My first week as an MLA

What a week it's been. My brain is incredibly tired and it's only Wednesday! This week has definitely been one for attempting to absorb as much information as possible and I'm just thankful that they've started me off on the quieter side so I can learn without there being too much pressure.

Nerding out so much over my lanyard!

First, there was the HR stuff, including E-learning, manual handling and fire safety...the usual. Then there was training for the computer system. Hep B jab. Trust Induction. Oh and I imagine there will be plenty more formal training sessions to come!

Now the lab stuff. How do I sum that up? Codes. And so many of them. Codes for the consultants. Codes for the locations. Codes for the tests. Comment codes. Shortcut buttons. What colour sample tube means what. What information should be provided on/with the sample to allow it to be accepted/rejected. Centrifugation. Luckily that's just a case of balancing the samples and setting the centrifuge to run. The chute system, which is pretty fun.

Haematology tests....
Chemistry tests....
Immunology tests....
And I'm sure many other types of tests to cover once I'm over in the other hospital as microbiology samples aren't processed in my current hospital.

I'm definitely going to be brushing up of my biochem and stuff as I can't help but feel that if I had any sort of grasp on human biology and disease testing etc. I would understand more what I'm actually doing i.e. what are they looking for in a certain sample for a certain test. It will also keep my brain ticking over as I'm a very logical thinker and I love to ask questions.

I will definitely be honing in my skills regarding deciphering Doctor's handwriting! But all in all it has been a good week, just to get my body clock in sync and once I'm settled in the routine everything will be a lot easier!

Evening Seminar - Equine

After a super busy first day at work, it had completely slipped my mind that I'd agreed to attend an evening seminar from a visiting Vet over at the University. So I braved the horrendous weather and headed over to the campus.

The talk was given by Dr John Kohnke, visiting from Oz to exhibit at HOYS in Birmingham, and was witty and engaging, covering a vast variety of topics including:

• Injury prevention in Riding Club horses including pre- and post-ride checks, recognition of early signs of lameness and physical stress, steps to reduce risk of lower limb, tendon and joint injuries to counteract 'wear and tear'
• Lower back injuries in Riding Club horses including, lower back strain, kissing spines, sacroiliac ligament sprain and sacroiliac joint and hock arthritic changes in dressage horses
• Gastric ulcers
• Equine metabolic syndrome
• Fear, anxiety and hesitation

Although, there were quite a few shameless plugs at his own brand of equine nutritional supplements, which highlight perhaps the reason why he was so willing to provide the talk free of charge, it was a thoroughly enjoyable seminar and incredibly in depth. Clearly a man who has devoted the majority of his life to the well-being and health of horses.