Another reason being a vet is harder than being a doctor....

When we qualify as vets, we are unleashed on the public as fully qualified, ready to go vets. Unlike doctors, vets don’t go through an internship, or have several years of close supervision after we graduate. We can be on our own, making life and death decisions with very little real-world experience. The first two years after graduation are absolutely terrifying, and unfortunately things can go wrong. Normally, things can be fixed and disaster averted, but occasionally animals die as a result of our mistakes.

My first job was in Esperance. Around four months into the job, I was called out to a “downer cow” (a cow around calving time that can’t get up). I drove the 90 minutes out to the farm, and the cow was ANGRY! There is a condition in cattle where the blood magnesium levels drop, which makes the cow very weak but also makes them very aggressive. I checked the cow over as best I could, diagnosed low blood magnesium and decided to give it some magnesium into the vein. The problem with magnesium into the vein is that it can stop the cow’s heart if given too fast.

It is a very difficult condition to treat when the cow is trying to attack you while you are giving it an intravenous injection. I raced in, gave it a dose, then bravely ran and hid behind a tree…..no response. The cow still down, and still angry. I repeated this process twice more. On the third dose, the cow took a deep breath, and died. I had given the magnesium too fast.

The farmer was furious. He said the cow hadn’t calved yet, and I had killed them both. Trying to think quickly, I decided that I would do an emergency caesarian and save the calf. Working as fast as I could, I opened the cow…..and the uterus was empty. She had already given birth and the calf had either wandered off or been left behind. This obviously didn’t help the farmer’s opinion of me.

Feeling sick at what had happened and very upset, I then had to drive the 90 minutes back to the clinic to tell the boss. As soon as I walked in the clinic, I asked the boss to talk to him in his office. I burst into tears and told him what had happened. This is where I was very lucky to have a great first boss. He told me he was glad I had talked to him straight away. He phoned the farmer and paid him the value of the cow and calf, and the problem was settled.