Am I good enough? Hello self-doubt.

Have you ever stood outside an exam room door and felt anxiety about what is waiting for you on the other side?  Do you wonder if you are up to the challenge or have the skills to get it right?   

If so, my veterinary friends, you are dealing with self-doubt.

What if the client does not like me?  What if I cannot make a quick diagnosis?  What if I make a mistake and the pet does not do well or even worse, dies?

Self-doubt is a struggle for us in the veterinary profession.  Every human can suffer from it, but we have many seemingly valid reasons for feeling it daily.  We are required to be brave and make decisions with little solid evidence, often guessing at where a pet feels pain, or about the source of their illness. Many times we do not have the benefit of proper diagnostic procedures due to a client’s financial situation.

To make matters even more difficult, most veterinarians have perfectionist tendencies.  The pursuit of perfection is tricky.  We want to adhere to high standards, but since perfection is impossible, our need to be perfect can hold us back causing us to avoid making efficient decisions.

How can we mitigate self-doubt, strive for perfection, deal with uncertainty and overcome our anxiety?  It takes some concentrated mental effort, but it is definitely possible.

Remember that you are a talented and unique individual.  You did not become a veterinarian by accident.  It took many years of incredibly hard work and dedication.  If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.  Remember that the clients appear in your exam room because they trust and respect you.  They are paying you for your education, discernment and expert opinion.

Realize that veterinarians, like all other humans, are not perfect.  You can strive for perfection, while knowing that the goal of perfection is impossible.  You can choose to accept imperfections or small failures as part of your learning process. Accepting that failure is part of the human experience may help to relieve you of some of the pressure that you place on yourself.

Recognize your successes and celebrate your accomplishments.  Keep a journal, or list of outcomes, of the cases of which you are particularly proud. Read it every time that little bit of self-doubt starts to surface.  Hold on to those thank you notes and cards that your clients send to you even after a pet dies.  Your clients know that you do everything in your power to help them and they acknowledge it.  Read a few of them the next time you feel anxiety or self-doubt creep in.

Daisy and Lambchop

Confide in a mentor, coach, or peer that understands where you are coming from.  Seek help when you feel that the self-doubt is keeping you from being the best veterinarian that you can be.  By understanding that everyone in this profession struggles with some feeling of self-doubt, you will recognize that you are not alone and will be able to quickly accept your feelings when they arise.   

Dr. Julie Cappel