Veterinary medicine, like many professions, can be quite time consuming. Adulting isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Going into rural mixed animal practice, the hours are long and the amount of time you spend on call is significant (for me, I’m on call every other week or 50% of the time). Now please allow me to check my privilege for a second so you don’t have to. I graduated veterinary school and got my dream job in my hometown right after graduating, which not many can say. I have a very supportive husband, and the support of my in-laws, my parents, and grandparents, and many members of my extended family that all live nearby. I came into a practice where the opportunity for practice ownership existed, and almost four years after graduating was able to become sole owner. I am blessed and love my job. That being said, sometimes I just don’t have time to do things I want to do. It also gets me out of things that I don’t really want to do also, so it has its benefits. Oh yeah, since you’re probably reading this: Mom, I’m too busy to go to that three hour documentary film you were telling me about. I’m so bummed. I really do need to learn the plight of the northern Canadian/Arctic grayling. It really sounds amazing, but I’m just swamped. The following is a list of things I (and many veterinarians) simply don’t have time for. Enjoy! 1.) Cooking - My advice to those dating or married to a veterinarian? Brush up on your cooking skills or get used to eating a lot of takeout. I’m sure there are exceptions to this rule. To my fellow vets out there that have the energy and desire to cook a balanced meal from scratch after a 14-hour shift, I raise my glass to you. My husband does about 99% of the cooking in our house, which is fine because he’s good at it and enjoys it. It is quite unfortunate that veterinarians don’t have time to cook since most of us are quite passionate about eating. During clinical rotations during veterinary school, “Food Days” were a big thing where everyone in your rotation (surgery, radiology, neurology, whatever that may be) would bring a covered dish or dessert. We would pretty much gorge ourselves all day long and be in a severe food coma at the end of the day. It was the one time we really couldn’t judge our regular fat cat patients. 2. ) Social Life - Unlike most veterinary students just out of school, I was fortunate to come back to my hometown, where I know a few people and at least have family around. However, even for a social butterfly like me, sometimes we simply don’t have the time and/or energy for a social life at the end of a long week. After meeting client after client, answering so many calls and questions, and doing my best just to keep the caffeine level in my body in between Debbie Downer and the Tazmanian Devil, at the end of the week I need a break from human beings. This is my advice to my veterinarian friends: Find a friend that will hang out in PJs, drink wine quickly, shut up and watch Game of Thrones, and only speak when they want to say a character is hot, but not Joffrey. They better say he’s creepy or kick them out. Then take one selfie from the neck up, so everyone thinks you’re out on the town. 3.) Cleaning - I’ll come home from a long day of work, decide I don’t have enough energy to clean, and then go on an 8-mile run instead. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I guess I have different priorities. Honestly, I just don’t like cleaning. I know veterinarians that have a spotless house 24/7, but I bet they just hide all their piles in giant closets that just aren’t in a 600 square-foot cabin. I’ll clean when I’m on call. I can’t go anywhere anyway. I might multi-task and watch Netflix too because that always goes well. 4.) Spontaneity - This is a generalization, but veterinarians as a whole don’t tend to be spontaneous people. We like to plan, we like order, and we like to know ahead of time what our day is going to involve. On top of that, our careers themselves don’t allow for a lot of spontaneity. An on call schedule leaves you in the lurch. No Wal-Mart runs, no movie theaters, no glass of scotch. This is not Mad Men, although I’d rock those dresses. Basically, if I’m on call, be prepared to get ditched at the last second or tag along. If we happen to be eating at the Mexican restaurant, be prepared to feed me my shrimp chimi I took to-go as we make it down a bumpy gravel on the way to pull a calf. I’ll need the nourishment for a long night and no one wants to see me hangry. 5.) Anything involving patience - After a day of being scratched by cats, nipped by dogs, and trying to convince your clients that you know more than their dog breeder, the 17-year-old clerk at PetSmart, or their Google search, our patience is generally wearing thin by the end of the day. I myself always wondered why patience was a virtue. Why can’t hurry the hell up be a virtue? 6.) People who only text, message or call when they want free advice - When you’re a veterinarian, you probably have a handful of friends or acquaintances when seeing their name on your phone or Facebook messenger, you know immediately that you’re in for a handful of questions asking for your advice (which they may or may not even follow). We live in a society of instant gratification. Want information on any number of things? Google it and you have an answer in seconds (which may or may not be accurate). Want to buy something? Go to Amazon and it will be shipped to you quickly. Want a pizza? Call or order online and it’s at your house in no time (unless you live in a rural area like ours and don’t get pizza delivery). Have questions about your pet? Hey, I can message a veterinarian on Facebook or text them if I happen to have their phone number. Do I want to answer questions about your sister’s dog’s anal gland problem on a Saturday night? Not really. Odds are other business professionals feel the same way. Honestly, we can’t diagnose problems adequately over the phone, nor can we discern the blurry close-up pictures you’re sending us. Additionally, we can’t and won’t prescribe medications without seeing your pet because we need to examine them to know exactly what they need. These messages or texts create a moral stress for veterinary professionals because we do want to help and we truly care about your pets. We also truly need some separation from our jobs and don't wish to be a 24-hour pet advice line. Be kind and respectful to your veterinarian, and call them during their regular business hours with questions. If it’s truly an emergency, call the emergency line of their clinic or the emergency veterinary hospital in your area. 7.) Romance - I was fortunate enough to already be married before I started veterinary school. A week or two before we started our first year of classes, our school had a program called VET where we went down to a Baptist camp in the Ozarks (kinda weird, right?), got to know each other, did team building exercises, and even a ropes course. While talking to an insurance rep at the orientation, she asked all of us at our table if we were married. I raised my hand. She looked at me with pity, saying, “Oh, that’s too bad. The divorce rate during veterinary school is really high.” My husband and I have always had a solid relationship, but this isn’t exactly something you want to hear before you even start veterinary school. Thankfully, we made it through vet school, and I’ve heard that the hardest year of marriage is the one you’re currently in, sooooo, crap. However, no matter who you are, if you’re a spouse or loved one of a veterinarian, it’s not going to be easy at times. Our other halves put up with a lot of crap (literally and figuratively), especially if they do our laundry. If you’re a veterinarian with a special someone in your life, I encourage you to go out of your way to make them feel special, even just once in awhile. Take them to the movies, cook for them for the first time in six months, do your own darn disgusting laundry, take your tight self to the store and buy them something nice. Some weeks, the most romantic thing we do is hold hands in the truck on our way back from replacing a uterine prolapse. But it really is the little things that count. As far as being a veterinarian and dating? Well, that’s a whole different can of worms that I don’t really have experience with. A single colleague of mine puts it this way, “Single dudes have no interest in listening to what I do, nor do they understand it.” She adds, “Plus when you have to stay after hours and cancel, they don’t understand you really aren’t blowing them off. But they still get their feelings hurt because, ya know, a dog is more important than them.” 8.) That darn pile of veterinary journals/magazines on my desk - This is something I have struggled with since graduation. I love my subscriptions to various veterinary journals and magazines. It's one of the many ways veterinarians can stay up-to-date on changes in the profession, new techniques, and methods. This, of course, is an addition to the multiple hours of continuing education I already complete each year. The trouble is finding time to read all these magazines. As a business owner and veterinarian, there are lots of things I have to do when I sit down at my desk. Things that have to be done before I can read magazines, like catching up on medical records, calling clients with test/lab results, doing follow-up calls on some of my sick patients, responding to emails, and calling back clients with questions. Some days I feel like I spend half of my day on the phone. I wonder why James Herriott didn't write about being on the phone all day? However, I always remain optimistic that I'll get to read my magazines eventually, and the pile grows and grows on my desk until the next batch of magazines arrive. I then give up and throw the old ones in the trash. At least I get to cross something off my to-do list. I think “never going to happen” is just the same as “done.” 9.) Walk-Ins - No clinic is immune to the walk-in conundrum. Unscheduled appointments can really put a wrench in things. I’m not talking about emergencies, such as animals getting hit by cars and being rushed to the clinic. I’m talking about people deciding to show up with their animals at random. There are some clinics (usually in larger cities) that are walk-in clinics or emergency clinics where this is more acceptable. However, most private practice veterinary clinics operate on an appointment basis. In our clinic, this can happen with both companion animals and large animals. I can’t tell you how many times my receptionist has answered the phone with a producer on the other line saying, “Hey, I got 40 calves in my trailer and I’m on the way to the clinic with them.” Half the time we have to tell people to turn around and go home or wait two hours. However, we probably experience this situation the most with pets, usually on Saturdays which are already busy. Question: Do you walk into your physician’s office without scheduling an appointment for a non-emergency condition? Most would say no because the receptionist would probably just laugh at you. Most clinics will accommodate clients as best we can, but sometimes we’re simply too busy. It usually takes forethought and sometimes quite a bit of work to get pets or livestock rounded up to take to the clinic. Before you start that process, it’s best to call your veterinarian’s office first. That ensures that you won’t have to wait as long and it keeps the staff at a veterinary clinic sane. 10.) People who call the emergency line for non-emergency things - My colleagues and I have discussed this struggle frequently. After years of practice, you adjust to being on call. Those of us that practice in smaller towns or rural areas get calls at all times of the day and night. We’re happy to do this as it is an important service to provide for your clients. However, every veterinarian will have to deal with clients that abuse the privilege of 24-hour veterinary access. Some clinics have separate emergency numbers that are listed in a phone book or on their website. My clinic simply forwards the phone to the veterinarian on call. Because of this, I have clients that legitimately think they will get an answering machine when calling this number, which is understandable. However, there are always those calls after-hours that can make you shake your head. There’s the call at 2 A.M. for the dog with the itchy ears or irritated anal glands. There’s the person that wants to schedule an appointment on Sunday evening. Or the person that wants a price quote for a spay on a Saturday night. Look, I get it. Sometimes the weekends and evenings are my first chance to breath and remember all the things on my to-do list. However, instead of calling your veterinarian the minute you think of it, make a to-do list and call them during their regular office hours. It will keep your vet sane and they will be eternally grateful. And that’s it folks. Those are the things I don’t have time for, so please don’t stop by my house unannounced because I’d really like you to think that I actually have it together. Maybe now I’ll have time to go on a hike with my dog or go for a run. I certainly will not be cleaning though. I hope I’ve made that clear.
2 Comments
Bekki Galloway
2/29/2016 02:08:37 am
I will save a copy of that documentary for you, just in case you want to watch it on a roadtrip across Kansas!
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Jessica Stroupe
2/29/2016 04:17:26 am
Haha! Thanks, Mom!
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Jessica Stroupe, DVM
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