for a lot of sick animals which is why its very important for my mentor to keep his team going. He also has to manage the rest of the technicians as there are patients that need to be examined in the front as well as surgeries that have to be assisted in the back. Because he is one of the registered technicians at Noble Vet he can induce patients into surgery, place a splint or bandage an animal, and perform cpr. Jose says that he became interested in this field while in high school but it wasn't until around five to six years after graduating that he took the initiative and enrolled in Western Career College which is now known as Carrington college. Although no one in his family had done anything with animals before he thoroughly enjoyed it and with the constant support of his mom he graduated with honors and on the deans list which was a huge achievement as he hadn't always done so well in high school. In order to become a registered vet technician at the end of his two years at Western he had to pass the board test for vet technicians and make sure that he was certified by the state of CA.
Blog #3: My Role: Tuesday Oct 25th
My main responsibility as an intern is to make sure that I am helping the office in whatever way needed even if its helping clean up around the office. I also create surgical cards for the medical records that include making sure that I record the length of the surgery that is taking place, take the temperature of the pet before and after surgery, and record how much pain medicine they have been given. On my first day at Noble Vet I spent it usually in the laundry area washing towels which wasn't so horrible as it was a job I knew I wouldn't mess up. The next week I asked Jose what else I could do and I was then introduced by many of the other technicians how to complete tasks such as to disinfecting the kennels at Noble Vet after each patient leaves. Jose, my mentor, continued to teach me how to properly trim a dogs/cats nails, take their temperature, weigh them, create a comfortable space for them in their kennels, create surgical cards, flush syringes that are used to clear out the catheters so that blood clots aren't formed, and restrain a patient properly. Another tech named Jessica showed me how to clean the instruments after surgery and create surgical packs, although I must admit I'm not so great at creating them. When I usually show up to Noble Vet I walk in through the front and greet whoever is at the front desk. I then walk into the back and place my belongings in my locker. This is when hunting down something to do comes into place. I'll usually look around and see how many patients are in the kennels that day and read what surgeries, if there are any, Dr. Soto or Dr. Singer will be performing. I then walk into the back where the washer and dryer are and see if there is any laundry that needs to be done. If there isn't, which is rare, then I'll go back to the front and help out with patients that are coming in from the front, but seeing as there is mostly always laundry to be done I'm there for quite a while. After the load of laundry is done I usually just help out with whatever I see needs to be done. Such as cleaning up around the office. If there's something that should be done but I've never done it before I ask a technician if they can teach me for a minute how to do it.
Blog #4: Project Brainstorm: Tuesday Nov 1st
Since my mentor and i aren't too sure on what I could do as my project I've asked many of the other technicians at Noble Vet what they thought I could do and I've have a list of possible projects. Gwen said that I could paint the kennels in the back room, there are many of them and it would take longer than a day to complete my project, but its a hands on, and creative project I wouldn't mind completing. They have also pointed out that I could make a flyer for to advertise their business and hand it out in many different places. Another possible project I could pursue is one that consists of creating a type of pamphlet that informs patients of a certain disease or environments that they should avoid or watch out for. Because the office is usually always organized and there are systems that have been set up already to deal with these tasks my mentor asked me if i would be interested in creating a "How to (for dummies) Intern at Noble Veterinary". I think that it means more coming from my mentor because he is the one who is responsible for all of the interns and it would help him if there was a guidebook that he could give to interns that was written by an intern. I'm excited to create this project because: 1. It shows that if there willing to have me create a handbook about how an intern should behave at Noble Vet it means that i must be doing a good job. 2. I have the first hand experience of being an intern that doesn't really know much about how a veterinary office works and can help out other future interns in the same position. 3. I love to write and am very detailed which means i know i could create a handbook worth reading and one that would actually be helpful. This project also doesn't take a lot of resources to complete. What i'll need is most probably computer access to type up my handbook, time, and my mentors knowledge on many of the different tasks at Noble Vet. I'll also need to constantly ask what it is that they don't want interns to do while at Noble vet.
Blog #5: Progress on my WLE Project: Tuesday Nov 8th
Today I didn't do as much laundry at Noble Vet as I usually do which generally means that I had a very busy and productive day in the office. When I showed up the staff was having their monthly staff meeting and I was able to sit in and watch how they problem solve and talk about the things that are going on within the office. When the staff meeting was done and everyone went downstairs there was a huge amount of laundry and so I placed a load in, but not to long after that I was watching surgeries such as a spay and castration. Because I help with taking the temperatures and recording all of the info onto their surgical cards I make sure to be present during any of these moments. Not to mention the fact that I love watching surgery. It's a huge reason as to why I would love to become a veterinarian, I just love blood and guts. I observed Dr. Soto and how she likes to complete certain tasks while in surgery. After surgery I helped out with patients that were coming to the back for vaccinations. Usually when patients come to the back it means that they do better without their owners in the room or they become highly agitated and difficult to handle and need to have many technicians in the room at once to avoid injuries. Because Nida, my advisor, came in to the office to check in and talk about possible ideas for my project the week before my mentor and I already knew what I was going to be doing for my project. I began asking the different technicians what they expected from interns and what should be in my handbook. So far I have began writing a bunch of notes on what things I believe should go into the book. Because I'm still unsure how I should structure it I haven't began writing full on paragraphs. I want to make sure I cover the different tasks I do before I begin writing so that the handbook is clear and concise otherwise it won't be helpful. They showed me a handbook that another intern created that explains what should be in a surgical pack and this was really helpful. it had pictures and explanations and although mine isn't going to include as many pictures i at least have a better idea of how I want mine to look like.
Blog #6: Leadership Skills: Tuesday Nov 15th
I think that the leadership skill I use the most at Noble Vet has to be a combination of communicating powerfully so that I can complete my projects effectively. Safety is a huge concern at Noble Vet especially when it involves patients who are sick, feral, or haven't been vaccinated. This is why its very important that I ask before I walk into a room if its okay for me to enter. During one of the days that I was interning I saw that the door to the exam room was closed and instead of knocking I just opened the door. This is when they told me to close the door before the patient got out. What I didn't know was that when the doors are closed it usually means that they have a highly aggressive patient that is very scared of human contact and can hurt you badly if they come into contact with you. It also serves as a tool for animals to see that they have no way out of the exam room and keeps them from running loose around the office spreading a bunch of harmful diseases or much worse biting someone and infecting them with rabies. Had I knocked before I walked in I could've avoided a potentially scary situation for myself and the technicians as the patient that they had hadn't been vaccinated against rabies and was trying to escape. Now I make sure to knock or ask a technician what is going on before I open the door to the exam room. At Noble vet there are many tasks that one can do, but if your like me, a high school student whom has absolutely no prior knowledge on how to complete these tasks the amount of work you do can be quite limiting. The technicians and interns from Carrington college have already been trained and know the basics of how to complete even the simplest of tasks. Around my third week at Noble Vet i remember that i was walking around the office and I saw how after surgery the technicians would place endotracheal tubes and surgical instruments into the sink. Endotracheal tubes look like a clear straw that is very long and made of a plastic material. They are placed in the patients throat before surgery so that they stay induced(under anesthesia) for whatever amount of time. Because I wasn't sure how it was that I could clean them and I wanted to help out I asked Shannon if she could teach me how to properly clean them. She willingly showed me a trick to clean the endotracheal tubes and I was able to keep busy and found another task I could complete during the day. Later on that same day, Jessica, an intern from Carrington college taught me how to clean surgical instruments. Although its not the funnest thing to do its still something to do and helps out the office. At Noble Vet I have a vast amount of resources that can teach me the different parts of the veterinary field. Had I not advocated for myself by asking Shannon to teach me how to complete a simple task I wouldn't have been contributing to the practice. Because I am asking these questions I feel that I am creating a better future for myself and setting myself up for success because when I go to vet school I will already know how to do these things and appreciate all of the hard work that goes into running a practice. This leadership skill has helped me complete all of my tasks at Noble Vet because I ask questions before and make sure I know exactly what I'm doing before I mess something up. My mentor uses the leadership skill to collaborate productively the entire day. He has to make sure that everyone knows what there doing that he can trust his technicians to complete their jobs properly. When he feels as if they need to be redirected he shows them what needs to be done. He also has to collaborate when trying to restrain a patient because if they both aren't restraining them properly then someone can get hurt.
Blog #7: What I learned, Reflection: Tuesday Nov 22nd
I've learned a lot from my WLE experience, I've realized that I don't have a weak stomach as I was eating my lunch the other day while they were cleaning out a kennel that had a bunch of fecal matter and urine and it didn't bother me one bit. I've also learned that I can adapt to any situation I'm placed in. In school I can do a lot of paperwork and stay organized and while at my WLE it isn't so much paper work but a lot of cleaning jobs and I really don't mind it. Not saying that I would ever consider being a janitor, but I know sometimes I won't always be able to start off at the top of the work chain and it's great experience for when that time comes. Life lessons that Ive learned from being with the technicians at WLE are that as long as you are yourself and follow what makes you happy, I shouldnt worry about everything else. They have a quote that says, "Don't fall under the criticism of others should haves". Although it may be intimidating to go to school for a long time to become a veterinarian I know that in the end it will be worth it. Or whatever I decide to do with my life, it will be hard work, but the hard work will pay off. Before my WLE I knew that I wanted to become a veterinarian but I had no idea what it was actually like. Being an intern at a vet clinic shows me the different levels that you must climb in order to make it to the top. If ever I have my own practice I will know how to better support my team from all levels because I will have had experience myself. It also gives me insight into the different positions the animal medical treatment field has to offer.
Blog #8: Professionalism: Tuesday Nov 29th
Before WLE even began I knew that I wanted to intern at Noble Vet and because I was a client at Noble Vet When I went in with my dog I made sure I asked the receptionist, Cheryl, who I should talk to about interning at Noble Vet. I was lucky that Krystal, who was in charge of interns at the time, was in the office that day. She then gave me her card, number, and told me to call her as soon as Impact was ready to begin the internships. So of course I did just that, as soon as Nida gave me the okay and i finished my resume and cover letter (which weren't needed) I called in and secured my spot as an intern at Noble Vet. I believe that the way I found my WLE was the best way mainly because its much different being on the phone with someone than being with them in person. It creates a more personal connection and shows that you have an interest to be at that specific site. It also is much better to look for a job or internship or have possible internships lined up before you even need one. As a result of my WLE, I think being a professional or a responsible adult in the work world means being able to place our personal differences, personal life, and problems aside and contribute to your workplace to the best of your abilities. It means putting forth your best work and reaching out for help when you are struggling before your work compromises your fellow co-workers.
Blog #9: Life at my WLE: Tuesday Dec 6th
Today was mainly a cleaning and helping out kind of day. I got to the office and the washer was fixed so I placed a load in and then looked around at all of the kennels and saw who was in. I then went around and helped out cleaning and disinfecting the treatment table as patients were brought in from the front. I sat with a patient for about an hour. The poor dog had gotten its tail smashed and was bleeding and while they were trying to figure out the paperwork for him I stood by him and patted his head as he was in a lot of pain. Dr. Soto then told me that I could place him in a kennel and I began helping with the other tasks around the office such as cleaning instruments and restocking. Towards the end of the day as there were less and less appointments we began cleaning as every Tuesday they clean the office and make sure everything is disinfected. As an intern I think the thing that I've improved on the most is that I no longer have to ask how or what to do. As the weeks have gone by I have become more comfortable and relaxed with the office and know what to do to fill my time. I also have come out of my shell a lot more and can carry conversations with the rest of the tech's at Noble Vet. My workplace knows exactly how to have fun while getting the job done at the same time. They all have such interesting stories, great personalities, and a passion for what they do. I think thats what makes Noble Vet such a great place to work. Yeah, you can tell that the work is hard, but no one sits in a corner with a smirk and complains about what they do. Nikki told me that not just anyone can do this job, not just anyone can be a great tech and its true. Not just anyone can be so intrigued by blood and guts, withstand the grody smells that animals can produce, and make the hard decisions that arise when the patient isn't doing as well as you'd hoped it would.
Blog #10: The End: Tuesday Dec 13th
- 1.What final thoughts do you have about your WLE?
- 3.JUNIORS: How will this experience affect what WLE you look for next year?
