Nicole Hensley - South Africa
This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to spend one month in South Africa where I was able to learn about the biodiversity and conservation efforts being done to protect endangered species and rewild the land. I spent my first week at Hout Bay Veterinary Hospital; a small animal clinic where I worked alongside their wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff. The rest of my time was spent on Amakhala Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape to participate in the Vets Go Wild program led by Dr. William Fowlds.
Hout Bay Veterinary Hospital:
During my time with HBVH, I gained great hands-on experience in the operating room, running diagnostics such as taking radiographs, performing ultrasounds, lung fine-needle aspirates, running all lab work in-house, and performing efficient but thorough physical exams especially on the critical emergency patients. HBVH consists of a team of four doctors, two nurses, and three animal care assistants along with the wonderful reception staff. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in an underserved country where funds and gold standard care is incredibly limited. I was beyond impressed with the knowledge, skills, and creativity the veterinarians demonstrated as I learned that specialties do not exist in South Africa, so all veterinarians must be fully competent in all aspects of their patient care. From scrubbing into orthopedic surgeries to providing cancer treatment, the ingenuity of the practice to provide the best care for their patients with the limited tools and technology was inspiring to observe. I built lasting connections with the team at HBVH and their generosity was incredibly appreciated, taking me on hikes of their beautiful town and dinners on the beach! I was also able to interact with hundreds of clients during consultations building my cultural awareness and how pets are perceived by the public in South Africa.
Vets Go Wild, Amakhala Game Reserve:
VGW is a 16-day conservation based intensive veterinary course that brings veterinary students and nurses from around the world together to work to protect and learn about the current crisis affecting African wildlife. My time was spent both on reserves for practicals as well as in the classroom for lectures all led by Dr. William Fowlds, DVM. Some of the incredible species I had the privilege to treat were red hartebeest, elands, lions, cheetahs, white rhinos, giraffes, and zebras. My responsibilities included: calculating and formulating the drug dosing to go in the dart, practice darting, give top-ups as needed, administer oxygen, TPR, monitor pulse-ox, give injectable vitamins, take bloods for research, remove and treat dart wound, transfer to the trailers, and reverse the patient at the end of the procedure. In addition, we spent a day in the community providing sterilizations and immunizations to the local pets as well as volunteering at an orphanage.
This was a life-changing and very emotional learning experience when discussing the current poaching crisis as well as the loss of land to industrialization. Each day I learned new things about myself as well as my cultural identity while being immersed in the beautiful SA culture. I made lifelong friends with the other students, staff, and veterinary team and will forever be grateful for this inspiring experience. It renewed my sense of “why” I chose veterinary medicine, and I will carry all that I learned into my career and future endeavors. Thank you UCD!
