For my work experience I went to the Rouken Glen Vets. The hours I worked were 10am-3pm, for Monday to Friday. To get to my work experience, I walked to and from the place of work as it was only 10 minutes from my house. I received a 15 minute break, usually between 10 – 11 am and my lunch break was an hour, 1-2 pm.
During my work experience, I received tasks to do such as walking the sick animals, feeding them and also bathing them. I also sat in on operations such as the neutering of dogs and cats, clipping teeth and nails or taking blood from an animal. Another task I really enjoyed was the x-ray of a dog that had broken all four of its toes in one of its paws as it was a new experience for me but also made me realise that the technology used in the vet practice is amazing.
I have learned to used equipment such as a microscope (more efficiently) and a stethoscope to check for an animals heartbeat. I also assisted in helping the vet get ready for the operation, e.g. giving him the gloves and the tools and stationary needed, although I had to be careful when handling the instruments as I had to make sure my bare skin wasn’t touching them to reduce the amount of germs and bacteria that would have to come into contact with the animal. I couldn’t actually hold or touch the animal that was being prepared for surgery as my hands couldn’t be as clean as they should’ve been leaving a risk to germs getting into the animals wound.
The skills I learnt through this experience are communication – this was used to speak and get to know the staff as well as knowing what to bring to the vet if he requested a specific part of equipment. I also learnt the skill of time-management. This was used to wake myself up and insure that I had enough time to get ready for the day and leave the house with plenty of time to get to my place of work, rather than rushing around and therefore being late and giving off a bad impression to the company.
In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this week and will definitely miss all the staff (including the staff dogs which they brought into work to laze in the staff room).
