RANT HERE thread

[MixedAnimals77]

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Re: boundaries

Not to take away from the conversation about equine specific here, but is there any sort of change about having boundaries for lunch/time off etc? A group of friends at school were talking about some things and I mentioned that lunch breaks are entitled and when I am working, I will be receiving a full lunch break. They proceeded to basically laugh at me and were like no, that doesn’t happen in clinics

And I’m like?? I’ve played these games before where skipping lunch for animals is “cool” because it shows how much you care, but I’ve had enough life experience to know that no, in my opinion those boundaries are imperative for health burnout etc

But it was a bit of a slap in the face and I’m wondering is it actually unrealistic to expect an uninterrupted lunch break, even for 30 minutes, in practice?

As everyone said highly depends. I think if youre expecting literally everyday you will be guaranteed an uninterrupted 60 min and get out on time its probably unrealistic unless youre doing mainly wellness or something more like maybe shelter or lab animal work thats a bit more structured in the day to day.

We have 90 minute lunches scheduled. More often than not I get a true lunch but there are days that hbc walks in at 1145 or my last apt is taking 5ever. Overall is it impossible to not take 10 minutes and eat? No. Do I maybe get a full uninterrupted 60-90 min lunch to sit and do nothing? Usually not. Again catching up on notes and call backs is why ours is 90 mins.

I also live in bfe so I am often ther er clinic and spend many of my lunches doing er surgery and such or driving to bfe to see patients or doing cattle work over lunch. Again a very different life than alot.

 

[battie]

If I had to choose between an unpaid lunch, and just not getting a lunch and leaving an hour earlier, I would choose the latter lol. 9 hour shift versus 8 hour shift, (on a typical day). But maybe that is just me!

I asked if I could just not have a lunch and leave at five or stay till 6 to do stuff and was told no 🤣

 

[JaynaAli]

A great benefit of the work from home life is that I can do lunch whenever. I usually take a short break to cook something or at least throw food in the microwave or air fryer, but I still almost always eat at my desk so I can keep working and get done sooner. I know not everyone would make that choice though.

As a path resident we got pretty consistent time to eat, but like 2-3 days a week we had various rounds over lunch (cyto rounds, journal club, boards prep rounds) we’d have to eat and chat/learn simultaneously. But everyone brought their lunch and we ate together or occasionally ordered in.

As an intern it was shove food in when you had a moment. I definitely ate most meals at the hospital in front of the computer doing paperwork, even dinner most nights or hit a drive thru on the way home. The Freddy’s on the corner by our clinic knew my order. Not ideal but short term.

 

[genny]

But it was a bit of a slap in the face and I’m wondering is it actually unrealistic to expect an uninterrupted lunch break, even for 30 minutes, in practice?

I get an hour for lunch and I leave the building. If I stayed, I’d get no lunch because the questions never stop.

 

[kitzsuna]

I get an hour for lunch and I leave the building. If I stayed, I’d get no lunch because the questions never stop.

I absolutely love this for you

 

[thenontraveler]

Never. And I mean never. Have I had to have the court documents from my son's name change to enroll him in school or do anything else. We never got them back from the social security office when we first changed it and he has gotten two passports and been going to school just fine until today. The school is insistent that he cannot enroll until I have them. So now I have to dig up a public record log from 2017 and figure out how long this will take. This is definitely not something I thought would be a problem..... But my bingo card is full of those this year.

 

[battie]

I get an hour for lunch and I leave the building. If I stayed, I’d get no lunch because the questions never stop.

Facts. Hard facts. The techs and assistants know that I'm going to jokingly tell them know for everything when they come talk to me

 

[honeypot999]

I need to practice some deep breaths this week, because some of the comments my classmates are making are out of left field and completely not true regarding professors at the school. 3 more days of this rotation and I get a break from them.

 

[cardamom23]

I asked if I could just not have a lunch and leave at five or stay till 6 to do stuff and was told no 🤣

Labor Laws! 🔨 😂

 

[battie]

Not sure if this is a rant or rave. But I love oncology. And I have a patient who has oral hemangiosarcoma. Which is super cool but unfortunate for him.

 

[kitzsuna]

I’m so sick of physiology and I hate that my brain just shuts off whenever I see a math problem and won’t even try to remember how to do them.

 

[couldhavebeenme]

But it was a bit of a slap in the face and I’m wondering is it actually unrealistic to expect an uninterrupted lunch break, even for 30 minutes, in practice?

I work in a private practice and we lock the doors, turn off the phones, and don't work for a full hour every day. Sometimes I'll make calls or work on records but that's my prerogative. There's a sign that clearly says we're closed for the hour right by the front door and people still come up to the building and rattle the door. They get to wait until we reopen or come back another time. 😊

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

Re: boundaries

Not to take away from the conversation about equine specific here, but is there any sort of change about having boundaries for lunch/time off etc? A group of friends at school were talking about some things and I mentioned that lunch breaks are entitled and when I am working, I will be receiving a full lunch break. They proceeded to basically laugh at me and were like no, that doesn’t happen in clinics

And I’m like?? I’ve played these games before where skipping lunch for animals is “cool” because it shows how much you care, but I’ve had enough life experience to know that no, in my opinion those boundaries are imperative for health burnout etc

But it was a bit of a slap in the face and I’m wondering is it actually unrealistic to expect an uninterrupted lunch break, even for 30 minutes, in practice?

Internship? Hell no. Residency? Also hell no. Grown up job? Yet to be determined but I suspect also hell no.

To be fair I’m ER/ICU and the patients get to choose when they try to die/arrive and don’t care about your lunch break. Appointment-based practice is probably a bit different.

I like to snack at my desk. Tragically my internship enforced no food outside of the break room and my residency started enforcing that at the end (to mass mutiny) so often I just wouldn’t eat.

 

[pp9]

Tragically my internship enforced no food outside of the break room and my residency started enforcing that at the end (to mass mutiny) so often I just wouldn’t eat.

LOL mine did the same (both food and water) and I literally did not care. Straight up had my Uber Eats takeout container shoving food in my face at my work station, which was right on the treatment floor. Also had my 1/2 gallon water jug. Our practice manager said something about it once and I was like 'your alternative is I disappear for a half hour and stop receiving cases/babysitting interns' and she never said jack about it again If I did not have water and food at my work station I also was not eating or drinking. Man there were days when I couldn't even get the bathroom door closed before someone was yelling for me. Good times.

 

[JaynaAli]

Mine had a rule of no food for humans allowed in the treatment area and drinks had to stay in one specific spot on the counter, but luckily our main computer room (aka a glorified closet three people could squeeze into where two of us also left our dogs) was literally just around the corner from treatment and the door opened out to the pharmacy and lab area, and they’d let us eat in there. And we were within easy earshot if someone yelled for us. The overnight doctor would eat in treatment for similar reasons to what pp9 mentioned and they needed her enough to turn a blind eye. We were given cubicles upstairs but were told that we couldn’t go up there while on shift since the staff couldn’t easily find us up there, so we used them for emergency food storage and that’s it.

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

For my internship the break room was just outside ICU, but for residency it was in a closet downstairs which you couldn’t get to without planning ahead. There was a small office attached to the doctor office without a camera that I named my snack cupboard since I could eat with no camera evidence for them to catch me with.

On night shifts I would definitely eat in ICU. There was a few techs who would rat you out but if you chose your audience well you could get away with it. For a while they were going through camera footage to call people out but I never got caught up in that.

 

[apoptosis09]

For my internship the break room was just outside ICU, but for residency it was in a closet downstairs which you couldn’t get to without planning ahead. There was a small office attached to the doctor office without a camera that I named my snack cupboard since I could eat with no camera evidence for them to catch me with.

On night shifts I would definitely eat in ICU. There was a few techs who would rat you out but if you chose your audience well you could get away with it. For a while they were going through camera footage to call people out but I never got caught up in that.

Jesus 😅 speaking of interns and residents being treated poorly....

 

[_rae_]

For a while they were going through camera footage to call people out but I never got caught up in that.

I worked at a place where the owner would watch us on the camera overnight to catch us eating or on our phones. I refuse to work in a place like that. If you don’t trust your techs, your hiring practices are bad.

 

[battie]

The not eating / drinking thing on the floor is an OSHA thing. With that being said..... I think it's assumed risk. You want to do it, fine. Can't sue the workplace if you ingest something bad. Everyone wins

 

[pp9]

For a while they were going through camera footage to call people out but I never got caught up in that.

I worked at a place where the owner would watch us on the camera overnight to catch us eating or on our phones.

do these people have nothing better to do? (the answer is no, apparently)

 

[_rae_]

do these people have nothing better to do? (the answer is no, apparently)

Well, I was also told Dr. Owner was a bit too comfy with his female staff and to make sure I wasn’t alone in a room with him 🙃 (this was not a hospital I’ve named on here because I have legal self preservation skills). I stayed in that job only as long as it took me to guarantee I had somewhere else to go.

 

[pp9]

This cold that whipped through my house is absolutely gnarly. I don't get sick often at all (maybe <1 time a year?) and this one knocked me on my ass. Our baby is handling it better than we are lolol

 

[katiemcat]

Not sure if this is a rant or rave. But I love oncology. And I have a patient who has oral hemangiosarcoma. Which is super cool but unfortunate for him.

I also love onco. We had an oral mast cell tumor last month. Weird af.

 

[battie]

I also love onco. We had an oral mast cell tumor last month. Weird af.

The owner is an ex tech, of course. The dog is a 14 year old cocker where the dental was for his QOL more than anything else. So when I tell her, "Super rare cancer, I can refer you," and she will say, "How about no."

 

[honeypot999]

Jeopardy in vet school either goes really well, or people take it too seriously. If you’re yelling at the other team, like calm down

 

[MixedAnimals77]

This cold that whipped through my house is absolutely gnarly. I don't get sick often at all (maybe <1 time a year?) and this one knocked me on my ass. Our baby is handling it better than we are lolol

Is babes in daycare? If so be prepared for the sickness. I have never been sick more often than I was the first 12mo babes was in daycare. It's much better now but man I'm usually like you and never get sick. My husband on the other hand is a different story all together and idk why because his immune system used to be good but man the last like 3 years is absolute garbage even him taking all the things to help ward off the sickness.

 

[katiemcat]

Is babes in daycare? If so be prepared for the sickness. I have never been sick more often than I was the first 12mo babes was in daycare. It's much better now but man I'm usually like you and never get sick. My husband on the other hand is a different story all together and idk why because his immune system used to be good but man the last like 3 years is absolute garbage even him taking all the things to help ward off the sickness.

I think I’ve had like 3 separate respiratory infections in 2 months 😅

 

[finnickthedog]

My kid isn't even in daycare and I still keep getting sick when I never used to.

 

[katiemcat]

I think I’ve had like 3 separate respiratory infections in 2 months 😅

lol I developed a 101 fever today I cursed myself

 

[MixedAnimals77]

lol I developed a 101 fever today I cursed myself

my LO has been having a runny nose and cough for the last few days...I keep waiting...I'm sure it's coming for me 😅

 

[battie]

I thought I found a flea on my pittie while she was laying with me in my bed and spent a solid five minutes looking at every single inch of her. Nothing. But now I don't know if I'll be able to sleep in my bed.

 

[miriam1216]

lol I developed a 101 fever today I cursed myself

I have bronchitis yet again (every single time I get sick it turns into bronchitis). Literally the only bright side of having lost my job is that I’m not having to take unpaid leave (since they didn’t have paid sick leave).

 

[pp9]

Is babes in daycare? If so be prepared for the sickness. I have never been sick more often than I was the first 12mo babes was in daycare. It's much better now but man I'm usually like you and never get sick. My husband on the other hand is a different story all together and idk why because his immune system used to be good but man the last like 3 years is absolute garbage even him taking all the things to help ward off the sickness.

Yep. I suppose it's hard to stay illness-free when you have a small human coughing directly into your face every day lol.

lol I developed a 101 fever today I cursed myself

I think this bug is tearing across the country lol. I started with being tired friday, pretty significant sore throat saturday, head cold symptoms Sunday-Wed, then progressed to flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, aches) Wed night. Today I'm back to stuffy nose/ears with a mildly productive cough but otherwise feeling a lot better. PP9 jr ended up getting an ear infection out of all of this nonsense.

I haven't taken a COVID test FWIW but never say never.

 

[katiemcat]

my LO has been having a runny nose and cough for the last few days...I keep waiting...I'm sure it's coming for me 😅

Yep this is exactly what mine had.

Yep. I suppose it's hard to stay illness-free when you have a small human coughing directly into your face every day lol.

I think this bug is tearing across the country lol. I started with being tired friday, pretty significant sore throat saturday, head cold symptoms Sunday-Wed, then progressed to flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, aches) Wed night. Today I'm back to stuffy nose/ears with a mildly productive cough but otherwise feeling a lot better. PP9 jr ended up getting an ear infection out of all of this nonsense.

I haven't taken a COVID test FWIW but never say never.

Yeah I got out of surgery yesterday and felt extremely tired and lethargic - which I thought was just from standing / not eating. Then I got nauseous, I started coughing, and my throat started hurting.

My husband feels ok and was up with babymcat all night who kept waking himself up coughing.

We are struggling

 

[katiemcat]

I have bronchitis yet again (every single time I get sick it turns into bronchitis). Literally the only bright side of having lost my job is that I’m not having to take unpaid leave (since they didn’t have paid sick leave).

Do you happen to have asthma? This is how I got diagnosed with asthma!

Feel better

 

[pp9]

I have bronchitis yet again

 

[overcastkidjuno]

One of my classes wants me to do a mock interview online and have it reviewed by 2 peers. Sucks but fine. Now I find out it's an AI interview platform. I utterly refuse on ethical, moral, and professional principles to use this technology under any circumstance. As an environmentalist I REFUSE. I sent an email laying out some of my concerns with AI including major privacy issues with them scanning my face, asked if I could be given the questions and record an interview without engaging with the AI platform, and offered if not I would be willing to do any kind of alternative assignment not requiring AI. I'm so amped up with irritation at just the thought of having to be "interviewed" by an AI so I NEED them to respond positively and tell me I can do it without AI because if I have to mandatorily use fascist surveillance tools to pass a mandatory course I'm going to put my head through the wall.

 

[overcastkidjuno]

Rant 2: I just got an email saying my surgery skills are inadequate when I have been practicing every night for weeks and my partner and the intstructor who oversaw my surgery yesterday the most said I was doing well. They didn't specific any skills I did wrong or anything. I have truly never felt so low in my life, I never want to enter a surgery suite again or even touch a patient tbh, this is genuinely making me rethink my career. Yeah I think if the edible doesn't kick in soon I'm going to explode.

 

[katiemcat]

Rant 2: I just got an email saying my surgery skills are inadequate when I have been practicing every night for weeks and my partner and the intstructor who oversaw my surgery yesterday the most said I was doing well. They didn't specific any skills I did wrong or anything. I have truly never felt so low in my life, I never want to enter a surgery suite again or even touch a patient tbh, this is genuinely making me rethink my career. Yeah I think if the edible doesn't kick in soon I'm going to explode.

I post this here all the time but surgery is hard af and no one is born good at it. After my first dog spay I was like ya I’m never doing this again. I would have nightmares before I was supposed to do anything surgical. Honestly? The surgical training we get at most schools is largely inadequate and just leaves the student feeling lost and anxious. I didn’t start actually liking surgery until I got involved with TNR because they needed my help. Completely different experience than a boarded surgeon barking commands at you. Now I’m doing all sorts of surgeries I never thought I could because of amazing mentorship - amputations, large dog spays, complex dental extractions, mass removals.

Really disappointing they didn’t give you constructive criticism, but this doesn’t define you. I would respond asking what specifically they think you need to work on. If they have no real answer - they are just being nit picky. Please feel free to PM if you want to rant or know more about my journey.

 

[miriam1216]

Do you happen to have asthma? This is how I got diagnosed with asthma!

Feel better

I don't, as far as I know. The doctor prescribex me a fluticasone inhaler to try and prevent this in the future (I use albuterol when I have bronchitis) but my insurance wouldn't cover the generic, CVS doesn't carry the brand, and it was at 8pm the day my insurance expired lol. I'll have to try and see about getting it when I eventually get a new job/insurance.

truly. esp when I need to complete kira for one of my schools by EOD 🙃

 

[katiemcat]

I don't, as far as I know. The doctor prescribex me a fluticasone inhaler to try and prevent this in the future (I use albuterol when I have bronchitis) but my insurance wouldn't cover the generic, CVS doesn't carry the brand, and it was at 8pm the day my insurance expired lol. I'll have to try and see about getting it when I eventually get a new job/insurance.


truly. esp when I need to complete kira for one of my schools by EOD 🙃

Fluticasone is insanely expensive for what reason!!! It’s impossible to put asthmatic cats on it if they don’t have insurance because of the price. I have a ton if you live anywhere near me (tampa bay)

I got diagnosed bc I would continuously get bronchitis and they were like uh ya you have asthma. I’m well controlled with daily antihistamines, fluticasone, oral magnesium glycinate. I will have bad relapses when sick tho (like rn grrrrr)

 

[pp9]

The surgical training we get at most schools is largely inadequate and just leaves the student feeling lost and anxious.

Echoing this. In this current era of veterinary education, basic surgical training is something students/new grads have to chase down (and sometimes, with difficulty). Those of us who did not chase it down (ie me) are still HELLA anxious about anything surgical years into practice. Veterinary schools want to push their students to specialize so therefore are not adequately teaching basic GP competencies at this point, whereas in reality GP practices need new grads to be much farther along in basic competencies than they are. If you truly do not believe you want any level of surgery in your career, don't let this derail your goal or push you out of school. Similar to those who wanted nothing to do with horses, cattle, etc....you just gotta pass that course and move on.

Fluticasone is insanely expensive for what reason!!! It’s impossible to put asthmatic cats on it if they don’t have insurance because of the price. I have a ton if you live anywhere near me (tampa bay)

It's been cheap through Canada for quite a while but something changed recently and we can no longer get Canadian meds shipped into the US. A lot of people and asthmatic cat owners are going to be hurting