so lovely!

Veterinary Orientation was interesting – One of the main veterinarians walked us through intake procedures, surgery prep, surgery, and recovery procedures. After lunch at the hotel, we sat down to practice sutures – my time on my suture model was well spent – and I wasn't doing it wrong. We'll see how it goes tomorrow when I'm touching live tissue! Oh – and for my more vet related folks – guess what we're using to ligate the ovarian pedicles? Zip ties. YUP. At first I thought it was really weird, but I guess they haven't had any problems because they are made out of nylon which is the same thing that is in suture material and it's a lot faster and cheaper. According to a research article, the trimmed zip tie only increases chances of a reaction by something like .0001 percent. We do use sutures for dog neuters, though. Speaking of dog neuters: Dr. Brickson and I have been debating back and forth about whether or not they would be open or closed. They are going to be open. The reasoning wasn't really clear to me, but I'll do as I'm told. J The hotel we're at tonight is gorgeous. I'll take some pictures tomorrow when it is light out and post them to the blog. We're in the middle of NOWHERE in a gorgeous jungle of prettiness! Tomorrow is our first day of clinic and I am so excited. The team of veterinarians sound amazing and have really given us a lot of confidence. Our first surgery will literally be done hand over hand with the goal that by the end of our time here they will not have to scrub in and be present for evaluation only. Wish me luck! Updates tomorrow after my first surgery.  *wheee!*