TOO Much compassion?

[Tangerinepuddle]

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Okay, so this may sound silly, but is it possible for someone to have too much compassion and love for animals to be an effective vet?

Two people who know me very well think I won't be able to handle the emotional things like putting an animal down, or seeing them on the verge of death after getting hit by a car -

I will admit, I can no longer watch the animal planet's Animal Cops shows - I get WAAAAY too angry and upset. When I see an dead animal on the road/television, well, lets just say I feel more than I do when I see people die - (please don't take that to mean I don't care about people - I am just better able to emotionally separate from their pain)

So, does all this mean I would be an ineffective vet? Honest answers, please, as I'm sure you all love animals- are you able to emotionally separate?

 

[david594]

How much veterinary experience do you have? Get a job spending some time in a 24 hour emergency clinic and see how you do.

 

[JustCats]

You can't have too much compassion but you can be too emotional. The two are not the same and I think you can maintain your compassion while learning how to better handle your emotions. I didn't apply to vet school when I was younger because I knew I was too emotional. I've spent several years doing shelter work, rescue and caring for critically-ill animals and I have learned to deal with my emotions, though I am no less compassionate. I still can't watch Animal Cops either even though I sometimes deal with similar situations without becoming emotional. I think it's because if it's a situation I'm in I can exert some control and that makes me feel better; I can't do anything for the animals on Animal Cops. You may find you feel the same way when you're dealing with animals in a vet clinic. The only way to know for sure is to do it for a while and see how you feel.

Okay, so this may sound silly, but is it possible for someone to have too much compassion and love for animals to be an effective vet?

Two people who know me very well think I won't be able to handle the emotional things like putting an animal down, or seeing them on the verge of death after getting hit by a car -

I will admit, I can no longer watch the animal planet's Animal Cops shows - I get WAAAAY too angry and upset. When I see an dead animal on the road/television, well, lets just say I feel more than I do when I see people die - (please don't take that to mean I don't care about people - I am just better able to emotionally separate from their pain)

So, does all this mean I would be an ineffective vet? Honest answers, please, as I'm sure you all love animals- are you able to emotionally separate?

 

[dyachei]

In vet school we get bombarded with the idea of compassion fatigue. Its essentially that being too compassionate burns you out after a while and you need to figure out how to cope before you get to that point. I'm sure you could find more information on it on the internet.

 

[JustCats]

I have this book on compassion fatigue and recommend it. It's a very interesting topic.

In vet school we get bombarded with the idea of compassion fatigue. Its essentially that being too compassionate burns you out after a while and you need to figure out how to cope before you get to that point. I'm sure you could find more information on it on the internet.

 

[justinpaws]

I agree with what other people have written. Even if it's hard to see, there is a good distinction between having the compassion to want to do everything in your power for an animal, but also knowing when something is beyond helping, and being able to accept and not overreact to these situations. It doesn't necessarily affect your ability to treat a patient (unless you are going to cry about something in the middle of a surgery), but it can really burn you out and change your outlook that way. Google "Serenity Prayer"--I don't want to get religious, it's just a good thing to keep in mind when you're dealing with difficult situations.

If you are working in a clinic and some owners come in with an animal who has obviously been suffering from something, but the owners have neglected it for a long time (he hasn't eaten for two weeks and they JUST brought him in; he's got a gigantic mass the size of an apple on his face; he's got a wound that has festered long enough to support a maggot colony), you're still going to have to treat them professionally and in a non-accusatory tone, no matter how much you want to do otherwise. This is probably why it's so important that vet schools want you to understand what a lot of the veterinary profession is about.

 

[CatVet2Be]

You won't really know until you put yourself in that situation. Shadow a vet or volunteer at a clinic. I talked myself out of becoming a vet before I started college because I felt that I loved animals too much and would never be able to handle seeing them in pain. Then I began working with animals and found out that I could handle a lot more than I thought I could.

 

[ImaJerseyGirl]

.

 

[InfiniVet]

Dude I can't watch Animal Cops, and I never will.

All animal control officers and anyone involved in animal rescue are going straight to heaven no questions asked, no waiting in line, nothing. I don't know how they do it, and I'll never be able to even begin to express my appreciation for folks like that.

 

[CatVet2Be]

Dude I can't watch Animal Cops, and I never will.

All animal control officers and anyone involved in animal rescue are going straight to heaven no questions asked, no waiting in line, nothing. I don't know how they do it, and I'll never be able to even begin to express my appreciation for folks like that.

I wouldn't have the self control to be an animal cop, I'd want to throttle the people too often for the things they do to their animals. 😡

 

[bunnity]

Man I feel like a jerk now because I love watching animal cops...

I think spending a few years working in a people-hospital really helped me deal with getting desensitized to animal stuff. When I started at the people-hospital some of the screwed up situations that went on really got to me. I was very close to quitting for a while but it eventually became manageable. Once I started doing vet stuff it was a lot easier because I had already gone through the process with people. The bunnies still break my heart though and probably always will.

One thing I really look forward to is having more control over what goes on. As a low person on the totem pole at the people-hospital, I see a lot of sad stuff and improper care, but there is very little I can do to help anyone besides running the diagnostic tests (important, yes, but not what someone in pain really wants). It is really frustrating not being able to help someone who needs it. I didn't experience that really with animals because the vets I worked with were great, but I still look forward to being able to make more of a difference once I am the doctor.

 

[VeganChick]

I love Animal Cops too (although I cringe alot, yell at the tv a lot, and sometimes have to close my eyes.)

I work with a fellow Assistant at my emergency hospital who is always miserable because of what we see there. She is very judgmental about owners and gets mad at anyone who doesn't share her level of compassion. She thinks that none of us care because we joke around about the animals and stuff. She went berzerk on me saying I had no "compassion" because I was asked to walk a dog one day that was constantly having diarrhea. I said, "ugh, I hate that dog", and she was all over me. She can barely put the dead animals in the freezer. She doesn't belong there. Obviously she is not a vet, but yes, I would say that it is possible to - maybe not have "too much compassion" but be overemotional as a reaction to compassion - be a vet.

 

[sofficat]

Biggest pet peeve...

"Oh, I always wanted to be a vet, but I just love animals too much"

This post just reminds me of this comment I've gotten 2 or 3 times (don't worry, you didn't say this or hint at this... it's just really annoying when people say this 😉)

Agreed with the above. Work at a clinic, see how you do, maybe wait a few years to apply until you've grown enough and have learned how to handle the emotional aspect of it. It is hard- people can be just awful to their pets, but you have to learn how to be professional.

I kinda this of it this way- if you love animals, what better position to be in than to be a vet? Yeah you see the worst of the worst- but YOU are the one making a difference in that animals' (and maybe owners') life

 

[VeganChick]

OMG, sofficat, that drives me INSANE!!

 

[starlene45]

Dude I can't watch Animal Cops, and I never will.

All animal control officers and anyone involved in animal rescue are going straight to heaven no questions asked, no waiting in line, nothing. I don't know how they do it, and I'll never be able to even begin to express my appreciation for folks like that.

Not trying to be horrible but trust me, not all animal control officers love animals. In fact, a surprising number of them don't really like animals that much, or just took the job because they needed a job, not because they're interested in helping animals. Personally I think it attracts a lot less compassionate type of personality than say, shelter worker or veterinarian. Sorry, I've just, had some very negative animal control officer experiences.

 

[ckgilabert]

Not trying to be horrible but trust me, not all animal control officers love animals.

I did a ride along with a couple of animal officers...one was really cool and nice and the other was not so nice (but wasnt horrible).

anyway! I did it for 8 hours and we saw at least 4 dogs that were stray walking the streets....did we stop and catch them?? nope! the guy said "we'd just be running around for hours and probably not catch it"

then there was another stray that was walking into a 7-eleven's and we got there 15 min after the call was made and the animal officer went into the store and since they had the dog go back outside...we just left.

they will only pick up stray dogs if they're already caught!

anyway...i think they should be "dog catchers" again. cuz the most i saw was them do was picking up dead animals off the road.

 

[Tangerinepuddle]

For all of your replies. I have volunteered alot at shelters, and I do hate seeing the lonely, hurt, sick or sad ones, but I get sooooo much joy out of spending time with them, even if they all tug at my heart.

I have about a year of pre-reqs left anyway, and plan on working at a clinic or shelter much more - so I'll keep exposing myself. I think the joy and sense of accomplishment and internal satisfaction I will get from helping them will outweigh everything else-

 

[gex2006]

If you are working in a clinic and some owners come in with an animal who has obviously been suffering from something, but the owners have neglected it for a long time (he hasn't eaten for two weeks and they JUST brought him in; he's got a gigantic mass the size of an apple on his face; he's got a wound that has festered long enough to support a maggot colony), you're still going to have to treat them professionally and in a non-accusatory tone, no matter how much you want to do otherwise. This is probably why it's so important that vet schools want you to understand what a lot of the veterinary profession is about.

I have seen cases like that far too often for my tastes. I sometimes wonder how to handle such situations also and have so far found that the best thing to do is to focus on the good and amazing cases that make everything worth it.

 

[InfiniVet]

Not trying to be horrible but trust me, not all animal control officers love animals. In fact, a surprising number of them don't really like animals that much, or just took the job because they needed a job, not because they're interested in helping animals. Personally I think it attracts a lot less compassionate type of personality than say, shelter worker or veterinarian. Sorry, I've just, had some very negative animal control officer experiences.

Oh really? Wow I didn't realize that at all, honestly. I haven't actually hung out with any animal control officers and what you're saying does make sense. I have worked at a city shelter, and I've briefly met officers but nothing beyond that...I mean I seriously could not do that job, and I would like to think of myself as a very compassionate but rational & practical person. I'm glad there are people out there who can but I'm not one of them (just like accountants). I guess I had just assumed that 100% of em are people who loved animals but could separate their feelings better than me. I do hope that there is a hefty percentage of animal control officers that fall into this but if not then do the means justify the end? I don't know.

 

[stoby08]

I think that it is good to have compassion but being to emotional is not good. Many people look to their vet to be their support when making tough decisions if you are getting just as emotional as them how does that help them. You are there for the people just as much as the animals. I'm not saying have no emotion but learn how to give the right amount of emotion at the right time and dry it up cause you have another client in 2 min. People can also read you just by your body lanuage. Getting more experience will let you know if you can handle it or not. Good luck.

 

[lailanni]

I've worked with a few different vets -- one in particular I'm thinking of always gets all worked up that the client doesn't want to do everything she suggests -- not opting for the blood draw or x-rays is border line "terrible owner". She's always more stressed than the other vets and is frankly not so pleasant to be around.

Not everyone cares for their animals, or even if they do they may not have the $ to meet their needs. You have the choice of getting all emotional (which is difficult on you in the long run) or recognizing you can't fix everything.

I agree that spending some time in a practice would help you decide.