Here at Animal Emergency Australia, we’re lucky enough to work alongside some of the most passionate and talented veterinary professionals in the industry. In our upcoming series of Team Member spotlights, we’ll be shining a light on some of the brightest stars in our clinics! Whether they’re performing life-saving medical treatment, providing unparalleled patient care, or keeping clients satisfied and informed, the talented team at AEA all deserve recognition for their dedication. Today we’d like to turn your attention to the wonderful Dr Alvaro Jordan, one of our senior veterinarians at Animal Emergency Service Carrara.
Dr Alvaro Jordan has been part of the veterinary profession for over a decade. And he has spent the majority of his career in the exciting field of emergency and critical care. We caught up with him to reflect on one of his fondest memories that helped kick-start his passion for veterinary emergency and critical care.
“My first consult was probably even my biggest motivation to stay here, which was almost like a “hero consult”, which was a dog with a pericardial effusion (fluid surrounding the heart).
I remember having this collapsed dog on the crash bench. It was me and a couple of our nursing team scanning the dog. Trying to extract every single memory, every little bit of knowledge that you have in your brain!
And we then found the pericardial effusion. With a scan we drained the pericardial sac and drained the chest while doing compressions and doing a full CPR. And we brought the dog back.
I still remember driving home with the biggest smile on my face.”
“While most people run away in a crisis, we run towards it.”
Q&A With Dr Alvaro Jordan
We were also able to catch up with Dr Alvaro between his busy schedule of consults to explore a bit more about his motivation behind becoming an emergency veterinarian, and ask for his insight to share with the next generation of veterinary professionals:
Q. How long have you been a vet and how long in emergency?
I have been a vet for 12 years. I have been working in emergency and critical care for almost 10 years.
Q. What do you find most satisfying about emergency work?
Being able to make a difference when patients and clients need us the most, when situations are dire. While most people run away from a crisis, we run towards it – and that in itself is really satisfying.
Q. What’s the most memorable or exciting case you’ve ever worked on?
Multiple cases, but in general, the hardest ones are always the ones that stick with you. Whether it’s a good or sad outcome, it will always stay with you, and you will always be able to learn and carry that into the next challenging case.
One aspect of cases that make them memorable, is that it’s never one single person responsible for the outcome. It’s always a whole team behind it. A team of nurses, nurse assistants, client care team, kennel hands, vets and the owners. We are all in the trenches together fighting against a life threatening condition.
Q. How has working in emergency allowed you to advance your skills?
First of all, with the amazing support and mentorship of amazing clinicians and simply, just great people. Secondly through adversity and difficult cases. There is no better teacher than a challenging case.
You’ll find Dr Alvaro Jordan working alongside the team at AES Carrara and providing clients and patients with veterinary care in their times of need. If you’d like to find out about joining the Carrara team, explore the opportunities with Animal Emergency Service Carrara or reach out and contact us for more information.
