Dr. Bunde

One of my most memorable mentor visits was when I interviewed Dr. Bunde for a mentor interview assignment. This meeting set a standard for our mentorship and provided me an opportunity to learn more about Dr. Bunde. I discovered that she completed her undergraduate at the University of Texas at San Antonio and then moved to the Carribean to attend Ross Veterinary School. With a unique program, most students are able to graduate with their doctarate of vetiernary medicine in 3-3 1/2 years rather than the traditional 4 years. The school runs on a three semester system with two week breaks between each semester and no summer break. When Dr. Bunde first began studying veterinary medicine, she wanted to specialize in equine medicine. However, after completing several shadowing hours, she quickly realized it was not for her. Specialzing also takes an additional 4-6 years of education and requires internships and residencies. I also learned that Dr. Bunde helped start the intermediate care unit at Mission Vet Specialty & Emergency Hospital. This allowed for animals in less critical conditions to be seen quicker and avoid the wait list in the emergency unit. Overall, I enjoyed having the opportunity to learn more about Dr. Bunde and her unique journey of becoming a veterinarian. 

At my mentor meeting with Dr. Bunde, we spent a majority of the time clarifying past articles she had emailed me and learning about heart worms. Dr. Bunde taught me that once a mosquito is infected with heart worms, the worms mature within the misquito and transform into an infectious larvae. When a dog is bitten by an infected mosquito, the parasites make their way into the pulmonary arteries. However, prevention medication can help avoid heart worms. Prevention comes in a variety of forms and can take on multiple parasites at a time. Dogs should begin prevention from around 4 weeks - 6 months old and depending on the specific medication being used. For indoor cats, heart worm prevention is not as encouraged since their risk of getting the disease is relatively low. If an animal does end up getting the infectious disease, treatment can be very expensive and lengthy. The entire process takes about one year and requires multiple vet visits. Ultimately, I really enjoyed Dr. Bunde taking the time to teach me about heart worm disease as it has been a common topic in veterinary medicine, yet I never fully understood it.

At this mentor meeting, Dr. Bunde assesed a pitbull mix who had a deep wound in her paw. She had seen the dog the week prior for the same reason, however, the owners had left the previous bandage on for too long. This did not allow the wound to properly heal. I go to observe Dr. Bunde and her technicians clean the would and suture it with cast material. Following the meeting with the owners, Dr. Bunde taught me about ear infections and allergies. The most common type of ear infections are yeast infections. Most infections are treated with topical medications that go directly onto the sight. Typically after two weeks, a follow up appointment is set for the veterinarian to reevalute the progress. In Texas, general practice clinics see a multiude of allergy cases. This is mostly due to the amount of pollen in the air. Other than the environment, allergies can be caused by rugs, blankets, toys, foods, and other objects. Identifying and treating allergies can be an expensive process, making it difficult for animals to receive proper treatment. However, the antibiotics used to treat allergies cannot be used for minor cases. If they were handed out without care, the bacteria would learn to adapt and eventually become immune to the treatment. This mentor visit was beneficial to my understanding of veterinary medicine, especially in common cases seen by general practices.

For my Independent Study Mentorship Class, we were responsible for putting together a speech to teach our classmates about our mentorship with an acitvity. So, at my mentor visit, I asked Dr. Bunde if she had any ideas for my project. After a couple brain storming sessions, she suggested that I use an IV bag to practie drawing blood. She taught me that blood is drawn from the cephalic vein on the front limbs since it is the largest vein in the dog's body. Then, we practiced the activity with an IV bag in the hospital. It turned out to be a fairly simple yet fun activity. During this mentor visit, Dr. Bunde was a great resource for my classroom assignments and helped me learn more about veterinary medicine.