Where Are They Now?
Some nurses treat more than one species
Carol Brimm
When Jayme Brimm Howard’s dad took her with him to obedience classes for their new Mastiff puppy he had no idea he was setting her feet upon the path she would choose for her life’s career. Howard, a 1999 Mustang High School graduate, was impressed with the trainer’s skill with the animals and questioned her about her job. She learned the trainer was a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) and had received her degree at Oklahoma State University (OSU). This chance meeting inspired Howard to take a course to become a Veterinary Assistant and she fell in love with the field.
“I loved it,” Howard said, “and I knew I wanted to know more so I enrolled at OSU in Oklahoma City.”
Getting into Vet Tech School was very difficult, according to Howard. She said the program is one of the most difficult at the school and a graduate has over 500 skills by the time the program is completed. The program includes courses in lab techniques, reproduction, radiology, anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, pharmacology, pathology, breeding, chemistry, microbiology and biology. Howard says what makes the program especially difficult is that medical doctors and nurses must learn this information for one species – humans. In the Veterinary field this information must be learned for all species.
“Anatomy was hard,” Howard said. “You don’t learn just one set of anatomy in this program. We had to learn the anatomy for all animals. It was a much more difficult curriculum than I expected and it exceeded my expectations about what a Vet Tech can do. I got a very good, meaningful education. I learned a lot.”
Howard worked her way through school as the head Vet Tech at Hefner Road Animal Hospital in Oklahoma City. On Dec. 1, 2006 she graduated from the OSU and will be a Registered Veterinary Technician after passing her state and national board exams in Jan. 2007.
“I didn’t want to be a Veterinarian because as a tech I’m the one who does everything with the animal, the Vet makes the diagnosis and reads the lab work. I get to talk to the clients and it gives me a sense of accomplishment and connection with my patients because I’m the one taking care of them. The doctor has to be the bad guy as far as the animal is concerned, I get to be their friend,” Howard said.
Howard’s love of animals began as a child when she spent summers in the country with her Grandma and Granddad feeding the cows through the fence. She says some of her fondest memories are of chasing her Granddad’s cows in the pasture, playing with the family kittens and petting her dog as he slept beside her bed each night.
Her first brush with Veterinary medicine came in high school when someone shot the family pet, Shadow, with a blow dart gun, which almost cost him his life. Howard says as she watched the Vet work to save her dog, she became interested in what he was doing. Now she is the one in charge of keeping the animal asleep and alive as Veterinaries perform life-saving surgeries.
“I love the responsibility of taking care of someone else’s baby. I love teaching and explaining things to owners and assuring them that it will be okay,” Howard said. “Sometimes we have an animal come in with its life hanging in the balance. The scariest thing is when an animal crashes during anesthesia. Your adrenaline jumps and it just seems like you know what to do.”
Throughout the course of her career and education Howard has had a lot of experiences, some funny, some scary, but she says they were all learning experiences. During the Vet Tech program she had the opportunity to work with a variety of animals including Bengal Tiger cubs, elephants, Chimpanzees and lab research animals.
“Once I had to draw blood from a Chimpanzee and he wasn’t very sedated. He kept looking at me while I took the blood. I have also washed an elephant. Washing an elephant makes you feel very small. You use a water hose and a BIG scrub brush,” Howard laughed. “On another school trip a Vet sent me into a pen to get a specific bull. As I threw my leg over the fence I thought I would die. I had no idea how to get one bull out of a pen with 20 huge bulls in it. One of his techs helped me. She said the Vet thought it was a funny joke to do that to amateurs.”
Growing up in Mustang may not have prepared Howard for all of the challenges and adventures she has faced, but it gave her the sound footing she needed to meet those challenges and persevere. She says her favorite memories of Mustang High School are of dating her husband, Kris Howard also a 1999 MHS grad, going to Sonic after school and going to Braum’s after Church on Wednesday nights. Howard is the daughter of Darrell and Carol Brimm of Mustang. Her sister, Rachel, is a 2004 MHS grad.
Some nurses treat more than one species
Carol Brimm
When Jayme Brimm Howard’s dad took her with him to obedience classes for their new Mastiff puppy he had no idea he was setting her feet upon the path she would choose for her life’s career. Howard, a 1999 Mustang High School graduate, was impressed with the trainer’s skill with the animals and questioned her about her job. She learned the trainer was a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) and had received her degree at Oklahoma State University (OSU). This chance meeting inspired Howard to take a course to become a Veterinary Assistant and she fell in love with the field.
“I loved it,” Howard said, “and I knew I wanted to know more so I enrolled at OSU in Oklahoma City.”
Getting into Vet Tech School was very difficult, according to Howard. She said the program is one of the most difficult at the school and a graduate has over 500 skills by the time the program is completed. The program includes courses in lab techniques, reproduction, radiology, anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, pharmacology, pathology, breeding, chemistry, microbiology and biology. Howard says what makes the program especially difficult is that medical doctors and nurses must learn this information for one species – humans. In the Veterinary field this information must be learned for all species.
“Anatomy was hard,” Howard said. “You don’t learn just one set of anatomy in this program. We had to learn the anatomy for all animals. It was a much more difficult curriculum than I expected and it exceeded my expectations about what a Vet Tech can do. I got a very good, meaningful education. I learned a lot.”
Howard worked her way through school as the head Vet Tech at Hefner Road Animal Hospital in Oklahoma City. On Dec. 1, 2006 she graduated from the OSU and will be a Registered Veterinary Technician after passing her state and national board exams in Jan. 2007.
“I didn’t want to be a Veterinarian because as a tech I’m the one who does everything with the animal, the Vet makes the diagnosis and reads the lab work. I get to talk to the clients and it gives me a sense of accomplishment and connection with my patients because I’m the one taking care of them. The doctor has to be the bad guy as far as the animal is concerned, I get to be their friend,” Howard said.
Howard’s love of animals began as a child when she spent summers in the country with her Grandma and Granddad feeding the cows through the fence. She says some of her fondest memories are of chasing her Granddad’s cows in the pasture, playing with the family kittens and petting her dog as he slept beside her bed each night.
Her first brush with Veterinary medicine came in high school when someone shot the family pet, Shadow, with a blow dart gun, which almost cost him his life. Howard says as she watched the Vet work to save her dog, she became interested in what he was doing. Now she is the one in charge of keeping the animal asleep and alive as Veterinaries perform life-saving surgeries.
“I love the responsibility of taking care of someone else’s baby. I love teaching and explaining things to owners and assuring them that it will be okay,” Howard said. “Sometimes we have an animal come in with its life hanging in the balance. The scariest thing is when an animal crashes during anesthesia. Your adrenaline jumps and it just seems like you know what to do.”
Throughout the course of her career and education Howard has had a lot of experiences, some funny, some scary, but she says they were all learning experiences. During the Vet Tech program she had the opportunity to work with a variety of animals including Bengal Tiger cubs, elephants, Chimpanzees and lab research animals.
“Once I had to draw blood from a Chimpanzee and he wasn’t very sedated. He kept looking at me while I took the blood. I have also washed an elephant. Washing an elephant makes you feel very small. You use a water hose and a BIG scrub brush,” Howard laughed. “On another school trip a Vet sent me into a pen to get a specific bull. As I threw my leg over the fence I thought I would die. I had no idea how to get one bull out of a pen with 20 huge bulls in it. One of his techs helped me. She said the Vet thought it was a funny joke to do that to amateurs.”
Growing up in Mustang may not have prepared Howard for all of the challenges and adventures she has faced, but it gave her the sound footing she needed to meet those challenges and persevere. She says her favorite memories of Mustang High School are of dating her husband, Kris Howard also a 1999 MHS grad, going to Sonic after school and going to Braum’s after Church on Wednesday nights. Howard is the daughter of Darrell and Carol Brimm of Mustang. Her sister, Rachel, is a 2004 MHS grad.
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