I'm coming up on my first oil change with my Prius and have a couple of questions.

First, I see the word "synthetic" being thrown around the forums, is that something I should be considering for my Prius, and if so, what brand/weight/etc.?

Second, is there anything different about changing the oil in a Prius versus say, a Dodge Ram Truck, or Chrysler Minivan? I mean, there's an oil pan on the bottom and a fill cap on the top still, right? I guess this is the real important question since I live in Western North Dakota, and when I called the dealership today to ask if they've ever changed the oil in a Prius before I got "What kind of car is that?" I'm assuming that Toyota dealerships have some kind of service manual that the guy can follow in order to change the oil without breaking something. These people are farmers. Most of them don't know what to do with an engine that doesn't have eight cylinders.

Is there anything I should keep my eye on while they're changing the oil? Anything magic that has to be done afterwards to let the car know it's oil has been changed or anything?

Anyone have a checklist that I can go through while they change the oil?

I have this feeling that I should be more nervous than I am with taking my Prius in for an oil change here.