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Tag: Clients

  • Dr Google can be your friend

    Dr Google can be your friend

    doctor-google-2Technology has changed how we practice veterinary medicine. Gone are the days of the paternalistic relationship between vet and client, where the client will simply go along with whatever the vet deems necessary for the pet.

    Clients are becoming more knowledgeable and, as vets, we’re often faced with a situation where a client comes in armed with a “Dr Google” diagnosis.

    As practitioners, this can be challenging and confronting – maybe because our egos tell us it is an insult to our hard-earned years of training and experience. If this is the case, I think our perspective needs to change.

    Changing perspectives

    Working in an emergency clinic, we regularly talk to clients with questions about something they have read on the internet. I confess I used to feel threatened by this. However, I wasn’t comfortable feeling this way, so I decided to change my perspective on the matter.

    Dr Google
    Is it time to call a truce with Dr Google?

    Here are some ways to turn the old nemesis, Dr Google, into a friend – or, at the very least, call a truce:

    • Make it a point to acknowledge your clients for their initiative and interest in their pet’s health. You are not simply paying lip service, here – the reason these clients have searched for information about their pet’s health is because they care.
    • These clients are generally dedicated to their pet’s health and welfare; they are the ones who are often committed to doing what needs to be done, as long as they understand why and how – and that’s where you come in. Client education is a big part of our jobs.
    • They are pre-armed with knowledge, therefore saving time in the consult room, so you can spend less time describing what the adrenal glands do, for example, and more about why and how they can malfunction.
    • If what they have read is inaccurate, take the opportunity to gain rapport by giving them the correct information or directing them to reputable sites, such as VeterinaryPartner.com – this demonstrates to clients you are still the most reliable source for information about their pet’s health.

    Genuine concern

    Due to the ubiquity of information (and misinformation) about veterinary medicine available on the internet, there is an even stronger reason for us, as vets, to keep up with the latest advancements in veterinary medicine.

    Always try to remember, ultimately, the reason your clients have come to see you having already done some research on the internet is because they are genuinely concerned about their pet – so try to see this as something positive, rather than negative.

    By changing your perspective, you’ll soon find you no longer dread a consult with clients who have brought Dr Google along.

  • Raking it in?

    Raking it in?

    The assumption is often made that many people get into the veterinary industry for the money. In fact, it’s always been a widely held public view that vets are raking it in.

    This is, perhaps, due to a combination of the recognised difficulty of the job, seemingly extortionate vets’ bills and a propensity for Range Rovers.

    Whatever the cause, this view was made all the more apparent on the 18 May edition of Good Morning Britain.

    Concerns about cost

    The original topic of debate – “Should there be an NHS for pets?” – sparked a subsequent debate into the pricing of veterinary care, with strong implications being made that pricing in the veterinary industry is “unregulated” and, therefore, unnecessarily high and perhaps even greedy?

    As an outsider looking in, faced with an objectionably large bill for what you thought would only be a routine check-up, I can see how it’s easy to misunderstand where all that money can go, except into the pockets of the vets themselves – and yet this is a fallacy.

    Clients just don’t understand

    I feel an understandable nationwide misunderstanding exists of the true value of what we consider to be “routine” medical goods and services.

    According to an NHS calculator, without health care, the price of a hospital child delivery would range from £2,500 to £5,000, depending on any complications. In the US, a single doctor’s consultation can cost you upwards of $200 (£141), with the average American spending more than $10,000 (£7,000) in health care a year as of 2016.

    There’s no denying that we take human medical care for granted, so there’s little surprise when the cost of animal medical care puts our clients in need of a pacemaker (free of charge).

    In it for the money

    One of the very first things I learned about veterinary medicine – as I sat, rather excitedly, in a school-organised lecture given by the head vet of a local practice to a room of young, naive wannabe vets – was that if we were thinking of getting into the career for the money, we should change tack now, as we would be sorely disappointed.

    I know I am luckier, now than ever before, to have the luxury of both job and financial security when I leave university, but it needs to be said that neither myself, nor any vet student I have ever encountered, got into this business for the money.

    Even if we had, I think it would be fair to call us fools, as there must surely be an easier way to make money than five years of student housing, student loans, exams and poop scooping.

    Initial outgoings

    I think it also needs to be said that the phrase “it takes money to make money” could indeed be applied very aptly to the veterinary degree. A growing awareness exists of the potential accessibility imbalance when it comes to the vet course, depending on background, social class, funding and so on.

    It’s no secret to those on the inside that getting into, and through, vet school can insure some serious dents in your wallet, and those of your parents (sorry parents); between textbooks, steel toe-capped wellingtons, petrol miles, Airbnbs for long-distance placements and stethoscopes (the most expensive necklace you will ever own), you are looking at a sizeable sum before you even get to student loans.

    And that’s without considering being able to afford the time off work to travel to open days and interviews in the first place, with the assumption that you have a supportive network of family who have the money to fund your ambitions before you’ve even got your foot in the door…

    An NHS for pets?

    The topic of an NHS for pets aside, I think a great deal needs to be done to help us recognise the true privilege that is our human NHS, and the true value of the service given by all medical professionals.

  • Could COVID-19 close the door to the veterinary course?

    Could COVID-19 close the door to the veterinary course?

    It has long been a fear – among those inside the profession and outside – that university places to study veterinary medicine are not as accessible as they should be.

    There is a perception the course, if not the vocation, is slightly elitist – not helped by the impression of most clients that the medical bills they are unaccustomed to paying for themselves mean vets must be absolutely rolling in it.

    I certainly think of myself as extraordinarily lucky to have snagged one of the over-subscribed university places four years ago. I had parents who could afford the time and who were willing to drive me to various EMS placements, and I lived in close proximity to friendly veterinary practices with the patience to have me shadowing them every week.

    Resources

    I also went to a school with the resources to support me through my studies and had a stable and happy home life, which gave me the secure space I needed to revise and prepare for interviews. I even had a grandmother willing and able to drop everything to fly to the other end of the UK for my Edinburgh interview at pretty much last minute’s notice.

    Veterinary medicine is an incredibly competitive, and sometimes arduous, application process, and even students with all the money, time, and educational and familial support in the world struggle to make it in.

    I can only imagine how the added pressure of COVID-19 could have made this process so much harder and reduced its accessibility even further.

    Striking a toll…

    When you combine the mental health pandemic secondary to the coronavirus pandemic with the mental health crisis affecting medical students at every stage of their training – even as early as pre-interview – it becomes apparent how striking a toll this year may have had on some would-be vets.

    Money can also, unfortunately, be a crucial factor when applying to any university position. With the financial burden impressed on countless families since the start of 2020 – and with national unemployment sky-rocketing – the door to further education may be closing to many more.

    Parents worrying about job losses and money problems may be less able to support a child through the application process, and those students coming from complicated or disruptive households have not had the option to take their studies elsewhere – namely a café or school library.

    Tears in tiers

    Those students who have remained in Tier 3 for the majority of the year will have been hit harder by these factors than those in lower tiers.

    Concerns have also risen for international students and maintaining diversity in the course. Overseas vets and vet students are invaluable in many facets of veterinary medicine – for example, they make up a large proportion of vets working in food safety and public health.

    I think it’s important that universities consider an application from every angle and consider the less obvious setbacks brought about by COVID-19 that are perhaps being over-looked. I want the veterinary community to be diverse and self-supporting, and this starts at the very beginning.

  • Connection: step seven

    Connection: step seven

    Before discussing the final element of building connections with clients, let’s recap what this series has explained so far:

    Our clients need to feel four things if we want complaint-free consults with optimum buy-in and compliance: Connection, Trust, Reassurance and Clarity (CTR-C).

    And our mnemonic for connection is: IS IT CHE(esy?) – Set your Intention, Smile, Introduce yourself, Touch, Common ground, Humour and Empathy.

    Now, lets take a deeper dive into what I consider one of the most important ingredients for working with people…

    Empathy

    The ability to be sensitive to your client’s feelings and experiences, and then being able to show them that you “get them” is not only essential for fostering connection – it will also give you the best shot at a long and fulfilled career as a vet.

    Most of us understand this, but how easy is it to maintain an empathetic approach on those long days when it feels like the entire world is trying to tap into your empathy reserves? And how do you fill up your empathy tank?

    For me, it starts with a conscious decision. Before every interaction – before I open that door to the consult room or pick up the telephone – I take a moment to take stock of how I’m feeling: am I frustrated, tired, hungry? Then I ask myself whether this is how I want to feel and if not, how I would prefer to be. And the number one thing I need to be at any one moment is empathetic.

    So, I reset my intentions by saying to myself “think empathy” and asking myself: “How are these people likely feeling right now?”

    That single step is probably one of the most important things I’ve learned in my years as a vet. It’s good for my clients and improves my relationship with them, but it also shields me against compassion fatigue and burnout.

    It is for me as much as it is for them.

    Empathy statements

    Once you’re in the right headspace, you can use empathy statements to show clients you are sensitive to their experiences.

    Here a few examples of phrases that are super-simple and not too soppy that, in my experience, will instantly change the tone of client interactions from cold or even confrontational to collaborative:

    • “I’m sorry you had to wait so long.”
    • “I’m sure this is not how you a planned to spend your Friday night.”
    • “I can see you are very worried about…”
    • “How terrible. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
    • “I realise it’s way past bedtime for your children (if there are young children present), so let’s see if we can find some answers so you can get them home.”
    • “You look all dressed up. Did you have big plans? I’m sure your plans didn’t include hanging out with me!”

    If we start our interactions like that, we immediately signal to our clients that we see them and respect their experience. We show them we are on their side, which puts them on our side.

    Instead of potential adversaries we become a team – and once we’re on the same team every other interaction becomes smoother.

    Conversely, if you omit these kind of statements it could be perceived that you judge your time to be more valuable than that of your client and that he or she should “just be grateful for the privilege of your time”.

    I’ll be the first to confess that this is sometimes exactly how I feel. This is why it’s so important to remain aware of your thoughts, because if your client senses even a sniff of superiority you’re setting yourself up for a rough ride.

    Subconsciously, they’ll be looking for opportunities to bring you back down to earth.

    Quick aside

    I mention the word team, which is exactly what we should aim for with our clients.

    I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “there is no ‘I’ in team”, but did you know there actually is  an “i” in team:

    The “i” in team…

    See, it’s right there in the A-hole.

    Yes, you will meet A-holes – probably on a daily basis. People who are going to try to find fault with what you do regardless of how perfectly you consult and how much you try to connect with them. People who have no intention of paying, people who think they know better than you because they’ve googled or spoken to their breeder.

    This is not written for them. These are not the people you will connect with. They are a challenge you need to face and a cross you’ll have to bear, but if you use these techniques for fostering connection you will reduce the effect these people have on your work life, because:

    A – they will have nothing to complain about
    B – you will find so much more joy in your other clients that the negative effects the A-holes have on your day will be massively reduced in comparison, and the effect they have on your psyche will become a lot less significant
    C – sometimes the interaction is ruined by an A-hole, but it’s not the client… this approach will ensure you are not inadvertently being the A-hole in the story.

    • When this series resumes, it will look at the next step in the CTR-C approach: Trust.
  • Connection: steps five and six

    Connection: steps five and six

    The right intentions, a friendly smile, a warm introduction and appropriate touch – four easy ways to help you foster connection with your clients, as described in the previous post.

    This part will look at two more common-sense strategies to help you forge fast bonds with your clients and ensure problem-free consults: finding common ground with your client, and using humour to expedite connection.

    Common ground

    Like it or not, us humans like to belong to a “tribe”. We’re very quick to judge a stranger as “one of us”, or “one of them”.

    Hopefully we’re all fighting against our biases, but it’s very likely parts of your subconscious mind is still making snap judgements about those around you, including your clients – and that your clients are making similar judgements about you.

    It’s in everyone’s best interest if you’re able to find common ground with your clients, to put you on the same “team”. When a client can relate to you around one or two shared interests, your level of connectedness will instantly jump up a few notches.

    Sometimes you’ll get lucky with an obvious commonality – like a shared background, an accent, or a T-shirt from a favourite sports team. Case in point: whenever I hear a Welsh accent in a consult room I point out the fact I lived in Wales for three years earlier in my career and tell them how much I loved it there. This ridiculously small incidental bit of shared history almost always assures that the client in question will insist on only seeing me in future.

    Other times you have to dig a little bit by asking a few questions about their work, their children, their hobbies, their holiday… anything you can bond around. And if all else fails, you can be certain you have at least one thing in common – animals, and in particular their animal.

    A sincere comment about their pet, or even just the breed of pet, shows you are paying attention and suggests you care. You don’t even have to lie – no need to go on about how lovely little Lucifer is after he’s tried to slash your eyes out; instead, an anecdote about your angry cat, or another patient, or why Lucifer is so angry, or about how hard it must be to get him in his cage at home…

    Any shared experience will lubricate the path to connection almost as much as a glass of wine lubricates a social event.

    Humour

    Here’s another hack straight into the workings of the limbic system of those around you: humour makes people feel good. It buffers stress and increases intimacy by reducing cortisone and adrenaline levels, and increasing the activation of the dopaminergic reward system.

    People who are seen as humorous are perceived as more intelligent and trustworthy. Research shows it even makes you appear more attractive.

    You may think a visit to an emergency vet clinic is no laughing matter, but even in the midst of a crisis very few situations exist where it’s not possible to find a little bit of humour, even if it is bittersweet.

    Besides the obvious comedic gold that surrounds rectal thermometers and the shamelessness of most animals (okay, maybe not cats), humour can be found in just about every situation. Yes, even euthanasias can offer opportunities for an appropriate remark or anecdote – perhaps about the animal when it was younger or a shared memory with enough nostalgic humour to increase the warmth in the situation without detracting from the gravity of the situation.

    Added benefit

    The jokes will not be lost on your own brain. The same feel-good chemicals that you’re inducing in your clients will be hitting your neurones and improving your own sense of well-being.

    Most vets who still love being vets after a decade or more in practice will cite “having fun” at work as one of the most important safeguards against burnout.

    • The next post will take a deeper dive into what I think is the most important tool for good client relationships and a happy career in veterinary science: Empathy.
  • Connection: steps one to four

    Connection: steps one to four

    Offering a handshake may be off the menu for now, but introducing yourself and smiling help create a connection with clients. Image © glisic_albina / Adobe Stock
    Offering a handshake may be off the menu for now, but introducing yourself and smiling help create a connection with clients. Image © glisic_albina / Adobe Stock

    In the previous post I told you about my mnemonic to help me remember the seven tools we can use to help us connect with our clients: IS IT CHE(esy).

    Intention, Smile, Introduction, Touch, Common ground, Humour and Empathy.

    Let’s look at the first four.

    Setting your Intentions

    Is it easy to always be the kind of person who people instantly warm to and trust? Especially by the end of a long day when you’re doing your 27th consult? But does that 27th client deserve the best of you as much as everyone who came before?

    Sometimes this is hard work – and, like all work, you have to decide to commit to it. This will come easily at times, but other times you will constantly need to reset your intentions to remind yourself of how you want to be before you start each new interaction.

    This decision will show in your demeanour and shine through in your voice, and register loud and clear in the subconscious of the client within seconds.

    Smile

    This may sound trite, but a lot of science exists behind smiling. The contraction of your facial muscles into a smile is an involuntary reaction stimulated by the release of endorphins in your brain when it receives a pleasurable impulse. But this is where it gets interesting – this process also works in reverse.

    The contraction of the facial muscles involved in smiling feeds back into the brain and causes the release of more endorphins. In other words, while feelings of pleasure will cause a smile, a smile also causes feelings of pleasure.

    Chicken and egg, right?

    The second important thing to know about smiles is that they are contagious. When we see a smile, our brains want to mirror what we see – so we smile. And what happens when we smile?

    Introduce yourself

    If our goal is to connect, then starting your interactions by at least telling your clients who you are sounds too simple to even have to say. Yet many of the client complaints I’ve dealt with include comments about clients not knowing who they saw – or even worse, about them not knowing they ever saw a vet.

    How are people going to connect with you if they don’t even know your name?

    Also, remember to be clear to the client about your role in the care of his or her animal. For example: “Hi, I’m Dr Hubert. I’m the senior vet on shift, and I’ll be taking care of Fluffy tonight.”

    Touch

    At the time of writing this, in 2020, shaking hands is officially off the menu. Which is a shame, because appropriate touch is a very easy hack to increasing feelings of connectedness.

    Physical touch has been shown to reduce stress hormones and cause a release of oxytocin, which directly increases feelings of connectedness – you’re drugging the person into liking you.

    Touch, as a tool, can go beyond the handshake. Of course there is a fine line between “warm” and “creepy”, but appropriate touch at appropriate moments can mean a lot to your clients.

    A quick squeeze of the forearm or a momentary hand on the shoulder can reassure and foster connection faster than anything you can say. It’s a simple reminder to both you and the client that we’re human.

    • The next post will continue the connection hacks with the next two tools: Common ground and Humour.
  • Connection: is it cheesy?

    Connection: is it cheesy?

    In my previous post, I listed four key feelings that clients need to experience in their dealings with us if we want to achieve great client relationships.

    In this part, we’ll start by looking more closely at the first of these four feelings – connection.

    Foundations

    Connection serves as the foundation the entire relationship will be built on. When a strong sense of connection is established early on in our dealings with clients, everything else becomes almost frictionless.

    Have you ever experienced the situation where you hit it off with a client, and when the discussion turns to a possible surgical procedure they insist you be the one to do the surgery, even though they don’t know anything about your surgical skills?

    For all the client knows, you’re a complete butcher – but because they like you, they trust you will have their best interests at heart.

    When someone feels a connection with you, they want to trust you. Hence, the client will be more open to what you have to say to overlook problems.

    It’s not logical, but then nothing about emotions is.

    Creating environment

    So, how do we create the right environment for connection?

    What follows are some very practical tips to make it happen. Some of these may seem very obvious – if someone tells you the first step to running a marathon is to remember to tie your shoelaces, you may think it’s too basic to even mention; however, I’ve seen many vets stumble (indeed, I’ve often stumbled) at the starting line amid the chaos of a busy practice because they forget those very basics.

    Which is why I’ve created a structured format to help me remember the steps.

    Part one introduced you to the CTR-C acronym to help memorise the broad outline. Now, I’ll present you with my silly mnemonic to help me memorise the ingredients that will help you foster connection.

    IS IT CHE(ESY)?

    • Intentions
    • Smile
    • Introduction
    • Touch
    • Common ground
    • Humour
    • Empathy

    -ESY is just to finish the sentence. Maybe you can come up with three more?

    • The next post will dig deeper into how to use each of the connection tools.
  • Grieving as a professional

    Grieving as a professional

    The pet of a close friend of mine has just passed away. Zilla the black Lab was the most beloved dog, who had a fondness both for rummaging through the bins and belly scratches.

    She’d had progressive problems with her health and, earlier this month, it became clear that, sadly, the time had come for her to leave.

    I’m sure that, just as parent’s try not to prioritise one child over the other, vets do their best not to pick their favourites, but in my mind it’s an inevitable outcome of having a human inside the white coat; some little lives are bound to touch us more than others, sometimes without us even knowing or in ways we didn’t realise until we properly reflect.

    Early consults

    Without me realising it, Zilla wove herself into my early veterinary evolution. When we were younger, my friend and I would often joke that I would be Zilla’s vet in the future.

    thumbnail_Zilla 2
    Eleanor Goad‘s first “patient”.

    Even in the era of early GCSEs, friends would consult me on topics ranging from “that strange rash came back” to “she’s eaten half the box of Celebrations – wrappers and all!”

    Young, utterly underqualified and fully aware of the fact, I would always advise the friend to consult a real professional – but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t take a little pride each time in being asked, or that I didn’t take a deep interest in the outcome or feel the emotional impacts of that outcome.

    Grief counsellor

    I’ve been a shoulder to cry on during the bereavement of several small furry friends, and so, without ever seeing a euthanasia in person, I am not naïve to the aftermath.

    Grief is an unavoidable part of the veterinary field, as it is a part of human medicine, and even as professionals on the other side of the examination table, it is bound to rock us from time to time.

    I worry that a part of the mental health decline in the veterinary population is a lack of addressing the small chinks in the armour that are bound to build up over the years.

    Toughen up

    Zilla’s passing hit me harder than I’d expected; she was the most beautiful dog and lit up every room she entered – and yet a part of me was telling myself I couldn’t be upset because I was going into a profession where death was part of the nine-to-five and I had to “toughen myself up” to it.

    I think it’s important for both vets and owners alike to acknowledge that they are allowed to grieve, and that the loss of an animal can hit just as hard as the loss of a person.

    Find a balance

    As a vet I am undoubtedly going to bond with many of my patients as I follow them through their lives, and their ups and downs, while striving to right all their wrongs.

    We are entitled to our emotions. It’s just about finding a balance between our responsibility as professionals to support our clients when things go downhill and the responsibility to ourselves when our mental health takes a downward spin – and to allow ourselves to grieve if we need to.

  • Do you have an impostor syndrome persona?

    Do you have an impostor syndrome persona?

    Impostor syndrome is that overwhelming feeling you don’t deserve to be where you are. It’s the niggling sense that maybe you’re not as intelligent, creative or talented as you may seem to the outside world.

    We all have this little voice in our head – your inner dialogue starts to seed the suspicion that maybe your achievements are down to luck, good timing or just being in the “right place at the right time” – and it is accompanied by the fear that, one day, you’ll be exposed as a fraud; that you’ll be “found out”.

    Some common thoughts and feelings associated with impostor syndrome include one-liners, such as:

    • “I must not fail”
    • “I’m not good enough”
    • “I can’t make a mistake”
    • “I feel like a fake”

    And when you do well or achieve something, you say:

    • “Someone made a mistake”
    • “It’s all down to luck”
    • “It’s no big deal”

    Sound familiar?

    Self-sabotage

    If you don’t learn to recognise and understand impostor syndrome for what it is, a danger exists that it can start to spiral into deeper seated feelings of self-doubt, such as fear of success, fear of failure, or even self-sabotage – which is where you are creating obstacles in your daily life that interfere with your long-term goals.

    Procrastination can become one of those self-sabotage behaviours. People who suffer from the most extreme forms of impostor syndrome live in constant fear of exposure and rejection, and it creates a feeling of isolation.

    So, when does the great hammer of impostor syndrome strike most often? Strangely it’s often when we have achieved something, or in moments of success.

    Perfectly normal

    The important thing to realise is that those feelings are completely normal. It would actually be abnormal if we didn’t have impostor moments, as it would mean we were not stretching ourselves out of our comfort zone, trying new things or showing any self-awareness.

    Why is this important? Because the actions you take in response to these feelings can either inspire you to work harder, leading to further success and recognition, or they can lead to “downshifting”. This is when you revise your goals down, play small and become less ambitious, which, in turn, prevents you from fulfilling your true potential.

    Here are two examples of impostor personas, along with some solutions to overcome them:

    1. High expectations

    Do you set extremely high expectations for yourself? If you meet 99% of your goals, does that 1% still feel like a failure? Often, any small mistake will make you question your own competence. A couple of strategies can help.

    First is developing ways of demonstrating self-compassion – remember you are entitled to make small mistakes occasionally and forgive yourself. Don’t forget to reward yourself for getting the big things right. Focus on the bigger picture and what went right, rather than the small things that didn’t.

    Also important here is pushing yourself to act before you feel ready. There is no such thing as “perfect” or “100% flawless”, so learn to accept that and focus on taking action – taking action proves you are not a fraud.

    2. Harder, better, faster, stronger

    Are you someone who pushes himself or herself to work harder and faster than those around you, to prove you’re not an impostor? Do you feel the need to succeed in all aspects of life – at work, as parents, as partners – and often feel stressed when you are not accomplishing something? Perhaps you struggle to relax or take a break?

    The first strategy to overcome this is seeking internal validation – start training yourself to veer away from external validation. As you become more attuned to internal validation and able to nurture your inner confidence that states you’re competent and skilled, you won’t feel that need to push to work harder than everyone else just to prove yourself.

    Secondly, call out the lies and the limiting beliefs inside your head about what you need to prove. Give yourself credit for your achievements and brilliance, and think about what other people say about you – your clients, colleagues, friends and family.

    It is probably only you who sees the negative, so write down your achievements and the positive feedback from those around you into a positivity journal – and when you are having rubbish days, go back and read through it.

    Did either of these relate to you?

    • Next week’s tip will cover three more impostor personas and solutions.
  • What about vets on the front line?

    What about vets on the front line?

    Our profession is generally pretty good at pulling together in the face of adversity.

    I’ve always loved the community feel of being able to go to CPD events, and usually know someone, or have connections with someone, who is there.

    I love being able to send a message to my uni friends at any time of day or night – be that for clinical advice, moral support or reassurance on something entirely non-vet related – and get a reply. Failing that, you can often seek an answer or support from one of the vet Facebook groups on numerous topics.

    In light of COVID-19, the veterinary world has rallied together… to a point.

    One for all, and all for…

    Those who have been furloughed are finding a wealth of free online CPD available to fill their time and keep connected clinically. Not only are there webinars, but there’s a plethora of online workouts or discussion groups to actively engage in.

    That all sounds lovely, but what about those of us who are still working? What support is there for the minimal staff left in clinics who (despite all these figures on turnover being down) are battling ridiculous increases in workload?

    Less is… less

    There’s less staff in most clinics, to varying degrees, but I have heard horror stories about severely restricted numbers and even certain groups furloughing everyone but vets.

    Whatever business decision may lie behind that, these clinics must be in chaos. Vets, who are already stretched trying to do their “normal” jobs (it is currently far from normal), are also running their own bloods, cleaning, answering phones, chasing and taking payments, sorting insurance claims and ordering stock, among other things.

    These tasks may be alien to some of us, and trying to navigate previously undiscovered depths of the practice management system at the end of an exhausting shift adds unnecessary stress.

    We love our nurses and receptionists as it is, but those who are currently deprived of them will be unearthing a a gargantuan respect for them in the future.

    Crisis consulting

    Consulting in this environment makes you realise how much multitasking we would ordinarily do. Currently, my consults look like this:

    • Owner arrives and calls reception.
    • I try to work out which car he or she is in, then take a brief history from 2m away.
    • Take the animal into the practice.
    • Find a nurse to assist with the handling.
    • Examine the animal.
    • Telephone the owner from the practice or go back outside to discuss with him or her from a safe distance, before returning to the animal to give treatment.
    • Give the animal back to the owner.
    • Dispense medication, then ask the owner to call reception again to pay…

    This takes a lot longer than normal consults, so working to offer the same number of appointment slots is both relentless and draining.

    Lies and abuse

    Everyone is used to certain number of disgruntled clients, but the barrage of abuse those on reception are receiving from clients is unprecedented.

    It would seem many members of the public are not getting the “stay at home” message and are furious when we explain a nail clip is not an emergency. As a result, we are now seeing clients exaggerating, or just plain lying, in order to be seen.

    A choice example last week was a dog booked for a potential euthanasia, but turned out to be a weight clinic. We then had to stifle our disbelief and anger at these time wasters before moving on to the next client, who has desperately tried to hold off from having to make the difficult decision to say goodbye to their dearest pet under these circumstances – and yet we can only offer words of comfort from a distance and inject from the end of a drip line, which really doesn’t seem enough.

    Unfortunately, the COVID clearout seems to be worse than the annual Christmas clearout, and these scenarios are not isolated, but heartbreakingly frequent.

    Lost in translation

    And what support do we get? We get the RCVS and BVA back-pedalling on their original statement, to then shirk responsibility and leave it “up to individual practices” to interpret the “guidance” how they wish.

    After the clarity of the original stance on vaccinations, this ambiguous follow up was very disappointing. The truth is many vets feel that corporates and business owners will take this as a green light to return to business as usual, while firmly claiming that it is most definitely not business as usual.

    I can agree with that – the way we are working is certainly not the usual, but if we are now to do vaccines and neutering again, what exactly are we missing? Stable med checks, done via telephone rather than in person?

    Taking the high or low road?

    We get colleagues taking the moral high ground, questioning our commitment to the oath we took on graduation to put animal heath and welfare above all else. Just because I don’t think vaccinations are currently a priority, it doesn’t mean I don’t care about my patients anymore – human health has to come first.

    We get corporates issuing yet more paperwork to encourage us to document risk assessments – while seemingly offsetting the responsibility to us – so that if their business gets sued for denying to provide care or (God forbid) agreeing to see an animal that results in transmission of COVID-19 between owner/vet, it was the vet or receptionist who took the phone call’s fault for making that decision.

    Aside from this, the phones are ringing off the hook and vets are running around like blue-arsed flies, so practically, where are we going to find the time to fill in these bloody forms?

    Horseplay

    Before any of that, the request to risk assess mild ailments is fundamentally flawed when we are being told to go out and do horse boosters.

    While equine vaccinations and other routine work that is now being pushed again, because equine turnover is the most severely affected of all veterinary sectors, we are told to maintain safe social distancing at all times.

    With equine vets reported to be one of the most dangerous occupations, is it sensible to expect us to administer vaccines with no one holding the horse? In some, if not most, cases, that will probably be okay. But with owners consistently lying to us to be given an “emergency” appointment, how long before an owner lies about his or her severely needle/vet-shy horse and one of us pays the price?

    Heading for burnout

    I don’t pretend to understand the intricacies of business management, but you cannot flog a dead horse. Many vets who have barely had time to inhale lunch are working different and longer shifts just to cope with the “emergencies” – and yet you’re asking us to do more?

    It’s incredulous that the veterinary sector seems to think itself superior to all the other thousands of businesses up and down the country that are struggling or facing collapse. By continuing to pile the pressure on to staff with increasing risk of burnout, you might preserve some income, but you’ll be lucky to have any vets left by the end of this.

    Is anybody listening?

    We are angry that the higher-ups in the profession are treating us this way. We feel guilty for being jealous of, or feeling antipathy towards, our furloughed colleagues. We are emotionally drained. We feel guilty because this can only be a fraction of how front-line NHS staff must be feeling – and above all, we are exhausted.

    In a profession with an already poor record for mental health and suicide, we are now even more stretched, under even more pressure from all angles – and no one seems to be listening.