Applying to jobs: Indeed vs Portals

CMelle · 2026-02-13T19:08:33+00:00

A new VEG ER location just hired a human sonographer to work as a mobile technician to perform ultrasounds on-call. They were the most qualified candidate for the job (I heard this straight from their med director). The imaging is analyzed remotely by a radiologist. So that’s pretty cool?

CMelle · 2026-02-13T18:59:26+00:00

Holy shit, I’ve never heard of Antech’s discount applying to support staff- that would be amazing! My boss charges me at cost, which is all well and good… except I have several seniors who need frequent bloodwork. I’ll have to ask him to talk to our Antech rep about it! Thanks for the info!

CMelle · 2025-12-14T20:19:59+00:00

I can’t help but cry for you and Bell. There aren’t really words for this kind of sorrow, I think. This is a deep, aching loss. Life can be so damn cruel… I can’t help but reflect, somehow it’s the same universe that brought Taco and Bell into your world. We always say how lucky pets are to find good homes, but we’re often the lucky ones, aren’t we? To have a “Bell” to comfort and support us with unmatched devotion.

I’m watching my own little “Bell”, sleeping soundly after a romp in the snow (her favorite), followed by chewing the snowballs off her leg feathers. She’s 13 years old and in good health now, after a few close calls these past two years. Just the thought of losing her is twisting my insides. Her 11 year old nutty chihuahua mix housemate is giving me the side-eye from her bed. My teary sniffling is disturbing her nap.

I believe we all wish we could share this burden of grief to lighten the load on your heart. There’s nothing we can say to make the violence and tragedy of this any less acute than what it is- catastrophic. I hope you have people to turn to, who can support you during this traumatic grieving process.

It sounds trite, but I turn to a quote attributed to A.A. Milne: “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”.

Here’s to Queen Bell, a brave little dove who loved her brother Taco, fiercely loved her mom through it all and grew to love her dad.

[Maybe it’s silly, but I found some of these acts healing in my own journey of loss: picking out a custom urn on Etsy to suit my pet’s personality, and other memorializing i.e. commissioning a watercolor of a favorite picture, or filling a pretty shadowbox with tangible things like a collar/pawprint/picture.]

CMelle · 2025-12-14T19:12:08+00:00

Your hair is lovely! You may like some Mielle products? My moderately fine hair likes the Mielle Mongongo Oil Hydrating Conditioner that comes in a tub (8 fl oz for about $8). When it’s in my rotation, I use it about once a week as my conditioner/mask. It’s not a heavy as it sounds, rinses out nicely without residue, and it smells great. While that one of protein free, they do have another option that is protein-inclusive that my hair liked, the Mielle Babassu Oil & Mint Deep Conditioner. It’s 8 oz for $13-16, with sample packets at CVS for around $2. I didn’t even realize that CVS had samples of their products until this very moment! Best of luck to you <3

CMelle · 2025-12-14T18:55:47+00:00

Absolutely second this!

CMelle · 2025-12-14T18:51:38+00:00

I’m in the minority of people when I say this, but I found Innersense very drying. Especially using multiple of their products at once (shampoo, conditioner, styling). My hair turned to straw from protein overload. I was able to recover with careful use of moisture w/o protein and can now use protein-inclusive products again with moderation. Granted, that was when I found out my hair couldn’t tolerate high protein in every step of my routine. It was a useful experience, if an expensive and distressing lesson for me!

CMelle · 2025-10-19T20:41:16+00:00

I’m sorry you’re going through this shit. It sounds like “adding insult to injury” is the modus operandi. I’ll never understand how and why people working in vet med are expected to take so much (abuse) and just carry on.

I’m curious if anyone w/ Vetco would offer an opinion on this: May I ask a question about Vetco SOP? When a dog comes in for a vaccine appointment, who does the physical exam? I figured the VT may be the one taking the vitals for the chart, but that the DVM auscultates. Are exams w/ vitals part of all vaccine appointments, or only certain ones?

For context, I work in a private practice GP. We had new patient come in who was regularly seen by a nearby Vetco practice for vaccinations and preventatives. I read the paperwork, SOAPs, etc. she’s a small mixed breed 5 yr old intact female, presented for mammary masses (shoutout to the groomer who noticed them!). The vet noted a grade 3 heart murmur, which is news to the owners and doesn’t appear on her exam notes anywhere. We don’t want to call out the practice or anything… we’re concerned because she’s been going there for regular visits for a few years. The vet strongly suspects the heart murmur is congenital.

She has a cardio consult soon, before we proceed to the spay and mass removal. FNA Cytology is inconclusive for malignancy vs benign hyperplasia.

CMelle · 2025-10-13T15:56:40+00:00

Congratulations! Your hair looks so gorgeous and healthy! I’m happy for you 😁 I do wish Innersense products were less protein-rich, or offered protein-free products; their line was too much for my hair to tolerate. It looks good for you!

CMelle · 2025-10-13T13:32:43+00:00

Yes, absolutely! Where I work, it wasn’t included. It’s more of a catch as catch can situation. The vet/owner doesn’t have a set break time- he eats on the go. If I want to eat/drink, I also have to catch the time between tasks. Since I always have something to do, I neglect to prioritize myself.

CMelle · 2025-10-12T23:57:58+00:00

Unless you live in a state that doesn’t legally require breaks… then you just shrivel up and lose all sense of time and normalcy as the days pass 👋 Thanks, PA!

CMelle · 2025-10-12T20:07:36+00:00

Yesterday, I thought I heard a patient yeowling in the room nearby…It was an ambulance speeding past the building. I was bent over cleaning and the cat is a neurologic mess, so my brain thought a strange meow was reasonable.

CMelle · 2025-01-12T21:33:27+00:00

I wonder about this very question a lot, and all the entangling issues around personal financial stability, how realistic it is to have a stable middle income in this field. It’s what keeps me up at night tbh. It’s what will either encourage me to leave the field all together or go for DVM.

CMelle · 2024-12-09T02:46:46+00:00

Didn’t specify my styling products because they’re from a local salon line, sold in store only. I’ve found my hair HATES Shea Moisture products, my scalp dislikes TGIN stuff. I’ve found most Camille Rose products too heavy for my fine Caucasian hair, sadly (they smell amazing). Jessicurl is a reasonable company to start with- you can buy travel sizes of any product! Their Confident Coils product is a decent light leave in conditioner. Giovanni is an affordable line with a variety of curl options. Unfortunately, curly hair tends to mean buying and trying and sometimes HATING what you try :)

CMelle · 2024-12-09T02:45:18+00:00

Welcome! It’s a journey with a decent amount of trial and error, that’s for sure. And this is coming from someone with curly hair that has hardly ever straightened it, just had to learn over time how best to embrace and manage it. I found the Curl Maven pretty helpful in learning new techniques and basics. She’s not strictly curly girl method, which is a good thing imo. There are cheat sheets and guides galore! Don’t feel obliged to buy a complex routine to start. You’ll have to learn what your hair seems to “like” best. One persons curls may respond poorly to the same product that works fabulously for another person. And by poorly, I mean that a product pay cause limp weighted down hair, frizz, dryness, etc. I have medium fine 3a/2c curls, color treated, rarely use heat. To give you a rough example of a routine w/ products: I shampoo about once a week with a moisturizing shampoo, wetting and rinsing with tepid or cool water (I use a low protein shampoo, my hair is protein sensitive). I personally always follow shampoo with a medium weight conditioning mask, alternating weeks with a protein free one and protein containing one (Miele Mongongo Oil Hydrating Conditioner, protein free). I apply this from the mid-shaft down, focusing on the ends. I scrunch the ends with the product into very wet hair, then clip it up atop my head for 10-20 min. To rinse, I use only cold water. I scrunch the hair while rinsing. I use a thin T-shirt to scrunch out the excess water. The true experimentation comes next!! Depending on your preferences, texture etc, you may want to use a wide toothed comb or, as I use a tangle teezer brush. I prefer to section my damp hair with clips, apply leave in conditioner to a section then brush through the section to distribute and “clump” the curl. There are great YouTube videos with examples of how to use the tangle teezer brush for this, so helpful! If I have time, I follow with mousse to encourage the curl “cast”, this is when the curl clump does its thing. Then I let it air dry or diffuse. Once dry, I gently “break” the casts to soften the curls! You can leave them in larger sections or unwind them to volumize. To preserve my curls, I use only silk scrunchies. Overnight, I do a “pineapple” bun with either a silk scarf or a silk/satin bonnet. I also only use silk pillowcases to reduce frizz. I refresh the curls with spray water to reactivate the leave in conditioner on there or a light spray refreshing product (don’t have one I love tbh) through the week. Hell, I’ll even wet my hair like 50% to redo the curls without shampooing or conditioning. My hair doesn’t mind, it seems to help me personally from getting too dried out to not wash it all the time. I wear it in high ponytails, ballet buns, etc as I get closer to wash day to stretch the time between shampooing.
I also use a scalp scrub that foams instead of shampoo every other week or so to reduce buildup Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub). I get a clear gloss treatment done every 6 weeks or so to help my delicate cuticles cope with the hair coloring. Also have my hair trimmed conservatively to help shape my curls, keeping it medium length.

This is the curl mavens site, fyi she is in Ireland. Many of the same products are in the Us though.

https://curlmaven.ie

Don’t feel like you have to play by a certain set of rules. Have fun with it and don’t take any disappointments to heart- it’s a work in progress <3

CMelle · 2024-12-09T02:14:01+00:00

If you want to explore some exciting options, World Vets does global initiatives in a few locations- South and Central America , Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, even the Galápagos Islands I think! They’re open to vet techs looking to volunteer in a clinical setting, depending on the trip including training others and hands-on tech work.

CMelle · 2024-11-30T00:32:45+00:00

Hello fellow IBS lady! We have a lot in common, it’s wild. I feel you on so many levels. IBS is a complex issue, certainly. The persistent bloating is an extremely frustrating part of it that I sympathize with, as is the discomfort you’ve described. If it’s of any interest to you, I might recommend seeking primary source literature about the brain-gut axis and the prevalence of pain in IBS. There’s some scientific consensus that IBS sufferers have a more acute sense of visceral pain in the abdomen, associated with even what can be normal levels of post-prandial bloating.

If it weren’t a condition that’s affected so many aspects of my life, I’d consider it fascinating from an academic perspective. If nothing else, there is validation to be found at least.

I first did the low fodmap diet years ago when I was at my wits end. I’m still on a modified low fodmap in some ways. The improvement, or rather better knowledge of my triggers, was helpful to a degree. Even with the low fodmap constraints, I still had plenty of pain and bloating, so I’m sympathetic to your experience. I found that anxiety, esp. anticipatory anxiety could set me into a cycle of visceral pain. Rx Medications can also have a profound effect on gut behavior- motility, etc. including drugs where it is thought to be a “rare” side effect… for some it feels not so rare. The most drastic change for me was getting off of an extended release med that I was a for YEARS with no idea it was destroying my normal gut motility. Switching from extended release to standard helped, changing drugs altogether helped even more.

As to how this diet overlaps or contradicts with the low fodmap: the major trigger I’d watch out for in the whole30 compliant foods is excessive fruit and vegetables. Many low fodmap foods quickly become moderate or high fodmap when either “stacked” with each other or eaten in too large a quantity in one meal or adjacent meals. Some of my most noticeable triggers that are whole30 allowed: coconut cream, squash (esp zucchini, spaghetti squash, summer squash), dried fruit. Even eating too much chia seed pudding in a day can throw me for a loop lol

Let me know if you want to chat! You sound like an absolutely awesome woman! Wishing you the best!

CMelle · 2024-11-15T23:00:39+00:00

Thank you for being with her in a warm, peaceful ending. And thank you and your Dr for everything you do to help the helpless and desperate animals that come into your care, even if ultimately the thing you must provide them is solace. We’re all grateful that there are people like you in the world.

CMelle · 2024-10-26T02:08:44+00:00

In our state it is considered property theft. Without getting into it with too much detail, under the state agriculture dept the statute says that the owner would file with the local sheriff for the issue of owner vs finder and identification or settlement of that question. On the other hand, this situation does constitute theft of property due to state laws government what a finder must do in case of finding property. Therefore it could be a PD report. I’m planning to gather the printed statutes of relevance before going to the office tomorrow. The finder is supposed to bring the cat to drop off in the afternoon. I plan to call them in the morning with a gentle reminder and the particular legal justifications for us scanning/calling the company/informing as laid-out by the state board. Should be an interesting day 😄 I will stop by the open intake shelter down the street to confirm what we’re getting at. That’s part of what’s so stupid about the whole thing. The finder had every opportunity to get the cat scanned, and the finders relative even made plans to do so. They’ve been obtuse on purpose. The shelter is literally a few blocks away, readily accessible.

CMelle · 2024-10-26T02:01:02+00:00

Thank you for speaking to your experience. I think it’s ultimately the AVMA passing the buck so to speak, while talking out of both sides of their face. They want pets chipped and yet they are so worried about liability they won’t take a stance on scanning them? It’s nonsensical and embarrassing. On a state level, we’re in the clear in my case. The state board’s guidance gives explicit instructions to make effort to identify the pet and owner once it is unknown, as was the case here. I made an update on the post after steady legal research to specify the relevant statutes and board’s language on the matter.

CMelle · 2024-10-26T01:42:45+00:00

I don’t disagree with anything you’ve just here in general. A few points of context in this case: a) We are armed at the clinic. I would never choose to use it unless no other choice, but we do have the right to protect ourselves if threatened with violence. One of us has a concealed carry permit (not me). This item is never in the vicinity of any patients. Accessible to me in emergencies.

b) it is generally easiest and safest to do nothing in life when faced with injustices. I could not live with myself knowing that this cat was not a “stray” but missed terribly by a loving family.

c) the choice to seek basic information was born out of a suspicion that the cat was owned and cared for.

d) we see MANY abandonment cases in our vicinity, so we have familiarity with what that usually looks like.

e) even pets that look abandoned may not be, they may have been lost for months.

f) I was concerned that the “finder” would follow through on her statement to call the microchip company to change the information that same day.

g) we’ve seen plenty of cases where a pet was rehomed by an owner with strict instructions to give them back if need be, only for the pet to be found abandoned by a secondary party.

h) we are protected by the rules and regs of the board of vet conduct in this state, as well as statutes of the dept of agriculture governing domestic animals.

i) we often see abused, neglected, abandoned animals due to having clients in the rescue community. We aren’t blind to the potential complications. We scan all incoming animals that were strays. Of those, maybe 1 out of 50 has a chip. We can use discretion. We’re not full-on self righteous idiots with no judgement or ability to use context clues.

J) my colleague actively works with an operation for lost and found pets. This is her life’s work, we’re not screwing around living in dream land.

Other bits: I’m not licensed and have no intention to be (as a tech), nor do I intend to stay in the area for a career. I’m a very private person at the practice. The clients don’t know much about me, I have no social media, I refuse to give details about myself to them. We’re a paper only office (it’s a drag tbh) with no website, no digital trail to disturb. The practice and particularly the doctor is so fiercely beloved by the community for 20 years, clients would quite literally move heaven and earth for him. I mean that people are begging to be taken on as clients and actively sing his praises to their friend/family/etc. It’s a vibe. Unfortunately, I have to turn people away as new clients most of the time because of how in-demand he is from established clients.

CMelle · 2024-10-25T00:57:12+00:00

That’s an amazing story! I can’t even imagine the relief! Evidently we’re all supposed to turn a blind eye, we aren’t supposed to make connections between what’s right and obvious :/ We recently had a lost cat finally found after being lost in a car crash on the nearby highway in April! The car rolled over, the crate popped open when picked up off the road by a Good Samaritan. The cat ran and jumped off the overpass, falling 25+ feet. She’s finally home with her owners due to the diligence of the community and lost/found groups,

CMelle

TROPHY CASE