Eat That Frog!June 18, 2015An ancient story claims that if the first thing you do when you wake up every morning is eat a live frog, nothing worse can happen to you for the rest of the day. Mark Twain reportedly said: “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.” Brian Tracy, the best-selling author and professional development guru, explains that your “frog” should be the most difficult task on your to-do list. Believe of or not, the frog contains a secret hormone (fittingly named APH or Anti-Procrastination Hormone), which will give you energy and momentum for the whole day. The “frog” could mean returning a difficult phone call, organizing your desk or your office, firing a poor performer… The difficult phone call (or email) might be to an especially emotional client whose pet has died unexpectedly, to share bad news about biopsy results, or to return an irate client’s phone call (this last one never happens to me of course. I heard that it apparently has happened to colleagues though). In fact your frog also could …
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5 Dogs Who Are Happy to be at the ClinicJune 5, 2015Not all dogs hate the vet clinic. These 5 dogs love hanging out in the office too. I love it when sweet faces like these are waiting for me in the exam rooms. 🙂 #lovemyjob #ebenezeranimalhospital #vetmed #dowhatyoulovelovewhatyoudo A photo posted by April Mafturak Stephens (@rockclimbingpetvet) on Jun 4, 2015 at 7:44am PDT These sweet puppies can't wait to see you. Good morning !! #lepar #vetmed #dog A photo posted by LePar Animal Hospital (@leparvet) on Jun 4, 2015 at 7:05am PDT These pugs are saying "good morning!" Ranger seems to think this is the preferred sleeping position for large puppies in …
How to Use ART to Combat Compassion FatigueJune 4, 2015Vidette Todaro-Franceschi tells us that, “We do not have to accept compassion fatigue and/or burnout as the costs of caring; with intention, we can make choices that help us to reaffirm our purpose and actively sidestep feeling dissatisfied and disenchanted with our work.” In her book, Compassion Fatigue and Burnout in Nursing: Enhancing Professional Quality of Life, she teaches a concept called ART: Acknowledge, Recognize, and Turn Outward, which she describes as reaffirming purpose as a healing model for our wounded workforce. In her book, Todaro-Franceschi discusses ways to use ART for many different situations or purposes, which we’ll look at closer. In every case, she states that “when applying ART, you focus on awareness of turning points, connection to others (and the environment), and one’s place (individually and collectively) in the unfolding present.” The first application of ART is compassion contentment, or job satisfaction in a manner of speaking. This is the positive side of professional quality of life, the reasons we put on scrubs every morning and clock in at our practices. When you remain aware or mindful of the positive things in life, we can look to repeat those things and experience joy …
#MeowMonday: Kittens in the ClinicJune 1, 2015This is some serious snuggling. This what 1 pound of concentrated cuteness looks like. #VetJob #VetTech #VetMedicine #Veterinarian #Vet #Kitten #Tiny #Cat #CatsOfInstagram #Snuggle #Adopt #ILoveMyJob #Cute A photo posted by Seth Wyckoff (@sethwyckoff) on May 28, 2015 at 4:41pm PDT This kitten is hard at work. Hard at work #kitten #playtime #vettech #veterinary #workflow #catsofinstagram #cryptorchid #specialkitty #cute #love #girlswithtattoos ???? A photo posted by Jen ???? (@jen.trim) on May 29, 2015 at 11:53am PDT Kittens everywhere! A client came in today with a basket full of seven kittens, and I think I died a little! Four boys and three girls. …
Do We Really Need to Talk About Mental Illness?May 27, 2015One of the most difficult times in my years of practice involved the suicide of a client. I knew the family well, and they’d been clients for years. You can imagine my emotions when the widower told me he suspected his deceased wife had sunk into deep depression after her cat died from a chronic illness while under my care. Nothing else was ever said about that, and surely there were other issues involved. Still, it was very disturbing to hear those words. All of us experience trying situations in practice. It goes with the territory. But the takeaway is to learn to know when we, or a person associated with our practice, become overwhelmed and need outside help. There are many reasons why people in the veterinary profession suffer from mental challenges like burnout, depression and suicide. Veterinary medicine is a demanding and challenging profession. Yes, that’s a good thing. But, at times the demands can become overwhelming and evolve into a negative force. In general, veterinarians practice a strong work ethic, are highly compassionate and are sensitive to the needs of pets and people. Again, these are all positive and admirable traits. But, those traits also leave us …
What do You do When You're Suffering From Burnout and Compassion Fatigue?May 21, 2015As the veterinary profession struggles with how to define and cope with the emotional aspects of the work we do, we have recently identified two concepts: burnout and compassion fatigue. Burnout is simply defined as the stresses caused by our interaction with the work environment. Among the list of causes are the feeling of having no control over the quality of care provided and a conflict between individual values and organizational goals and demands. Compassion fatigue is defined as the stresses caused by our relationship with our patients and clients. The majority of the stress in these relationships comes from the fact that in healthcare, we are expected to be technically proficient, emotionally available, straightforward, clear and compassionate … all at the same time! So what happens when we see corners being cut, perhaps resulting in providing services below our own personal opinion of “standard medical care,” and we feel powerless to change the system? What happens when we have to be straightforward, yet hide substandard quality of services? What happens when we have to demonstrate compassion and be emotionally available when we feel we are asked to act in an immoral way? This is the dangerous zone of “Moral …
One Veterinarian's Adventures in TurkeyMay 19, 2015Originally published in the February 2015 issue of Veterinary Practice News Istanbul is an unusual and exotic city. The metropolis stretches over two continents, 3 percent of it in Europe and 97 percent in Asia. I was fortunate enough to lecture at the First International Veterinary Conference in Istanbul. During the trip, I also traveled to Bursa, the former capital of the Ottoman Empire, located four hours South of Istanbul. I was also able to visit with several colleagues in private practice, a rescue organizations and veterinary schools. Here are photos and impressions I brought back from this amazing trip. Click on an image to learn more.
Who in Your Practice has Experienced Compassion Fatigue, Burnout or Depression?May 13, 2015It must have been about 7 years into owning my mixed practice when a nagging tension gained enough steam to demand my attention. The practice was healthy and growing. I’d gained some respect in the community. And I worked every day with a well-trained staff that was loyal to the practice and to me. During those same years, our family had grown, and now there were three beautiful children who needed and deserved their daddy’s attention. Although she was (and is) incredibly capable, I didn’t want my wife to have all the fun of raising our kids. Plus, like everyone else, there were other worthy interests outside of veterinary medicine competing for some of my time, too. Although it may not have been accurate, it seemed to me that all the vets I knew worked at least 80 hours a week and owned great practices. I can clearly remember when I realized that a decision had to be made. I had to answer the question, “Is veterinary medicine a means to an end, or is it an end to a means?” For me, it was the former. Looking back, I’m convinced that facing that question honestly and becoming comfortable with …
What You Need to Know About Retention RequestsMay 7, 2015“Retention Requests” is usually a slick way of saying “raises and bonuses.” But that’s not entirely true. You need to determine what it takes to make you want to stay in a certain job. If you want/need to make more money, then you’re willing to ask for a raise or consider getting a new job that pays more. In order to “retain” you, the practice needs to decide if they want to honor your raise request. But there can also be other factors, such as benefits, hours, shift, position, etc. During your career in veterinary medicine, your needs and desires may change. Here are some of the requests you might want to make: Hours Perhaps you hired in part-time, and that was sufficient for a certain time period, but now you really need a full-time position. Does your current practice have an opening? Or do they need to know you will begin looking for a full-time position elsewhere? Always give them the opportunity to consider your request before you jump ship, unless you know you’re leaving for other reasons as well. Shift Back when you were in school or your kids were young, the overnight or late-day shift might have …
5 Pets Celebrating Star Wars DayMay 4, 2015How are you and your clinic celebrating Star Wars Day? Here's some cute pets celebrating May 4th, Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you! May the forth be with your maytheforcebewithyou #munfordanimal #veterinary #veterinarian A photo posted by Munford Animal Hospital (@munfordanimalhospital) on May 4, 2015 at 10:28am PDT May the fourth... And all that. A photo posted by Kevin (@brbkevin) on May 4, 2015 at 10:06am PDT
