Soul Touching
In my profession I have countless opportunities to make a difference in people's lives. Not only can I help a sick member of their family, albeit the furry ones, but I can also teach them and their children about medicine, zoonotic disease, and behavioral modification. I can share joyful moments with them and be a source of comfort in the sorrowful times. The flip side to this -- and man is there ever a flip side -- is that I'm also often taking the majority of their frustrations.
Today has been a hard day. Between the hedgehog (I just don't do hedgehogs. I don't like exotic medicine. I don't enjoy it at all - in fact I kind of loathe it. I don't like being bit, hissed at, struck, or getting my eyes pecked out. I also don't like being strangled by monkeys, however that's another story altogether) and the clients with dogs with congestive heart failure, I've reached my quota of bad things today. No matter how hard I try I always end up being called awful things and being labeled a terrible veterinarian who doesn't know what she's talking about -- not only because I'm a woman but because I can't wave my veritable trusty magic wand and transplant a shiny new heart in these little overweight guys who are dying. I love getting blamed for the dog's condition and labeled a failure because I can't fix the dog. Well, I can't fix the dog. No matter what I do, no matter what I prescribe, the dog is going to die. I'm sorry. I feel horrible. It torments me at night but I can't change it. I can't fix it. A shot is not going to help it. Telling everyone I'm a horrible vet and that the dog needs a "pain shot" is not going to fix the dog. It might make another veterinarian give it a shot of something random to make the client feel better but it is not going to fix the dog.
People -- it is not going to fix the dog. They sure know how to touch my soul, don't they?
Today has been a hard day. Between the hedgehog (I just don't do hedgehogs. I don't like exotic medicine. I don't enjoy it at all - in fact I kind of loathe it. I don't like being bit, hissed at, struck, or getting my eyes pecked out. I also don't like being strangled by monkeys, however that's another story altogether) and the clients with dogs with congestive heart failure, I've reached my quota of bad things today. No matter how hard I try I always end up being called awful things and being labeled a terrible veterinarian who doesn't know what she's talking about -- not only because I'm a woman but because I can't wave my veritable trusty magic wand and transplant a shiny new heart in these little overweight guys who are dying. I love getting blamed for the dog's condition and labeled a failure because I can't fix the dog. Well, I can't fix the dog. No matter what I do, no matter what I prescribe, the dog is going to die. I'm sorry. I feel horrible. It torments me at night but I can't change it. I can't fix it. A shot is not going to help it. Telling everyone I'm a horrible vet and that the dog needs a "pain shot" is not going to fix the dog. It might make another veterinarian give it a shot of something random to make the client feel better but it is not going to fix the dog.
People -- it is not going to fix the dog. They sure know how to touch my soul, don't they?
3 weeks into mixed animal work has me wondering what in the heck have I gotten myself into. I'm a little worried about the first cow c-section I have after reading your story. Glad to hear how you're doing, next time you visit central Texas, let me know, you'll have to stop in and say hi!
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Hey Jenn! It's all about the experience. Haha. Mixed animal practice is a wild, crazy, sometimes wonderful and sometimes so, so frustrating place to be. But, I promise you this...you'll learn more than you can ever imagine, you'll meet some of the world's most genuine people, and you'll figure out that it's different than you ever imagined!
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