VMDiva

From time to time I will receive a private message from a reader with a specific question regarding veterinary medicine. Chances are that reader isn’t the only one wondering. Check out this response to a concerned high school student:

Q: I have a slight (or major, depending on your perspective) dilemma. I’m a sophomore in high school, and I’m taking an honors Chemistry class. I really want to get into veterinary school because I know veterinary medicine is the field I want to spend my life in. Unfortunately, I’m horrible at Chemistry. Anyway, I’m wondering if you could help me with this little problem. I actually have been wondering if I should start really pushing to learn this on my own, or if I should just take a remedial course before college.

A: Congratulations on making a decision to enter the veterinary profession! I’m impressed with your forethought and concern over understanding chemistry and your courage to face the challenge. As a sophomore in high school, I know there is a lot of pressure to earn good grades. Those grades meter acceptance into colleges and determine scholarship awards.

Your success in a high school level chemistry course is not necessarily an indicator of how you might perform in college and then veterinary school.  There are many extraneous factors at work: The quality of your chemistry teacher, the way the course is taught, and the way your brain processes this new subject. All three of these factors change as you enter college. My best advice for you is to try your best. This sounds cliché but it is the most important factor. That might mean extra study and self teaching or even hiring a tutor. I would not go so far as to take a remedial course before college for the same reasons I mentioned above.

Let me tell you a little story: I was one of those kids in high school who never needed to study and still graduated toward the top of my class. My freshman year of college was no different – or so I thought. I barely studied for my first freshman biology exam which I realized was a huge mistake as soon I started trying to answer the questions. I was rewarded with a 64%  -  I was a Biology Major! Student career services told me to rethink my career path and consider dropping biology and changing majors. No way! I learned how to study and how to fill the gaps in my knowledge. I never could have done that in high school. The way you learn, study, and adjust to new material changes as you age. A couple of years make all the difference. I finished that semester with a “B” in my major and I’m still a veterinarian today!

If my math is right you are close to 16 years old. You have 10 years until you become a veterinarian! It’s important to keep perspective that you are still young and have the world in your grasp! You need to embrace your youth and limit your worry. You will have ample time to grasp chemistry: general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry (in both undergraduate and vet school). It will come to you, I promise.

Burnout is one of my favorite topics due to its pervasiveness within the veterinary profession. Even though I know the signs of impending tribulation I still find myself, from time to time, creeping toward that all too familiar overworked and stressed out volatile breakdown. That’s why, last week, I unplugged from VMDiva and took a week off of work for my first ever Staycation.

I know veterinarians who pride themselves in their anti-vacation stance. They’ve worked 60 hours a week for years and forgot how to unwind. They wear a badge of honor for taking just one or two days off a year, thinking somehow working themselves into the ground is admirable. That’s just stupid. A veterinarian’s practice and home life will suffer when she reaches burnout. Fatigue and stress manifest as strained relations with family and lack of motivation at work. A veterinarian will practice better medicine with a well rested body and mind. Stressed professionals lose patience and passion, rush appointments, and *gasp* may even have poorer performance.

I used my staycation to accomplish my to-do list of tasks I never have time for. We all have those lists which always get put off until tomorrow. My husband and I upgraded our kitchen and planted our annuals. I even had some dental work done. And some argue, is this really relaxation? For me it is.  Simply unplugging from the daily stresses of sick animals, sad clients, and work-related financial stress uplifts the weary soul. Studies show, too, that getting chores and house projects finished actually lowers cortisol levels. No work AND crossing off tasks on the to-do list: Relaxation!

I started work this week feeling rejuvenated and hopeful. A week at the homestead was exactly what this doctor ordered. Stave off burnout; Use your PTO!

Last weekend was filled with calamity for the Koehl family. I contained my excitement for the first grilled burgers of the season, a big deal here in the north east, until the afternoon of house projects came to an end. I got the burgers on the grill and the macaroni and cheese on the stove all the while dreaming of that first bite into the mouth watering juicy beef patty. On my way to flip the burgers, I repeated the habit I’ve had for years by walking out the back door and pushing the storm door closed so my feline frenzy didn’t push it open. Hey, they get excited about burgers, too. Only this time, as I pushed the door closed the glass shattered in my hand.

Ruh roh.

Initial synaptic reports indicated I was going to die. As the blood dripped on the floor, visions of crippled exams and banishment from surgery filled my mind. Rational thought took over…err…eventually…and I notified my husband of the 1 cm laceration on my palm. That evening taste of summer ended with burnt burgers, soggy mac and cheese, and a lot of kitchen clean-up. I’ll spare those details. I decided to craft steri-strips from waterproof tape and declared myself on the mend.

The next morning, aside from pain, I felt tip top. That is until my husband woke up declaring he had a plank in his right eye. We, like so many of my clients, decided to see how he did through the day and applied lubricant eye drops and homemade remedies. Hours later he decided the pain in his eye was too severe to endure until Monday and we found ourselves at an Urgent Care Facility.

I paid the fee before he was taken back. As my husband was examined I chatted with the receptionist. Our conversation went as follows:
” You guys busy today?” “No, we’ve only seen about 12 people.”
“What kind of stuff do you see here?” “Rashes, UTIs, colds.”
“That’s interesting. Hey, let me ask you a question. What happens when people come in here for urgent care and they can’t pay the exam fee?” She grimaced and shook her head. “We won’t see them.”

That didn’t surprise me as much as what came next.”Do these people ever get angry and tell you you don’t care about them and expect service anyway?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise and said, “Never.” Probing questions revealed another difference between my job and my medical counterparts. The dichotomy between the expectations in human and veterinary medicine always amazes me.

Most veterinarians occasionally face accusations of not caring about animals when they refuse service to someone who has no money. Why don’t we hear doctors accosted when they refuse service to patients without money or patients with unaccepted insurance plans? Perhaps I haven’t been listening but maybe, just maybe, the guilt pet owners feel when they are unable to care for their pets emotionally trumps their personal health concerns.

Dealing with the financial component of practice is harder than any medical decision I’ve made. Accusations of  selfishness, greed, and lack of compassion don’t easily roll off my back. I believe many of these accusations are rooted in guilt and frustration.

The truth is pet ownership a luxury. Shame and guilt felt when they can’t properly care for their animals can tip even the nicest client over the edge.  That helpless feeling coupled with compassion towards man and beast puts emphasis on caring for others over oneself and probably fuels the angry diatribes from troubled clients.

My husband was diagnosed with corneal abrasions. One trip to urgent care, two trips to the ophthalmologist, and four trips to the pharmacy later we’re on the mend. I’m grateful for the finances to ensure medical care for the entire Koehl family – Fox, Winston, and Miss Pigglesworth included!