Here because I'm not all there

Just rolling off the end of our first Diagnostic Challenge.  This is an exercise in which classes are cancelled Mon-Thurs, and our class is broken up into groups, given 'clients', and we simulate working through real cases.  It was a lot of fun, although sometimes knowledge is scary.  Our case involved a couple dogs who both contracted multi-drug resistant staphylococcus intermedius infections at 'our' hospital; these bugs were only susceptible to one antibiotic tested, which is the same drug used in humans as a last resort to combat really strong versions of MRSA and the like.  Bringing up the ethical question: should we even be using this drug in a veterinary capacity?  If by using it, we select for a strain of bacteria that doesn't even respond to the strong stuff and that is transmitted to a human, then what?  Obviously if my dog was suffering a potentially fatal infection I would want to treat it.  But I would also be pretty pissed if I or my friends then got a resistant strain and you know, died.  If it's all the same to y'all I would like to crawl back under my cozy rock of ignorance now.

In other news, last weekend I went on a field trip to the largest dairy farm in Washington state--they milk 21,000 cows a day, basically around the clock.  The management system in place on that farm is insane.  We also got to see a calf born, two calves pulled from a cow who was having a bit of trouble, and do jugular blood draws on calves (I feel about calves the same way I feel about cats: it is a crying shame that they have to grow into cows because they're so cute and harmless as babies).

Attempting to locate the jugular under all that fuzz.  Yes it's the size of a
garden hose.  No I'm not a gifted phlebotomist.

Please note the sweet stethoscope.  Thanks Mom and Dad!
Also, it was raining.  So much for "Sunnyside".

We got to do necropsies (autopsies) on a few calves that had died.
I decided that this was as graphic as I would get for you guys.
You probably think my life is way weird already.

I have to run to class at the moment but I'll be back for more later.  It's 5:10 pm.  That's dedication, people.