By Allie
Allsup
Day
2 of MSU-CVM’s Vet Camp had another early start to it, with the campers up and
going by 8 a.m. this morning. After a fun first day, they were excited for the
fun and learning to continue into yet another day of camp.
First
on the agenda for today was Equine Lab, which entailed all things horses. Campers
got to see Nick, a white horse painted on both sides with anatomy. On one side
of him was the entire anatomy of his internal organs and on the other was his
physical skeleton. The campers were able to observe a physical exam and an
ultrasound, and in the MDL, the campers learned about GI anatomy with Dr.
Nabors.
After
observing and learning several things from the Equine Lab, the campers were led
on to their next experiences, the Parasitology and Suture Labs. Dr. Andrea
Varela-Stokes provided the campers with a lesson about parasitology and
afterward each camper got to do their very own fecal float. Now, for those of
you who aren’t familiar, a fecal float is when one collects the feces of a cat
or dog, in this case a dog, and adds sodium nitrate to allow parasite eggs to
float. With a cover slip and waiting for approximately ten minutes, the camper
can then place the cover slip on a slide to check under the microscope for
parasites. This is how a veterinarian can tell what parasites are affecting the
particular animal, and this is a great opportunity for the campers to learn
that information, too
After
the topic of feces was thoroughly covered in the Parasitology Lab, campers
moved on to Suture Lab, which provided each camper with a stuffed teddy bear in
need of repair. With supervision of the counselors and Dr. Jesse Grady, each
camper was provided their own instruments to learn and practice how to
correctly place sutures and the proper hand motion techniques to tie the knots.
It was a very hands-on activity and a lot of fun as each camper worked to put
their teddy bear back together again.
Shockingly,
all this fun happened within the first half of the day. The campers have many
more fun adventures awaiting them after lunch. These include learning about
several different career paths in veterinary medicine, an Exotics Lab, and
learning how to do a canine physical exam. The campers this year have been
excited about all of the opportunities they’ve had so far and continue to have
here at camp to advance their knowledge of the field of veterinary medicine.
