What I’m about to tell you is simple but very important. Here goes:
We have a new graduate veterinarian at our clinic. She joined our team less than 2 months ago, and she’s doing great. Last week, she saw a dog that had a ruptured eyeball [I’m realizing now that maybe I should have put some sort of warning at the top about this. I guess there’s no going back now. Sorry].
The eye was beyond saving and had to be removed, so the young doctor went to the senior vet who would be doing surgeries the following morning. She asked if the surgery could fit into the schedule. Then she said “Tomorrow is my day off. Can I come in and watch this procedure?” To which the senior vet replied “Why don’t you come in and do the surgery while I help?”
THE END
This, friends, is a great story. It’s freakin’ fantastic! You should be applauding right now. There is so much good and important stuff happening here, I just want to call it out.
For the new graduate, it’s important to know the backstory that this doctor has done a great job of being very intentional about how she communicates when she’s off work. She has set good boundaries, asked for clear expectations in terms of how available she will be when she’s not on the schedule, and generally succeeded in wrapping up her cases and getting out of the clinic. She has protected her work/life balance and also she saw an opportunity to grow herself in a meaningful way and took it. She recognized the potential to make an investment in herself that could pay dividends for her entire career going forward, and she prioritized that experience. It’s a damn smart choice, and she made it happen. To us veterinarians who want the next generation to love this profession while growing into excellent doctors, this is basically a tearing-up-thing-of-beauty.
For the senior veterinarian… What a fantastic answer! She recognized the new graduate’s desire to learn and willingness to sacrifice some personal time and took the path of the mentor. She read the situation, and gave the young doctor the gentle push to put her into the position that would really grow her. Our senior vet donated her own time to support this development (because we know a brand new doctor is going to take longer than a seasoned pro to do this surgery) even though she is the practice owner and has a to-do list that’s a mile long. Chef’s kiss! I want to see the sequel!
Look, I would have zero criticism of this new grad veterinarian if she was busy on her day off and never mentioned coming in. I would also have nothing bad to say if the senior doctor was stressed about wedging another surgery in and said “sure, you can watch me, but know I’ll be moving fast.” In the real world, personal rules like “always go in to see surgeries,” and “always let the junior vets get the experience” just don’t hold up.
But sometimes beautiful things like a dog with a ruptured eyeball just happen at the right time, and the opportunity to make clinical mentorship magic springs to life. My hope in telling this story is to remind people of how wonderful it can be for veterans to give back to willing learners, and to encourage all of us in practice to try to play our part in developing ourselves and those around us.
If you’re reading this and you happen to be a vet student or early career veterinarian, I’d love to have you sign up for my new early career newsletter. It only comes out once every 3 months, and it’s written for and by early career doctors. The first edition is coming in just a few days! Don’t miss it!!
