I'm a Safety Girl

When you think about safety in the workplace it's hard to believe that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration) didn't exist until 1970. Not 1870. 1970. So, you just took your chances every day you went to work. You breathed in toxic fumes (mad as a hatter), asbestos dust, cotton dust. You were exposed to lead and benzene. You died in grain elevator explosions. You handled known carcinogens and were exposed to radiation without protection. It seems hard to believe but that's exactly what happened to people EVERY day. Statistics were cited by a champion of OSHA, Rep. William Steiger, who reported that in the 25 years preceding 1970 there were 400,000 Americans KILLED in work related accidents and illnesses, and 50,000,000 (yes, 50 MILLION people -in 25 years) who suffered disabling injuries.

I mention this background because as the instructors go through all of the safety protocols in class they seems excessive. Almost over the top. But now I see why they are so stringent. The workplace before OSHA was dangerous. And it was not that long ago for a 50 year old, that's the real kicker.

There are photographs in the X-ray room at Bolton of a woman's hand in the late 1800's after being exposed to radiation while she took X-rays without protection. By the fourth photo there are fingers that had to be amputated. You can see the damage to her hand throughout. For those of you with strong stomachs who would like to see another example go to http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEsQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehs.virginia.edu%2Fehs%2Fehs.rs%2Frs.documents%2FRadiation_Safety_Training_for_Safe_Use_of_Analytical_X-Ray_Equipment.doc&ei=L092T7ngFMi-2gXDycSqDQ&usg=AFQjCNEFqB1G8TEooSq3wFhpepNtGzvaUg&sig2=YwXqHO4TxNsjM24i6DCimQ and take a look at Section 5 and what happened with one hand after ONE X-ray accident.

Now that is sobering. 

Answers From Last Week

The answer to the puzzler last week (3 available rooms, 5 clients -who gets a room?) did turn out to be 1) the emergency 2) the surgery appointment and 3) the on time vaccine appointment

AND

The cat with the needle that went up through the soft palate into the area between the brain hemispheres? The cat DID have to have surgery to remove the needle. If it had been left it could have continued to migrate. Yeesh.

This week was Medical Safety Data Sheets, the merits of protective clothing and other fun stuff. More good stories to come.

So, What Would You Do?

We had a quiz in class the other day. I did fine until the last question, then I was stumped. What would you do?

The scenario is: You are the receptionist in the vet office and you are responsible for "triaging" incoming clients. You presently have 3 rooms available. You have an emergency (laceration), a surgery drop-off, a vaccine appointment who has arrived 15 minutes late, a vaccine appointment who has arrived on time, and a vaccine appointment who is 15 minutes early. Who do you put in the 3 rooms?

My response was: 1) the emergency, 2) the surgery drop off (because there will be a vet waiting to do the surgery -assuming it is a multi-vet office-but they didn't say or not say that, uh-oh, maybe I shouldn't have assumed) and 3) the on time vaccine appointment.

I overheard one of the instructors say to the other that a lot of people did not do well with that question. So, I put it out to all of you: What would YOU do?

I will report back after next class with the answer.

Oh, here's a story for you from the instructors: Cat owner notices their cat has pooped out thread (sewing thread). Somehow realizes there would have been a needle at the other end (!) and brings the cat in. X-rays reveal the needle but not where you think it might be. Somehow the needle became unattached from the thread, poked up through the soft palate at the top of the mouth and worked its way up into the brain between the two hemispheres, right in the middle.

You know, I wonder if they just left that needle there? I'll have to find out.

Behind The Scenes at the Hospital

It is a buzzing hive in back, EVERYONE is in motion. I get the feeling that the most these people ever eat are snacks on the go. No one is sitting, unless it is at a microscope.

The waiting room by contrast is deceptively quiet. A few people with appointments come in while we are learning about reception and watching the receptionist in action. She probably saved one cat's life (this from the group that had gone around before us). A woman brought a cat in wrapped in a towel, saying the cat wasn't feeling very well, and then went to go sit down and wait to be seen. The receptionist asked to take a look at the cat and immediately ascertained it was a life or death situation and ran with the cat in back to put her on oxygen.

There is a surgery finishing up as we walk back past the surgery area - a large dog has just had a splenectomy (removal of his spleen). I think it's a Golden Retriever but it's hard to tell as he is on the operating table all bundled up in blankets. His cage in the ICU is about 12 feet away and we can see it is all set up with a comforter, blood for his transfusion (apparently a splenectomy is a very bloody surgery) and other things. Two techs carry him, still bundled, and with the doctor they get him settled and hook him up to everything. Then everyone sits on the floor by his side. When we pass through again on our way back to the dog training room the two techs are both still sitting on the floor next to him, watching him intently, right by his side.

It makes me feel like there is true compassion here in the buzzy hive. I like the feeling. I like the activity. I just can't help but notice everyone here is so YOUNG.

But as Kathy Bates says in her triumphant moment in "Fried Green Tomatoes":
"Face it, girls. I'm older and I have more insurance." OK, I'll go along with that.

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

Much to the chagrin of many of us most everything related to medicine, dosages, and animals' weights is on the metric system. People in this country go into a panic over the metric system. But if we can get used to buying soda by the liter then we can get used to this facet of veterinary work. We've been practicing converting pounds into kilograms (1 kg=2.2 lbs) and then determining amounts of medicine based on the dosing strengths. Not too bad if you have a calculator and take a deep breath.

Did I mention I forgot my calculator for Tuesday night's quiz? Sigh. BUT I remembered my glasses. My goal is to one of these days remember everything.

We've also been learning the names of directions on an animal's body (like caudal means towards the tail, cranial means towards the......you can do it- YES, head!- rostral means towards the nose [rhymes with nostril -easy one]). It took a bit for the body "planes" to sink in (median, transverse and dorsal) The planes divide the body into left and right hemispheres, front and back hemispheres, and top and bottom hemispheres. It was a brain sprainer in the book. Thankfully the instructors brought out a big (toy) stuffed dog for us to see it in 3-D.

We heard about a kitten who was brought in because of continuous vomiting who had actually swallowed a metal nut (from a nut and bolt set she had been playing with). Surgery was a success. And we heard about a dog with a horrible yeast infection all over its feet and in between its toes. (Also successfully treated.)

Tomorrow we go to the veterinary hospital and take a tour and shadow the staff. Oh, fun!

Last Saturday's Class -Frazzle to Fun (Part1)

Halfway to the class on the highway on drizzly gray Saturday morning I realize I have left my reading glasses on the nightstand at home. Instant panic. "AAAAAUGH!" Quickly replaced by "@%#*&^?*^%!!" Oh, you young ones with keen eyes can say, "So what?" but one day, you'll realize. I can spot a mouse on the side of the highway at 500 yards, but up close the world is a headache inducing blur.

So, I had an eye pep talk. "OK, eyes, you can DO this. It's JUST a five hour class. You CAN take notes, you CAN use the new Staples calculator(courtesy of the husbun who got the large readout, bless his heart)." The more I talked, the better I felt. Then I realized I had brought chicken salad for lunch in a cute little Rubbermaid container but I forgot to pack a fork. Pep talk. "OK! You can DO this! You will use your baby carrots as utensils! "

I gave myself 45 minutes last Tuesday to get to the campus early. This morning I had 25 minutes in misty rain. (Who knew it was so hard to get out of a cozy bed?) And sans glasses and lunch fork. Sans raincoat and umbrella. Run to the building from the parking lot. The only person in sight. Burst into the computer room (had to find it) to the sight of many pairs of eyes swinging in my direction watching me choose a seat. I try to make myself feel better by saying to my seatmates "Oh, I'm just FRAZZLED this morning, I can't believe I left my glasses at home and it's just thrown me off."

The woman on my right says, "I have an extra pair of reading glasses with me. Would you like to borrow them?"

Cue the angels singing.
It's going to be O.K.


I'll figure out the carrots.

Ha Ha, Terminology

I've always thought I have a decent command of the English language. (Especially at cocktail parties.) Until I hit tonight's homework of learning 10 pages of the suffixes and prefixes and characteristics of certain words, in anticipation of tomorrow morning's class. WOW. Please pass the margarita.

What I don't know about words, WELL...

What does the prefix "Ortho" mean? Like orthopedic, orthodontist... Guess what? It means "STRAIGHT"! (Wow!)
"Nan" ="Dwarf"
"Telo"="End"
"Tetan"="Rigid, Tense"
"Noci"="Harmful"
"Crypt"="Hidden"

So a side benefit is that I am obviously learning more about language. On the flipside I wonder how I ever thought I was so smart with it.