Something to be aware of...

 The uncertainty of life, especially with the delta variant has been affecting everyone.

I was talking with a friend of a friend the other day and she was very upset with her veterinarian.  I also have a friend that I talked to as well who expressed frustration with their veterinarian.  I could understand where both were coming from, and there was a myriad of issues.  But some of the issues they had are some many of my clients have as well.  It is difficult to get a hold of a veterinarian now.  One clinic I know of only has three phone lines.  With everything being done over the phone; checking in, checking out, picking up prescriptions, scheduling appointments and trying to go over exam findings, treatment, cost, etc., three phone lines are not enough.  In some circumstances, veterinarians actually go out to the car to talk to people because they could wait for a phone line to open up for 20 minutes or more.  This can make us late for all of our future appointments, besides being frustrating for everyone.

Not only did many people adopt pets during the pandemic, there are a LOT of new pet owners.  People who need help talking through the basic things most experienced pet owners already know.  Things such as, behavior, nutrition, what is normal vs. abnormal behavior.  Sometimes, to do a thorough job, I find myself spending 40 minutes or more talking to people (which is just not realistic when appt times are 20-30 minutes long).

More people are spending more time with their pets and they are noticing more things.  The occasional cough you've been noticing for the past 2-3 years becomes more problematic when you are spending all your time with your pet.  What seemed like the pet coughing once a day may be noticed occurring multiple times an hour.  Add to that all the preventative care and surgeries that were delayed from earlier in the pandemic and you have some very busy veterinary offices.

Emergency rooms across the country are actually closing to new emergencies.  One emergency room I called to transfer a patient actually could not pick up the phone because they were too busy.

This is occurring across the country, and some clinics are scheduling surgeries into October and November.  It's kind of crazy that, at the 12-week puppy visits, I'm telling people to schedule their spay/neuter so we can still do it around 6 months of age.

Add to the above stresses, the workplace shortage is a real thing.  Many clinics are having trouble finding adequate, let alone trained staff.  This is not the time in a stressful environment to be training newbies, but we have to, if we are lucky to find an assistant or veterinary nurse to help.  When I have plenty of staff, I can be very efficient, and work with multiple clients at once.  When I am short-staffed, I can run an hour or more behind by trying to be all things to all people.  While I have no problem doing clerical or technical things (even though most nurses are better than I am at drawing blood); this is not the most efficient use of my time.

In addition, there has been an ongoing mental health crisis in veterinary medicine that many people are unaware of.  We as a profession are trying to figure out why.  Whether it's the people who are attracted to veterinary medicine, the demands of the job, the stress of sky-rocketing student loans greater than human medical students with less professional compensation or the easy access to drugs; we haven't pinpointed it yet.  One study looked at obituaries over 15 years of veterinarians and found that 10% died due to suicide.

We as a profession sometimes have difficulty with setting boundaries.  I told the friend of a friend that while her old veterinarian was happy to come to her home and go out of her way to help her (something that I, in my past have also done), it is not a normal expectation that a veterinarian does that, or is available 24/7.  For our mental health, we need time off, we need boundaries and we need people to understand what is and is not a reasonable expectation.

It is reasonable to expect us to be compassionate.  We take an
oath, we are a profession, not just something we show up and get a paycheck.  We also are imperfect people.  People who are trying to navigate this mess in the same storm as everyone else.  People who sometimes need to say, "No".  "No," I don't want to work another day where I had a 12 hour shift and because of lack of time to drink water and time in general, I haven't been able to get to the restroom for a break or it's been 8 hours since I ate something.  "No," your dog who has been vomiting for 5 days and you haven't contacted us is now a problem for you and you want me to miss my family's weekly pizza and a movie night, rather than go to the ER.

So, just think about these things the next time you get frustrated with someone saying no (and this goes for any profession, including service people and retail workers).  While it may be inconvenient and irritating to you, it could be someone just trying to manage in this crazy world.