work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Nichola231 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:25:53 GMT

[quote user="xxserahxx"]

My collegue came into the cattery this morning to find our work exp lad curled up and locked in a kennel!!

[/quote]

hahahahaha! One of the nurses locked me in a kennel by accident when I was on my w/e. Was icing the dogs spine which it wasn't too happy about. When I was finished the dog fell asleep so I couldn't call her to open the door incase it jumped and cause more trauma to its spine so spent 20 minutes trying to open the door with a pen!

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Sal the 1st — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:29:47 GMT

my apologies but when the first question asks if you are an employer or representative of an employer ie practice manager and you arent either of these so click no it really doesnt give you the option to do anything else

its nice that somebody is taking the interest anyways

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Lisa Jarvis — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:19:48 GMT

Sal

survey design means that we can't list every possible job title but very happy to get replies from those spending the time with the work experience people

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Sal the 1st — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:15:08 GMT

have followed the link

little bit shortsighted in my opinion only asking employers or representatives of employers for their opinion ( ie the people who are least likely to be spending time with work experiences within this environment)

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Lisa Jarvis — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:57:09 GMT

Great to see this topic being discussed and Lantra are trying to record how veterinary practices feel about work experience with the aim of providing guidance to schools, colleges and kids/students on how to get the best out of their placements- please do visit the survey by following the link below and add your comments:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/35GGHFG

Many thanks

Lisa

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

christinam — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:03:52 GMT

Got a coupl

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Katie B — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:45:52 GMT

I have been doing work experience for a two months and a bit and due to start my vca placement there this september. I must say some of the vet nurses were a little off with me at first but actually I think it's just because they are so busy and even if they are happy for you to be there you feel like a spare part because a lot of the clinical work can be stressful and difficult. But they always explain what they have done, even the vets, the head vet at my practise explains everything and lets me have a good look. I will say though that I have one nurse who has been amazing. She organised my placement over the phone with me. I phoned a lot of surgeries and she was the only one who said by all means come and visit us. She has shown me so much. She did work experience to show her interest in the career before she trained and she said everyone ignored her so thats why she is so hands on, she really has made me feel so welcome and has helped me get my placement for my college year. I have a lot to thank her for.

When I was there, the work ex lad was fantastic, getting involved in the operations. He worked hard on the days I saw him. And he made up his mind he wanted to be a vet. Very determined hard working boy.

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

S-J — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:23:50 GMT

well i did give them my old vn times.

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Lynn Perry — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:13:37 GMT

Aww that's a shame S-J :( Hope they got something useful/infortmative out of it though!

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

S-J — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:40:41 GMT

i have had 2 good ones this week a boy and a girl both wanted to watch and help and asked q, the one problem is that it was at the branch surgery and the main vet was on hol so it was so quiet, it got to the point where i was getting them to clean the inside of the cubords and fold the body bags, i did manage to sort them out a day each at the main branch which they really enjoyed.

just my luck, get some good kids willing to work and nothing for them to do.

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

NuttyNu — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:46:47 GMT

We have not long had one which came for a week work exp and left before her w/e finished on wed because:

> We were mean to keep the animals in small cages and she thought they should be in bigger ones. even the kittens (we had 3 in one kennel to sleep in and the X-Ray room to play in when it was not being used!)

> It was too depressing a job to do

> She did not like it that a very ill dog was not put to sleep because the owner wanted to try it on meds etc and did not like being told it was not our decision and that she shouldn't come to conclusions because she knows no background of the client!!

On a brighter note, she never refused to do anything we asked her!!

Not sure if we have ever "scared" somebody off previously!!!

We do have some really good ones though which offer to clean animals our when they have poo'd in their kennels! They are truely one of the best (and probably rarest) types! We do now hold previous interviews so they can brief;y meet us and the practice and we can get to know a very brief bit about them. If we do not think they are suitable then we dont take them on.

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

xxserahxx — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:19:34 GMT

My collegue came into the cattery this morning to find our work exp lad curled up and locked in a kennel!! :| scared the life out of her!! soo random!

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Saskia Quinn — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:13:03 GMT

I have a pet hate - the way Drontal comes in a strip of 10 - thats not the problem, its putting them in the holders the same way that is the problem! I prefer them to be broken down individually!

So thats what I was doing at work today, as well as reminding me of this thread, it also reminded me of the time I asked the 2 work experience kids to do for me one day (in a previous practice) ha ha ha not only did they seperate the strip of tablets into individuals - they also removed the tablets from the foil wrapping and put them into the holders that way!!!! I was not a happy bunny and we had to get rid of the tablets as they wouldnt have held their active ingredients long enough to be sold while they were outside the foil wrapping!!

hehe rant over

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Steph Phillips — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:06:11 GMT

no problemo reading it back I can also see your point too!

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Polly P — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:51:07 GMT

Again, with the clarification your post makes sense to me.

I was thinking from what you said of scars, ie, old scars rather than recent sores that were affecting her work.

Thanks for explaining. xx

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Steph Phillips — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:03:27 GMT

[quote user="Polly SVN"]The girl that had to change her top which ended up exposing her scars was probably mortified that people saw them, and the kind of judgement that has been stated as a response to that is exactly why.[/quote]

Didn't intend to offend anyone Polly.. I was purely saying that the agency that recommended her for work should have given us more insight on her mental health, so we could have at least been prepared when it came to handing animals etc (her arms were very sore and she found it difficult to handle them) She was mortified when we saw her scars. yes, but we didn't judge. . hell no! We gave her the privacy she needed and offered help and support should she choose to have it. and she did. She was a good worker and a good receptionist. She left due to moving up north.

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Maisy — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:23:51 GMT

[quote user="Sal (the 1st) Holesworth VN CMH Chyp (M)PNLP"]

At least a work experience with attitude is only there for a limited time - a trainee nurse with attitude you are stuck with until they give up, you give up, they grow up or they qualify, move on and make somebody elses life hell

and there are plenty of them out there both trainee and now qualified!

[/quote]

So true!!

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Polly P — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:45:52 GMT

Kim, thanks for clarifying, given the whole situation yes I can totally see why it was inappropriate for the girl to be in the practice.

Apology happily accepted and apologies in turn if I came off as rude. xxx

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Dove — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:12:49 GMT

I should say that we've had some excellent WE kids too. A few have gone on to qualify as vets and nurses. (I'm old enough to have seen a few from school kid to qualified vet!) It is great when people make the most of the opportunity they are given.

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Sally Howe — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:39:08 GMT

I've had some great work experience kids, some now adults. some are vets, some are head nurses and some in the process of training..... god I feel old now!!!

I've had some awful ones too even though I interview them and they are told that there is a lot of cleaning involved. I had to dismiss 2 as they argued, rolled eyes, one handed mopping (get to me too!!). Had the parents of one on the phone trying to have a go as her child shouldn't have been placed with a girl she didn't get on with at school. After a few strong words, I contacted the school who were apologetic.

I've had a self-harmer too, luckily she felt she could confide in me so I had her for the duration of her stay. She finally found courage to talk to the school councellor. I don't know what happened to her but hope I may have helped her forward into getting some help.

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:34:42 GMT

We once had a work exp lad pass out in theatre, he wobbled towards the table and went head first into the bitch spay that had just be prepped and draped!!

We've had some really good wk ep too and its def improved since we've started interviewing. One lad I interviewed when asked why he wanted to come to vets etc said 'I don't really, I want to work with computers and I don't like bloods, but my mum wants me to come'!

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Mac Feather — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:40:25 GMT

[quote user="Sal (the 1st) Holesworth VN CMH Chyp (M)PNLP"]Everybody deserves a chance - its what they do with the chance when they are given it [/quote]

I like that Sal, its spot on.

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Sal the 1st — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:25:12 GMT

well from my experience some of the trainee nurses I have had the misfortune to come across are a lot worse than some of the work experiences

and there are plenty of them out there both trainee and now qualified!

Everybody deserves a chance - its what they do with the chance when they are given it

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Lynn Perry — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:48:23 GMT

Being someone whose desperately been trying to glean work experience, I do think there's certainly a certain amount of stigma attached to the task. Too many times I was told that the clinic 'didn't do work placements' or that positions were reserved only for veterinary students.

But I have to admit, sometimes I could understand why. I heard too frequently about placements who refused to do the 'nastier' jobs which they would have to face every day (cleaning kennels, mopping up after 'accidents' etc). One particular story I was told was about a lad determined to be a vet. Except that he didn't sit in on consults as he found them boring, wouldn't observe ops as he didn't like blood and didn't help the nurses as 'that wasn't what he wanted to do'. So he sat upstairs in the staff lounge watching television all day.

With people like that, you start to understand why it's so darn hard getting your foot in the door!

Re: work ex kids. huh, ya wot

Kim Buckley — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:58:14 GMT

Polly I'm sorry that you took offence to my post. I have had family who have been on antidepressants and a very good friend of mine from school was a self harmer and I have no problem with them whatsoever.

What I had an issue with was the lack of information from the school about this girl as she was very very shy and acted quite odd. We tried to get her involved and it just wasn't working. She then asked me if we had cctv and if so where are the cameras! This sent alarm bells ringing in my head and so I told the head nurse. She then contacted the school and they told us they had their concerns about her and they had wondered where would have been the best place to send her.

Given her sensitive nature and extreme shyness, I don't think a busy veterinary hospital was the best plan by the school and especially as the school didn't tell us. I just thought it was really bad of the school not to make us aware that she had some problems and we could have tried to make the placement work better for her.

Again I'm sorry you took offence and again I've been rubbish at trying to get the point across that I was trying to make.