Just how family-friendly is our profession?

Peyton and her dog Raven at the clinic. Peyton is a frequent visitor to the practice and is the daughter of Dr. Khuly’s head technician. Courtesy Dr. Patty Khuly

I almost fell off my chair when I read a New York Times opinion piece on how veterinary medicine and pharmacy are great professions for families. My mother forwarded it to me, proud her prescient daughter had selected a profession so remarkably female-forward. She probably thought all that “Free To Be You and Me” she’d spoon-fed her children in the 1970s had finally paid off somehow.

I guess I can’t blame her. She never had to sit on the toilet in a 4x4 bathroom while fielding phone calls from clients blissfully unaware of the source of the churning, backgroun...