How did you guys choose your vets?

[Minnerbelle]

Meh. I mean to some degree, I do care if a client likes me but to some degree I don't. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing. We're all people, we all have different personalities and while I'm interested in the things clients like to see in a vet and I'll do my best to make a good impression. I'm not about to bend over backwards to change my personality or the way I do things for a single client. Nor do I expect the client to change their personality just to get along with me. There are plenty of vets around and I'd rather see a client find a vet they like and get along with. That isn't to say that I "don't care" if you like me or not but I just don't get hung up on it. I mean, if we had a great veterinary client relationship and then you one day decide you don't like me I'd definitely be trying to find out why. But my main concern is that your pet gets care that you are comfortable with and if that means finding a different vet that fits your personality better, please go for it. It's not that I don't care, it is that people understand that not all personalities get along.

This.

I do bend over backwards for my clients. I do whatever I can to make them happy. I go out of my way to help people. If that's not good enough, and the client is fighting me every step of the way, I have no intentions of forcing them to agree with me. If they're a better fit with a different doctor, that is the best way for that patient to get the best care possible. If they don't appreciate the 120% of myself I put in their pet's care, I would rather not continue to do so.

There are things called personality and compatibility. Not all personality traits get along well. I just accept that fact and move on. One thing you do that delights one client will offend another. Such is life. For example, I tend to be an options giver and allow the client to decide. Can do a lot of diagnostics on the front end vs empiric treatment and everywhere in between, here are the pros/cons kinda deal. Many clients think that makes me an amazing doctor. Sometimes though, it makes some clients irate. They do better with doctors who say, we should do "x,y,z" end of story. These doctors tend to get complaints about "having pushed too many unnecessary diagnostics." You just can't win them all.

Recently I had a client who told me they preferred to see me because I don't seem to "upsell them on unnecessary things like the other doctors who seem to only care about profit." It left me scratching my head because I did quite a bit of stuff for their pet, including three surgical procedures (all elective) and all the diagnostics to go along with it that I recommended. They never declined a single thing. They were in maybe the top 50 clients this year for money spent at the clinic... (And this is a busy multi doctor practice). They spent way more this year with me than other years. And we had a really good relationship. I'm not sure how she came to that conclusion about the other doctors. This is a really nice client, and there isn't a doctor in the practice that i think aren't wonderful people. It's weird how these perceptions work. It's just the way it is. When you work with 50+ clients in a week, you can't expect every client to love you. You can't get all worked up about the random client who for some reason hates you. It's not worth your sanity.

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[LetItSnow]

Hey! It's cold here today, too. 48 degrees

Oh. Shut. Up.

 

[Coquette22]

I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but it's also important to note that you can't always declare one clinic "bad". Different doctors within a given clinic can have pretty dramatically different treatment philosophies.

 

[battie]

Another point: if a staff member told you bad things about a doctor in their office, I'd wonder what in heck is going on. Why is this staff member willing to throw a superior under the bus? Is there really a problem with the medicine that doctor practices? Or has that staff member been disciplined because of that doctor and is resentful?

No one understands the "office politics" of an establishment other than those directly involved. Keep in mind that there are things going on behind the scenes that may influence the answer that have nothing to do with the doctor's capabilities.

 

[Starry-chan]

I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but it's also important to note that you can't always declare one clinic "bad". Different doctors within a given clinic can have pretty dramatically different treatment philosophies.

That's how it is at my vet clinic. The other vet has like 30 years of experience and he seems to really care about the animals, but I don't like his bedside manner at all. It always would make me feel inhibited and self-conscious.

I tried the other vet, though, and it was great. I enjoyed those visits. I felt like I could be myself and say anything and it would be okay (within reason, I wouldn't wanna put her in an awkward position.) Like sometimes when she'd take me back to show me an x-ray, I'd be like, "Wait, wait lemme guess and then you tell me." And I'd point at something and be like, "Is this x,y,z?" And she'd tell me if I was right or not. When I was right, it was great. And when I was wrong it was still great cuz I learned something new And I remember one time when she brought out my dog's blood work print out and told me what she was looking for to confirm or deny her differentials and it totally blew my mind. So cool xD

So, the visits were always like that, we spent most of our time discussing whatever the visit was for, and then I'd get a few minutes to talk to her about pretty anything pertaining to vet med.

On the subject of other vets, I really like the emergency vet and tech I saw last month. They were so fun! They didn't have much going on because we were the only clients there, so I gotta talk with both of them for a good bit. I asked a bunch of questions (some random, haha, like the benefit of taking a digital pulse vs a femoral one) and they seemed happy to answer them all. The vet even sat down and went into detail about why he had chose the treatment that he did and it really made sense! I woulda stayed there all day haha but I didn't wanna take up too much of their time and they had another patient come in.

 

[stealthoscope]

That's how it is at my vet clinic. The other vet has like 30 years of experience and he seems to really care about the animals, but I don't like his bedside manner at all. It always would make me feel inhibited and self-conscious.

I tried the other vet, though, and it was great. I enjoyed those visits. I felt like I could be myself and say anything and it would be okay (within reason, I wouldn't wanna put her in an awkward position.) Like sometimes when she'd take me back to show me an x-ray, I'd be like, "Wait, wait lemme guess and then you tell me." And I'd point at something and be like, "Is this x,y,z?" And she'd tell me if I was right or not. When I was right, it was great. And when I was wrong it was still great cuz I learned something new And I remember one time when she brought out my dog's blood work print out and told me what she was looking for to confirm or deny her differentials and it totally blew my mind. So cool xD

So, the visits were always like that, we spent most of our time discussing whatever the visit was for, and then I'd get a few minutes to talk to her about pretty anything pertaining to vet med.

On the subject of other vets, I really like the emergency vet and tech I saw last month. They were so fun! They didn't have much going on because we were the only clients there, so I gotta talk with both of them for a good bit. I asked a bunch of questions (some random, haha, like the benefit of taking a digital pulse vs a femoral one) and they seemed happy to answer them all. The vet even sat down and went into detail about why he had chose the treatment that he did and it really made sense! I woulda stayed there all day haha but I didn't wanna take up too much of their time and they had another patient come in.

I think it's great that your vet took the time to explain these things to you, but honestly, it is really unfair to criticize a vet because they don't have the time or enthusiasm to personally teach you. Can you imagine how hard it would be to get an appointment anywhere if every vet took this much time in each appointment to let their clients guess what was going on with their dog? (Not to mention that most clients do not want that kind of relationship with their vet) Of course a client has the right to know why a procedure needs to be done, or briefly how it's done and what the risks are, or what something means on a test result - but educating your client enough to help them make a decision is not what you're describing.

Based on your description of your previous vet, and the emergency vet and tech you mention in this post, it sounds like the sort of relationships you want from your veterinary professionals are teaching / mentoring roles. You might get that from a vet you've shadowed with or a clinic you've worked at, but it is completely unreasonable to expect that from, and make it a requirement of, a vet you would take your pet to.

Your original post asked about "red flags" and implied that meant that a practice might be providing "substandard care" - but it seems like you're completely discounting the other vet at this practice only because he doesn't go out of his way to be your pal. Most vets will not go out of their way to be "fun" because their first priority is providing proper care for your pet, and that is the criteria upon which most people judge whether or not they should bring their pet to a certain vet. Even if you got a recommendation for a different vet from someone, I question whether it would even be any use to you?

 

[Starry-chan]

I think it's great that your vet took the time to explain these things to you, but honestly, it is really unfair to criticize a vet because they don't have the time or enthusiasm to personally teach you. Can you imagine how hard it would be to get an appointment anywhere if every vet took this much time in each appointment to let their clients guess what was going on with their dog? (Not to mention that most clients do not want that kind of relationship with their vet) Of course a client has the right to know why a procedure needs to be done, or briefly how it's done and what the risks are, or what something means on a test result - but educating your client enough to help them make a decision is not what you're describing.

Based on your description of your previous vet, and the emergency vet and tech you mention in this post, it sounds like the sort of relationships you want from your veterinary professionals are teaching / mentoring roles. You might get that from a vet you've shadowed with or a clinic you've worked at, but it is completely unreasonable to expect that from, and make it a requirement of, a vet you would take your pet to.

Your original post asked about "red flags" and implied that meant that a practice might be providing "substandard care" - but it seems like you're completely discounting the other vet at this practice only because he doesn't go out of his way to be your pal. Most vets will not go out of their way to be "fun" because their first priority is providing proper care for your pet, and that is the criteria upon which most people judge whether or not they should bring their pet to a certain vet. Even if you got a recommendation for a different vet from someone, I question whether it would even be any use to you?

I honestly am not sure what I want. All I know are two things: I enjoyed my previous vet and that vet is leaving soon. I figured I'd look for somebody else whom I at least felt comfortable around (which I do not with the other vet at the clinic) but beyond that, I felt like I had no idea what to look for. Since you guys know more about this stuff than me, I wanted to see whatever wisdom you had to share, and keep it in mind as I make my choice. And I will.

I figured asking about dentals was a good starting point, because from what you guys have said, letting a dog get extractions at some clinics is scary. My dog's teeth are fine, but it made me wanna inquire into pitfalls to avoid.

 

[dyachei]

I figured asking about dentals was a good starting point, because from what you guys have said, letting a dog get extractions at some clinics is scary. My dog's teeth are fine, but it made me wanna inquire into pitfalls to avoid.

You want to ask what they do for pain control, do they have dental x-ray, and what their general procedure is. You're going to want a place that places IV catheters for their surgeries, perform local blocks for pain control, send you home with pain control, and do gingival flaps as needed. You want someone that's going to make sure that any extraction is done with dental x-rays at least available.

 

[Minnerbelle]

And hopefully monitor blood pressure and have safe warming equipment available

 

[battie]

So the last two clinics I worked/interned at were two vastly different places as far as dentals are concerned: one was a regular GP, only two years old and the other was a 25 year old clinic and the doctor was board certified in dentistry. Obviously the board certified dental vet had a dental x-ray and he made those mandatory for any extractions/root canals he would do; would not do an extraction without x-rays. The other clinic did not have a dental x-ray and did not offer dental x-rays and would do extractions.

Is it a commonly held belief that x-rays should be done for all extractions? I know that the dental vet did not look well upon the other clinic I was at because of this and he tried to give me as many hours as he could so I didn't spend as much time at the other clinic.

 

[dyachei]

Is it a commonly held belief that x-rays should be done for all extractions? I know that the dental vet did not look well upon the other clinic I was at because of this and he tried to give me as many hours as he could so I didn't spend as much time at the other clinic

Look, would you want your dentist to remove a tooth and leave part of it in there?

 

[battie]

Look, would you want your dentist to remove a tooth and leave part of it in there?

That's what I figured. Working between the two clinics definitely showed the polarized idea of "quality care" at two different places.