Class of 2015... How ya doing?

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Coquette22 said:
After a nightmare bull**** mature dog spay last week where I had to call in the other doc to help me basically retie all my ****ing ligatures, she let me in on a similar surgery today since it's my day off. She can be intimidating but very helpful and I appreciated the effort. I feel so stunted in my surgical skills since old boss did so much of the surgery and I just never had chance to practice.
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Now that I actually get surgery days (I wasn't before), I do feel my surgical skills and confidence is growing. I haven't done a mature dog spay in a while, but I don't even like small dog spays. I just don't like spays. So don't freak out about that surgery. I know a lot of people (and even surgeons) say that the most difficult surgery is a large, mature dog spay.

I did get me a Dowling spay retractor, finally. It was amazing the first time I used it, but the second time was on a mature German Shepherd and I encountered a LOT of bleeding (ended up being muscle as I was slightly off mid-line) but I had originally thought the retractor pulled through the ovarian pedicle, so I was basically ****ting myself and my co-worker/boss had to come in and save me. I should probably try it again. Just another tool to think about if you are interested.
 
I haven't seen an animal since August, with the exception of a neuter and a few complicated dental extractions. Sick dog? I'm going to have to grab a book and see what it says. Got kicked in the mouth by a horse and 208 is a pulpy mess and 108-106 are fractured along the long axis? Oh, I'm all over it. I'm learning that doing surgery in a tent on a table that is 8" too short isn't terrible, and inspecting food production facilities is kinda fun.
 
DVMDream said:
Now that I actually get surgery days (I wasn't before), I do feel my surgical skills and confidence is growing. I haven't done a mature dog spay in a while, but I don't even like small dog spays. I just don't like spays. So don't freak out about that surgery. I know a lot of people (and even surgeons) say that the most difficult surgery is a large, mature dog spay.

I did get me a Dowling spay retractor, finally. It was amazing the first time I used it, but the second time was on a mature German Shepherd and I encountered a LOT of bleeding (ended up being muscle as I was slightly off mid-line) but I had originally thought the retractor pulled through the ovarian pedicle, so I was basically ****ting myself and my co-worker/boss had to come in and save me. I should probably try it again. Just another tool to think about if you are interested.
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If you can push down on the side of the abdominal wall and the blood doesn't immediately (literally) pour (literally) outside your incision, it's not a torn pedicle 😉
 
Got my first full paycheck (we get paid monthly...) and it was sweet. Things continue to go well overall - a few hiccups in scheduling due to people just being disorganized but I get two days off next week instead of one so I'll just keep plugging along. Overall I'm much happier with the quality of medicine. I really miss my old coworkers, though - things were a lot more collaborative. New coworkers are pleasant and happy to lend an opinion but it feels different. Did time as the solo doc at the newer sister practice where I hope to end up permanently and it went well 🙂
 
Caia said:
Have any of you taken (or know someone who has) the VIN "Surviving the night/day" course/CE?
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I took the Getting Through the Day course this past fall. It was alright, but I don't think they told me anything I didn't already know. It may be good for those that have been out a few years and could use a refresher but a lot of the stuff was still really fresh in my mind from school. The Day one started off focusing a lot on resolving conflict within the clinic and dealing with difficult client interactions, which I could have lived without. I imagine the Surviving the Night one is pretty helpful though.
 
So I had a solo large mature dog spay this week (1 year crazy Dobie). Dr H came in on her day off (love her!) to be an adult in the building in case things went sideways, but it all went very well and I was feeling almost semi-competent. I was off the next day. Thursday morning I'm just waking up and my receptionist messages me on Facebook to say the Dobie is back and bleeding actively from her incision. Still happy, pink, stable, etc. I curse a lot but can't get into work immediately, so techs place a belly bandage and send her to the e-clinic. We get the records from the e-clinic the next day, she's still there and they're testing for Von Willebrand's. Can't catch a break!

Otherwise, things are good. I definitely did some questioning in the summer over whether packing up and moving and quitting my job was the right decision, but I'm feeling pretty stable now. My current clinic has some hang-ups, but over all we're good. I have a stable relationship. The house in CB is rented and covering itself. My horse is working really well (and has had 0 lameness since being back on 24/7 turn out, despite us working at second level dressage). I kind of feel like I'm successfully adulting?
 
twelvetigers said:
He still posts stuff on FB. Not ded.

Y he leave tho?
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Too many pre-vets and vet students who are too disrespectful and insistent that they understand what being a vet is like (better than actual vets who are, you know, vetting). Life is busy enough and I have enough on my plate without giving up time offering insight - even if it's blunt, at least it's honest and reflective of my experience - to folks who don't appreciate it. I certainly don't expect automatic acceptance, and god only knows I don't have a corner on all the info or truth, but I do expect a pre-vet or vet student to at least stop their fingers before posting and say "You know? This person is a vet. Maybe they actually do know a little more about [topic X as it relates to being a vet] than I do." That doesn't happen enough around here.

So. Meh. I have other things I can do where there is a sense of appreciation. I stay active with the vet student crowd doing surgery teaching trips, doing interviews for the school, that sort of thing.

Sorry. It didn't start as a "that's it, I'm done" kinda thing. I just realized the level of frustration with pre-vets and vet students vs the level of 'fun' was disproportionate, so I decided to take a step back and take a break .... and the next thing I know it's however much later and I haven't been here in a while. Yanno?

kaydubs said:
Like magic, he appears!
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Almost like someone poked me on FB and said people thought I was dead. Hmmmmm. 🙂
 
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LetItSnow said:
Too many pre-vets and vet students who are too disrespectful and insistent that they understand what being a vet is like (better than actual vets who are, you know, vetting). Life is busy enough and I have enough on my plate without giving up time offering insight - even if it's blunt, at least it's honest and reflective of my experience - to folks who don't appreciate it. I certainly don't expect automatic acceptance, and god only knows I don't have a corner on all the info or truth, but I do expect a pre-vet or vet student to at least stop their fingers before posting and say "You know? This person is a vet. Maybe they actually do know a little more about [topic X as it relates to being a vet] than I do." That doesn't happen enough around here.

So. Meh. I have other things I can do where there is a sense of appreciation. I stay active with the vet student crowd doing surgery teaching trips, doing interviews for the school, that sort of thing.

Sorry. It didn't start as a "that's it, I'm done" kinda thing. I just decided the level of frustration with pre-vets and vet students vs the level of 'fun' was disproportionate, so I decided to take a step back and take a break .... and the next thing I know it's however much later and I haven't been here in a while. Yanno?



Almost like someone poked me on FB and said people thought I was dead. Hmmmmm. 🙂
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Those of us who have always appreciated your insight (and the lulz) do miss you around here. It just isn't the same without my favorite grumpy old man 😉 (shhh don't tell sobsob)
 
LetItSnow said:
Too many pre-vets and vet students who are too disrespectful and insistent that they understand what being a vet is like (better than actual vets who are, you know, vetting). Life is busy enough and I have enough on my plate without giving up time offering insight - even if it's blunt, at least it's honest and reflective of my experience - to folks who don't appreciate it. I certainly don't expect automatic acceptance, and god only knows I don't have a corner on all the info or truth, but I do expect a pre-vet or vet student to at least stop their fingers before posting and say "You know? This person is a vet. Maybe they actually do know a little more about [topic X as it relates to being a vet] than I do." That doesn't happen enough around here.

So. Meh. I have other things I can do where there is a sense of appreciation. I stay active with the vet student crowd doing surgery teaching trips, doing interviews for the school, that sort of thing.

Sorry. It didn't start as a "that's it, I'm done" kinda thing. I just decided the level of frustration with pre-vets and vet students vs the level of 'fun' was disproportionate, so I decided to take a step back and take a break .... and the next thing I know it's however much later and I haven't been here in a while. Yanno?



Almost like someone poked me on FB and said people thought I was dead. Hmmmmm. 🙂
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I’d argue that’s why you should stay! 😀 I get it though, you are a busy man and need to pick your battles.
 
I've had a rough go lately. Nothing terrible, but just a lot of little things making me feel like I'm a lousy vet and I can't do anything right. A dropped pedicle in a super friable kitten spay, proud flesh and dehiscence after a wedge biopsy on a dog's swollen toe, a few cases where for the life of me I cannot figure out what's wrong with the animal, a few unreasonable clients, etc. Plus the stress/excitement of moving and this month seeming unreasonably long.

So today I call back a good client to report a USG. She normally sees Dr D but Dr D is off and asked me if I could report it for her. The client is a delight in general, and we all love her. She asks me a few questions and we chat about her elderly Sheltie and she says "Oh thanks so much, I really appreciate it, you're so good. We just love you and Dr D." And I got misty eyed. I told her I needed that, it'd been a rough week.
 
Well, we're officiallyanother year older having finished a full 3 years ago now, what do you guys think? Have your perspectives changed? Would you do it all again? Have you figured out a reasonable work/life balance?

I spend a lot of time trying to understand why I didn't aspire to be a 9-5 secretaty lol. I don't know how I'd convince myself otherwise, but I would not go into medicine if I had the choice to do it all again. I feel like I've poured all of myself into 11 years of education to be "where I want to be" at the expense of my health, happiness, friends, and loved ones. The end of the tunnel is finally only 13 months away, and it feels like unless I'm going to make some compromises and sacrifices, that my quality of life is still going to be crummy. Maybe not resident crummy, but this isn't a day job field (and I totally know/knew that and my priorities and life goals are evolving as I age). Idk, hopefully most of you have settled into a more positive balance.
 
I'd still do it over again. Definitely don't have a good work/life balance but I don't mind it for this stage in my life (young, no kids, not married). Once I finish my residency I'll have a slightly better work/life balance hopefully. The rest of my life has pretty much been put on hold for me to pursue my career..if I hadn't wanted to specialize I could be engaged/married, buying a house, etc by now. Sometimes that makes me sad but I honestly don't want to do anything else with my life..95% of the time I look forward to going to work and I get bored when I have more than 1-2 weeks off clinics and find myself itching to get back into the OR.
 
jmo1012 said:
Well, we're officiallyanother year older having finished a full 3 years ago now, what do you guys think? Have your perspectives changed? Would you do it all again? Have you figured out a reasonable work/life balance?

I spend a lot of time trying to understand why I didn't aspire to be a 9-5 secretaty lol. I don't know how I'd convince myself otherwise, but I would not go into medicine if I had the choice to do it all again. I feel like I've poured all of myself into 11 years of education to be "where I want to be" at the expense of my health, happiness, friends, and loved ones. The end of the tunnel is finally only 13 months away, and it feels like unless I'm going to make some compromises and sacrifices, that my quality of life is still going to be crummy. Maybe not resident crummy, but this isn't a day job field (and I totally know/knew that and my priorities and life goals are evolving as I age). Idk, hopefully most of you have settled into a more positive balance.
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I now work 4 days/week at a clinic where I mesh well with staff/clients, but disagree with my boss on the daily. My commute is 1 hr 10 min each way so it feels like I'm working full time. I also don't get a lunch most days. I wouldn't say I have the best work/life balance because I don't do much beyond work on days I'm scheduled, but I don't work as many days of the week as I used to so it's probably better than a lot of vets. Unfortunately, I don't see it working out that I'll return to large animal practice any time soon, but I have my sheep and my husband and I are planning on showing next year. I'm also planning a surprise vacation as a Christmas gift for my husband. We went to Omaha for 1 night as a honeymoon, and the only other trip we've taken together was for my sister's wedding which was a giant ****-show so I'm looking forward to having a week where we get to just do what we want. The nice part about planning so far in advance (we leave 4 days after Christmas) is the fact that I can come home after a ****ty day at work and daydream and research things to do, and come up with an itinerary and that usually brings me back to happiness.
 
I'd still do it again. Especially now that my work/life balance is better (working 35-40 hours a week rather than 60-70). Love my clinic team, love my clients*, love vet med. I am however VERY real and blunt when counselling students that come through, whether they're high school co-ops, university shadows, RVTs or 4th year DVM students. But overall, I'm happy with where I am right now. Solid job, managed to get a boyfriend (somehow), decent apartment, horse is doing well, cats are doing well. Still have a **** ton of debt, but it's getting paid off.

*Except today when 3 of my very good clients all decided to have serious health issues at the same time on a day when my schedule is already full. I managed to work in 2 of them, but the 3rd had to go to the ER because I just didn't have the time or resources to treat him appropriately.
 
psilovethomas said:
If you can push down on the side of the abdominal wall and the blood doesn't immediately (literally) pour (literally) outside your incision, it's not a torn pedicle 😉
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Definitely not true! Especially in puppies and kittens. Even in a mature spay, sometimes if the pedicle is stretched out enough to tear in a small patient, even with initial hemorrhage, sometimes it clots and mostly stops itself. I walk students through spays all the time and experience a lot of dropped pedicles. I hear an "uh oh" and when approach I'm told the pedicle was dropped. And it's not rare for a student to tell me, "but it's not bleeding" and shrug it off. I haven't been able to decide if it's easier to find that pedicle when it's bleeding vs not. On the one hand it's less pressure and often easier to see when there isn't a ton of blood in the gutters. On the other, when there':s no active bleeding, I always have to pause a second and convince myself that what I have between my fingers is the pedicle
 
It’s hard to answer “would I do it again?” because I’m definitely not where I thought I’d be. A small part of me is still sad I’m not in lab animal, but my “new” job (I’ve already been there six months now) has taken away the wandering of my mind because I am happy there. I have great support staff, I respect my boss, we practice really good quality medicine and the second clinic she’s been nurturing where I get to spend time occasionally is much closer to home. My hours are good, though work-life balance not -quite- to the level of the first place but still strong as definitely worth the trade-off.

One thing I’ve asked myself as kind of the flip side of this question is: can I see myself doing this until I’m retired? Much more so at my new place but not a hard and fast yes overall. There are some goals I’ve considered (ABVP certification, for example) to keep my head in the game though. So we’ll see how that evolves over the next few years :shrug:
 
that redhead said:
About to start spending the majority of my time working as a solo vet at our other hospital. I've done plenty of shifts up there already but it's still kind of crazy to think about.
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I've slowly started to prefer being a solo vet. I usually always have people I can reach out to if needed but then only have the schedule of 1 vet so don't have to worry about a second or third vet being slow and having to pick up the slack. Only have the callbacks of 1 vet.

Don't get judged by the other vets, had one vet who judged me heavily anytime I moved or did anything he didn't like.

I dunno, it is kind of nice to run the ship, but then I do miss having immediate feedback available sometimes too.
 
DVMDream said:
I've slowly started to prefer being a solo vet. I usually always have people I can reach out to if needed but then only have the schedule of 1 vet so don't have to worry about a second or third vet being slow and having to pick up the slack. Only have the callbacks of 1 vet.

Don't get judged by the other vets, had one vet who judged me heavily anytime I moved or did anything he didn't like.

I dunno, it is kind of nice to run the ship, but then I do miss having immediate feedback available sometimes too.
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Absolutely. I just finished a full month stint at the other place and it was really nice!

Fortunately my fellow vets at both of my jobs have been great so none of the judgement (that I can tell, at least). They always remind me I can call if needed and my boss is pretty good about responding to dental rad texts :laugh: But you’re right- never quite the same as someone right there next to you.
 
How are the 15ers doing?

I recently got word that my work wants me to go full time (I currently work 4 days/week - but my commute is >1 hr one way). It's flattering. I greatly miss food animal work though.
 
scb44f said:
How are the 15ers doing?

I recently got word that my work wants me to go full time (I currently work 4 days/week - but my commute is >1 hr one way). It's flattering. I greatly miss food animal work though.
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How many hours a week are you currently working? Four days a week with over an hour commute is already a lot! Is there any chance at you getting more food animal time? I had thought your current place was SA only - any chance at getting into mixed?

I feel like I’m doing well. I’m so, so happy I made the change. Coming up on one year at the new place which is crazy.

Some not so great stuff is happening with a coworker who is also a longtime friend and I’m worried. Don’t want to post details on here but I wish I could because it weighs on me a lot :/ It’s tough to watch a friend struggle and be unhappy.
 
heylodeb said:
Something triggered SDN in my mind this week and thought I'd stop by the ol thread to say hello. Anyone still out there?
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HEY! Although we know each other in real life, it's so exciting to see you on SDN!
 
that redhead said:
Tons of complex and/or weird medical cases lately. I just want to remove teeth and testicles and maybe vaccinate a dog or two.
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I'm just getting a lot of crazies lately. Took me over 30 minutes to get out of this room just now, that's long for me, I'm really quick. Then the client who can't stay on topic/focus wanted me to come back in..... because her dog was doing something that's normal dog behavior and she wanted me to explain why.... nope, nope, nope. Not going back in. I'll be in there for another 30 minutes.
 
that redhead said:
I realized as of today, it’s been four years since graduation! 😱

How’s everyone doing out there?
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