Summer 2009. This was the first summer that I participated in Banfield’s Student Job Program as a veterinary student. I was ecstatic to finally be putting together the information that I had worked so hard to learn during the previous year at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine with the real life scenarios that I would be faced with on a daily basis as a veterinarian. I was also excited to work with two of my classmates, who were also participating in the Student Job Program at the same location as me – the Banfield in South Sacramento, Calif. And as it turned out, South Sacramento was the ideal location to teach us not only about the veterinary world through real-life cases, but also, to give us a unique glimpse into some of the economic hardships that some clients face in regards to their Pet’s medical care.
One of the best experiences I had during my program was helping my classmates through a stepwise process starting from proper examinations and how the hospital runs, to catheterization and pre-surgery help, to becoming full-fledged anesthesia nurses. The doctors in the practice allowed for us to medically learn not only why certain procedures were necessary, but also the emergency protocols. As a PetNurse, I had not learned this aspect of the details. It was this program that made the difference. This program allowed me to walk step-by-step through cases with the doctors to test what I already knew and then add to it. Amazingly, each day I kept feeling like the puzzle that is the veterinary world was slowly being pieced together, and each day, it made me want to learn more.
There were so many cases that stuck with me, but one in particular, regarding a small eight-week-old puppy named Nemo, was my most satisfying. Nemo came in with neurological symptoms of the Distemper Virus. Surely, the owner thought he was a goner. She had financial limitations in his care and was almost ready to put him down. With the little faith she had left in his survival, she put his treatment in the hands of the doctors at the Hospital at South Sacramento. The doctors allowed us to join in on both his treatment and care, and miraculously, he survived. It was one of the most meaningful cases we had, because it not only reiterated why I wanted to go into Veterinary Medicine, but also the gift we have as practitioners. My journey is only beginning, but the lessons I learned in my student job program will always stay with me.
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