PDSA Graduate Programme

I applied for the PDSA Graduate Programme when it opened in March and heard last week that I was unsuccessful in getting an interview for it.
I know how competitive the programme is as a couple of friends have done it so luckily I'd applied elsewhere and have already accepted a job but I was still pretty gutted as I've done countless weeks of EMS with them for over three years.
Birmingham are taking a graduate this year so it would have been perfect as I know the team, work well with them and (I think!) they like me as they've said a few times they'd love me to work there if they had a vacancy.

The application process was the longest I've seen with four Essential and 10 Sift questions to complete about why you'd want to work for them, how you would add value, how you have approached cases in the past etc.
Successful applicants are invited to an intense interview day where you have to complete a clinical case giving differentials and a treatment plan, then a group task, and finally do a mock consult with an actor. The top people at interview are then ranked according to the number of vacancies as the top person gets priority for which hospital they work at, then working down the list.

I know they have to differentiate applicants but it just shows how difficult recruitment is when it's done by Head Office and the hospitalyou'd be working with don't have any input.
Annoyingly I can't ask for feedback, not that it really matters now but I'd be interested to know.

I got an email two weeks ago, after I'd accepted my job, from PDSA Stoke as they'd spoken to Nam one of the vets I've seen practice with for a few years and she recommended me for a job. I was shocked and delighted to get the email but it was just bad timing.
Stoke is about an hour and a half from home with no traffic so I'd have to move up there which would be difficult with a dog as I'd need to find somewhere suitable to rent and then pay for doggy daycare etc.

I explained the situation and that I was really appreciative of the offer but couldn't take it.
I could still apply if they have a vacancy in a few years time so never say never!

We're Going on a Job Hunt

I've been thinking about first job and where I'd like to work for a while, in that it's been in the back of my mind as I arrange EMS placements, speak to people and get a general impression of a practice. There are some locally that I know not to touch with a barge pole from the way they treat staff; you can generally tell as they have a high turnover and are always advertising for jobs. Others would be amazing to work at and rarely have vacancies as people never leave!
Cat and Bobby came out for the Vets4Pets Workshop a few weeks ago and I've been spurred on into applying for jobs.

I've been seeing practice regularly at the PDSA for three years which is a big charity hospital with a high caseload and lots of surgery, that's kind of become my normal so I'm looking for something similar.
PDSA have a graduate programme which I'd love to apply for but it's super competitive and speaking to a few grads we've had over the years the interview process is intense. The money isn't great but I figure I could live at home and it's more money than I'm on at the moment!

I know I want a busy practice within an hour of Birmingham where I can do lots of surgery, have decent support and seeing a few Exotics would be a bonus.
I'd also quite like a grad scheme as friends who have graduated in the last few years seem to be well supported so why not take the support if it's out there...

End of an era at the PDSA

I first started seeing practice at the PDSA in 2016, I've been there for a few weeks every year and I've loved every minute from the start. It's a busy practice with a high caseload, lots of surgery and the team are great. I've been to lots of practices before and since but this became like my "home practice" because I got to do so much and was able to be useful knowing everyone and where things are kept.

Last week I did my first flank (side door) cat spay with Tessa one of the vets and although she is really patient I fumbled through it and didn't think it went very well. I've monitored anaesthesia for a couple since then so got to watch the procedure and learn from other vets then today there was another on the ops list.
I started the morning with a dog castrate which went really well so the Senior Vet said I could do the cat spay all by myself, he was in Prep should I need anything so I induced and intubated the cat, helped prep for surgery and was pretty nervous before I started. I placed my drapes, measured with my fingers and re-measured, made my incision (which was the bit I was concerned about doing flank) and it all went smoothly so I was really glad I got to end on a high!

One of the nurses was doing post-op checks for this weeks surgeries and came in to ask if I'd done some of them as I close with intradermals as most other vets place skin sutures. The German Shepherd bitch spay I did was bouncing around and the intradermal sutures looked great which is always good to hear!

This was my last couple of weeks of EMS before my last semester of vet school and graduation so the team bought me cakes and a card signed by everyone which was really nice.

It was really weird saying bye but I've learnt so much from them so will always be grateful and they all asked if I'd like to work there in the future.
I'd like to apply for the PDSA grad scheme as I love the busy environment, there are often more complicated surgeries that would be referred in private practice that they get to treat, plus the added support of a mentor; so if there's a vacancy I'd love to go back!

Another week of charity practice

I'm back seeing practice at the PDSA for a couple of weeks and since I was here last year they've had a few new members of staff so it's been nice working with new people.
One of the locums has been asking me questions throughout the week, I thought she was testing me for revision, then on Thursday she asked me for the controlled drugs key and we both realised she thought I was a vet!! aha

I've got to do a fair bit of surgery and am confident with cat and dog castrates, fairly happy with bitch spays and closing the abdomen after other vets have done ex laps but I've still yet to do a cat spay!
I used to find dentals fairly boring to watch because you can't see much from the other side of the table but I enjoyed the session at BSAVA in Liverpool so made an effort to get stuck in as it were.
Tessa let me section some molars to extract them and it looks easier than it is so she had to help with some roots, we took out 4 molars and 3 incisors then did a scale and polish which is actually quite enjoyable! Later in the week I did another dental and have never seen teeth so bad and had to extract most of the teeth, bar the canines and a couple of incisors.

I'm quite aware that I'm happy with the practical procedures side but not as confident with internal medicine so Nam said I need to push myself and do some more consults. I've been calling patients in to take a history, do a clinical exam and then call a vet in at the end to dispense meds and answer any questions they owners have. They see lots of skin disease, ears and trauma (cat bite abscesses, RTA etc) so once you've seen a few you get an idea of the treatment plan and how other vets treat them.
Some of the diabetic cases are really interesting as the owners are more switched on and have really good control and we saw three dogs this week with ascites and Dilated Cardiomyopathy; sadly one which died at home overnight after we examined her as the owner hadn't been giving medication for the past month.

This afternoon the Friday (cat) cesarean came in which Nam sorted pretty quickly and she had two healthy kittens.

Back at the PDSA

I've been back at the PDSA Seeing Practice before I head back to Uni and been having a great time. I've been going there for a couple of years now and love all the staff, they all have loads of experience which they are happy to share and are generally a nice bunch!

We seem to have loads of ex laps (exploratory laparotomy) this week. Dogs with suspected foreign bodies are admitted on fluids, X-rays done and then taken to theatre if required. I scrub in to be a human-bowel-clamp, closing off either side of the object as the surgeon cuts into the intestines. Then I get to practice my suturing and close the abdomen; I've not done much suturing since India so it took me a while to get my speed up! One of the vets commented on what an improvement she's seen in me over the last year which was really nice.

I also assisted in two fracture repairs at the start of the week, with the same vet I've done a few with before. I know the drill by how (no pun intended) so I can place a plate, drill, tap and screw it in, and actually be useful to the vet and ready with the next instruments we'll need.

All looked good in post-op xrays and a few days later at their check ups!

Later in the week they were a vet down due to illness so they had me doing consults and Pet MOT's. I call clients in to the consult room to do a clinical exam, take a history and any tests I think need performing like a minimum database bloods and urinalysis.

We had quite a few diabetic patients so I would check they are stable at home, take weight and a blood glucose before bringing in a vet to answer any questions and prescribe medications.

I took blood from a cat which looked like water, spun it to get a PCV and this was the result...

If you're not used to seeing these it's blood in a hematocrit tube which has been spun in the centrifuge, we measure the Packed Red Cells at the bottom (Plasma is at the top) which should be 30-45% ...this cat's PCV was 6% indicating severe anemia.

Finally on Friday we had a group of school children in who learn about the work vets and the charity do, then they learn how to gown and glove up. They come for a tour afterwards so while I was doing a lump removal I had an audience of children and wasn't sure if they were amazed or grossed out by all the blood!

You could almost set your watch by the 5 o'clock Pyo...

One of my consults finished her season two weeks ago, had a thick green discharge from her vulva and a temperature. I took her out the back to scan and we could see the Pyometra.

A vet came in to confirm, we put the dog on IV fluids and 30 minutes later she was on the surgery table having her infected uterus removed before we all went home for the weekend!

Another two weeks seeing practice

I landed at Heathrow from Mumbai last Friday and went straight to a friends wedding in London. We had a really good weekend, lots of their family are Irish so it was a proper family wedding with lots of dancing aided by an open bar!

Back home and I was back at the PDSA for two weeks. I'd hoped to be able to do some neuter surgeries but the whole two weeks I was there we only had one bitch spay and lots of cats so I didn't get to do any this time but I still got lots of surgical experience.

Following the August Bank Holiday we had 24 inpatients so were busy treating those on top of the planned surgical cases.
Depending on the vet I am working with I'll often induce and intubate patients for procedures and then take x-rays with nurses, mass removals and start dentals - a vet will come in to do extractions or to evaluate x-rays etc.

We had a kitten come in with a broken femur so we took x-rays and I scrubbed in for the fracture repair.

The vet opened, located and aligned the break then I helped to drill the intraosseous pin and then close up, after taking further x-rays to check alignment.

This week I've done a lot of closing abdomens and wound stitch up's as we're short staffed due to holidays and maternity leave so while I'm closing the vet can get on with other surgeries.
It's great for me as I can practice my intradermals which I'm pretty confident doing now ...though they are much harder in thin cat skin!

Today I was mainly an astronaut

Dental anaesthesia means astronaut gear...

Seeing Practice with PDSA

I've been Seeing Practice with PDSA Oldbury this week and loved every minute!
The PDSA are a national charity providing free veterinary care to pets of people in need since 1917, with 51 hospitals and 380 pet practices across the UK.

The Oldbury hospital opened in 2015 so the facilities and equipment are all great.

Within half an hour of walking in on Monday morning I had donned gloves and gown and assisting in surgery; a cystotomy to remove bladder stones. I was able to hold the bladder to stop it disappearing back into the abdomen and place catheters to flush saline and clear the calculi.

The vets were great at explaining things to me and nurses very patient explaining and restraining animals for procedures.
I did a few afternoons consulting, taking histories and doing clinical examinations - they have double consulting rooms split down the middle so I was able to grab a vet after they'd finished their consult to discuss my patients and what treatment was necessary.

The first few consults were general health checks either post-operative or new kittens, I had a diabetic dog come in which hadn't eaten breakfast but was still given insulin and went into a hypoglycemic state. The owner had given cake and glucose powder so I admitted the dog for blood glucose and monitoring. The nurses were great in letting me do the blood glucose throughout the day and on the discharge consult I was able to explain the importance of routine for diabetic patients; consistency of feeding and insulin routine and reasons why.

Throughout the week I scrubbed in and assisted on lots of other surgery including a caesarean section, dentals, pyometra and an ex-lap which unfortunately found a stomach tumor so I euthanised and closed up.

I have another week with the PDSA in September and will hopefully be back again next summer!