Veterinary Medicine Principles

• Principles of medicine involve diagnosing, treating, preventing, and controlling diseases.

Objectives of Principles of Medicine VMED 31

• Equip clinicians to perform their duties in clinics.
• Plant basic medical knowledge for higher medicine subjects.
• Educate clinicians on diagnostic approaches and problem management in clinics.

Study of Clinical Methods

• Requires knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pathology, parasitology, and pharmacology.
• Need intimate acquaintance with animal appearance and behavior.
• Requires preliminary education of Veterinary Medicine.

Medical Records

• Should accurately define the patient's health.
• The approach must be systematic, simple, and adaptable to every practice.
• Functions include recording client information and animal's medical history, serving as a legal document, and providing source material for retrospective studies.

Problem-Oriented Veterinary Medical Record Components

• History and physical examination are key
• Diagnosis needs to be made
• Therapeutic plans should be in place
• Educate the client

Progress Notes Components

• Data and Assessment
• Plan includes diagnostic, therapeutic, and client education components
• Include laboratory, radiographic, and biopsy reports.
• Case Summary information
• Include fee information

History in Medicine

• History is as important as physical exams for solving medical problems.
• The history alerts the clinician to potential problems and increases curiosity during physical exams.

History Taking Techniques

• Cross-Examination/Interrogation Style: Allows organized, chronological questioning.
• Open-Ended Story Style: Asks the owner to describe the pet's problem.
  • This style is sometimes disorganized and lacks chronological specificity.

History Taking Tips

• Good communication is essential for successful case management.
• Communication Level: Communicate at a level clients understand.
• Engage your client via active listening and interrupt when appropriate.
• Summarize the history for owner to ensure accurate completion.

Physicial Examination

• Each clinician should develop their own general approach.
• Routines are to be established and adhered to.
• Clinicians need to perform the exam actively.

Obtaining Vital Signs

• Vital signs include body weight, dehydration level, temperature, respiratory rate, pulse, and heart rate
• Obtain vital signs at the beginning of the examination.
• Should also inspect from a distance while obtaining the history.

Examination Techniques

• Inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation and the use of the senses should be improved via practice and experience.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Plans

• Diagnostic plans include lab procedures correlating to identified issues.
• Therapeutic plans provide a line of treatment.

Client Education

• Client education describes the information provided to clients about their animal's condition and prognosis.
• Educate outpatients on the management of animals undergoing home medications.

Diagnosis Defined

• The art of recognizing and distinguishing a disease from others.
• Establishing a diagnosis is the first essential step when dealing with any disease.
• Treatment, control measures, and prophylaxis depend on the diagnosis.

Problems with Diagnosis

• The patient may not cooperate.
• Consider the animal's behavior.
• Location of the exam could be a factor.
• Pain may be a factor during examination.
• Consider the owner's and clinician's factors.

Tips to Help Clinicians in Physical Exams

• Provide quietness and gentleness when handling the animal
• Use patience and perseverance for a thorough, satisfactory examination

Disease

• Defined as an injurious deviation from the normal state.
• Deviations can be organic changes in tissue or functional disturbances without obvious organic changes.

Lesions

• Lesions are defined as pathological changes in an organ or part of tissues.
• Macroscopic Lesions: Can be seen by the naked eye.
  • Microscopic Lesions: Involve the tissues and cells of the affected organ; cytology or histology is required.

Symptoms vs. Clinical Signs

• Symptoms: Changes observed by the owner subjectively.
• Clinical Signs: Changes observed by the clinician/veterinarian objectively during physical examination.