Summer is on the way and that means – allergies! Watch the replay of this awesome webinar with the veterinary dermatologist, Dr. Galia Sheinberg as she gives us some of her pearls of wisdom in managing allergic dogs. Thanks to our friends at Purina for sponsoring this webinar!
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Heart Smart: Nutritional Interventions for the Canine Cardiac Patient Webinar Replay
In this fun and informative webinar sponsored by our friends at Purina, Dr. Martha Cline shares how nutrition can play a part in canine heart health!
Why I’m Leaving The Vet Clinic
Today was a big day for me. My eighteen months of maternity leave has finally come to an end and I would have been returning to work as a registered veterinary technician at the same small animal hospital I’ve been employed with for over nine years now.
But instead, I’ve chosen to take a big leap and concentrate all of my efforts on helping families adopt rescue dogs with the Pawdoption Guide Membership Experience I’ve created, whilst caring for my young family.
This is huge for me because I am such a proud RVT!
I have always loved what I do. I’ve been an advocate for my profession while regularly enjoying the pursuit of continuing education. I thought I had the coolest job in the world; as a registered veterinary technician you’re ALWAYS on your feet and you get to dabble in so many things. One minute you’re prepping and monitoring a patient in surgery, the next you’re taking x-rays, running lab work, reading cytology, or providing client education. The day-to-day work I did was everything I had dreamed of during the two years I spent obtaining my college diploma for this role.
That being said, working in a vet hospital is anything but perfect. Even though the role fulfilled me, I seriously considered leaving my vet clinic a few times during my career there. I always chose to stay for the standard of care and professionalism that they upheld. I just didn’t think anyone else could match it.
So How Did I Get Here…
In 2019 when I started my own business, Pawdoption Guide, I had no idea when or if it would become a full-time gig. I merely started it thinking that I should have a backup plan because many technicians dealt with burnout or short careers. At one point, I had heard that the average career length for vet techs was 5 years! Probably, in part, because our low salary was and is easily matched by other job opportunities. Shift work, physical demands, and clinic atmosphere most likely played a role in this too. That statistic was an eye-opener for me.
Now, there are certainly some technicians who stay in the field long term but I would not hesitate to say that the majority of them don’t have children. Unfortunately, veterinary medicine is not an easy field to be in while raising children and my priorities changed quickly with the birth of my two kids.
I realized how much time I would be sacrificing with them if I worked the rotating shifts of an RVT. There would be weeks at a time where I wouldn’t see my kids following dropping them off at daycare in the morning. I decided I wasn’t okay with this.
Let me be the first to acknowledge my privilege to be able to make a choice like that or even have the financial stability to do so. I am very fortunate.
When I went back to work following my first maternity leave, I was able to negotiate a stable work schedule with no rotation. However, in doing so, I had to relinquish most of my participation in surgery duties. This was almost unthinkable for me, my identity as a vet tech was wrapped up in this aspect of my work, yet I gave it up because I could not imagine the alternative.
It was definitely the right choice for me and I got used to the new norm but my job no longer held the balance and satisfaction that it once had. This, along with a second child was really the tipping point for my in-clinic career.
At this point, I was creating a lot of free resources and courses to empower dog adopters in their dog adoption journey, and completing each one of them enlivened my passion for dog rescue and adoption. I could never have imagined being so fulfilled by something other than my RVT duties in an animal hospital. So, with this personal growth came the awareness that I must continue to pursue this new passion.
The nail in the coffin, so to say, was when I set out to write my resignation letter. I did what most people do and googled “resignation letter template.” The template I came across looked great and had all the necessities, plus a few optional things. One of them is to mention a memorable achievement, big accomplishment, or highlight of your career.
I thought, “Sure, how hard could that be?” Well, I must’ve sat on that question for hours, maybe even days. I just kept reliving my 9 years as an RVT at this small animal hospital and all of the opportunities where I showed initiative, leadership or brought something to fruition. I thought of many things but I could not find even one thing that felt worthy of that title. Not one. Every example that came close had a mental asterisk beside it for one reason or another. The truth is, as a veterinary technician you do so many tasks. The accomplishments are many, yet that’s all expected of you. The authority to see projects or tasks through the way you may want to is seldomly possible. The vet or boss is always overseeing you and has the final say.
For me, it was suddenly and overwhelmingly clear that although I enjoyed the tasks I performed as a tech I was left feeling unrewarded because I didn’t feel I could take full responsibility for my accomplishments. I wanted the ability to lead, not just contribute.
I don’t want you to get the wrong idea and think that I resent my workplace for this revelation. I honestly don’t think I would have had a different result recalling a 9-year career at any other clinic. The really joyous or impactful memories for me all surrounded the camaraderie I experienced as a team or with my individual colleagues.
It just comes down to the role description of a registered veterinary technician which is to work alongside and assist the veterinarian. This was no longer serving me.
In comparison, with just 2 years under my belt as an entrepreneur, I can name 10 things or more that I’m immensely proud of accomplishing and have provided me with personal and professional growth. That resignation letter gave me the clarity I needed to turn my side-hustle into a full-time gig while confidently leaving my in-clinic vet-tech career. Entrepreneurship is undoubtedly the way onward and upward for me as an RVT.
About the Author:
Bethany Muir is a seasoned RVT from Kitchener, ON Canada, who is passionate about rescuing pets. She proudly uses her RVT skills to empower dog adopters in locating, adopting, and integrating their dream rescue dog via her Pawdoption Guide Membership Experience. Find out more by listening to weekly episodes of the Pawdoption Guide Podcast or visiting her website.
Are You Trying to Be Someone Else?
In veterinary school, future vets are generally taught that there is a “right” way to do things. There is a gold standard, a best practice, and a correct answer. That mentality tends to seep into our minds… and our minds were already largely programmed this way in college if not before. We’re taught early on, it seems, that there are very specific ways to get gold stars.
I bring this up because I want to remind you that, while there may be a “right way” in veterinary school, that idea is largely BS in most of our lives. Every day, I talk to people in practice who have bought into the idea that there is a model they are supposed to follow. There is a mentor they are supposed to mimic. There is a pattern of behavior that they are supposed to demonstrate.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with literally hundreds of very successful people in veterinary medicine, and there’s one thing about them that I can tell you for sure: they are all different people. They are unique and they have become successful in their own way. Not ONE person that I have met who is thriving in vet medicine is doing so because they are using the exact same skills or behaving in the exact same way as someone else.
I know people who have been successful because they are organized and create processes for almost every situation. I also know people who thrive by thinking outside the box and trying new things whenever possible. I know people who have become successful because they are gregarious and charismatic. I know others who got there by being introspective and slow to speak. I know people who are excellent managers of others, and people who have excelled by delegating those responsibilities away. I know people who became leaders using exceptional medical skills to gain credibility, and those who became leaders joking that NO ONE wants them to actually practice medicine.
Today, I want you to stop for a moment and ask yourself “am I trying to be someone else?” It’s scary to be yourself, because there’s no model to help you be you. You have to make it up as you go, and that’s not how we were trained. Also, we know how people we respect turned out because we can see (or think we can see) their success. We don’t know how we’ll turn out, so it feels safer to be less like us and more like those other people, doesn’t it?
But hear me when I say, you’ll never reach your true potential without being true to yourself and your unique skill set. Your greatest power is in being your own quirky, flawed, unique self and in using the unique combination of skills that you have. So let go of the picture of success you have in your head. Stop trying to be that other person or to walk the path that he or she walked. You’re not doing that. You’re doing your own thing. Yes, that thing is scary because you don’t know how it will turn out, but if you trust yourself, you’ll enjoy the journey so much more.
Take care of yourself,
Andy
Which Encanto Character Are You? – Vet Med Edition!
If you have young children at home like me or are a Disney-loving child at heart, then the beginning of your 2022 has been dominated by the movie Encanto. I was just discussing with a friend how impactful Encanto is the first time you are actually able to pay attention to it without the distractions of loud little humans. So, in solidarity with everyone else who also has the soundtrack stuck in their head (willingly or unwillingly), here are my vet med versions of the characters from Encanto:
Bruno
Why not start off with the character we are not supposed to talk about but cannot stop singing about?! Many of us in vet med at some point feel underappreciated and misunderstood like Bruno. He can see the future, but the townspeople and his own family are upset whenever Bruno’s prophesies deliver bad news. Working in the veterinary field, we know all too well that delivering bad news does not always make us the most popular. “He told me my fish would die; the next day: Dead!” Well, either Bruno cursed your fish, or he is a very astute fish vet who delivered an accurate prognosis.
Julieta
The veterinary versions of Mirabel’s mom are my favorite co-workers. Feeling bad, here are some homemade cookies to make you better! Okay, their food never cured a broken arm, but you cannot convince me that the magical holiday sugar cookies that my hospital’s Julieta brings in every winter do not have healing powers.
Pepa
There is always that one person in the hospital whose mood affects the atmosphere of the whole place. The vet med Pepa can either make your day sunshine and rainbows or turn it into a massive hurricane. Whatever you do, do not mention Bruno in front of her if you want to avoid the storm clouds!
Dolores
Want to know the latest hospital secrets? Then go find Dolores because she hears everything. From knowing how your most beloved patient is responding to a new treatment to hearing about the latest relationship drama the outwardly perfect employee is experiencing… Dolores knows it all, and she is willing to share it with whomever will listen.
Camilo
Need a hand answering phones… Boom! The vet med version of Camilo transforms into the perfect CSR. Want someone to help you obtain some radiographs… Ta-Dah! Camilo shapeshifts into the assistant you need, complete with a stylish lead apron. These cross-trained helpers are such an asset to any veterinary hospital, but just don’t ask them to estimate how tall Bruno is.
Antonio
We all wish we could talk to animals, but the veterinary Antonio just seems to connect on a different level. They will tame the savage beast when no one else can seem to get through. Okay, maybe nowadays they also utilize some low-stress handling techniques and pre-appointment anti-anxiety meds to achieve their magic, but that’s still pretty magical.
Isabela
Isabela does more than grow beautiful flowers, she is seemingly perfect in every way … and it’s affecting her mental well-being. We need to help any vet med Isabela realize that “it didn’t need to be perfect – it just needed to be!” Good enough can be good enough in veterinary medicine. When we see our Isabela colleagues struggling for perfection, maybe we need to encourage them to grow a cactus, and then give them a hug.
Louisa
We love Louisa for her ability to hip check boulders, shoulder the donkeys, and bust a mean dance move! However, the weight she is carrying is crushing her. She’s the dependable, rock-solid workhorse… until she breaks under those heavy expectations. Louisa’s lyric when she sings: “I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service” hits me in the feels every time I hear it. Louisa can find joy in utilizing her strength to serve her community, but she may need to be reminded that she is allowed to take time for herself to relax in her hammock with a nice drink when she needs it. Oh, and it’s okay if she cries sometimes too. Don’t worry, Louisa, you are so much more than your gift!
Abuela
She is the matriarch trying to hold it all together. The Abuela in the vet clinic thinks she is protecting her team and her community, but her fears are putting unbearable pressure on the people she cares about. She means well, but she is blind to the harm she is causing. Sometimes it takes a spunky, bespectacled granddaughter to show her what she has forgotten.
Mirabel
And that brings us finally to Mirabel. She may not have the obvious talents of the people surrounding her, but she is a special part of the veterinary team. Her presence keeps the practice running, and without her the walls crumble. She may not feel like she belongs as she is “waiting for a miracle”, but she can help her entire veterinary family better utilize their gifts. And, if she somehow ends up in the middle of a pile of rubble, she can inspire the community around her to come to her aid and discover that “it’s a dream when we work as a team.” She is the real gift even if she does not see it in herself. So, you may have to help her open her eyes and then give her the doorknob she needs to finally enter the door she has been waiting for.
Encanto may be a favorite for kids who cannot stop singing about Bruno (no, no, no…) but it can also unlock some hard truths for veterinary professionals and help us understand our gifts and our burdens in a new way. Whether we feel like we need to “earn the miracle that somehow found us” or we feel the “pressure like a tick, tick, tick ‘til it’s ready to blow” (not that kind of tick!), we can open our eyes to see ourselves as veterinary versions of the family Madrigal who just need to re-focus on what is truly important in our careers and lives.
What Do I Do When I Don’t Know How to Help and Grow My Team?
Last week I had a conversation on the Uncharted podcast with my friend and colleague Stephanie Goss about how a practice manager might dig out of a pit of negativity. This manager had been running a veterinary practice for years where the practice owner “just didn’t want to deal with it” when staff conflict or bad behavior arose. As a result, damaging habits like gossiping and in-fighting had firmly taken root.
Now, the practice has been sold to a corporate group and this manager has been tasked (and empowered) to fix these deeply ingrained problems. She asked us for advice on how to approach turning this mess around, and we tried to break it down for her. You can listen here (or wherever you get podcasts) if you’re interested. It’s episode 164.
I love answering questions like these, and I get 45 or 50 minutes on the podcast to unpack what’s really going on and dig into actionable solutions. Still, It’s not lost on me that there are fundamental skills and practices that every leader should know that HUGELY impact these situations and that we never have time to lay out.
The single most valuable tool that I often find people-focused leaders missing from their toolbox is the ability to accurately assess their team members. No one teaches us how to look at those who work with us or for us and recognize what their potential is, their strengths, or how to coach them to be the most effective and successful version of themselves. There was no course in vet school on the importance of putting particular skill sets into specific practice roles. There was no lecture on how placing someone into the right job is exponentially more impactful than trying to coach them in a role they are ill-suited for.
It’s easy to look at problems with our teams and see them as “team problems,” but teams are just groups of individuals. If we don’t do a good job of knowing and understanding the individuals who work for us (both as people and as workers) then our ability to solve problems at the team level is always going to be limited.
My encouragement is to take a look at your team. Do you know these people? Have you thought about what each one is good at, where they excel individually, and what roles in the practice might showcase their unique strengths and talents? Do you know who your high performers are and WHY they are successful? Do you know who is struggling and can you diagnose what, exactly, is holding them back? These kinds of insights are often right in front of us. We just need to clear our heads and uncover them so we can put the knowledge to use.
It’s worth investing the time to consider the people we lead as individuals; to recognize that everyone has their own motivators, values, strengths, weaknesses and concerns. Managing a team without managing the individuals inside that team is like trying to cook a complex recipe without paying attention to the quality and preparation of ingredients. Sure, you can put everything together as the cookbook says, but that doesn’t mean you will have the Michelin 5 Star dining experience you want (or even that you won’t get food poisoning!).
Most of this skill really comes down to practice. It’s about thinking intentionally and deeply about your people and then zooming out to think about how those people engage with your practice. If you would like some help doing this, or would like to see how I think and talk about team member strengths and weaknesses, I am running the third Uncharted Strategic Planning Workshop on February 23rd at 8pm ET, 5pm PT. The workshop is called Loading the Bus (All About the People) and will cover everything I mentioned above.
The most important thing to remember when doing these exercises is that the people on your team are just people. They are probably good people who want to help pets, and I suspect they are seeking some amount of purpose from their work. They are also almost certainly fighting battles in their personal lives that you and I know nothing about. If we accept these things as true, we will be better able to see them as human beings, to treat them with compassion, to build stronger relationships with them, and to find reward in leading.
Take care of yourself!
Best wishes,
Andy