Top things we want to share with clients and vets

  There have recently been a lot of social media posts regarding the many negative aspects of veterinary medicine.  The stress, the $100,000+ post-graduate debt, the bullying on social media, and the high suicide rate amongst veterinrians just to name a few concerns.   Despite all of this, the competition to get into the prestigious veterinary programs gets higher and higher.  There is still a huge desire from these intelligent, driven, Type A personalities to not pursue a career in veterinary medicine instead of the human medical field where they would encounter similar stress but be earn a much higher salary.  For some of us being a veterinarian really was our lifelong ambition and dream.  For others it became an idea later that manifested later in life.  What it is about veterinary medicine that still makes it a highly sought after career choice, particularly for women who outnumber the men in current graduating classes by around 25:1!!!! ...

  I remember the first time that I saw a euthanasia.  I was 14 years old and had just started my Highschool Co-op.  I cried my eyes out.  The emotion was overwhelming.  It was so quick.  I did not grow up in a hunting or farming family.  I had not been around a lot of death at that point, either with humans or animals.  I had lost pets but had never been present during the procedure.  It was devastating to watch these people struggle with their decision and experience such raw emotional heartbreak in the presence of strangers.  Did it deter me from veterinary medicine?  Absolutely not.  Did I learn to compartmentalize so that I did not feel that raw emotion during the 1000's of euthanasias I was present for and then had to perform?  Absolutely not.  Many veterinarians can.  It is a protective adaptation.  It does not mean that they don't feel sad.  It just means that they have the ability to put that as...

Someone mentioned this term last weekend during a global meeting to discuss professions in the rehab  c ommunity collaborating and working together.  The comment was that veterinarians have lost the 'art' of veterinary medicine.  The individual, although in the animal rehab business, was not a veterinarian.  So why do they think that and is this a common thought amongst non-veterinarians, or even amongst veterinarians themselves?   For those that were in the 2003 and later graduating classes at the Ontario Veterinary College, "The Art of Veterinary Medicine" was a course that was added into the program  to try to improve communication and conflict resolution for graduating vets (PLEASE correct me if this is not the case)  Since I graduated prior to this, it was not a course I was familiar with, but understood that if you mentioned it to any veterinarian who went through it you obtained an eye roll and a comment about it being useless.  I was ...

  Thanksgiving 2020 I have a long list of topics that I want to cover in this blog but yet it seems more appropriate to leave those for another day.  2020 has been a crazy year.  Friends have lost loved ones.  We have said goodbye to many patients.  This is not the Thanksgiving that we wanted.  I want to be with my family.  I want to be sitting down to eat a big meal with 20 people in my house drinking and laughing.  I want to be snuggling my baby nephew who is growing rapidly.  Unfortunately none of those things will happen this year.  It is so easy to write this year off and think of all the things that make me angry....all of the things that 2020 has changed and the stress that this has induced.  But as I sit typing this I listen to my crazy parrot, watch my lazy cat looking out the window, and my daughter making apple crumble squares I know that there is still so much for me to be thankful for. I am thankful for my little fur fa...

 What is Imposter Syndrome.  Wikipedia defines it as " a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments or talents and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".  I wouldn't say that this is something I experienced until more recently in my career.  Although I suffered from having less than ideal confidence in myself, I never doubted that I should not be doing what I was doing.  As my veterinary career path became more specialized, however, Imposter Syndrome started to creep in to my head every so often. So why I am I bringing this up.  I did something for the first time last night.  I had the opportunity to do a webinar on senior rehab and integrative medicine thanks to Hills and the VET continuing education platform.  Over my years as a vet I have pushed myself many times out of my comfort zone including teaching veterinarians about acupuncture, and speaking in front of people.  I frequently...

Over the last 5 years, since our opening at 850 Legion Rd, Unit 5, Burlington, Ontario, we have steadily made new wonderful relationships with so many referring clinics, ranging from Toronto, to Niagara Falls.  We are so incredibly greatful for these clinics and the trust that they have to send their beloved patients to us.   We created this blog as a little  summary that hopefully helps clarify some of the questions we get from both our referring vets and from our clients! 1) DO WE NEED TO DO X-RAYS We understand the stress finanically and sometimes physically that getting radiographs puts on everyone.  It is  not easy to put a 180 lb great dane on an x-ray table.  It is not easy to get a puppy to stay still so that great views can be achieved.  Working in regular practice for 16 years, I totally understand!!  Extreme circumstances exist where getting those radiographs are just not possible, especially if sedation is required.  We would...