Needles and Syringes

Needles and Syringes 

This week in class we learned about needles and syringes. We received a packet and learned about dog and cat illnesses. We learned how many times a year a dog or cat needs to get their vaccine for a certain disease. We learned the different types of vaccines and the different places of administration. An oral medication is administered and taken through the mouth. A nasal medication or vaccine is taken through the nose. A sub-q vaccine is administered into an animal under the fat layer. An IM vaccine is administered into the muscle. An IV medication is put into the vein of the animal. And lastly an ID vaccine is inter dermal which is under the skin.
Another thing we learned about in class is the different type of syringes and the parts of the needle and syringe. There are four different types of syringes. A Luer-Lok syringe has a threaded tip that helps to hold the needle. A slip tip has a standard syringe tip. An eccentric syringe is used to get a straighter angle for administrating an IV. Lastly, is the catheter tip syringe and that is the standard syringe that is mostly used for an IV. When looking at a needle and syringe there are four different parts. At the top of the syringe is the needle. The needle is then connected to the hub. The hub is what the needle goes into and is attached to the top of the barrel of the syringe. The barrel is what holds the fluid and has the numbers on the side. The last part of the syringe is the plunger. The plunger is what you use to pull liquid in and push it out.
One of the other things we learned in class was the steps on how to properly fill a syringe. The first thing you have to do is identify the kind of drug you are using. Secondly, you have identify the size and gauge of the needle and syringe. Next, you check the expiration date on the bottle to make sure the medication has not expired. Fourth, wash your hands with warm soap and water or put gloves on. You have to remember to never shake your bottle of medication but instead roll in in between your hands. Then, you sterilize the top of the bottle. Next, fill the syringe with the same amount of air as medication you are using. Then, turn your bottle upside down and insert the needle into the top of the bottle and push air into the bottle. After that, withdraw your medication. Next, you tap or flick the syringe in order to get all the air bubbles out. Gently squeeze the air bubbles back into the the bottle. Lastly, pull your needle out and cap the bottle.
The activity that we did in class that I enjoyed was injecting oranges with food coloring. We practiced three different kinds of injections. One of the first ones I tried was Subcutaneous. In order to do subcutaneous you have to make a skin tent and insert the needle through one end of the tent but because it was an orange I just slid the needle under the skin at a 30 degree angle and then injected the food coloring. Next I practiced the intramuscular injection. To do the intramuscular vaccine I quickly injected the needle directly into the fruit of the orange and then I slowly injected the food dye. Lastly, I practiced intradermal. For an intradermal shot I inserted the needle at a very low angle almost to the point of it being parallel. I injected the food dye and made sure that the food coloring stayed under the skin. 

Learning the Process of Suturing 

This week in class we learned about suturing and the process that goes along with it. One topic that we learned in class was the different stitches. There is the continuous stitch and the non continuous stitch. The continuous stitch is a stitch that gets tied at the top and continues down the wound and when you are done gets tied around the last stitch. The non continuous stitch is made up on individual tied off stitches.

Another topic that we learned about in class was the different materials needed for suturing. You need skin hooks, needle holder, a curved needle, and scissors. The curved needle makes it easier to suture the wound. The scissors is for cutting the material you are suturing with. The needle holder is to hold the needle to make it more precise and easier to help stitch up the wound. Lastly, skin hooks help to manipulate the skin and pull the edges. 

A third topic we learned about was how to care for a wound on an animal. You first have to cut/shave the hair around the wound. Then you have to clean it up with a sterile pad. Take your needle and thread and start to suture up your wound. Make sure your thread is a 1/2 inch away from the wound and the spacing is a 1/2 inch away from each other. After you suture up the wound clean it up and up an antiseptic on it. 

My favorite activity that we did this week was suturing a banana. I enjoyed this activity because we actually got to experience the whole process and see what it is like first hand. I liked this activity because it taught me to pay attention to detail and to actually think about what I am doing. It taught me that you have to have patience and that there is a specific process that goes along with it. 

This picture shows non continuous suturing on a banana 

Hello!
On Wednesday November 18, 2015 I went to Willow Street CTC and got to experience what a vet assistant does on a day to day basis. The purpose of going to CTC was because we were learning about spaying and neutering as well as dental care and we wanted to see how it was done in real life. We wanted to learn how the procedure was done and the before and after of the surgery. Prior to learning about this we learned about patient history and TPR for animals. We got to experience this by seeing the charts that are filled out for the animals before, during, and after surgery and we got to see how they take the vital signs of animals their animals while in surgery and after.

This experience related to our Vet Science class because everything that we learned all related to what we learned in class. We were able to relate things they were doing in the vet assistant program to the vet science program at Pequea. In class we talk about veterinarian places and what they would do  everyday and what kind of problems they would face while working and we got to experience these kinds of things in real life at CTC.

From this experience I learned that it is very important to take your schooling seriously when being a veterinarian. There are a lot of tasks that you may not want to do like sweeping the floors and cleaning up but you have to do that if you want to be able to do your job successfully. I learned that its important to care for your animals and make sure they get all necessary things done in order to have a healthy and happy pet. I learned that you may not be able to see everything thats wrong with your dog. For example, one dog needed x-rays in order to see that it had no ball and socket joint in its femur.