Tag: Kyle Wendy Skultety (Page 24 of 24)

Pain Management for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses by Mary Ellen Goldberg

January 11, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Many thanks as always to publisher Wiley-Blackwell for offering this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Managing pain in a species that cannot speak is often challenging. Veterinary technicians and nurses are on the front lines of patient care and can be the advocates to relieve suffering and speed healing. After studying Pain Management for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses, the reader will become better schooled at seeing signs of pain, obvious or not; and be able to work with the veterinarian to administer medication and make their patient comfortable. The textbook is formatted logically; first you will read about the advancement of pan management in recent thinking, then learn about careers devoted solely to the relief of pain. how to recognize pain in companion animals, the physiology of pain, analgesics, blocking techniques, surgical pain management, analgesia for emergency and critical care patients, chronic pain management, analgesia for shelter medicine, equines, livestock, exotics, zoo and wildlife animals, nutrition considerations for painful dogs and cats, the role of the technician in physical rehab and alternative therapies, and finally, pain management in end-of-life care.

This topic is covered very thoroughly from every angle. There are many books out there that will cover companion animals only, but neglect zoos or wildlife. Some veterinary technicians will encounter wildlife at some point in their career, and it helps to have some knowledge to better perform as a patient advocate. I especially enjoyed the chapter on acupuncture and alternative medicine as this is slowly coming to the attention of veterinary personnel.

This book will hold the interest of both the experienced and new veterinary technician and will be referred to repeatedly as new skills are needed. The area of pain management is continually evolving, and this is the newest in its field, published in November 2014. Another first: this is the only book edited BY veterinary technicians FOR veterinary technicians. There are many color photos to aid learning, and there is also a companion website with review questions, charts, and protocols.

This book filled a niche that was sorely lacking in information. Pet owners and wildlife rehabilitators can rest easy knowing that there is a new source for educating the most important patient advocate–the veterinary technician. Kudos to Wiley for continuing to be the leader in education for techs and nurses. This book is a must add to the bookshelf of any veterinary practitioner who is serious about patient care.

You can pick up your own copy here.

Deadline by John Sandford

January 3, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

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There is nothing better than a new Virgil Flowers mystery. This one has Flowers investigating a dognapping ring, when he is asked by Lucas Davenport (of the “Prey” novels) to look into the murder of a reporter. As Virgil gets deeper into the case, local school board members start dying. It turns out that certain board members had planned the reporter’s death–but are they now killing each other?

The plot in this installment is not complicated, but it’s full of that great Sandford wry humor that has become the hallmark of the Flowers series. There is a down-home, redneck quality to this one that I thought was funnier than most. Virgil’s friend Johnson Johnson (his father named all his sons after outboard motors, and Mercury, Johnson’s brother, got the better end of THAT deal) calls him to help figure out where all the town’s dogs are going. We encounter a cast of characters and situations that personify what would happen if Deliverance was mixed with the business world: gun nuts, meth heads, embezzlement, backstabbing, and politics. Even though we know who the bad guys are right from the start, the book will hold your interest as the plot advances.

Flowers is helped out by Johnson, of course, who is by far the most colorful of the characters. He’s willing to shoot his gun off at the slightest provocation, and so is young Muddy, a not-quite-teenager who pops up out of the background to give Virgil some hints on where those missing dogs may be. The dognapping side plot is a lighthearted addition to the murder investigation, and gives Sandford a chance to show off those quirky Minnesota rednecks. Some great conversation is had between Virgil and Johnson:

Virgil went carefully back to his truck, climbed inside, and found Johnson with a high capacity Para-Ordnance .45 in his lap.

“Jesus, Johnson, what were you gonna do with that?”

“I saw somebody at the window,” Johnson said. “If they shot you, I was gonna hose the place down.”

Virgil thought about that for a moment, then said, “All right.” He looked up at the porch. Zorn had gone back inside, but Virgil could see him hovering behind the screen. “That’s a bad man, right there,” Virgil said. “Doesn’t even bother to trim his nose hair.”

“That is a bad man,” Johnson said.

The writing from chapter 28 onwards is one of the funniest and well written scenes I’ve ever read. There is a mob, dogs running loose, crazed female anti vivisectionists (called Auntie Vivians), gunshots, wrecked trucks, and plenty of other action. Sandford has raised his own bar with DEADLINE and gotten better, hard as that is to believe. Virgil Flowers is one of my favorite fictional characters, and it feels as though Sandford had a rollicking great time with this one. It’s a great stand alone book, and possibly the best one so far. I hope there are many more in store.

Want your own copy? Click [easyazon_link asin=”0399162372″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″ add_to_cart=”yes” cloaking=”default” localization=”yes” popups=”yes”]here .[/easyazon_link] Let me know what you think.