Get hit and keep moving.

“It ain’t about how hard you get hit.  It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.  That’s how winning is done.”   Rocky Balboa. 

I love this quote, not only because I love Rocky, but Rocky has an extremely good point for all of us in the veterinary profession to consider.  The daily challenges that we, as veterinary professionals face, have a way of knocking us down mentally and sometimes actually physically. (Ever get knocked on your butt by a 90-pound Rottweiler?)   The hits that we experience can cause us to head towards feelings of overwhelm, stress, anxiety and with some even, into depression.  Sometimes we wonder why anyone would ever take on this job, with the long hours, high stress and low pay.  How then, can we take Rocky’s advice and get back up after a hit?  How can we stand and move forward after we take hits from our, clients, patients, families and coworkers?

One of our most common hits is the myriad of increasingly unreasonable client demands.  I see our clients as getting more demanding each day, with their need for instant gratification, maybe resulting from the instant answers they experience on their smart phones, or with Siri and Alexa.    They want fast answers and cheap solutions to their pet’s problems, and demand that we provide.   They make our job difficult by consulting Dr. Google and diagnosing our patient, before we even get a chance to do our exam, and often force us to work under unreasonable budget constraints.

 In order to combat this trend you need to stand up for your unique perspective in the exam room.  After all, you are the one that paid the big bucks for the expensive veterinary education.  Perform a complete examination and verbalize the findings to your client.  If their Google diagnosis does not match with your findings, explain exactly why you do not agree and be confident.  If you can explain your findings in a clear and concise manner with assurance, they will be brought around to your way of thinking.  If their diagnosis is correct, praise them for their clever homework and heartily agree with them as you get them to consent to your diagnostic and treatment plans. When you can agree with them regarding their concerns and address them with a solid plan for resolution, you will gain their respect and make them more likely to follow your recommendations. 

Another daily hit that keeps on coming is your team member’s and coworker’s demands on your time.  This is something that I deal with quite often.  I feel as if I should change my name or wear a disguise some days in order to avoid being pulled in a million directions.  One team member after another stands in line to ask a question or asks me to solve some problem for a client, patient or the team.  Worse yet there is a problem with a piece of laboratory equipment, or the always dreaded, computer problem.  Each situation is urgent and needs my (your) direct attention, but as the questions overwhelm your mind it is difficult to make any rational decision, and being under this kind of pressure to make decision after decision, will drive you to the brink of insanity. 

How do we stand up after this hit?  Stand up for yourself by asking team members to come to you with at least two solutions to the problems that they are trying to “dump” on you.  The solutions must be well thought out and complete and should always have the best interest of the hospital at their core.  If team members can come to you with a solution already in mind it will make your job much easier as you will be able to approve the solution or tweak the solution with a suggestion without having to solve every problem yourself.  Having your team trouble shoot each dilemma will make them ultimately happier, by giving them more autonomy and power in taking care of the clients, patients and in turn the hospital and ultimately their leader, you.

Take time to explore your deepest feelings about these hits that you deal with daily.  Talk to another veterinarian who can understand you and your stress filled job.  Read, exercise, meditate, do yoga or just visit and spend quality time with your family and friends.  You must nurture your soul in order to give your best to your life and in turn your team members, patients and clients.   Above all, keep on fighting like my friend Rocky and you will be rewarded with the rich rewarding and often entertaining life that you were looking for when you went into the healing field of veterinary medicine. 

Dr. Julie Cappel