Here are four words I never thought I’d hear myself say: “I am a cyclist”. I’ve always detested exercise. If you ever saw me running, there was probably something chasing me. When I started dating my husband, he introduced me to cycling. I bought an entry level bike, thinking it would have been much less… Read More
Blog
Risk and Regret: How I Made the Choice to Live
One of my favorite songs is “I Lived” by One Republic. The lyrics include: I owned every second that this world could give I saw so many places, the things that I did With every broken bone, I swear I lived. Isn’t that what we all want to do? If… Read More
You Can Survive Burnout: How To Regroup When Your Year Really Sucked
In the ups and downs of life, we have good years and bad years. Some years are like a dream you never want to leave, filed away in the wistful memory banks as “The Amazing Summer of 2011” or whatnot, and others are particularly nightmarish beast-years you want to set on fire and never mention again…. Read More
10 Ways To Stay Sane in Our Crazy Field
I just returned from a speaking engagement in Indiana where I educated young veterinarians about self-care. We talked about compassion fatigue, euthanasia, assertiveness and stress relief techniques. I flew home at night. Because of weather delays, I didn’t see my bed until 1:30 am. This is past my bedtime. I had the sense to take… Read More
How Good Veterinarians Are Like Action Heroes
There’s always been a soft spot in my heart for cheesy action movies. Think: Robert Downey Junior in a metal suit, Bruce Willis in a skyscraper, or Arnold Schwarzenegger anywhere except a political office. I love bad dialogue, implausible situations, and good guys blowing things up. I think anyone who has ever watched that… Read More
The Realities of Human Error In Veterinary Surgery
Helmut* was one of my cancer patients. He also had a painful, nonvisual eye. The eye ended up giving him more trouble than the tumor and the owner elected to have it removed. She had it removed by a board-certified ophthalmologist (not at the hospital I work at, I hasten to add). There was a… Read More