DrAndyRoark.com

Articles, Videos, & Training on Pets & Veterinary Medicine

Julie Cappel, DVM

How Do I Want to Show Up for My Team?

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If the past year has taught us anything, it is how quickly life can change. The veterinary industry is working through many challenges, including increased demand and a decreased workforce. My hospital is no exception. Since the end of last summer, we have been working with a skeleton crew when several of our team members left to either stay home with their children or take other positions. Those of us still working have been growing weary under the weight of our increased workload.

When work increases and team capacity decreases, we may begin thinking of ourselves as victims. I experienced an episode of this on Thursday. I was the only scheduled doctor with surgeries and also a spattering of client appointments. As I slogged through the pile of records that I had leftover from earlier in the week, attended to my surgeries, and answered the myriad of questions that my team brought to me, I started to feel overwhelmed. I am usually excited by a good challenge, but my brain goes into victim mode when I start to feel overwhelmed with stress. As I begin to feel like a victim, I become short with my team and reclusive. I want to crawl into a hole to protect myself from one more question. I get snappy and impatient. Finally, my brain tells me that it is all too much, and I start to indulge in my victim story. I begin to think, “Why do I have to do everything? Maybe I should just quit. Why won’t they leave me alone?”

I have coached others and had coaching on this exact subject, but my brain still gets away from me sometimes. So, when I find myself thinking that I am a victim of my circumstances, I have to ask myself one key question to help bring me out of my victim thinking. How do you want to show up today?

My attitude is my responsibility and requires constant work on self-improvement. I have the power to change the way that I choose to think about everything. Self-development is the key to controlling ourselves when we start to feel overwhelmed and victimized. Your subconscious mind will direct you if you ignore training it to behave. I mean that if we don’t practice positive thinking, our brains will not learn to change from negativity to positivity.

Decide who you want to be, and practice being that person each day — keeping in mind that we all need to experience failure to learn lessons. If you strive to take one small step towards your ideal self daily and visualize the person you want to be, you can snap out of your thinking as soon as you realize that you are in victim mode.

Have some “power thoughts” at your disposal to use in times of extreme stress. For example, thinking things like, “You got this,” “All things will pass,” “You are a rock star,” or anything that helps you to drop the victim statements. Taking control of your brain requires you to teach it new and powerful thoughts. It may feel strange when you start to use these thoughts — they will feel inauthentic and cliche, but once your brain starts to believe them, it will be easier to get out of “poor me” and into solution mode.

When you feel like a victim, remember to work to change your thinking and be the person you want to be.

– Dr. Julie Cappel

“There’s nothing more daring than showing up, putting ourselves out there, and letting ourselves be seen.” – Brené Brown

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

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Today is a beautiful sunny day. We are quarantined and cannot really go anywhere except for maybe a walk in the neighborhood or outside to do yard work.  I had some groceries delivered today, which I had done a few times before this all started, but now it is the only way I shop. 

Working, shopping, entertainment and socializing have changed dramatically. This is our new normal, but it does not feel very normal.  There are so many unknowns.

How do we remain mentally strong when we do not know what our future holds?

1. Accept reality. 

There is no use arguing with reality when something bad happens. Wondering why and arguing with facts is generally a waste of time. The sooner you can choose to accept things as they are, the sooner you can begin to deal with the reality of the current situation. Our thinking creates our feelings, so accepting things is the first step to dealing with any anxiety or worry that the crisis brings.

2. Take some time to experience your emotions.

Negative emotions will come in waves during and after a crisis. If you do not fear your emotions and choose to accept them, you will experience sadness, fear or anxiety for a short time and then allow them to pass. Choosing to feel all of your emotions will help you process them in a healthier way. 

3. Choose a positive mantra to keep with you.

Find a quote or saying that speaks to you. Keeping positive messaging handy when your mind wants to go negative will allow you to replace the thoughts with more positive messages. 

4. Help yourself and help others.

Self-care is very important during difficulties. Practice mindfulness, exercise and sleep well. Reach out to your friends and relatives to not only get support but give support. Helping others will help keep you from focusing too much on your worries.  Reaching out and offering assistance to another person in need will allow you to feel more powerful.

Create grace for yourself by feeling your emotions, supporting yourself and caring for others. Together we will become stronger and the sun will come out tomorrow.

“The ability to continue moving when you are feeling scared, fearful or lazy is the sign of true mental strength.” ― Matthew Donnelly

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.

Everything Comes Down to Poo…

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I was sitting drinking my coffee this morning, talking to my family, and trying to come up with an idea for the blog. Both of my adult children were home and we were chatting about ideas concerning leadership, positivity and self-improvement. As we batted around these ideas, my younger dog Parker pooped right in front of us on my living room carpet. He has been house trained for at least eight months now and never pulls this kind of stunt, but I recently changed his yard routine – I fertilized his backyard and have been taking him out in the front yard. I guess he is thinking, you change my routine I poop on your carpet.

As I cleaned up the odiferous mess, my daughter jokingly said, “Life be like that some time.” Then I added, “Everything comes down to poo.” Referring of course to the “Scrubs – My Musical” episode that aired in 2007 featuring a song about poo.  If you have not seen the episode, look it up and listen to it on YouTube. It is funny and so relatable to veterinary medicine. 

The talk and laughter that ensued as we listened to that song again, got me thinking about how a veterinarian’s and veterinary team’s life involves a lot of poo – both literally and metaphorically.   If we can retain the correct attitude about it, we can remember to laugh and enjoy our job in spite of the fact that much of our job revolves around poop.   

Veterinary life is like puppy poop on your carpet.  A blog is born…

There are so many opportunities to deal with literal “poo” in our profession and we actually make some money as we deal with it. We have the fecal smear, the fecal flotation, fecal gram stain, and fecal culture. We deal with dog poo, cat poo, rabbit poo, lizard poo and the ever so frequent bird poo on my white lab coat.  

Everything does, indeed, come down to poo. We also deal with a lot of other negative stuff (poo) daily.

Poo is inherently negative, right? Wrong! Our thoughts about it can be negative. Sorry, I keep using the “poo” as a metaphor and you are probably tired of reading that word. What I really mean is that the negative thoughts you choose about your day cause your feelings of stress and negativity. 

You can choose to think about anything differently in order to experience better feelings.

When something happens, it is a fact. It happened and you can’t change it.  You get to choose how you want to think about it. If you think the fact is sad or negative in some way, you will create sad, negative feelings in your body. If you find a different way of looking at it, thinking a more positive thought, you will feel more positive about it.  

For example, a client’s dog is severely ill, and you don’t think you can save it. That is a sad fact. You can either choose to feel helpless and sad, or you can change your focus to one of helping the client navigate the decisions that need to be made. Focus on your talent for working with clients, not saving the patient. If you can focus on the conversation and counsel the client and your abilities therewith, you will feel useful, not useless. If you focus on what you can’t do, you will feel helpless. If you focus on what you can do for the client, you will feel helpful.

Remember that every veterinarian and veterinary technician has insecurities. It is totally normal to feel negative emotions. Just realize that the negative emotions come from your thoughts about any given situation.  You get to choose those thoughts. Your brain is powerful!  

This is your life and you are in charge of your satisfaction. If you are not happy, work to change your mind. You may not be able to change your situation, but you can change your thoughts about your situation. 

If you are experiencing difficulty seeing the humor in the “poo” in your life reach out for help. We all get stuck and need someone to help us out of our negative emotions. There are plenty of great therapists and life coaches that would love to help you get through it. Taking care of yourself is always your first priority.

So, thank you to Bridget, Tristan, Scott and of course Parker for interrupting our blog brainstorming session to poop on the carpet. You saved me some time by giving me a great example for creating positive thoughts.  

Stay positive this week! 

“I enjoy life when things are happening. I don’t care if it’s good things or bad things. That means you’re alive.”  – Joan Rivers

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.

What is Reasonable?

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Yesterday I received a client’s email that was as interesting as it was disturbing. 

I became a life coach for veterinarians because the people in our profession are stressed out, overworked and underpaid. They have many daily stresses that “normal” people, like our clients, do not understand.  They are peed on, pooped on, bitten, scratched, and disrespected by pets and people alike. They are yelled at by clients who wait 30 minutes to be seen because the person in front of them waited a week to bring in their pet that now is in an emergent situation.   

Veterinarians are yelled at by people who want them to schedule a last-minute appointment 10 minutes before closing so they do not have to go to an emergency clinic on a Friday evening. If the receptionists try to send them to an emergency clinic (the equivalent of urgent care for people) they get angry and demand to be seen. Veterinarians stay after hours most evenings to return phone calls to clients who often either don’t answer the phone or yell at them because they didn’t call earlier. They have friends and family call or text on their days off asking for free advice when the veterinarian should be spending time with their families. Veterinarians drive into the clinic to check on pets late at night or on the weekends if clients refuse to take their pets to a more appropriate 24-hour center because you want to save them money. 

Back to the interesting email. It said, “I am extremely disappointed in your charges for service. We are seniors living on a fixed income.” The client then listed the three charges that he incurred for his very ill parrot when the couple visited the hospital three times in the last four months. He listed each visit, and the charges that he paid, then listed the total. The last line of the email said, “please look into this and adjust payment to a reasonable amount.”

So, this begs the question, “what is a reasonable amount?”  

What should you pay for a veterinarian’s services who studied eight years in college and spent $40,000 to $50,000 per year to learn everything they need to know to treat your pet? What do veterinarians deserve to be paid in order to eat, live and have the money to pay back their $100,000s of student loan debt? When that veterinarian attends continuing education each year, often paying for it out of pocket – to get special training in exotic medicine, what should they charge? How much to learn to interpret the blood tests and treat the disease that they see in your parrot?  

What should the veterinary hospital charge to purchase the supplies that are used to draw and process the blood? What should they charge for the $30,000 blood machines and $60,000 radiograph machines that are in hospital so you can get quick results? What about the building rent, the $500 per month electric bills, and the heat and air conditioning that you enjoy when you are in our office?  

What should we charge to pay the 28 employees? To provide their medical insurance, payroll taxes, vacation pay, sick leave, uniforms and medical training? How much is reasonable to charge to pay the people that answer your calls, return your emails, pay bills, schedule appointments, clean the office, mow the lawn, scoop the dog poop that your pets leave in our garden? How much is reasonable to pay the people that clean the bathrooms that are provided for you to use when you are in our office?  

How much is reasonable? 

I will answer this email in a kind professional manner because I know that this person does not understand anything about veterinary medicine. I will, however, ask him what he thinks is reasonable and will be very interested in his answer. 

Veterinarians and the people that work for us are underpaid and overworked.   

What is a reasonable amount? A lot more than we actually charge.  

Perhaps tomorrow, I should raise prices.

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Cappel works as a small animal and exotic pet veterinarian, certified leadership and life coach. She has been a practice owner for over 20 years running a five doctor veterinary practice in Warren, Michigan.  She authors a weekly blog, “The Veterinary Life with Dr. Julie Cappel” and a weekly Podcast, “The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast.” She has works published in DVM 360, Firstline and The Michigan Veterinarian. She has served on multiple veterinary committees, school boards and was an executive committee member for the Southeastern Michigan Veterinary Medical Association serving as their president in 2006. She has also served on the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association executive board serving as their president in 2015 and continues to work as an advisor for the MVMA “A team,” MVMA Power of Ten group and on several other committees.

Lessons From a Turtle Butt

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Last Sunday night I reluctantly received a lesson in compassion, generosity, and servant leadership from a turtle; a box turtle with most of her insides hanging out of her backside. 

I had experienced an unusually busy weekend “off work” tending to a remodeling contractor, out-of-town family and an ill family member across town. Sunday evening, I finally thought that I was home free. Planning to write my blog and then relax in preparation for work on Monday. As I was driving home with my son from this long emotional weekend, I received a text message from one of my technicians. She wrote something that no veterinarian ever wants to read. Her 5-year-old box turtle had developed a large rectal prolapse earlier in the day. “What do you think I should do?” she texted. Because I was driving, there was a delay in my answer but once I was able, I texted her back that she should probably take the turtle to the local emergency clinic for treatment. I was easily an hour away and there was no way I wanted to spend what was left of my weekend replacing a prolapse on a box turtle.  

This started a text stream with the technician and an internal debate with myself over whether or not I should give up my evening to help with the turtle.  Should I “force” my technician friend to go to the emergency clinic to preserve my evening off? This is where I think many of us get into an internal compassion debate. We have this need to do what is best for ourselves by taking care to preserve our days off,  but we also have the compassionate servant side of us that does not want to say no to a friend, family member or client, when we know that we have the skills to help them.  

Who would I be if I said no? I think of myself as a compassionate servant leader, but what exactly does that mean? 

The term “Servant Leadership” was a term coined in 1970 by Robert Greenleaf who said that a leader should be a servant to the team. They should be a role model by giving a helping hand to those around them.  The leader should create opportunities to express appreciation to the team and invest in them by taking actions to help them feel happy and fulfilled. When a leader creates this kind of environment, the team will feel connected and loved. 

When I stopped to think about who I really want to be in this situation, a servant leader, I ultimately made the right choice.  

I believe that we get to choose how we want to feel about any difficult situation. I could decide whether I want to feel sorry for myself for not having a Sunday night off work, or I could decide to put on my big girl panties and go to work to try to save the gutted turtle.  

Of course, I chose the servant leader big girl panties. 

So, off I went to work to spend the next two hours slowly patiently pushing things that should never be outside a body back in, then placing sutures in her turtle butt to keep things from coming back out. If you have never worked on a box turtle, it is not at all easy.  They have the name box for a reason.  

The self-satisfaction and pride that comes with overcoming the “feeling sorry for yourself” feeling and being empowered to do what is right, is more rewarding than sitting on the couch writing a blog.  

I saved a life and also set an example for the team that I lead. 

Ultimately the turtle was happy (with her insides back inside), the technician was happy, and I was grateful for my lesson on servant leadership and generosity of spirit from this little shelled creature.  

Maybe next Sunday, I will have a day off.

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.


Let’s Love Receptionists: Taking Care of You and Your Business

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Last week I was working harder than normal because my two associate veterinarians were away at a summer conference. For part of the week, I was the only doctor working at my very busy hospital. It can be fun to be the only doctor on one hand because I have the entire support team at my disposal. The down side to this arrangement is that I am responsible for everything – every pet and client that comes through the door. It can be overwhelming especially when clients don’t behave as expected.

Thank goodness for my veterinary receptionist team, defending the front of the house.

Veterinary receptionists are terrific at handling everything important from the initial client contact by phone, to the collecting of charges, to the “Have a nice day” goodbye. They handle very important things, which I sometimes forget, as I am frantically moving from exam room to exam room. They are rock stars as they deal with a steady stream of clients and pets. They handle phone shoppers, appointment scheduling, price quotes, prescription and food pick up, client concerns, dogs barking and even the occasional “accident” on the reception room floor. They handle our regular cast of client characters, with style and grace.

I saw a great example of this Tuesday. Early in the day I was scheduled to see a woman and her teenage daughter with the daughter’s little pet bird. The mother was obviously unhappy from the minute she walked in the door about having to spend money on an inexpensive pet. The mother scowled as the technician escorted her into the exam room. She sat with her arms crossed, glaring and grunted while her daughter talked with me about the pet bird. She didn’t say much of anything except when I suggested that surgery may be needed. “We are NOT going to pay for surgery on a nineteen-dollar bird,” she said. I told her that I understood and I would do my best to treat the pet with medication, which I sent home.

Once she was back at the front desk the woman exploded at my receptionist. She berated the receptionist, who had nothing to do with the charges, and threatened that she was going to leave a bad review for us on Yelp because of her outrageous bill. My receptionist kept calm and cool explaining the services rendered. She was kind, warm and patient. She may not have won over this particular client but she did impress the observers.

The very next client was a couple who had seen the interaction between the receptionist and the woman. They came to me impressed and in awe that my receptionist had stayed calm in the face of the rudeness. I told them that it was all in a day’s work for these rock stars of my front desk. It is something they deal with infrequently, but also far too often. They take the brunt of most of the problems that occur in any business. They are client service professionals of the highest caliber.

So, remember to love your veterinary receptionists. Pay attention to their needs. They are so important to the success of the veterinary team. I would argue that they are key to your success. They are the people that guard you from the cruel world that waits outside your veterinary hospital doors.

I would like to honor Joanna, Adrian, Erika, Jace, Miranda and my manager Kathy for the terrific job they do every day to keep the problems in the front from affecting the doctors in the back.

We appreciate and love you every day.

If you have a receptionist that you love please leave a comment here so they will feel your support.

– Dr. Julie Cappel

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.