TK Veterinary Service in rural North Dakota

We are excited to share Nikoline Baron’s experience below, funded by Charlie’s Angels fund.

Thanks to your generous donation, I recently went on a two-week externship in rural North Dakota. The practice I externed with is called TK Veterinary Service, and it is located just outside of Glen Ullin, a small town of just 400 people. I found it on the website of AABP (American Association of Bovine Practitioners), and it was exceptionally well organized and suitable for student learning. While in Glen Ullin, I stayed at the “clinic apartment” on top of the vet practice. I had access to a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and laundry. The vet’s family invited me to supper at their house and with their local church community, a new experience for a Jewish person like me. During my two weeks with Dr. Travis Kuhlka, I learned many invaluable skills about calving and everything surrounding the time of calving.
I learned how to handle vaginal, rectal, and uterine prolapses. I helped deliver several calves, both live and dead. I performed a fetotomy and delivered a set of live twin calves entirely. We spent long days at the sale barn, where I learned everything about Bangs vaccinations (Brucellosis), an essential disease to global health. While at the sale barn, I also learned about other requirements for shipping cattle between states and hands-free pregnancy diagnosis in cattle and branding. I also learned to perform a BSE (breeding soundness examination) entirely by myself, and I floated the teeth of several horses. I feel more comfortable with the step-by-step approach to all these clinical skills and managing the drugs needed. North Dakota is extensive, rural, and sparsely populated, so we often drove far to get to the various ranches. I spent this time learning more about what it means to run a large animal veterinary practice in rural North Dakota. Dr. Kuhlka runs the most beautiful facility that he built from scratch; he has amazing vehicles and excellent equipment. Despite all this, no associates are willing to join his practice, which I believe is location- and climate-dependent. Most days, we were working outdoors at around 0°F. Thankfully, people are willing to serve the veterinary needs of the ranchers in North Dakota, like Dr. Travis Kuhlka. This extremely valuable experience was only possible due to your generous donation, primarily spent on transportation. I am very grateful for your contribution.