Exit Interview

1) Essential Question: How can a veterinarian best provide comfort to a pet during a serious procedure?
    Answer 1: The best way a veterinarian can provide comfort to a pet during a serious procedure is by making the environment of the hospital comfortable to be in.
    Answer 2: The best way a veterinarian can provide comfort to a pet during a serious procedure is by proper animal restraint and technique.
    Answer 3: The best way a veterinarian can provide comfort to a pet during a serious procedure is through their attitude at the animal hospital.

My best answer is my 3rd answer because no matter the environment of the animal hospital or the restraint techniques, the attitude of a veterinarian will always be a big factor to how an animal will act towards the vet and their staff. I have seen many times at my mentorship when my mentor is stressed and angered, the animals tend to act wilder and more likely to snap, but when he is in a very good mood, the animals tend to act more comfortable and not as stressed. Animals can detect a person's emotions through their tones in their voice and their body language. That is why the attitude of a veterinarian is important to how an animal will act.

2) It took me a while to figure out that my answer 3 was my best answer. At first I believed my 2nd answer, which is animal restraint and technique, was my best answer due to the amount of research I had on that topic, but I later realized that it didn't matter how a veterinarian or his staff held an animal, the way they act will always affect the animal. I see this at home and also at my mentorship. My dogs at home tend to act more skittish when I am angered and more comforting when I am sad. They feel the emotions that go through me. Same goes for the animals at my mentorship. Whenever my mentor, Dr. Sigdestad, is angered, the animals act the same way and don't allow us to work on them. When he is in a calm mood, they allow us to work on them. That is why I believe the attitude of a veterinarian really affects an animal when treating them and the vet staff want to provide treatment for the animal without unnecessary force.

3) I was having trouble figuring out my 3 answers to my essential question because I didn't feel quite confident in finding enough research for it, but I talked to the Senior teachers to explain what my ideas were and they helped me build 3 answers that I felt good about presenting on. I enjoyed researching the 3 topics and it helped me learn me more about Veterinary Medicine. Another problem I encountered was not being able to show my mentor my senior blog throughout the year, but I thought about what he had to do because he works long hours every day with a small amount of free time. What I decided to do is just go to my mentorship and learn from him there. Besides these 2 problems, I feel really good about my senior project and I am excited to present to the class what I learned.

4) The two most significant sources I have used to answer my essential question are a book called "Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon" by Dr. Nick Trout and an article called "How Dogs Sense Emotions" posted on a website called Dog Health. The book by Dr. Nick Trout has given me a great point of view from a veterinarian and what they do on a daily basis. It has helped me not only learn about what a vet does, but also how all of my 3 answers play a role in a veterinarian's animal hospital. The author talks about every answer in his book, helping me understand my essential question more. The article has helped me a lot on learning about my 3rd answer. It basically describes how a dog can sense a person's emotions. It demonstrates and explains why a dog reacts according to a person, in this case a veterinarian. It also helped me to be able to give a better explanation of my 3rd answer. These 2 sources have helped me write my I-Search paper and gave me information I could use for my presentation.