Lessons in forging a new path in vetmedJanuary 3, 2023Another year has wound down, and in the veterinary world, that means things are about to amp up. The holiday season went by fast, and most likely has increased the tension from people around us. The past year has been tough for most of us in the veterinary space.
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What veterinarians can learn from hummingbirdsSeptember 28, 2022From the time of James Herriot to modern 24/7 practice, some aspects of veterinary medicine will never change. Then as now, we do not know what will walk in the door, what surgical skills will be required of us, what complicated treatments must be instituted, or what conclusions must be determined and deftly explained. This makes for interesting work days. Alas, performing at the ragged edge of ability, efficiency, performance, and limitation as we do, it is no overstatement to say we experience hard days.
Our biggest mistakes and the lessons we learnMay 27, 2019Is there ever a day when you don't make a mistake? Sometimes it's as tiny as Cheyletiella; other times, it looms as large as a pachyderm. A classmate and friend of mine from the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 1980, the late Drew Turner, DVM, had a well-known father who was a beloved pastor from a large church in Seattle. A popular Seattle Times religion columnist and a gifted speaker, the Reverend Dale Turner had a quote about mistakes that I kept inside my day planner: "It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes, and make amends for them. To make a mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character." I recently made a major mistake. Not my first, but one of my worst, and especially egregious because of the increased awareness of the pressures our profession faces and the problems of depression and suicide. An honest mistake I'm a voracious reader and consumer of news. I forward the links to as many as a dozen pet or veterinary-related articles to my trusted decades-long communications director every day. …
