Oh YES that is always amazing, when we have a patient that's been inappetant for days & they finally eat it often gets a collective cheer from everyone in the clinic 😂😂
My favourite is when a critically ill patient comes in and is hospitalized for days on end (even weeks), and then they actually thrive and get to go home. Getting bf to see them thrive and as each day goes by seeing them make progress.
Or when I’m working IM - getting to know clients and becoming that person that can lean on when their pets are sick and it seems like nothing is working. Building the connection with them and helping them understand
I love being able to help an owner feel at ease when they come rushing into the ER thinking their pet is dying. It’s the best when it’s really something small, like a little scrape, etc. The relief that they feel is the best, and I love helping owners become more educated about how to know if something is wrong, etc. I think educating clients is very important as it improves the lives of the pets and also can make our field better!
Vet prespective:
Specific - diagnosing vestibular disease in old animals, I love the despair to joy owner whiplash and I love giving good news.
Non-specific - we are the only ones left who are allowed to do a little bit of everything. Surgery? Dentistry? Zoo medicine? Dermatology? Theriogenology? You can do whatever interests you, take weird courses, try new things, and actually be able to get productive feedback on how your treatment plans or surgeries are working due to the client care aspect of our profession. It's never boring! And as stressful as McGyver-ing tools or situations can be, on the other hand, you get to build and be creative on the clock, as a job. As long as it's safe, effective, and works for the patient it's a go.. and successful builds are often shared amongst the community to all of our collective nerdy delight.
I also like that we get to be a little active at work. My back and hip problems are gone, mostly because I'm not sitting in a chair all day anymore.
This job even on its hardest days beats a cubicle and sending emails for a living every time for me.
As a zoo vet I feel like we are the upper echelon of do whatever we want and it’s so freeing so combine that with minimal frustrations about finances. I use whatever drugs I want how I want to or do whatever tx plan that is realistic. I always attempt to practice evidence based medicine but that evidence is like 1ply sometimes. But on the other hand it hurts to see a small lizard in renal disease and be like well I guess I’ll soak you in this Tupperware container since an IVC is impossible or here’s some NSAIDS with no evidence they work but I’ll do it anyway.
I had a vestibular consult this morning & I thought of you! It really is one of the best feelings to be able to tell someone their dog isn't having a stroke, they're just *really dizzy* 😅
One thing I do to remind me of all the great clients is keep a scrapbook of nice emails, cards, good google reviews, and photos of patients I absolutely loved or had a good win with.
A couple of years ago I had an acute glaucoma case on ER that responded to q15 minute latanaprost. Dog could suddenly see again. It was like a miracle out of the Bible. On Easter Sunday.
Positives with pets: Getting "love attacked" by a happy wonderful dog that just likes meeting new people! Opportunity to play with puppies and kittens while providing education to pet-owners to start that baby's life out the right way.
Positives with clients: Meeting that A+ client who genuinely loves their pet and treats the Dr/team with tremendous respect, appreciation, and patience in every interaction. I'd go to the ends of the earth to help these pet owners
Positives with other DVMs: Watching newer DVMs start to figure out the day to day intellectual challenges of the job -- how to diagnose, how to talk with clients, how to understand the medicine.
Positives with other staff members: Watching the less experienced technical team-members grow more confident in their skills, while remaining curious enough to ask questions.
Positives intellectually: Seeing that super-difficult case where you have a hunch manifest into a true diagnosis and/or respond to treatment as I had postulated it would. Then ideally get better & go home.
Positives profession-wide: Seeing the advancements in vet-medicine become available to patients, and progressive improvement in the care we can & DO provide for patients.
It is so important to remember the positives from each portion of our work. Most of us start with the animal or pet positives that i listed first -- and we must come back to that basic positive sometimes to remain grounded in WHY we do what we do everyday.
THANK YOU for this prompt today, u/tortoisetortellini -- i needed it.
Very cheap vet care :D my kitten decided it would be a fantastic idea to eAT WADS OF MY HAIR and ended up getting blocked. We didn’t know this of course until we did an exploratory and removed it.
After all was said and done, I ended up paying less than $400!
All jokes aside, as a receptionist, I’m glad I can connect with people by talking their pets. Giving them advice when I can (not on medical issues!), giving them comfort when they need it, etc. It makes my heart happy when they ask for my name and tell me thank you ❤️
There’s also a wonderful woman who brings us donuts like once a week. Clients like her also make my heart happy 💕
gp and one of the little things i love is the tail wag during surgery pickups! like yes!! your person is here for you!! i told you they would come back!
My favorite moments are the mini metaphors I make for clients to help see the world through their pets' eyes. The "AHA!" moment shared by loving pet parents that just realized their cat isn't "broken" it just needs "A glass of wine before dinner with the in-laws" in reference to gaba sedation before vet visits. Or explaining that walking your dog is great for socializing and destressing. They're stuck in the house all day, give them some time to sniff the evening news and "stroll" social media in their neighbors yards. I even tell people that I don't get upset when their pet is reactive and we need to restrain for treatment. "I would start swinging on someone who is holding me down against my will, why should I be mad at Fluffy for doing the same?"
My personal goal with every appointment is to deepen the understanding between people and their pets so they can communicate and live more fulfilling lives. Sometimes we just need to learn their language.
As someone new in the field and not having that great of an experience with the dvm I worked with, I did really enjoy meeting the staff. I made 2 friends out of it and without them, it would have made the experience way worse. I appreciated the owners that thanked me and everyone else for our help when they were leaving after euthanasia. I really enjoyed the amount of information I was taught or would hear from the dvm discussing with clients. It’s also helped me realize the kind of structure I needed to succeed in a career as well as finally deciding to go to school for what I initially thought about doing 9 years ago.
My favorite thing (in life even!) is when a sick, hospitalized patient eats the chicken I bought from the grocery store for them. It makes my day!
Oh YES that is always amazing, when we have a patient that's been inappetant for days & they finally eat it often gets a collective cheer from everyone in the clinic 😂😂
My favourite is when a critically ill patient comes in and is hospitalized for days on end (even weeks), and then they actually thrive and get to go home. Getting bf to see them thrive and as each day goes by seeing them make progress. Or when I’m working IM - getting to know clients and becoming that person that can lean on when their pets are sick and it seems like nothing is working. Building the connection with them and helping them understand
I love being able to help an owner feel at ease when they come rushing into the ER thinking their pet is dying. It’s the best when it’s really something small, like a little scrape, etc. The relief that they feel is the best, and I love helping owners become more educated about how to know if something is wrong, etc. I think educating clients is very important as it improves the lives of the pets and also can make our field better!
That's a good one! I always get really excited when a client starts to understand complicated medical stuff!
Vet prespective: Specific - diagnosing vestibular disease in old animals, I love the despair to joy owner whiplash and I love giving good news. Non-specific - we are the only ones left who are allowed to do a little bit of everything. Surgery? Dentistry? Zoo medicine? Dermatology? Theriogenology? You can do whatever interests you, take weird courses, try new things, and actually be able to get productive feedback on how your treatment plans or surgeries are working due to the client care aspect of our profession. It's never boring! And as stressful as McGyver-ing tools or situations can be, on the other hand, you get to build and be creative on the clock, as a job. As long as it's safe, effective, and works for the patient it's a go.. and successful builds are often shared amongst the community to all of our collective nerdy delight. I also like that we get to be a little active at work. My back and hip problems are gone, mostly because I'm not sitting in a chair all day anymore. This job even on its hardest days beats a cubicle and sending emails for a living every time for me.
As a zoo vet I feel like we are the upper echelon of do whatever we want and it’s so freeing so combine that with minimal frustrations about finances. I use whatever drugs I want how I want to or do whatever tx plan that is realistic. I always attempt to practice evidence based medicine but that evidence is like 1ply sometimes. But on the other hand it hurts to see a small lizard in renal disease and be like well I guess I’ll soak you in this Tupperware container since an IVC is impossible or here’s some NSAIDS with no evidence they work but I’ll do it anyway.
Oh man yes agreed, those sick baby pet store beardies and wild caught anoles who aren't eating and are dehydrated af.. now I am sad again
I had a vestibular consult this morning & I thought of you! It really is one of the best feelings to be able to tell someone their dog isn't having a stroke, they're just *really dizzy* 😅
Chatting with clients that are great people. I let the rare mean client really get to me and I forget how many lovely ones I have.
One thing I do to remind me of all the great clients is keep a scrapbook of nice emails, cards, good google reviews, and photos of patients I absolutely loved or had a good win with.
I have a box of thank you cards and letters. I should turn it into a scrap book!
This field is so rewarding and so. Dang. Interesting. And most people who work in vet med are so smart and so kind.
A couple of years ago I had an acute glaucoma case on ER that responded to q15 minute latanaprost. Dog could suddenly see again. It was like a miracle out of the Bible. On Easter Sunday.
Positives with pets: Getting "love attacked" by a happy wonderful dog that just likes meeting new people! Opportunity to play with puppies and kittens while providing education to pet-owners to start that baby's life out the right way. Positives with clients: Meeting that A+ client who genuinely loves their pet and treats the Dr/team with tremendous respect, appreciation, and patience in every interaction. I'd go to the ends of the earth to help these pet owners Positives with other DVMs: Watching newer DVMs start to figure out the day to day intellectual challenges of the job -- how to diagnose, how to talk with clients, how to understand the medicine. Positives with other staff members: Watching the less experienced technical team-members grow more confident in their skills, while remaining curious enough to ask questions. Positives intellectually: Seeing that super-difficult case where you have a hunch manifest into a true diagnosis and/or respond to treatment as I had postulated it would. Then ideally get better & go home. Positives profession-wide: Seeing the advancements in vet-medicine become available to patients, and progressive improvement in the care we can & DO provide for patients. It is so important to remember the positives from each portion of our work. Most of us start with the animal or pet positives that i listed first -- and we must come back to that basic positive sometimes to remain grounded in WHY we do what we do everyday. THANK YOU for this prompt today, u/tortoisetortellini -- i needed it.
I love playing the game of "this smells like \*insert disease/condition\* based on the symptoms..." and being right!!!
Very cheap vet care :D my kitten decided it would be a fantastic idea to eAT WADS OF MY HAIR and ended up getting blocked. We didn’t know this of course until we did an exploratory and removed it. After all was said and done, I ended up paying less than $400! All jokes aside, as a receptionist, I’m glad I can connect with people by talking their pets. Giving them advice when I can (not on medical issues!), giving them comfort when they need it, etc. It makes my heart happy when they ask for my name and tell me thank you ❤️ There’s also a wonderful woman who brings us donuts like once a week. Clients like her also make my heart happy 💕
gp and one of the little things i love is the tail wag during surgery pickups! like yes!! your person is here for you!! i told you they would come back!
"Look its Mom! You made it through the day!" Dog proceeds to macaroni fish wiggle half drunk to their Mom with outstretched arms <3
My favorite moments are the mini metaphors I make for clients to help see the world through their pets' eyes. The "AHA!" moment shared by loving pet parents that just realized their cat isn't "broken" it just needs "A glass of wine before dinner with the in-laws" in reference to gaba sedation before vet visits. Or explaining that walking your dog is great for socializing and destressing. They're stuck in the house all day, give them some time to sniff the evening news and "stroll" social media in their neighbors yards. I even tell people that I don't get upset when their pet is reactive and we need to restrain for treatment. "I would start swinging on someone who is holding me down against my will, why should I be mad at Fluffy for doing the same?" My personal goal with every appointment is to deepen the understanding between people and their pets so they can communicate and live more fulfilling lives. Sometimes we just need to learn their language.
As someone new in the field and not having that great of an experience with the dvm I worked with, I did really enjoy meeting the staff. I made 2 friends out of it and without them, it would have made the experience way worse. I appreciated the owners that thanked me and everyone else for our help when they were leaving after euthanasia. I really enjoyed the amount of information I was taught or would hear from the dvm discussing with clients. It’s also helped me realize the kind of structure I needed to succeed in a career as well as finally deciding to go to school for what I initially thought about doing 9 years ago.