13125 Southfields Rd Wellington, FL 33414 Office (561) 793-1599 Fax (561) 793-2492 [email protected] www.equineclinic.com June 2016 e-News From Intern to Associate: Meet Palm Beach Equine Clinic’s Newest Addition, Dr. Samantha Miles by Lauren Fisher, Jump Media always loved animals, specifically horses, even moved to Florida permanently to start as an though I had limited exposure when I was a associate full-time. kid. When I was sixteen, my mom told me that if I was serious about becoming a vet, I needed What was the experience like as an intern at to know if I could handle the job. I got a job at PBEC? a small animal clinic as a kennel worker and It has been amazing! I was an ambulatory worked my way up to vet assistant. I continued practitioner in Texas immediately after working there in the summers through college graduation, but when I was transferred to as well. I did my undergraduate at Kansas State PBEC it was amazing because the varied case University studying Animal Sciences. At that load is so great, both ambulatory and hospital point I was involved in summer internships cases. I was able to learn a great deal and and working on horse farms. I applied to vet be hands on. The level of care at PBEC is just school and was accepted to the University of extraordinary. The number of cases they care for Edinburgh in Scotland. and the dedication they show to every animal is Dr. Samantha Miles is a 2015 graduate of the unmatched. I feel very lucky to have learned so college of veterinary medicine at The University What was it like going to school in Scotland? much in a very short period of time. of Edinburgh in Scotland. Upon completing Did you get different experience there? I really like how the interns rotated her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. It was pretty amazing. It was a lot different from throughout the program between hospital Miles began with Palm Beach Equine Clinic anything in the U.S. in the sense that we had shifts and ambulatory shifts. The hospital shifts in September of 2015. Dr. Miles recently different requirements and the exams are set up can be really taxing with long days and longer concluded the intensive internship program at very differently. We had to do a lambing season, nights, but that is when you get to learn the PBEC, and has officially been hired as a full- for example, where we actually had to go out best case management from start to finish. time associate to join the team of exceptional to a farm in the dead of winter and spend We would rotate through ambulatory, where I doctors this year in Wellington, FL. Read on to three weeks assisting lambs to be born. Going improved my interpretation of radiographs, and learn more about Dr. Samantha Miles. to school there also gave me the opportunity was able to schedule my own appointments. to travel and see what veterinary medicine is We were able to rotate spending time with What is your background with horses? like in different parts of the world. I was able different clinicians and learn from each of them. I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and to complete externships in several interesting It is uncommon in many internships, especially raised in Kansas. My dad grew up in Winnipeg, places all over Europe. My school was very in the U.S., where you get not only the hospital Manitoba, and would take me to a little supportive in providing us the opportunity to experience, but also ambulatory experience. racetrack up there on vacations. This is where have those experiences. In January, the program allows us on primary I fell in love with horses. I did not ride or on-call after hours responsibility and we had a show when I was younger, but I used to try to How did you end up interning at Palm Beach ton of direct support from all veterinarians. The convince my parents to get me a pony. I rode Equine? doctors were always available to oversee the a little bit when I was in school. I did some trail I graduated in July of 2015 and I started a case with us or take our calls in the middle of riding and worked for lessons and learned to position in Texas. I was transferred to PBEC to the night to discuss a case. Having that primary jump a bit, but I never competed. learn high-end sports medicine during the busy case responsibility in tandem with another winter season in Florida, and I just ended up senior veterinarian was excellent experience. When and why did you decide to become a staying to complete an entire internship. I first vet? came to Palm Beach in late September in 2015, Was there any particular case that was really I always wanted to become a veterinarian. I and I just officially completed my internship and interesting or educational for you? June 2016 | www.equineclinic.com 1 One that sticks out in my mind was a nine or ten-year-old horse that had an intussusception, where part of its cecum telescoped into itself, which telescoped into its large colon. It was a really cool case and it was one of the first cases where the clinician really gave me free rein. It was a challenging case that ended up being really unique because it is typically found in very young horses, usually foals. It is rare to be diagnosed in horses older than six months. I will always remember that case because it was the first time I felt really trusted by this particular clinician to work on her case. I was able to problem solve and utilize my skills. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was managing a case for a three-day old foal admitted into the hospital with the same condition. Because of that first case, I was able to manage it effectively. Do you have any plans for a specialty? Dr. Puchalski has taught me a lot this past year What are you looking forward to most about Not at the moment, but I am very excited to and I am definitely looking forward to working officially joining the team at PBEC? be working closely with one of the partners, and learning from her more in the upcoming I am really looking forward to using and always Dr. Richard Wheeler, and his focus is mainly years. improving my skills. An intern with PBEC is lameness. I have a large interest in diagnostic exposed to many cases and learns a lot during imaging; lameness and imaging typically go What other hobbies or interests do you have? the year-long program, but there are many hand in hand. It is my absolute favorite thing I really love to travel. That is my number one skills that time and experience will improve. I about veterinary medicine. Dr. Wheeler manages favorite thing to do outside of work whenever look forward to really enhancing my skills and many diagnostic imaging cases, so I am excited time allows for it. I love to explore new places. knowledge base as an associate, especially out in to learn from him. I really like hiking, although I usually only have the field. I am also very excited to work with the PBEC also has a board-certified radiologist time while traveling. I also love reading. vast support network available with Palm Beach onsite during our busy season, Dr. Sarah Equine Clinic. As a new graduate out of school, Puchalski, who I was able to work with during my If you were not a vet, what would you be it is comforting to know that assistance and internship. During the intern program, we have doing? advice from a mentor is readily available in all radiology rounds each week where we review I would probably be a travel writer. fields. I plan to learn everything I can from all the interesting imaging cases anonymously to learn. specialists over the coming years. What’s New Educating Horse Owners: “Summer Sores” (Habronemiasis) by Dr. Samantha Miles The hot and humid summer season has once mucocutaneous junctions including the sheath, again arrived in South Florida, and with the eyes and corners of the mouth. This causes increase in damp weather comes an increase in a massive inflammatory reaction which then pesky stable flies that can cause summer sores. forms granulomas: the “summer sore”. With the help of the veterinarians at Palm Beach Equine Clinic, learn more about what summer How do they occur? sores are, how they are caused, how they be Adult stomach worms shed larvae into the prevented, and finally, how to treat them. environment through the manure of infected horses. These larvae are then ingested by What are “summer sores”? maggots and develop within these maggots The equine stomach worm is Habronema as they become adult flies. They reside in muscae. Through the help of stable flies, the mouthparts of the flies where they are their larvae are deposited onto wounds and deposited onto the wounds or mucocutaneous June 2016 | www.equineclinic.com 2 junctions of horses causing an infection. immune mediating products. Please call for more Horses can ingest these larvae by consuming information. dead flies in feed or water. The larvae continue An oral deworming product is often development in the stomach of the horse and administered to the entire stable of horses begin laying eggs within eight weeks but cause when a summer sore is seen in case your horse very little clinical signs in the horse.