Day 3 Equine Lab

By Allie Allsup

This morning, the campers got the chance to experience Equine lab. Equine, is all about horses, so the morning was full of learning all about these beautiful creatures. The campers were split into three groups and taken to three different rooms to observe and participate in an eye exam, an ultrasound and the viewing of Nick’s (the ‘painted’ horse) anatomy, both skeleton and internal organs.

In exam room #1 was Dr. Brashier who was giving an eye exam on Tigger. Similar to when a human gets an eye exam, Dr. Brashier dilated the eyes so as to get a better view of all of the ocular structures, more importantly the fundus. Unlike a human though, Tigger had to be lightly sedated in order for a thorough ocular exam to be performed. If you don’t know, a horse’s head weighs around one hundred pounds, so the doctor has to be extra careful when treating the patient. As he got started, Dr. Brashier instructed the kids on basic eye anatomy and the turned off the lights to get a better view of the pupil. He taught the campers a little bit about what happens when light touches the eye and what to expect from it when it did. Before light touches a horses eye it is round, but once light shines on it, the pupil turns horizontal. Next, the campers learned about the tapetum, which is a light reflective tissue in the eye. The tapetum has two basic parts, the upper two-thirds of the eye is a greenish reflective color and the bottom is one-third blue grey. Dr. Brashier instructed the campers on how to hold a light probe in order to see the fundus for themselves. Each camper got to hold the lens up to the horse’s eye, and using a transluminator, they were able to also see the horse’s optic disc.

In exam room #2 was Dr. Crabtree and the mare, Blackfoot. Here, the campers were shown, through ultrasound, Blackfoot’s internal organs. They were able to see the lungs, kidneys and the spleen to start. Each camper got to grab the probe and place it just in front of the last rib in order to see both the spleen and left kidney. Dr. Crabtree says this is what every first year doctor is taught when getting into the program, so getting this hands on experience and knowledge is very beneficial to the teens and gives them each a head start in their future studies. Hopefully if they stay the route, the campers will be ahead of the game and be able to point out exactly where to place the probe to find each of these internal organs.  

After the ultrasound, it was time to move on to Nick the horse and Dr. Light. Nick, who is a white horse, was painted head to toe on both sides. One side was his full skeletal image and the other side was his internal organs. Dr. Light was able to point out and discuss what each part of the body did and how the strong 

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Overnight Camp Day 2

By Allie Allsup
 
We are back in action this week with a second session of our summer veterinary camp program, as our Overnight Camp welcomed 26 young campers as they embark on new experiences of learning and understanding that will hopefully inspire them to pursue a future career in veterinary medicine.

Similar to the previous week’s day camp session, this group of campers will get to take part in some educational hands-on activities, happening Wednesday, June 6 through Sunday, June 10. The Overnight Camp session is a little different, though, because there are longer hours to each day. This allows the campers really get their fill of all that veterinary medicine has to offer. Today, we are going to take a deeper look into what is happening in some of the labs.

Before heading to Micro lab, the campers got the opportunity to hear Dr. James Brett, Associate Clinical Professor, speak about all the different career paths within Veterinary Medicine. This was a good opportunity for the campers to grasp the idea of what areas might interest them as well as giving them an understanding of what job opportunities await them within the field. This lesson highlighted what a particular career in this field would look like and all the many different areas one can pursue. He also discussed the admissions process to veterinary school, which was sure to be helpful to inquiring young minds setting their sights on the future. It is the perfect way to get the campers ready for the next experience to come after lunch, Micro Lab.

After taking a quick lunch break, the campers got to experience Micro Lab with Dr. Frank Austin in the MDL. This lab, also known as the “dog mouth swab lab,” consisted of swabbing the cheeks of dogs in order to get a culture to search for different types of bacteria. Each camper was able to grab a cotton swab and proceed to swab a dog’s cheek and then streak it on three otter plates. Afterward, all there is to do is wait until tomorrow so the bacteria have enough time to incubate. Tomorrow, the campers will be busy looking into their microscopes in search of bacteria.

As to what the kids can get out of this lab, Dr. Austin says it’s the introduction to the whole that really matters here.  “This lab is what first introduces the kids to Micro,” said Dr. Austin. “It’s their first opportunity to analyze different diseases.”

Dr. Austin also says that the importance of being a microbiologist is to understand the first step of the process, which is to establish a pure culture. Afterward, you put all three plates in an incubator and wait until tomorrow to see what grows over night.

Dr. Austin, who’s been at MSU-CVM for more than thirty years, said it’s his goal to make this lab educational and fun.  “I want it to be a good, fun experience for y’all,” said Dr. Austin.

Earlier in the day, campers experienced Pathology Lab and Critical Care Lab. Later in the afternoon, the campers will get to observe and participate in a Canine Physical Exam, a Bovine lab and a Suture Lab, to name a few. After a full day’s worth of fun and learning, campers are sure to be tired. But they’re also likely awaiting tomorrow’s activities with eager anticipation.  “Pathology lab was so cool,” said one camper. “I’m super excited to see how our bacteria turns out tomorrow.” 

 

For more photos and daily posts follow https://www.facebook.com/MSUVetCamp/

CVM Clinical Instructor Matches with Patient in Need

Dr. Jesse Grady, a Clinical Instructor at MSU-CVM, has recently been selected to be a donor for an organization called Be The Match. This is a donor organization that offers hope to patients with blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, sickle cell anemia or other life-threatening diseases. By joining the Be The Match Registry, an individual volunteers to be a potential blood stem cell or bone marrow donor. It also means that if selected, the individual would be ready to save a patient in need of a transplant. Grady generously wanted to contribute to the organization and was miraculously matched with a patient in need.

“I’m a big supporter of Be The Match, and I will likely be donating bone marrow through them within the next 60 days,” Grady said. “I matched with a patient in need two months ago and am now moving on to medical screening.”

         One way to get involved with Be The Match is to first register online at their website https://bethematch.org/. Here, a series of questions will be asked about one’s medical history to see if each individual meets the basic criteria for donating. Next, a cheek swab kit will be sent in the mail. This is so the organization can obtain a sample of one’s DNA, and after swabbing the inner side of the cheek, the individual will send it back to them. Afterward, depending on the genetic complexity of matching donors to patients, it could be weeks, months or even years before any individual is contacted about a potential match.

         Grady touched on his own particular story detailing on how long it has taken to be contacted and what he hopes to get out of the process.

         “After I created my account and passed the screening questions, I received an envelope containing cheek swabs from Be The Match, swabbed my cheeks, and sent them back,” Grady said. “Ever since then I’ve simply waited for the past 6 years.”

By donating, the individual is representing a patient’s best possible genetic match and perhaps their only hope for a cure. If contacted, all that is left to do is to donate to a person in need and hopefully save a life.

 “I hope to help better promote Be The Match around campus and show that doctors from MSU-CVM don’t just care for animals, but people as well; albeit in a unique way in this instance,” said Grady.

DAY 2 of Vet Camp

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.