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
Wellness
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
10 Things Bicycling Taught Me About Veterinary Medicine
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
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