Pets

What do you think is the mindset needed to constantly learn and grow throughout your career?

Unveiling the Mindset: Constant Learning and Growth in Your Career

Great question. What is the mindset needed to constantly learn and grow throughout your career? I look back through my career as a veterinary ophthalmologist and a very long road to get here. 12 years of school total including undergrad, vet school, residency. And there were some very important points that come to mind to get to this point. Obviously there's a lot of important people in your life that help you to get here. But some of the quotes that I think about that helped me to get here and one was from my piano teacher when I was a kid who would say right before the recitals where I'd be very, very nervous to perform. And my great aunt who was my piano teacher would say, Are you nervous? And I would say, Absolutely. And she would say, Good. If you're not nervous, you're not effective. And it took me a while to understand what that meant, but I took it to mean that you know how big the moment is and you have to step up and be able to perform in that moment. The other big point was a surgeon in vet school who asked the same question and we were going into surgery and said, Are you nervous? Because I was scrubbing in with him and I said, To be honest, I am. He said, Good. Because if you're not nervous, you don't understand the consequences of your actions. And that has always stuck with me and helped me to get to the point I am when I see cases medically, surgically, all of those things. So a couple of important things in my life.

To constantly learn and grow throughout my career, I take inspiration from two quotes. The first is from my piano teacher who said "If you're not nervous, you're not effective." The second is from a surgeon in vet school who said "If you're not nervous, you don't understand the consequences of your actions." These quotes have inspired me to step up and perform in big moments and to always be aware of the consequences of my actions.

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To constantly learn and grow throughout your career, the mindset needed is one that embraces challenges and understands the significance of each moment. Reflecting on my own journey as a veterinary ophthalmologist, there are a few key points that come to mind.

First, I recall the advice of my piano teacher before nerve-wracking recitals. She would ask if I was nervous, and when I replied affirmatively, she would say, Good. If you're not nervous, you're not effective. It took time for me to grasp the meaning behind her words, but I interpreted it as recognizing the importance of the moment and rising to the occasion.

Another influential moment was during my time in vet school when a surgeon asked if I was nervous before a surgery. I admitted that I was, and he responded, Good. Because if you're not nervous, you don't understand the consequences of your actions. This statement has stayed with me and has guided me in approaching cases with a deep understanding of the impact my decisions can have.

These experiences have shaped my mindset towards learning and growth. It's about embracing the challenges, recognizing the significance of each opportunity, and understanding the consequences of my actions. By adopting this mindset, I have been able to continually learn and grow throughout my career.

Veterinary Salaries: From $60K to Hundreds of Thousands - Find Your Path

Do vets make a lot of money? So this is a complicated answer because there are so many types of vets. One vet is not equal to the next. Even though we all go to the same school and do the same eight years of training, four years of undergrad typically, and four years of vet school, many vets take very different paths and there are general vets, which most people are familiar with, who do the vaccines and the general checkups with your animals, your dogs and cats. There are large animal vets who take care of cows and pigs and goats and sheep. There are equine vets with horses and then there are specialists like myself, which I'm a veterinary ophthalmologist and there's also a cardiologist and neurologist. So the salary really varies between all of those and sometimes can be as low as $60,000, $70,000, $80,000, but can be as high as several hundred thousand dollars. The trick is if you own a clinic, you may be taking more risk to buy a clinic and try to make more of a higher salary. If you're a specialist, you may make more money as well, but you have to go to school a lot longer, maybe three or four years longer than some general vets. So yes, you can make good money in the veterinary field, but it may take a longer path to get there.

Yes, some vets can make a lot of money depending on the type of vet they are. General vets may make up to $80,000 but specialists such as ophthalmologists, cardiologists and neurologists may make significantly more due to their longer education and higher specialization. Owning a clinic is another way to potentially increase income.

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The question of whether vets make a lot of money is complex because there are various types of vets with different paths and specialties. General vets, who provide vaccines and checkups for dogs and cats, may have a different salary range compared to large animal vets who care for cows, pigs, goats, and sheep. Equine vets specialize in horses, while specialists like veterinary ophthalmologists, cardiologists, and neurologists have their own areas of expertise.

Salaries can vary significantly, ranging from as low as $60,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. Factors such as clinic ownership and specialization can influence income. Owning a clinic may involve more risk but potentially higher earnings. Specialists typically undergo additional years of schooling, which can extend their path to higher salaries.

In summary, while it is possible to make good money in the veterinary field, the specific salary depends on the chosen path and specialization, and may require a longer educational journey.

Dispelling the Myth: Dogs Can See in Color, Research Shows

This is a great question. Can dogs see in color? The age-old myth is that dogs do not see in color. They see black and white. That's actually not true. So research suggests that dogs are similar to people that are red-green colorblind or what's considered deuteranopic, meaning they have a difficult time distinguishing red and green, but they tend to see blues and yellows much better. Those are the receptors in their eyes that they have that they can distinguish blues, yellows, and shades similar to those, but red and green may be much more difficult for them. So when you're picking out those toys for your dogs, research suggests that the ball that's blue, the ball that's yellow, they're going to be able to see those and distinguish those much better than, let's say, toys that are red-green, things like that. So yeah, dogs do actually see in color, research shows.

Dogs do see in color, but they have difficulty distinguishing red and green. They can easily distinguish blues and yellows, so when picking out toys for your dog, you should opt for blue or yellow ones.

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Dogs can see in color, contrary to the popular belief that they only see in black and white. Research suggests that dogs are similar to people who are red-green colorblind, meaning they have difficulty distinguishing red and green. However, they can see blues and yellows much better. Dogs have receptors in their eyes that allow them to perceive blues, yellows, and shades similar to those colors. So when choosing toys for your dogs, opt for blue or yellow ones as they will be more easily distinguishable to them. Dogs do have the ability to see in color, as supported by research.

I think my dog got sand in his eyes. How can I rinse them?

Clearing Your Dog's Eyes: How to Rinse Away Sand

So the question is, I think I got sand in my dog's eyes. How can I rinse them? So this happens a lot where dogs go out for walks either on the beach or out in the woods and they get various debris, sand, dirt in their eyes. A couple simple things that you can do. So you can go to your local CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, any of those pharmacies and pick up something called iWash or eye irrigating solution. You don't wanna get contact lens cleaner or anything like that, just a simple iWash. And what you would want to do is gently hold their eyelids open and just take that bottle and lightly flush into each eye for maybe about five to 10 seconds and then wipe away around the eye with a paper towel or a washcloth or something like that. And that would hopefully remove any of the debris that's on the eye. You can also use an over-the-counter lubricating gel. The best ones usually have hyaluronic acid and some examples of those would be Genteel Gel, Sustain. There's also Refresh. Any of those can be used to lubricate the eyes and you don't need a prescription for those and those may be soothing to the eye to help them get over this episode. If they have any other issues where they're squinting or seem to be uncomfortable, may be good to visit a veterinarian.

If your dog has sand in their eyes, you can use an over-the-counter eye wash solution or lubricating gel to rinse and lubricate the eyes.

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If you suspect that your dog has sand in their eyes, there are a few steps you can take to rinse them. First, you can visit a local pharmacy like CVS, Walgreens, or Rite Aid and purchase an eye irrigating solution called iWash. Avoid using contact lens cleaner and opt for a simple iWash solution.

To rinse your dog's eyes, gently hold their eyelids open and use the iWash solution to flush each eye for about five to ten seconds. Afterward, you can wipe around the eyes with a paper towel or washcloth to remove any debris.

Additionally, you can use an over-the-counter lubricating gel that contains hyaluronic acid. Examples of such gels include Genteel Gel, Sustain, and Refresh. These gels can help lubricate the eyes and provide soothing relief. No prescription is needed for these products.

If your dog continues to show discomfort or squinting, it may be best to consult a veterinarian for further evaluation and care.

How can you let mistakes go in order to move forward?

Release the Weight: Letting Mistakes Go and Moving Forward

How can you let mistakes go in order to move forward? Boy, it's such a tough part of life because mistakes happen and we all make mistakes. We're all human and and despite those mistakes we have to continue to move forward and many of these mistakes when we think about them are usually in our career and speaking as a veterinary ophthalmologist, so one of the or two of the things that you would see where mistakes could happen is misdiagnosing an animal with the wrong condition. The other place where mistakes could happen would be in surgery when you're performing surgery and a mistake happens and these things are few and far between but they happen to everybody, to every veterinarian, to every physician that's out there and unfortunately it's a part of life and it's hard to get past and and I think as a medical professional we shouldn't move past it right away. We should learn from these mistakes so that hopefully they never happen again but having said that we have to remember that we are all in this field to do good and to do the right thing and to help humanity either helping animals see better like I do or physicians to help cure diseases with people and you just have to remember that you're here for the right reason and we're all human mistakes are going to happen but you're here to do good.

Mistakes are a natural part of life and it can be difficult to move past them. As a medical professional, it is important to learn from mistakes so that they don't happen again. However, it is essential to remember that everyone is in the medical field to do good and help others, which should motivate you to move forward.

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To let go of mistakes and move forward, it can be challenging because mistakes are a natural part of life. We're all human and prone to making errors. In my experience as a veterinary ophthalmologist, mistakes can occur in diagnosing animals or during surgical procedures. While these instances are infrequent, they happen to every professional in the field.

It's important not to immediately dismiss or ignore mistakes. Instead, we should learn from them to prevent their recurrence. As medical professionals, our primary goal is to do good and make a positive impact. Whether it's improving an animal's vision or helping physicians cure diseases in humans, our intentions are rooted in helping others.

Remembering our purpose and the good we strive to achieve can help us move forward. While mistakes happen, it's crucial to learn from them and continuously improve. We are all here to make a positive difference, and acknowledging our humanity allows us to grow and do better in the future.

Blocked Tear Duct in Dogs: A Closer Look at Symptoms

What does a blocked tear duct look like? In dogs, the most common way that these blocked tear ducts will present is usually with abnormal staining below, typically just one eye, as the blockage may just be one eye. You can occasionally see it in both eyes, but you'll see either excessive wetness or tearing below the eye or staining, where the fur looks much darker, so either brown or dark red in appearance, and that may be a clue that we have a blockage. The tear duct itself starts on the inner part of the lower lid at this area called the tear puncta. There's actually two of them, one up here, one down here, and then it actually goes down the tear duct into the nose, and then tears eventually just slowly come out the nose that we just don't realize it over time, and so a blockage could occur anywhere along that course, from anywhere up here near the tear puncta all the way down through the nose as well. So if we have a suspicion of a blockage, we may actually do a tear duct flush to see if it is blocked and nothing's coming out the nose, and then if that seems to be the case, then the next step may be further testing to image this area with either X-rays or a CT scan to try to see if we can find where the blockage may be and if that's something that we could treat and fix so that we can resolve it.

A block tear duct looks like excessive wetness or staining below the eye and is diagnosed with a tear duct flush, x-rays, or a CT scan to find and fix the blockage.

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A blocked tear duct in dogs typically presents as abnormal staining or excessive wetness below the eye. This staining appears as darker fur, usually brown or dark red in color. It is often seen in just one eye, although it can occur in both eyes. 

The tear duct starts at the inner part of the lower lid, known as the tear puncta. There are two tear puncta, one above and one below. From there, the tear duct extends down into the nose, and tears eventually come out through the nose without us realizing it. A blockage can occur anywhere along this path, from the tear puncta to the nose.

To confirm a blockage, a tear duct flush may be performed to see if tears are not coming out through the nose. If a blockage is suspected, further testing such as X-rays or a CT scan may be done to locate the blockage and determine if it can be treated and resolved.

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Dr. Joshua Broadwater has been hooked on treating and curing diseases and helping relieve the suffering of animals – since he got his first microscope at age 12. That passion eventually took on a particular focus – caring for animals’ eyes. Following a residency at the Animal Eye Specialty Clinic in Florida, Dr. Broadwater worked at Lion Country Safari, SeaWorld, and Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex, where he performed surgery to remove tumors from turtles’ eyes. Broadwater is now an ophthalmologist at CARE, where he has a special interest in cornea disease and surgery, cataract surgery, and glaucoma surgery. “I went into ophthalmology,” he says, “because there’s something so special about relieving the suffering of a dog with a corneal ulcer, or controlling a painful condition such as glaucoma, or removing cataracts from a dog that was blind, and suddenly have them see the world again.”

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