DrAndyRoark.com

Articles, Videos, & Training on Pets & Veterinary Medicine

Jessica Taylor, DVM

Looking for the Vet On-Off Switch

by

Veterinarians are a tough crowd. We are high-achieving, motivated, soft-hearted smart people who put a lot of emphasis on getting it right. Who doesn’t do a happy dance when you confirm the Demodex case you diagnosed from 30-feet away as it walked in the door? And who doesn’t kick themselves and bemoan the missed radiographic finding or unexpected outcome of a patient? We are hard on ourselves, and others in our profession. We know that veterinary medicine is a practice, and art, and not something that is ever perfected, but we can nearly kill ourselves trying.

These things exhaust us, make our palms sweat, and drive many people out of the profession. Do you know who doesn’t care if the last client of the day was happy when they left or if the surgery has stitches that are perfectly apposed? Your kids or your parents or usually even your spouse. We take these things home, but the people at home don’t judge you for them, thank goodness. Good spouses will listen and sympathize and sometimes even offer to take out that abusive client, but they still love you at the end of the day.

How do we as professionals learn to leave work at the door? I know I have taken many calls from an emergency doctor or a specialist returning phone calls late, sometimes at the expense of dinner with the family or playtime with the kids. I try not to do this – I try really, really hard, but it still happens. I would love to espouse how we should turn off our devices once we walk through the door and let our cases and business be put on hold until the next day at the office. It rarely happens.

I think a better goal is to aim for discreet victories. I handed off dinner duties to my husband at least one night a week. So, one recent day when I got home, I plopped down and played ”Go Fish” for a good 30 minutes and didn’t think about any cases or pets. I laughed at my 8-year-old’s enthusiasm for a match and kept a lookout for my sneaky 11-year-old’s wandering eye. It was glorious. Two hours later, while the kids were getting ready for bed, I was checking bloodwork and finishing emails. I knew it would still be there in the morning, but I also knew I would have thought about it as I lay in bed trying to go to sleep. 

I count this combination of an evening a success. We know we aren’t going to stop practicing medicine as soon as the last client has checked out, but we need to allow ourselves permission to take long breaks. And we need to grant grace when we fail. 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

The Biscuit Rule of Effective Teamwork

by

Have you ever had a really good biscuit? I mean the kind that are fluffy, steamy, pillows from heaven and perfect under gravy, with some apple butter, or even stolen off the stovetop before time to leave for the potluck. Now, I know I am going a little too southern for some, but biscuits are important in certain circles.

Until I met my wonderful, truly southern husband and his family, any biscuit I made came from a can. I was then privileged to receive his mom’s biscuit recipe. It was deceptively simple: self-rising flour, shortening, and milk- and yet it took, and is in fact, still taking, a lot of practice and tweaks to make a really good biscuit.

There is a secret, though. Connections. To have a batch of biscuits rise correctly, they need to touch. You can mix the dough, have the oven just right, and space out the cut out biscuits and you will have flattened pucks that taste like biscuits, but not really.

Have you worked at an office that should work, but doesn’t? Shiny equipment, cool medical toys, knowledgeable staff, and yet daily conflicts and errors lead to stress, anger, and even poor patient care. What about the practice that has people as different as can be, is crazy busy, but hums along comfortably? I am willing to bet that communication and relationships are the difference.

Now, I am not suggesting you touch your coworkers a lot (that would be weird). But, building connections inevitably makes working together better. As humans, we judge, rightly or wrongly, and that can quickly set in place conflict and miscommunication. But, if you get a little closer, ask a few questions, and establish a relationship with a person, it is much more difficult to speak poorly of them, ignore them, or allow other people to judge them.

You may not think you have much in common with the new staff member, but maybe you both like the same music or both want to learn to SCUBA dive. You won’t know until you ask. Feel like you are always butting heads? Try a different way of approaching them. Try a compliment before asking for something. If nothing is working, ask for help to sit down and talk. I think we can raise each other up by getting a little closer, but things are tough if we distance ourselves from the people with which we spend so much time.

If all else fails, and you just can’t bear it after a rough week, and everyone is driving you crazy, just bring in some biscuits. That will usually work, too.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

My Four Favorite Stress Busters

by

We all have those days. The ones that start out crazy and get worse from there. Where the receptionist slides up next to you and hesitantly tells you a client called and is on their way with a pet that has been vomiting for four days, they are leaving to go out of town tomorrow, and they need to be seen right now.

Where the technicians are pulling their hair out because the IV pump is beeping every five seconds and the dog won’t keep his leg straight. The days when the customer service team is getting hammered with phone calls while dealing with the client who has been talking their ear off for 20 minutes and has just thought of one more question.

Everyone gets testy, and it can seep over into patient care and client communications. Keeping our team happy and focused is essential for good medicine and good business. Sometimes simple gestures and a few minutes of effort can turn a trying day into one where everyone high-fives each other as we turn out the lights.

Here are some reminders for tricks to keep us going!

1.Music break!

Most songs are two to three minutes long, which is just long enough to turn an attitude around. Turn up the streaming music program of your choice with a song that will get feet tapping and inspire a short dance break.

I find boy bands, cheesy pop, and songs that involve hand clapping work well. If the clients hear and make a face, just tell them that we play song requests for our hospitalized patients.

2. Respond to an SOS.

If your receptionist is stuck with Mr. McTalkerson, send out a page asking her to report to treatment for patient care. If your doctor cannot wrap up the longest progress exam ever, poke your head and the door to let her know Dr. Specialist is on line two for a consult. Give them an excuse to step away for a second, and the next person can step in and get the system moving again.

3. Remember the spark.

Take a second to let the screaming child use your stethoscope to listen to their puppy’s heart and watch their eyes widen. Got a pet with a murmur, arrhythmia, or crackles that are classic?

Give your student assistant or technician a chance to hear and appreciate. Point out the weird thing on the x-ray instead of just looking and returning to the client. A few minutes of remembering how cool medicine is will keep you going for the rest of the day!

4. When all else fails- try chocolate and chips.

We may only have 15 minutes for lunch on a crazy day, but it may be worth eating in the car on the way to the store to pick up a bag of chocolate bars and a bag of chips (you know, some people like salty and some like sweet!). After a morning of tough euthanasias and difficult clients, your staff may need a treat to make it through the afternoon.

We know we can’t fix every stressful thing, but hopefully, you and your team can roll with them and pull out a win.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.