#nomv

Today was not a good day at work.

It's so hard to remain positive when so many people want to tear your hard work down.

No. The lady who works at the pet store doesnt know more than your Vet.

No. FUCKING GOOGLE doesnt know more than your Vet.

Veterinarians are DOCTORS. Theyre not trying to scam you into buying an expensive food. Theyre not pushing for unnecessary procedures. Theyre trying to do everything jn their power to cure your pet.

Listen to the people who know what theyre talking about NOT THE PEOPLE WHO CONFIRM WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR.

X Rays, for example, are expensive, and yea a lot of people dont have pet insurance. But they are necessary.

Stop ignoring them. And definitely stop tearing them apart on social media because you had a bad experience.

Veterinarians have one of the highest suicide rates per job. These people are dying from stress and depression and anxiety and a whole host of other reasons.

And having a patient die in front of you because an owner waited a week to seek treatment and then having the owner berate you in person and saying YOU killed their pet.

Then going on social media to tear you apart and then filing a bogus claim with the regional review board which ties up a lot of their professional time (which they could use to see patients) and their free time (which they should be using to relax and destress)

This is from a friend of mine, a veterinarian, she’s been up all night crying and unable to sleep because of her work.

Just.. people need to stop abusing vets. Its rude and its horrible and theyre honestly trying to help. So listen to your vet, and if the worst should happen remember that they tried everything they could to save your pet and screaming at them, threatening them, trashing them on FB. It wont bring your animal back.

To be honest there were some personal life issues that came to the forefront. But also… my job did a legitimate job of trying to kill me.

I went from a four doctor practice to a one doctor practice with a heavy case load. I went from being an associate to a figurehead medical director who wasn’t respected. I no longer did surgeries unless they were emergencies. I was at work for 12+ hour shifts by myself (as the doctor) for four days a week, checking on patients twice daily on the fifth, and still making callbacks from home. 25-30 cases a day, sometimes quadruple booked. Half the reason I was home so late every night was having to write all of my charts at night after the day was done, or even later after surgeries that had to happen.

I had a genuine moment where I told my former coworker that if it weren’t for my dogs in my car, who are my children, I would have driven off an overpass. I had visions of “what would happen if” that involved accidents I didn’t actually fear. I acknowledged this was bad and I told my superiors I didn’t want to be a veterinarian anymore, that something needed to change. They did nothing.

Surgery for a work related shoulder injury probably saved me. I had time off to consider my life and what was happening, and I gave my notice on my return. This is a major gloss over severe anxiety about that but it’s not something I need to get into here.

When I say that I was overworked, I don’t just mean that I was running around so much I couldn’t function. I was exhausted yes, but it was an emotional soul suck to be the only person a practice depended on, to not have breaks or lunches or reliable time off in the evenings. To not be heard. It was something ingrained in me from my first day at the practice (and to be honest, my early years). This is the way it is. If you can’t function like this, YOU need to change, not us. Old school “grin and bear it” mentality, which I can get behind to some extent, but not to the point that I had the ideation of not existing in the back of my head.

idk why i’m writing this here but I guess just if it reaches the right people and it helps another veterinary professional out, then i’ve done what i wanted.

i understand if you’re hurting because your animal has died or is sick, but please don’t take it out on the staff. we are limited greatly in what we can do out of hours at the best of times, and currently every vet practice in the country is overworked and critically understaffed. if you have concerns with your quality of care please try and take the time to talk to someone about it rationally and fairly, because we are all struggling so much, and lashing out at us could be the one thing that tips someone over the edge. 

https://nomv.org/

Most people do not know this, but the veterinary field has the highest suicide rate out of any profession.

Veterinary staff are pushed to the limits daily being overworked and underpaid. Veterinarians endure 8 years of vigorous schooling, landing themselves in crippling debt only to work long days as well as on their weekends. They answer your messages asking why your pet is sick, free of charge, type records up on their couches at home, and keep their phones on to answer emergency calls 24-7.

They are called money hungry(none of us make good money) and not sympathetic. They are called fake doctors by other professions. They are screamed at by clients on the daily. They are pushed until they break.

Please. Be kind to your veterinary staff. From the front desk workers to kennel staff, veterinary assistants, veterinary technicians, and doctors. They are LITERALLY dying to make sure your pet goes home with you well