Bringing my work home

We have a hospital parrot.  Actually she is my family parrot that I keep at the veterinary hospital. Until this week…

Kimi is a Quaker that was originally my daughter’s pet, a birthday gift when she turned ten years old.  My daughter wanted a bird and I love Quakers, so with a bit of influence from me we picked out a baby Quaker.  Quakers are one of my favorite parrots because they are full of sass and attitude. Our Kimi is no exception.  She is loud and bossy, and bites anyone that dares put their hand in her cage.  She loves people (when she is not in her cage) and junk food, which makes living in our hospital break room the most amazing place for her.  

Kimi lives in the break room since my kids grew up and left home for college and beyond.  Quakers do not make good dorm room or apartment pets, so she remained with me.  One day when I took her to work for boarding while I was on vacation, I decided to let her stay where she could get more attention and be entertained by the day to day activities of the hospital team members.  She also loves visiting with the other birds that live and board at our hospital.  

This week Kimi became suddenly ill.  I did not noticed that anything was wrong but one of our astute technicians noticed that she was acting a little strange on Tuesday.   When we took her out of the cage to share lunch with us, it quickly became apparent that she was indeed ill.  We drew some blood and started her on some medication.  By the end of the day it didn’t look good, so I packed her up in a little hospital cage, warmed up the car, and carried her home to convalesce on my bathroom counter.   

Since Tuesday, she has been shuttling back and forth with me from work to home and back again, so I can keep an eye on her and take care of her medical needs.   She started to eat better today and squawked a bit, so I think she is coming around. 

This has been part of my job as a veterinarian for as long as I have been working.  Orphan kittens, sick birds, injured bunnies, and even baby ducks have spent time in my bathroom.  We take our work home.  Not just literally (patients and records), we also take it home emotionally.  We don’t or can’t leave our work at work — it seems to never end.

This is why we need to learn to coach ourselves to feel our emotions and process them.  Bringing our work home is not the problem, but feeling overwhelmed by bringing work home is.  Feeling that we are not allowed to say, “No” is also one of our key issues.  In my case, I  did not want to say “No” to Kimi; however, if I was feeling very overwhelmed by her illness, I could drop her off with one of my emergency clinic friends to let them treat her all week.  I have options to protect myself emotionally through coaching and manage my physical situation by asking for help.  Taking care of ourselves needs to be our priority. 

Thank goodness, Kimi seems to be improving today and I am hopeful that she will recover. 

Veterinarians, I understand the enormity of your job.  I encourage you to learn to coach yourself through the rough days.  Create some boundaries when you need to protect yourself.  Love the fact that you can help the pets because not everyone is equipped to handle tough situations, but you are.  You are dedicated, strong, brave and worthy. 

Dr. Julie Cappel

“Be strong, be brave, be beautiful, and believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.”  - Misty Copeland