Find the passion in vet med

There comes a point in every vet's career when they think - 'is this it?'. Is this what I went to school for - is that what I will do forever?  For some it is a fleeting and passing thought but for others, I think it is a turning point. Some people opt to leave the field and find something else to do, some people get out of clinical practice and go into industry or sales and others have to find their passion for this career again.

When I became director of a local ER department I thought I had reached the pinnacle of my career. I was working at a highly regarded hospital, with awesome staff and amongst a group of highly talented and educated doctors. I was getting a chance to see cases I had never seen before and getting to perform procedures weekly that some doctors only perform once in their entire career. I was helping to educate and train new graduate veterinarians and inexperienced technical staff. I was living the dream - or so I thought.

I loved ER - the rush of it all, the fun of not knowing what was coming in the door and the excitement when you saved a life and helped a client. ER has its darkness as well (and not just because we worked at night). Many of my cases ended in sadness - either due to the medical issues of the pet or lack of finances of the owner. Sometimes my cases ended before they started and more often than I care to recall, patients were presented to me solely for euthanasia. Those cases wear on you - emotionally, mentally, physically....and I fell victim to compassion fatigue and burnout. I regret to say that by the time I left my position as a full time ER doctor I had become cold and hardened and frankly I didn't care. I knew something had to change - I thought going back to day practice where I would have a more normal schedule and could see my daughter on weekends and holidays would help. And getting some regular sleep and doses of vitamin D on a daily basis did help, but I still found myself wondering - 'is this really the career I longed for when I was 5 years old'. I just didn't feel the passion and the sense of fulfillment that I once did. I knew it was possible to still be excited about this field - but I needed to find something to reignite my love for what I did.

When I decided to open my own practice, I also made the committment to make it Fear Free - and that is where I found my passion again. Part of my desire to open my own hospital was so that I could practice medicine 'my way'. I knew there had to be a better way to do things - a way that clients could see the value in the experience and a way that pets were happy to come to the veterinary office and a way that gave me that inner satisfaction that I longed for. Becoming Fear Free Certified reinstilled my passion and reignited my desire for this career. I began using techniques at the practice I was working at before I opened Chestnut Arbor Veterinary Hospital, and I could begin to see the difference it made for both the pets and the owners. I knew that this was it - this was  what I needed to make me feel fulfilled again as a doctor and even more so as a practice owner. I knew it would take time to adjust and create the type of practice where clients see the value in this type of approach.  So our practice moves a little slower - we take our time getting to know clients and patients. We spend time allowing pets to get to know us and we don't force them to do anything they don't want to do. And this is an adjustment for everyone - clients, nurses, even myself as a doctor. But seeing a pet who was scared to visit us, now come in wagging its tail and allow us to examine it while it eats some yummy snacks - that is worth it.

When someone asks why we are Fear Free - I say, why would someone not want to be Fear Free?