It is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to instilling wellness into the veterinary profession… veterinary care providers who would rather be a martyr than model good behavior for their colleagues and staff. I’ve seen it all too often: the veterinarian who always stays late to see the end-of-the-day emergency, the technician… Read More
Wellness
Why Your Lunch is a Really Big Deal
Can we talk about lunch for a moment? I know, I know: “Ha! What’s that!?” Lunch – or its lack thereof – is treated as some sort of insolvable problem in veterinary medicine: “That’s just the way the work is”, “Animals don’t get sick to schedule.” There are busy and stressful days in… Read More
I Was Wrong About the Worst Part of My Job
A year ago, today, I wrote an article about “giving your all to euthanasia”. The article gave comfort to many, including owners. In this article, I stated that “euthanasia can be the hardest part of my job.” As a technician, yes, euthanasia can really wear on my soul. When you have euthanized the third, fourth… Read More
The Best Gift I Gave to Myself
It had been a bad month. There were staffing issues, including an employee with a serious dog bite injury. Our basement flooded, creating a big mess. A flu-like virus struck the whole family one at a time and I spent many nights caring for sick children so I was sleep deprived. But the hardest of… Read More
How Yoga Made Me a Better Vet
I think of myself as someone who loves yoga. I say to my friends, “I should do more yoga. I miss it.” But in reality, I’m a yoga dropout – a person who used to take a yoga class now and then, and now nurses my tight muscles after running and wishes for more hours… Read More
Do You Know This Simple Technique to Battle Compassion Fatigue?
I’m going to let you in on a little secret….I practice what I preach. When I recommend meditation, mindfulness, deep breathing and exercise in my compassion fatigue seminars and workshops, it’s because it has had a profound affect on me and my mental state. I’ve battled more than one addiction in my life… Read More