Reynnah Ellenz
How did you hear about the program? Iowa States Vets Without Borders Club
What made you go back a second time on the program? I really loved all the things I got to learn in the short span of a week and wanted to continue growing and learning from the program. I also love the culture, not only am I learning about veterinary care, but I am also making a difference in a community that's less fortunate, which means a lot to me.
How were these programs beneficial for your future career plans? I was able to gain hands on veterinary experience and have learned a lot of valuable skills that will help me in veterinary school and my career after that. I also was helping a community by giving them free veterinary care for their animals which has helped me realize how fortunate I am and made me realize my love giving back to those who can't afford veterinary care for the animals they call family.
Can you describe a typical day-in-the-life on this program? We had 4 clinic days that usually started at 6 or 7am, we would eat a big breakfast prior to getting on the bus and driving to the clinic (clinics were usually in school buildings or churches not being used). We then would fully set up and prepare for the clinic, we were put into groups of three and each group was assigned a patient. As a group we would transition between being a runner (gets all the supplies needed), the surgery assistant (gloves up during surgery and helps veterinarian hold clamps and sutures), and then the anesthesiologist (this was my favorite job because you get to place the IV catheter, the ET tube, inject the medications, and then you monitor their vitals during surgery). We always had a veterinary tech with us while we had a patient. We take the patient and start taking pre-surgery vitals such as weight, respiratory rate, temperature, heart rate, etc. Then with help, we will start injecting medications before prepping for surgery (prepping includes shaving the leg for the catheter, shaving surgery site, and then placing ET tube and catheter). After that, it is surgery time which takes about 5-10 minutes depending on any unusual findings or if the animal struggles to stay asleep. Prior to surgery the animal is taken into recovery where their vitals are monitored, the ears are cleaned, the nails are clipped, and then medications are packaged for pain relief. When the animal is awake enough, we send it with its owner and start a new group. Every group, depending on how fast they work, gets through around 2-4 animals in, we also take turns as groups eating lunch that VIDA prepares for us to eat in clinic. The day usually ends at 4 pm and we all go back to the hotel and will usually eat dinner together and then do it all again the next day.
Did you experience any culture shock and how did you adapt? One of my biggest culture shocks was during my second time on the trip. We were in a smaller area in Costa Rica that had even more strays and lots of families that had many animals and children- more than our first clinic location. A couple of the animals that were brought to the spay and neuter clinic were some dogs that happened to be pregnant and carrying puppies. We did not know this until the animal was in surgery, at that point since it is a spay and neuter clinic, and these animals would live terrible lives if they were born due to the number of strays in the area already, they had to be terminated. I had seen euthanasia's before but it was hard seeing animals who were in pretty bad conditions be pregnant and having to get rid of their puppies. This did not cause any pain to the unborn puppies, and I dealt with this by reminding myself that the reason I was participating in this clinic was to help the animal population as a whole in Costa Rica. It would've made it worse to keep those pups in and let them end up on the street starving to death.
For more information about the Vida Volunteer Veterinary Program, contact the Vet Without Borders Club at Iowa State.