What are /r/Veterinary's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

A Lot of math, specifically medical math (conversions, CRI's, Kg>Lbs & Lbs>Kg, dimensional analysis, %, ratios, pretty much everything in this book https://www.amazon.com/Medical-Mathematics-Calculations-Veterinary-Technicians/dp/1118835298). I'd start working on shifting the idea of hating/disliking math and try and think of it more of just something that can be complex but only because you haven't practiced enough/found understanding that matches your mode of understanding. As someone who has had an aversion to mathematics since middle school, its is intrinsic to science, medicine, and life in general. Find math you like get better at it and work to incorporate the math you dislike to build a foundation that helps you change your mindset. Once you get good it will be second nature to answer stuff like "I need 18 mcg/kg of Dexmedetomidine for a 22kg dog, concentration is 0.5 mg/mL"

Some ideas:

1. A large black fist centered on a rainbow flag, something like this.
2. A small pile of paper Confederate flags, At the start of each appointment, you ritualistically burn one of the flags.
3. A Ruth Bader Ginsburg action figure, surreptitiously placed in different corners of the exam room watching the exam, like Elf on a Shelf.

To answer some questions, his paw got broken in two places while he was under the watch of a petsitter and we were out of town. The petsitter was irresponsible and of course we wouldn't have them again. We had a veterinary surgeon implant a couple of titanium pins to hold things in place while they heal, and he has to be kept in a confined room with no jumping about for two months while it heals up.

The design is a quick prototype that's parametric; you just input the length and diameter of both his bandage and his leg and it outputs a model ready to print. This initial version just uses four zipties to hold it on, perhaps if I get fancy I'll build in a hinge and some kind of snap mechanism.

I have published the design freely here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:262844 and will probably update it so that the parametric options are available directly on the website.

/u/srbistan asks "what about blood flow?" to which I responded, I think it is all right because there is about a mm or two of 'looseness' around where it touches the leg at the top, and just the slightest amount of pressure on the soft bandage. I might try a slightly larger one still, and stuff the extra space with some cotton balls.

Original thread here: http://www.reddit.com/r/somethingimade/comments/1zhyfr/my_cat_had_to_wear_a_cone_of_shame_so_he_didnt/

For equine specifically I would go with a well-made leather boot, probably without a steel toe (they may or may not be super dangerous to wear around horses, theres anecdotal evidence that goes both ways), and I prefer rounded toes or square toes as opposed to pointed toes when it comes to work boots. My personal favorites are the Ariat Fatbaby (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U9ZFE7U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Eq8fCb1C0XZ0D) which come in a bunch of other colors than just that listing, or a very similar one is Justin boots (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B115SG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Zs8fCbAQ4VM80) for a bit more money. Cowboy boots work very well for what you're doing, and they will give you a more horsey look too; and though it seems superficial it's always worth looking more like you fit in!

Edit: these are both women's boots but I would still recommend these brands for men, just give the names a quick search on Amazon!

There are a lot of good textbooks, though most of I can think of will have a lot of text. A couple I can think of that are visual-heavy:

https://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Signs-Small-Animal-Medicine/dp/1498766846 I don't own this textbook personally, but I picked up a copy once and loved it. It was written by one of my vet school professors who was an excellent lecturer (he's retired now). Basically just decades worth of pictures of clinical conditions. He was one of those very experienced clinicians who could just look at an animal and take a guess at the right diagnosis.

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Animal-Dermatology-VETERINARY-Therapeutic/dp/1416053921/ref=mp_s_a_1_27?dchild=1&keywords=small+animal+dermatology&qid=1610128483&s=books&sr=1-27 I own this book and it is full of good images and useful information. I think there are newer editions available.

Technical skills unfortunately I think you can only get by doing them. It sounds like you are off to a good start. For anatomy you'll need to spend hours in the lab with your cadaver to get a good grasp. You definitely will forget stuff after you graduate. Luckily you'll be given the skills you need to refresh your memory when needed.

Try to power through the boring lectures. The information is still (probably) important no matter how dull the presentation is. I've also found that many boring lecturers tend to be really kind and engaging teachers once you get to the more one-on-one experience of working with them in a clinical setting. Chances are they will notice and remember the one person who paid attention to them in class. Not everyone is a great public speaker and it sucks to be stuck up there talking with no one paying attention.

Most people I know love Small Animal Critical Care Medicine or the BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Emergency and Critical Care.

You may want to look at non-credit, free MOOCs on line - "massive open online courses". Take a look at https://www.coursera.org/ and you might find an animal, veterinary, or basic science course that might help you. I like Coursera courses - you can watch all or only a few of the lectures, you can take the quizzes if you want to, and many courses have forums to discuss the course and related issues with other students around the world.

I have this at home: https://www.amazon.com/Veterinary-Parasitology-Reference-William-Foreyt/dp/0813824192/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=parasitology&qid=1602197533&sr=8-8 . Didn't use it much (my vet tech program didn't put a lot of emphasis on parasites after the first semester) and it has a lot of detail. Still might be helpful. They have nice tables.

Theese ones are better. I have used the ones in the comment above but they tend to cut the nipples while shaving for a spay for example. Theese ones are better . https://www.amazon.com/Sminiker-Clippers-Rechargeable-Cordless-Professional/dp/B07R14GNNW/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=QM2AUNY0KG9A&keywords=sminiker&qid=1670899065&sprefix=sminiker%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-8

I'm not sure if you're going for educational or inspirational but I'm currently in vet school aiming for exotics/zoo/wildlife, I've always loved animals, and when I was younger I read a couple books I absolutely loved: https://www.amazon.com/Tarantula-My-Purse-Other-Wild/dp/0064462013

and

https://www.amazon.com/Theres-Shower-Jean-Craighead-George/dp/0064406822/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_w=GyxY4&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=QANFZTMC1TK14ZK5T57R&amp...

Would recommend Smithsonian Handbooks - Dogs! The book is a bit old, but I remember borrowing it from the library multiple times during my early teens. I loved that book so much I ended up getting a copy to keep for myself a year ago. Think of it as an encyclopedia with over 300 dog breeds -- with each breed getting a picture, summary, short history, and remark (AKA fun facts!). You can find it for $20 on Amazon (link above) and probably a lot cheaper in libraries and on kindle.

https://www.amazon.com/Focused-Ultrasound-Techniques-Animal-Practitioner/dp/1118369599

​

Definitely my go to, but honestly the best thing you can do is take ultrasound courses. May be something you can negotiate with your future employer. There are companies that offer ultrasound training, such as Sound (soundvet.com). It is hard to learn how to perform an ultrasound by what it says in a book, at least in my experience, best thing is hands on training.

We got our son a dissection kit. He used it all year 1 and says he'll be probably using it this coming year as well.

Not sure budgetary wise, but we also gifted him a iPad Pro 12.9" with stylus. He uses it ALL the time in class.

Can't speak to scrubs. He already had a bunch from interning and working at a couple of practices.

Mosby's Veterinary PDQ: Veterinary Facts at Hand

https://www.amazon.com/dp/032351023X/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_WSWZA8X4MXB1MS8YVE67

They sell pocket-sized versions of this book. Read it, make yourself some flashcards, whatever helps.

Also, there are some hospitals/clinics that are considered, “teaching hospitals,” and that kind of environment is really cool when you’re new to this field. Find somewhere to work where they want their techs to be hands-on, that’s where you’ll learn everything. Just keep an open mind and know that you’re probably gonna be wrong a lot at first. It’s okay. Give it time, you’ll get the hang of it.

You can easily buy scalpels (and blades) without getting them from a vet. You can get them at any number of medical supply stores, or even from Amazon. The only things that would be important to trace are the controlled drugs.

If you can get some foam pipe cover similar to this it makes a great leg. Then find a small bit of plastic tubing - soft IV line works well - and tape it to the leg. Cover everything in vetwrap and you're sorted. Nice and cheap! I have a video of one in use if that would help.

The website has all the information for free, they even have an app

https://www.merckvetmanual.com

And I see a new one on Amazon right now if you really want a hard copy.

The Merck Veterinary Manual https://www.amazon.com/dp/0911910611/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3ZW1XSAW7NZ02FDH5JBP

The anatomy textbook is one of the only ones I have consistently used during school Dyce: https://www.amazon.com/Dyce-Wensings-Textbook-Veterinary-Anatomy/dp/0323442641/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=dyce&qid=1607872703&sr=8-1

​

Another book that isn't veterinary related but surgery-related is "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande.

Cool, easy read. Basically how we humans do better with a checklist.

I’ve seen quite a few of these types of kits.

There’s also this I found on Amazon:

Vet Academy: Are You Ready for the Challenge? https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610675452/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.Ed1DbQ68S26T

Howdy! I work at a large animal clinic in Texas for the past few months and I bought a pair of Muck boots and they have been fantastic! I highly recommend them they have a soft insole and I was comfortable wearing them on the longer 9 or 11 hour days that were just a muddy mess. I suggest trying them on at a store and then purchase online at Amazon.com. Amazon had them cheaper than where I bought them.

https://www.amazon.com/Muck-Boot-Original-MuckBoots-Edgewater/dp/B000WH4U2K

That should take you right to them! The particular model are called Edgewater. They are a little expensive but they are very worth it!! Manure and blood comes off easily with a water hose. They are also easy to take off at the end of the day but I didn’t have any trouble with them coming off. Get you a few pairs of thick work socks and you will be golden!

I cant remember what I used! I'll see what I can find for you though. I did buy one book on Amazon with a few practice tests for cheap!

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Veterinary-Technician-National-Exam/dp/0768933722/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=vtne+prep+book&qid=1578799091&sprefix=vtne+p&sr=8-3

If you think you'll see any exotic animals at all, Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary is an absolute must.

I'm also a big fan of the Clinical Veterinary Advisor for a fast reference when just starting out.