Surgery

Surgery class is intense. All of the group positions are intimidating in their own way.

The anesthetist is responsible for maintenance and monitoring the patient for the duration of the surgery. This involves taking measurements every 5 minutes for the entire surgery time. That's a lot of measurements. And they're in charge of making sure the animal stays under anesthesia. At the end, they're responsible for euthanzing the animal, which is a weighty and emotionally, if not technically, difficult process.

The surgeon and assistant surgeon are responsible for cutting into the flesh of an animal, maintaining the sterility of the area, and closing the incisions they make. This process is done with various teachers circling around and watching you like a hawk. There's the added problem that you want to ask questions but it often feels like asking questions and having your work evaluated by an already-trained eye (rather than your and your partner's starting-to-be-trained eye) will make you lose points. While we're supposed to be in this to learn to do it right, it's hard for us to stomach earning a 17/25! Most of us are used to much higher grades than that!