Katie Quickmire

• I have spent the majority of my weeks at a busy, independent small animal clinic that has a wide and varied case load. During my time there, I have developed my surgical and diagnostic skills under the supervision of a number of experienced vets, building my confidence performing routine small animal neutering and interpreting radiographs independently. I have also worked closely with the nursing team to improve my anaesthetic monitoring and patient care skills to assist the smooth running of procedures.
• By observing a range of consultations, including a number of complex medical cases and second opinion appointments, I have been able to develop my own style of consulting. I have been able to begin putting this into practice during routine vaccination and health check appointments.

I spent a few weeks in rural Northumberland with vets in a primarily beef and sheep practice. While with the team I saw mainly routine visits, and learned I really enjoyed the community aspect and proactive approach to farm animal medicine. During final year rotations I increased my confidence performing rectal palpations on cattle, correctly identifying the relevant anatomy and discussing when interventions were required to assist fertility.

Throughout my EMS experience I have assisted in a number of emergencies in both small and large animal practice which gave me confidence that I can be adaptable in high pressure situations and prioritise problems when working with incomplete information to develop suitable treatment plans.