Is it Possible to Avoid Compassion Fatigue?February 26, 2015Once again, I have been given the opportunity to teach my compassion fatigue classes on the Veterinary Support Personnel Network, which began two weeks ago. While I certainly hope the VSPN students walk away with something of value, it never fails that I also walk away with something of value too! This time around, it has been illustrated to me how, even if you think you are on a career path where you are “safe” from the emotional repercussions of compassion fatigue, really, there is nowhere to hide. Just as a refresher, in human medicine, compassion fatigue is defined as the stress that arises from the clinician’s relationship with the patient. For us, this is the relationship we all have with our families, both the human and the animal members of our family. Based on this definition, you expect compassion fatigue in general practice, where you form lengthy relationships with families and their pets. You also expect compassion fatigue in emergency practice, where the family is dealing with an incredibly emotional, unexpected situation. Even if the family is a complete stranger to you, the sudden and even short relationship is still going to affect the team. In specialty medicine, you …
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Practice Makes Perfect — NotFebruary 5, 2015During the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, the world discovered that South Koreans were excellent at archery. According to Reuters, “South Korean archers have won 30 Olympic medals, 16 of them gold, and hold every world record with the Olympic-style recurve bow.” South Koreans approach archery like a martial art. "First they spend months learning the proper stance. Then it’s months learning to raise one arm, then both arms for a couple of months." Students practice “the most basic elements until they had perfected the technique and biomechanics.” As a result, “those kids have six months intensive training before they shoot their first arrow." Meanwhile, how are things done in the United States? We “just stick a bow in their hands right away and then spend the rest of the time trying to break bad habits.” The article concludes: “The more you practice the wrong things […] the harder it is to get rid of [them].” Clearly this approach doesn’t work very well. Just count the medals … “Practice makes perfect” is a classic expression we’ve all heard multiple times, and probably have said many times. Yet it’s completely untrue. It can lead to all kinds of mistakes, including …
Is Your Practice Short-Staffed?February 3, 2015Previous: Are You Supervisor Material? Have you ever come to work, looked around and thought, “Wow, we are fully staffed!” Sound like a dream? Probably so. Most days, in most practices, the staff is “short” due to someone’s illness, child’s illness, vacation, jury duty, maternity leave, funeral … plenty of reasons to not have the full team that was scheduled actually on the floor for their entire shift. I propose a solution to being “short staffed”… we no longer consider ourselves “short,” and simply realize that this IS the entire staff we can expect any given day. So instead of being short most days, you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you have an “extra” person clocked in to help! Wouldn’t that be nice — to feel positive for a few days, instead of feeling negative most the time? I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: Sometimes, some of us are just not that sympathetic when a team member is out sick. How do you know who is unsympathetic? You’ll hear comments such as “she didn’t seem that sick yesterday,” “geez, she was just sick X number of days ago,” “she’s always sick” (even if she’s really on out …
Are You Supervisor Material?January 20, 2015Previous: Wanted: You as a Supervisor? Not many of us enter veterinary medicine with the intention to someday become a manager. In fact, we can be innocently carrying on our position of technician, assistant or front office, and WHAM! You are asked to become a manager or supervisor! What now? There are several reasons why you may be selected for a promotion into management. As difficult as the truth may be, you should be clear as to why you’re being considered for this promotion, so that you have a glimpse of your potential and the support that is being offered to you by those who want you in the position. Too Much for the Top It makes sense that when the manager at “the top” becomes overwhelmed with too much to do, they will start to implement some levels of middle management to help them get all the work done. This makes sense, except often times the middle managers are still spending 75 percent of their time “on the floor” being the receptionist, technician, etc. So everyone needs to be clear as to what percent of time this middle manager will be given to complete administrative or “management” type …
How to Fall in Love with Veterinary Medicine in 2015January 8, 2015Ready to start 2015 with renewed love and enthusiasm for our wonderful profession? Here are three simple suggestions that can change your outlook and improve your daily life. 1. Create a Networking Group Pick three or four like-minded colleagues and create a small networking-group, where topics can be discussed freely. The farther apart the practices are, the more you will feel like sharing “sensitive” information. You can meet in person or virtually. You can meet monthly or quarterly, and you can stay in touch between meetings via phone or email for urgent matters. Items to discuss include: Medical topics, for example a puzzling case. Management questions, including HR, productivity and health insurance. Current articles – this could morph into a journal club, which is a fantastic way to stay on top of current literature (our secret cameras showed us your piles of unread journals…) Financial topics, such as loans, associate compensation and retirement. Philosophical questions: Should we have a mission statement? How do you find time to exercise? What is the meaning of veterinary life? 2. Visit 4 Vet Hospitals Plan on spending a day at four other hospitals this year—one per quarter. Again, in order to have a more …
What To Expect In Your Vet Tech CareerJanuary 5, 2015You’ve got the degree … now what? For many people, the prospect of helping heal animals is an intriguing profession. In our last article, we explained the differences between similar-sounding fields (veterinary technicians, technologists, and assistants), and outlined the different types of secondary education programs for veterinary technicians. Once you’ve completed a 2- or 4-year degree at the university of your choice, what’s next on the career path? You’re Not Done Studying Yet Before a veterinary technician can accept their first job, they must pass the Veterinary Technology National Exam in order to become credentialed. Credentialing requirements vary (like everything else) by state, and some do not require technicians to pass this particular test to get their licensed, though most do. The VTNE is administered by the American Association of Veterinary State Boards and is offered three times per year. The three-hour test consists of 170 multiple-choice questions and costs $300, with additional fees for practice tests. The VTNE covers pharmacology, surgical nursing, dentistry, laboratory procedures, diagnostic imaging, anesthesia, emergency medicine, pain management and animal care/nursing. The VTNE is made more challenging by its general nature—even if you know you’re only interested in practicing in one or two species, …
How To Become A Vet TechDecember 18, 2014My childhood cat, Tom Kitten, was generally a nice guy. He considered himself my home tutor (evidenced by his tendency to sit on textbooks) and happily cuddled on the couch with me in the evenings. That’s what we told everyone at the veterinarian’s office where he was unwillingly examined each year. Despite his wailing, growling, and flailing, the (wisely) leather-gloved veterinary technicians patiently soothed him through the process every summer. Anyone who’s taken their pet to a veterinarian knows that the job of caring for Fido or Fluffy is more than a one-person operation. It’s easy to imagine that (when dealing with more docile patients than Tom Kitten) the task of greeting animals and helping heal them must be very rewarding. And indeed, many veterinary technicians say the opportunity to help animals and their humans is an excellent, if demanding, vocation. If you’re interested in becoming a veterinary technician yourself though, navigating the various exams, acronyms, and training programs can seem like a full-time job in itself. Clarifying the Terminology The first step is discerning the difference between “veterinary assistants,” “veterinary technicians” and “veterinary technologists.” Although they sound remarkably similar, each requires a different degree of training. Veterinary technicians have …
Wanted: You as a Supervisor?December 17, 2014There are several reasons why you may be selected for a promotion into management. As difficult as the truth may be, you should be clear as to why you’re being considered for this promotion. That way, you have a glimpse of your potential and the support that is being offered to you by those who want you in the position. Too Much for the Top It makes sense that when the manager at “the top” becomes overwhelmed with too much to do, they will start to implement some levels of middle management to help them get all the work done. This makes sense, except often times the middle managers are still spending 75 percent of their time “on the floor” being the receptionist, technician, etc. So everyone needs to be clear as to what percent of time this middle manager will be given to complete administrative or “management” type work. This may need to be modified as time goes on, and certainly the team needs to appreciate that the new manager will be spending less time helping them in that moment. Too Many for the Bottom When a manager ends up with too many people to directly manage, …
Time For The Top?December 10, 2014Most people in veterinary medicine enter the field because of their love of animals. Nothing seems better than spending the work day surrounded by animals, helping animals, and yes, helping the families of those animals. When you’re on “the floor” either up at the front desk or in the back treatment and surgery area, you get your wish of being around animals most of the time. But if you take or make the move into management, you are veering away from your initial goal. So why consider becoming a member of management? Here are just some of the reasons… The Need for a Chair As the years go by, our bodies begin to feel the effects of working a very physical job. If we’re up front in the practice, we are spending a lot of time on our feet. In the back, we are wrestling Rottweilers, tackling tabbies, and lifting Labradors. We get to the point where physically, the job becomes too demanding. The result of years in the trenches can include a bad back, blown knees, drooping feet and more. We don’t want to leave practice, but we need to look for a position that requires more mental energy, and …
Silliest Client Behavior Contest (part 3)December 5, 2014I try really, really hard to remain diplomatically correct in this blog. But I do have to share a few stories that portray some of the silliest client ideas and behaviors. We continue our recollection of some of the wackiest client ideas and behaviors. Some were my clients. Some were my colleagues. * I had the most baffling phone conversation with a client recently. Here is the gist of it (out of pity for you, dear reader, I will only share the beginning!): Me: “Hello, this is Dr. Zeltzman.” Her: “You mean Dr. Zeltzman, Z-E-L-T-Z-M-A-N?” Me: “Hmm, yes. Is this Ms. Ferguson*?” Her: “Yes, Ferguson, F-E-R-G-U-S-O-N.” Me: “I was calling about Bailey’s surgery*” Her: “You mean Bailey, B-A-I-L-E-Y?” Me: “Hmm, yes. Bailey is your dog, correct?” Her: “You mean dog, D-O-G?” What followed is the most agonizing, absolute longest, most excruciating TPLO consult I’ve ever done in my life. She continued to meticulously spell out words. I didn’t have the guts to correct the ones she couldn’t spell, no matter how much I tried to simplify my explanation. You try to find a synonym for cruciate and for ligament! * Several colleagues said that one of the silliest things …
