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Diffusing Difficult Situations with Veterinary Clients
In the fast-paced and stressful world of veterinary medicine, conflicts are inevitable. Very often these disagreements involve upset or angry clients who make statements like “you’re only in it for the money” or “you should have been able to figure out my pet’s problem by now”. When our self-image is challenged, particularly with accusations of […]
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Navigating the Top Stressors in Veterinary Practice
In the heartwarming yet challenging realm of veterinary practice, we, the dedicated professionals, often find ourselves juggling an array of stressors that shape our daily lives. Acknowledging these challenges is not just a necessity for our mental wellbeing; it’s a vital step toward nurturing a compassionate and supportive community. Let’s dive into the most common […]
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Defining Futile Care and Its Impact on Wellbeing in Veterinary Medicine
As an emergency and critical care specialist, I can wholeheartedly attest to providing futile care to patients whose owners who would not consent to euthanasia or discontinuation of intensive care. I remember one dog in particular who had a collapsing trachea that was stented and then had progression of his disease resulting in laryngeal and […]
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Five Things We Now Know About the Mental Health of Veterinarians
Several years ago, I wrote a blog “Five things you didn’t know about the mental health of veterinarians”. It was published at a time when news about suicide among veterinary professionals was starting to emerge and studies were underway to learn more about psychological distress among veterinarians. In the largest of those earlier studies, we […]
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How to Deal with a Difficult Co-Worker
If you’re anything like me then you have had interactions with co-workers that were less than desirable. I think you know what I’m talking about. The eye rolls…the rude comments…the standoffish behaviour. These can all create a lot of discomfort and tension in the workplace. Veterinary medicine attracts a lot of different personalities and it […]
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Five Strategies to Stop Being a People-Pleaser
Do you apologize often, pretend to agree with everyone, or feel uneasy when someone is angry with you? Do you go to great lengths to avoid conflict and resist saying no, even when you want to scream “he** no!”? If this sounds familiar, then you are like countless other “people-pleasers” who struggle with setting […]
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Euthanasia Conversations Impact Veterinary Team Wellbeing
If you are a veterinarian like me, you have probably lost count of the number of times a client has said “I could never do what you do”. Of course, they are referring to euthanizing animals. And while performing euthanasia procedures is certainly not the easiest task that we do as veterinarians, it is also […]
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Why You Should Form Habits Instead of Resolutions in January
At the start of any year, many of us look to this new beginning as a “fresh start” or “clean slate”. In fact, habit-forming experts say that the start of a new year, season, job, or relationship can be a favourable time to drop bad habits and pick up new ones. That said, when most […]
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The One Thing I’m Taking Away From 2020…
The countdown is on to the end of 2020, a year that will not soon be forgotten, and has been wrought with stress, exhaustion, and isolation in response to COVID-19. I, for one, am grateful for the fresh start that 2021 will bring, with hopes for a tempered pandemic, a renewed sense of optimism for […]
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Five Tools to Help Veterinary Caregivers Stay Resilient During the Coronavirus Pandemic
These are truly unprecedented times. Even the most seasoned of veterinary professionals have not experienced our “new normal”. From streamlining services to only what is considered urgent, emergent, or essential to physical distancing from clients by providing consultations by phone or video, veterinary practice life has shifted in ways we could not have imagined just […]
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Are you using coping strategies as self-care?
At a time when burnout, moral stress, compassion fatigue, and suicide are dominating conversations regarding wellbeing in the veterinary industry, self-care has been broadly advocated as a necessary practice for veterinary care providers. However, the definition of self-care seems to vary depending on who you ask; what many consider self-care practices are more accurately regarded […]
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Why we need to be careful how we talk about suicides among veterinary professionals
Hardly a week goes by when I don’t receive a Google alert or see some glaring headline about suicides in the veterinary profession. Even Time Magazine has weighed in on this heavy topic with a headline that reads “Veterinarians face unique issues that make suicide one of the profession’s biggest worries”. But while we are […]
