Today was not the best day of my life.
The day I marry Joe will not be the best day of my life (but it will be close).
The day(s) I have our children will not be the best day of my life (but they will be close).
The day I graduated vet school was not the best day of my life. Though, in fact, it will in a round about way lead up to the best day of my life.
The best day of my life? The day I finish paying off my student loan.
Sigh. Its not going to be any time soon. I have like $170,000 in student loans. Probably more. I haven't really paid attention to it. I don't want to. I lived a little to high on the hog during vet school. The government let me.
Okay, rant aside, the real reason (other than financial freedom because I'm skeptical that Obama will do anything about this) I will be glad when my student loan is paid off is because then I can throw away a ton of paperwork! Today, because it was raining, I sorted out a majority of my filing cabinet. By sort, I mean that I took things out of their envelopes to reduce the amount of space in the cabinet. I shredded some things too. One of the problems is that I don't know if I can throw out these things now. What is important? An announcement that a dispersment of a student loan was made in 2009? I don't know so I kept it all. Oh, dreaming for the best day of my life...
On Saturday, I went out to see the ponies in the morning. As I drove in, I saw Cody in the round pen in the pasture. I wondered why he was in there. I then noticed that he wasn't shut up in there but instead, the large TB gelding the ponies hang out with was preventing him from leaving. The gelding was actually teasing Cody, sort of wresting with him and nipping at him. Cody took it all in stride. He saw me coming in and you could tell that Cody was trying to get the gelding to lay off so they could all have cookies. Cody ducked out around the gelding when the gelding looked back at me and all were rewarded with cookies. I groomed both ponies and washed Nell's legs because she peed all over them when she was in heat last week. She's a slut.
In the pasture where the ponies are, there is a stack of rubber mats like for stalls or a trailer. Its about a foot high. I wondered if the ponies would walk over them. The answer was yes. When I turned around, I noticed that Lily, the yearling TB, was putting her front feet up on the pile too. She's so silly and I love her. I wonder if we could buy her super cheap.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Its Been That Kind Of Week
Ugh.
I don't know what has been going on but this week has sucked. I'm glad its over and that I have a three day weekend. Maybe I'll get something done.
Maybe it had something to do with the whole job situation. I had another interview on Monday but it was the last one. Thank god. I need to focus on getting married now. When I go on an interview its like not having a day off because invariably, I end up doing work. Well, I guess that's the point of a working interview. And it also seems like I was gone for a month when I come back on Tuesday.
Maybe its the whole job situation. The 'Dead John' [EDIT-that should be 'Dear John', though dead john reflects my feelings better! 4/23/12-LP] letters to our large animal clients have gone out. Subsequently, we've had to been dealing with it. Such as people calling and wondering what they are going to do now, who are they to use. So there's also been an upswing on large animal business. Well, not really. When I go out to farms though, its difficult to explain about why we are discontinuing our faithful service. I have been explaining that I am leaving to continue to do large animal work which is so often followed by the idea that I should just keep working here. Financially, emotionally, physically and a whole bunch more -lys it just isn't possible.
Friday, I feel like I was punished with an unfortunate task. (It wasn't euthanizing a chicken at least.) I dehorned a heifer, dehorned two calves, vaccinated five calves and castrated three bull calves. It shouldn't have taken me long but took me all morning. That afternoon wasn't that bad and I was able to pick up Joe's car from the shop where it got a much needed alignment and some new tires. Joe was picking up our new horse trailer. As we closed, I realized I didn't know where my work phone was. I figured it was in my coverall pocket. It wasn't I called it like a 1000 times but didn't hear it ringing. Not in the car, not back in the office. So I called BF to see if he found it in his truck but he wasn't home so I went and checked. Not there either. I went back to Newville because when I called, they kindof blew me off. I called it and then I called LE thinking maybe I lost it in her car. Not there but she suggested checking in the grass near where her car was parked. There it was with a tire print on it. It was still working but I had missed four calls! One from myself, two from one of the techs and finally one from a client that wanted to know if we creamated dogs-yep, a real emergency. (I did call them back and offer to take the dog in that night since I was at the clinic anyway.) Friday night, about 9:30, I had an emergency. A cow had dumped her uterus (calf bed) after calving. It wasn't too hard to put back in but is always a pain. I still love being a mixed animal vet. I really, truly do.
Now to focus on wedding stuff-tying up all the loose ends. I'm ready.
Oh, also, Joe and I had gone out on Saturday night to Black N Blue in Mechanicsburg because we had a gift card from TH from Christmas. Well, dinner was awful. Joe had a t-bone steak and I had prime rib which was a giant chunk of underdone meat. The wait staff was bad. The decor was bad. My dessert was bad. The whole dinner wasn't good. Thus proving that Pennsylvania has horrible restaurants.
I don't know what has been going on but this week has sucked. I'm glad its over and that I have a three day weekend. Maybe I'll get something done.
Maybe it had something to do with the whole job situation. I had another interview on Monday but it was the last one. Thank god. I need to focus on getting married now. When I go on an interview its like not having a day off because invariably, I end up doing work. Well, I guess that's the point of a working interview. And it also seems like I was gone for a month when I come back on Tuesday.
Maybe its the whole job situation. The 'Dead John' [EDIT-that should be 'Dear John', though dead john reflects my feelings better! 4/23/12-LP] letters to our large animal clients have gone out. Subsequently, we've had to been dealing with it. Such as people calling and wondering what they are going to do now, who are they to use. So there's also been an upswing on large animal business. Well, not really. When I go out to farms though, its difficult to explain about why we are discontinuing our faithful service. I have been explaining that I am leaving to continue to do large animal work which is so often followed by the idea that I should just keep working here. Financially, emotionally, physically and a whole bunch more -lys it just isn't possible.
Friday, I feel like I was punished with an unfortunate task. (It wasn't euthanizing a chicken at least.) I dehorned a heifer, dehorned two calves, vaccinated five calves and castrated three bull calves. It shouldn't have taken me long but took me all morning. That afternoon wasn't that bad and I was able to pick up Joe's car from the shop where it got a much needed alignment and some new tires. Joe was picking up our new horse trailer. As we closed, I realized I didn't know where my work phone was. I figured it was in my coverall pocket. It wasn't I called it like a 1000 times but didn't hear it ringing. Not in the car, not back in the office. So I called BF to see if he found it in his truck but he wasn't home so I went and checked. Not there either. I went back to Newville because when I called, they kindof blew me off. I called it and then I called LE thinking maybe I lost it in her car. Not there but she suggested checking in the grass near where her car was parked. There it was with a tire print on it. It was still working but I had missed four calls! One from myself, two from one of the techs and finally one from a client that wanted to know if we creamated dogs-yep, a real emergency. (I did call them back and offer to take the dog in that night since I was at the clinic anyway.) Friday night, about 9:30, I had an emergency. A cow had dumped her uterus (calf bed) after calving. It wasn't too hard to put back in but is always a pain. I still love being a mixed animal vet. I really, truly do.
Now to focus on wedding stuff-tying up all the loose ends. I'm ready.
Oh, also, Joe and I had gone out on Saturday night to Black N Blue in Mechanicsburg because we had a gift card from TH from Christmas. Well, dinner was awful. Joe had a t-bone steak and I had prime rib which was a giant chunk of underdone meat. The wait staff was bad. The decor was bad. My dessert was bad. The whole dinner wasn't good. Thus proving that Pennsylvania has horrible restaurants.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Wedding Countdown!
We're at 47 days and counting till our wedding.
Panic time, commence!
I'm actually not paniked. Okay, there are only a couple of things that make me want to panic. One of them is the fact that I probably should be tanning. The other is that we haven't got back many of our RSVPs. I can't give you an actual number but it doesn't seem large. Most of the ones that we have gotten back are yeses. I figure that most of the people that haven't sent them in will be nos. Joe disagrees. It doesn't matter to me as long as I get them back by May 1st. I still have a feeling that we're going to be making a bunch of phone calls May 2nd. Ugh.
So to make me feel better, let's run through what I have and have not done. And some of my plans. (There'll be lots of links go check out.)
Wedding Dress-I have a beautiful wedding dress that I got from J and B Bridal. I went for my first fitting and well, a lot of seams had to be ripped out. I go again in a couple of weeks to try the dress on again. Unfortantly, I didn't lose any weight nor plan to. I can only hope that I haven't gained any weight since it was last fit since there isn't much time to try it on again.
Wedding Accessories-I bought two pairs of shoes from DSW, partly because they had a good return policy. Both pairs have wedge heels making it easier to walk in the grass. Both also have at least 3" heels. One pair is royal blue with a peep toe and a ruffle across it. The other pair is ivory with straps around the ankle and down the front. There are petals across the toes. I like the blue ones best but fitting wise I still may have to return them. (Something blue...) While in St. Louis, I went to JC Penney's to look at jewelry. I didn't want anything too expensive or too fancy since my dress is so pretty. I settled on two bracelets including one like this. I also got a necklace but I think I'm going to wear my birdhouse necklace instead. Probably not in addition to though I might wear something eles I wear all the time. I went to Icing (haha, so high school) and bought two flowers for my hair. I have decided not to wear a veil. I don't know if the flowers match the dress though. I hope the biggest one-which is ivory-does. I still need to decide on which shoes I like and also need to buy some underthings.
Wedding Make-Up/Hair-I have appointments for both on the day of the wedding (as well as for my bridesmaids) and one trial run on at least the hair. So go me. Tanning though...
Wedding Rings-Joe and I ordered custom fingerprint rings from Brent and Jess. Its going to be cutting it close but we're super excited about these rings.
Tuxes-Okay, so Joe still needs to get his tux fit. And make sure his groomsmen have too.
Wedding Officiant/Ceremony-We have hired an officiant and have figured out some of the readings we plan to have. However, we still need to finalize these, find people to actually read them and get together a program. In my mind, I have how I want the ceremony to go. But there are some other things that need to be put together-such as music and parking. Always the parking. I have hired some of our clients-the Bunnings. They have a carriage service and raise North American Spotted Draft horses. I've been out to their place multiple times. My plan is to have them take me and the bridesmaids from the vet clinic down to the mill, then wait for the ceremony to finish and then to take me and Joe around Newville.
Wedding Registry-We're registered at Target and Kohl's. Recently, after the discovery that only one item has been purchased from the registry, we added a bunch of inexpensive items to the Target registry. Kohl's is more of our small appliances. I'm hoping that people come through and actually use the registry preventing us from getting a bunch of redundant gifts or things we don't want.
Flowers-I'm not exactly sure that I'm getting what I paid for or what I really want. :(
Rehersal and Rehersal Dinner-We know who gets to come to the rehersal dinner but other than that nothing is planned. I may have mistakenly put Joe in charge of figuring out where we're going to eat. I need to confirm times with the officiant (Bishop Carl) and Joe.
Decorations-I'm starting to feel good about this. I bought some small lanterns at the party store and still have to get some flowers to decorate the trellis we're renting. I finished all the table number holders. I still have to finish making name cards but need to again have most invitations in.
Caterer and Cake-The caterer is just waiting on a number and a seating chart as far as I can tell. The cake baker is waiting on a number and finialization of flavors. Joe and I couldn't decide but decided to go with what we originally tasted even though we were not fans. The baker also agreed to make extra sugar flowers for gluten free cupcakes I am making for AO and LM. Joe and I got our cake topper and its super cute.
Reception Hall-I need to keep paying them and they are happy enough. The Carlisle Vault was the site of a music video shoot this fall. Fun. shot an acoustic version of their song 'We Are Young' (Yes, from Glee) there in October.
DJ-Speaking of music, Joe and I really need to get on this music thing. We haven't thought about music for the ceremony. We're still struggling for music for our first dance. The only music I know is having some TMBG playing while people come to the ceremony and 'Birdhouse In Your Soul' playing when we enter the reception. I'm struggling with the song for the father/daughter dance except that I know I want a country song. I sent Joe a list of songs for our first dance. They include-'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri, 'First Day of My Life' by Bright Eyes, 'Your Song' by Elton John (I'm not sure why; it doesn't fit with the indie nature of the other songs!), 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie, and 'You Are The Only Exception' by Paramore. Thoughts?
Some Misc. Things-The rentals are being handled by Joe for better or for worse. Its chairs and an archway now but Joe needs to talk to them about a sound system. I'll order favors once I have a better grip on numbers. And I need a cake cutting set. Bridal party gifts need to be purchased. I also ordered a photobook to use as a guest book from Snapfish and it turned out poorly. I should have known better.
Needless to say, we have lots left to do but its all small stuff. Everything seems to be going pretty well. I'm taking May off from job hunting (hopefully, because I found a job) to focus my days off on wedding planning and finishing up that.
Panic time, commence!
I'm actually not paniked. Okay, there are only a couple of things that make me want to panic. One of them is the fact that I probably should be tanning. The other is that we haven't got back many of our RSVPs. I can't give you an actual number but it doesn't seem large. Most of the ones that we have gotten back are yeses. I figure that most of the people that haven't sent them in will be nos. Joe disagrees. It doesn't matter to me as long as I get them back by May 1st. I still have a feeling that we're going to be making a bunch of phone calls May 2nd. Ugh.
So to make me feel better, let's run through what I have and have not done. And some of my plans. (There'll be lots of links go check out.)
Wedding Dress-I have a beautiful wedding dress that I got from J and B Bridal. I went for my first fitting and well, a lot of seams had to be ripped out. I go again in a couple of weeks to try the dress on again. Unfortantly, I didn't lose any weight nor plan to. I can only hope that I haven't gained any weight since it was last fit since there isn't much time to try it on again.
Wedding Accessories-I bought two pairs of shoes from DSW, partly because they had a good return policy. Both pairs have wedge heels making it easier to walk in the grass. Both also have at least 3" heels. One pair is royal blue with a peep toe and a ruffle across it. The other pair is ivory with straps around the ankle and down the front. There are petals across the toes. I like the blue ones best but fitting wise I still may have to return them. (Something blue...) While in St. Louis, I went to JC Penney's to look at jewelry. I didn't want anything too expensive or too fancy since my dress is so pretty. I settled on two bracelets including one like this. I also got a necklace but I think I'm going to wear my birdhouse necklace instead. Probably not in addition to though I might wear something eles I wear all the time. I went to Icing (haha, so high school) and bought two flowers for my hair. I have decided not to wear a veil. I don't know if the flowers match the dress though. I hope the biggest one-which is ivory-does. I still need to decide on which shoes I like and also need to buy some underthings.
Wedding Make-Up/Hair-I have appointments for both on the day of the wedding (as well as for my bridesmaids) and one trial run on at least the hair. So go me. Tanning though...
Wedding Rings-Joe and I ordered custom fingerprint rings from Brent and Jess. Its going to be cutting it close but we're super excited about these rings.
Tuxes-Okay, so Joe still needs to get his tux fit. And make sure his groomsmen have too.
Wedding Officiant/Ceremony-We have hired an officiant and have figured out some of the readings we plan to have. However, we still need to finalize these, find people to actually read them and get together a program. In my mind, I have how I want the ceremony to go. But there are some other things that need to be put together-such as music and parking. Always the parking. I have hired some of our clients-the Bunnings. They have a carriage service and raise North American Spotted Draft horses. I've been out to their place multiple times. My plan is to have them take me and the bridesmaids from the vet clinic down to the mill, then wait for the ceremony to finish and then to take me and Joe around Newville.
Wedding Registry-We're registered at Target and Kohl's. Recently, after the discovery that only one item has been purchased from the registry, we added a bunch of inexpensive items to the Target registry. Kohl's is more of our small appliances. I'm hoping that people come through and actually use the registry preventing us from getting a bunch of redundant gifts or things we don't want.
Flowers-I'm not exactly sure that I'm getting what I paid for or what I really want. :(
Rehersal and Rehersal Dinner-We know who gets to come to the rehersal dinner but other than that nothing is planned. I may have mistakenly put Joe in charge of figuring out where we're going to eat. I need to confirm times with the officiant (Bishop Carl) and Joe.
Decorations-I'm starting to feel good about this. I bought some small lanterns at the party store and still have to get some flowers to decorate the trellis we're renting. I finished all the table number holders. I still have to finish making name cards but need to again have most invitations in.
Caterer and Cake-The caterer is just waiting on a number and a seating chart as far as I can tell. The cake baker is waiting on a number and finialization of flavors. Joe and I couldn't decide but decided to go with what we originally tasted even though we were not fans. The baker also agreed to make extra sugar flowers for gluten free cupcakes I am making for AO and LM. Joe and I got our cake topper and its super cute.
Reception Hall-I need to keep paying them and they are happy enough. The Carlisle Vault was the site of a music video shoot this fall. Fun. shot an acoustic version of their song 'We Are Young' (Yes, from Glee) there in October.
DJ-Speaking of music, Joe and I really need to get on this music thing. We haven't thought about music for the ceremony. We're still struggling for music for our first dance. The only music I know is having some TMBG playing while people come to the ceremony and 'Birdhouse In Your Soul' playing when we enter the reception. I'm struggling with the song for the father/daughter dance except that I know I want a country song. I sent Joe a list of songs for our first dance. They include-'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri, 'First Day of My Life' by Bright Eyes, 'Your Song' by Elton John (I'm not sure why; it doesn't fit with the indie nature of the other songs!), 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie, and 'You Are The Only Exception' by Paramore. Thoughts?
Some Misc. Things-The rentals are being handled by Joe for better or for worse. Its chairs and an archway now but Joe needs to talk to them about a sound system. I'll order favors once I have a better grip on numbers. And I need a cake cutting set. Bridal party gifts need to be purchased. I also ordered a photobook to use as a guest book from Snapfish and it turned out poorly. I should have known better.
Needless to say, we have lots left to do but its all small stuff. Everything seems to be going pretty well. I'm taking May off from job hunting (hopefully, because I found a job) to focus my days off on wedding planning and finishing up that.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Reader's Digest Anger
So the other day, I got Reader's Digest in the mail. I still haven't figured out how we started getting it but I haven't paid for it (as far as I can tell) and its much better than the never ending subscription to Spin. Which, I finally just called and told to stop sending it. I don't think it was ever going to run out.
Anyway, when I got Reader's Digest, it had an article in it called '50 Things Your Vet Won't Tell You'. I read it with amusement wondering how many of those I don't tell my clients. I can't really answer that.
BECAUSE...
I was so infuriated at #27 which essentially gave illegal and dangerous (potentially deadly) advice.
This is it:
27. “After their kitten vaccinations, indoor cats don’t really need to be vaccinated. They’re not going to get rabies sitting inside the house. Vaccines have the potential to create a lot of harm for cats, including possible tumors at the vaccine site.”—Jill Elliot, DVM, owner of Holistic Vet in New York and New Jersey.
Thank you, Dr. Elliot for trying to kill people.
While I'll agree that after kitten vaccinations (and those of their 1 year old visit) there are some vaccines that can be stopped. Research has shown that it is very difficult to infect adult cats with FeLV (feline leukemia virus). Also the distemper vaccine is very good so it can actually go every three years (again after the kitten series and one vaccine at 1 year old). This is our vaccine policy in our clinic.
HOWEVER, rabies is not a vaccine to be taken lightly! Rabies is always (with like two human exceptions) a fatal disease. Testing for rabies in animals is always fatal. (You have to examine the brain.)
Rabies can be acquired by indoor cats. If by chance, they come across a bat which is always considered rabies positive until determined otherwise. I've actually had clients call about their cat which was playing with a bat...IN THE HOUSE!
I would hate to be the vet that told an owner that they didn't have to vaccinate their indoor only cat only to have to euthanize it, expose my staff to rabies, and have the family go through rabies prophylaxis. I'm pretty sure that's malpractice. And again, illegal. Most states require domestic cats (read, any cats you feed) to be vaccinated against rabies.
Vaccines have come a long way. While I have seen tumors that I believe to be associated with vaccines, the risk of rabies outweighs the risk to the cat. (We vaccinate for rabies because of the public health concern. Every vet knows that! In third world countries, the number 1 carrier for rabies is not wild animals (raccoons, foxes, skunks and bats are the number 1 culprit in the US.) but dogs!) There are now what are called nonadjuvanted vaccines. An adjuvant (normally a form of aluminum) is what helps motivate an immune response causing inflammation. Nonadjuvanted vaccines are safer for cats. Also making sure that the vaccines are given as low in the leg as possible will help because if there is a vaccine induced tumor, it can be removed by amputation.
Anyway, I wrote a letter to the editor expressing my concerns and gave my suggestions.
I looked up the article online and everyone is freaking out about #20 which is about Caribbean schools. Ugh. Seriously? I know that they recently received AVMA accreditation but having worked with multiple students from the Caribbean schools...I found them lacking-mostly lacking in skills, motivation, politeness. Not all of them...about 50% of them. The other 50% were stellar. There was no inbetween. And that's my opinion. Its not a fact. Its what I experienced.
Anyway, when I got Reader's Digest, it had an article in it called '50 Things Your Vet Won't Tell You'. I read it with amusement wondering how many of those I don't tell my clients. I can't really answer that.
BECAUSE...
I was so infuriated at #27 which essentially gave illegal and dangerous (potentially deadly) advice.
This is it:
27. “After their kitten vaccinations, indoor cats don’t really need to be vaccinated. They’re not going to get rabies sitting inside the house. Vaccines have the potential to create a lot of harm for cats, including possible tumors at the vaccine site.”—Jill Elliot, DVM, owner of Holistic Vet in New York and New Jersey.
Thank you, Dr. Elliot for trying to kill people.
While I'll agree that after kitten vaccinations (and those of their 1 year old visit) there are some vaccines that can be stopped. Research has shown that it is very difficult to infect adult cats with FeLV (feline leukemia virus). Also the distemper vaccine is very good so it can actually go every three years (again after the kitten series and one vaccine at 1 year old). This is our vaccine policy in our clinic.
HOWEVER, rabies is not a vaccine to be taken lightly! Rabies is always (with like two human exceptions) a fatal disease. Testing for rabies in animals is always fatal. (You have to examine the brain.)
Rabies can be acquired by indoor cats. If by chance, they come across a bat which is always considered rabies positive until determined otherwise. I've actually had clients call about their cat which was playing with a bat...IN THE HOUSE!
I would hate to be the vet that told an owner that they didn't have to vaccinate their indoor only cat only to have to euthanize it, expose my staff to rabies, and have the family go through rabies prophylaxis. I'm pretty sure that's malpractice. And again, illegal. Most states require domestic cats (read, any cats you feed) to be vaccinated against rabies.
Vaccines have come a long way. While I have seen tumors that I believe to be associated with vaccines, the risk of rabies outweighs the risk to the cat. (We vaccinate for rabies because of the public health concern. Every vet knows that! In third world countries, the number 1 carrier for rabies is not wild animals (raccoons, foxes, skunks and bats are the number 1 culprit in the US.) but dogs!) There are now what are called nonadjuvanted vaccines. An adjuvant (normally a form of aluminum) is what helps motivate an immune response causing inflammation. Nonadjuvanted vaccines are safer for cats. Also making sure that the vaccines are given as low in the leg as possible will help because if there is a vaccine induced tumor, it can be removed by amputation.
Anyway, I wrote a letter to the editor expressing my concerns and gave my suggestions.
I looked up the article online and everyone is freaking out about #20 which is about Caribbean schools. Ugh. Seriously? I know that they recently received AVMA accreditation but having worked with multiple students from the Caribbean schools...I found them lacking-mostly lacking in skills, motivation, politeness. Not all of them...about 50% of them. The other 50% were stellar. There was no inbetween. And that's my opinion. Its not a fact. Its what I experienced.
Secret Blog
Sometimes I think that I need a secret blog. A blog that I can talk about things that would otherwise be TMI or might talk badly about people I know...
I guess this is called a diary.
But in a vague since here are some things that I would discuss---
---how you know you should get married/how you know you might as well be married/how you know if your relationship is worth a go (this one would be TMI)
---and then there's some secret job stuff regarding some of my frustration
I guess this is called a diary.
But in a vague since here are some things that I would discuss---
---how you know you should get married/how you know you might as well be married/how you know if your relationship is worth a go (this one would be TMI)
---and then there's some secret job stuff regarding some of my frustration
Friday, April 13, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
The Worst Interview EVER!
So I've been gone since Sunday and have returned home in time to go on call tomorrow morning. Exciting, but that's the life I lead.
I wasn't out of town doing anything particularly thrilling. No OC (Ocean City) for us this year-unless I can find a weekend to steal away in May. What I was doing was looking for a new job. I returned to a practice I interviewed at 2 years ago in Wisconsin and then I had an interview in South Central Missouri, for which I may have been overly excited.
Packing for only carryon luggage is hard especially when going on interviews for which you are trying to be prepared. Rubber boots, coveralls, khakis, shirts, white coat, socks, underwear, pajamas, scrub top and then all the things you think you might need-thermal underwear, long sleeve shirts, hoodies, extra jeans. Then you realize the giant pile of clothes will not fit into your suitcase. At this point, I checked the weather and decided that it wasn't going to be cold enough to warrant long johns, more than one hoodie and I'd just have to wear the same jeans on multiple days. There was lots of tight rolling of clothes and stuffing underwear and socks into spare shoes. I somehow managed to get the suitcase closed. Then there was the ordeal of the second carryon. Initially, I was just going to take my purse which is large and would easily hold my vet bag stuff (minus the like $50 in coins and sharp pointy objects-read-pocket knife I've never used.) Then I thought that I might want to bring my laptop for some blogging I intended on doing. So then I had to change bags and ended up with two very heavy ones.
Then Sunday morning, I got up super early. Joe happened to wake up too and decided to drive me to the airport which was nice. I got the the ticket counter and was told I was at the wrong one. Then I couldn't get the self check out thing to work prompting assistance from the ticket agent. Apparently, it wasn't working because my ticket wasn't paid for. SHOCKING! because I had bought the tickets a week earlier through Priceline. So I had to buy a nearly $300 ticket to get me to Milwaukee-my first destination of three. From there, flying was pretty routine. There was some turbulence between Harrisburg and Chicago as well as a practical joke from the pilot but it was all handled well. I eventually got to Milwaukee, got lost, ate some Culver's, bought some groceries (remembering the bad restaurant near the hotel) and then made it to Wittenberg.
Monday's interview went pretty well. I get along fantastically with the two owners of the practice and their practice only seems to have good places to go. They are building a new clinic because their small animal side has outgrown their current one. It was a good day. My only reservation is now that it is Wisconsin. Granted, it was raining and chilly the whole time I was there. They are about one month behind spring wise as well.
Tuesday, I spent traveling. A drive back to Milwaukee, a flight to Chicago, a flight to STL and then a drive down to see my grandparents. From there, I drove across southern Missouri to my next interview. It was really pretty and looked a lot like Pennsylvania. I got to the vet's house and ate dinner with him and his wife. I was holding up pretty good hopes for this practice-it was in a nice area, it was in Missouri, there was lots of houses/land for sale at reasonable prices. As the evening went on, I wasn't thinking that things were going all that well. You have to understand that when vets get together, its a lot of one-upmanship. Who saw the most appointments. Who convinced the difficult client to spend money. Who did the most difficult surgery, saw the craziest emergency, etc, etc. Even in two years, I have some pretty good stories. We discussed some things that I had seen and I realized I was being questioned about how I treated things. But not in a constructive manner. It was more like this:
DR-I give lots of dogs with diarrhea an injection of cortisone.
Me-I don't do that.
DR-Why not?
Me-?? (Okay, I don't have a good reason not to EXCEPT that steroids can actually cause diarrhea. There is a place and time for their use in diarrhea but just willy-nilly is not something I do.)
Then I was told that I wasn't doing any favors for my clients by not running CBCs on parvo dogs or bloodwork on milk fevers. What?
I was already feeling like this was going poorly when I went to bed that night. I wondered if sneaking off would be professional. I decided to wait it out. He might be argumentative but maybe he had a great bedside manner or was a great doctor.
In the morning, I walked over to the clinic with the vet and his wife, who worked as an office manager. The office was a metal building with nice landscaping next to the highway. There were some cattle working facilities and a garage. Inside though, it smelled like cat piss. I kid you not. And the whole clinic was super dated-dated and dirty. All of the linoleum was pitted and torn. In one office, there was carpet from the '70s that was torn and stained. Dog fur was everywhere. The ceiling tiles were stained with cobwebs and dog fur clinging to it especially around the air vents. There was stuff everywhere too.
I also noted an abundance of outdated drugs. For instance, the oldest one I noted expired in 1986. Yes, it was old enough to drink, old enough to rent a car. How efficacious can that be? How safe? Then I noted one from 1991. This particular drug is readily available so there would be no reason to keep an expired partial bottle. Then I noted at least a half dozen expired bottles of vitamin B. Vitamin B isn't really all that stable. At least not stable enough to be hanging around nearly 10 years after the expiration date.
I watched a couple of appointments-I wasn't introduced, I didn't have much input on how the particular case could be handled, I didn't get to do anything. (Also, keep in mind, I am licensed to practice in Missouri so it would be completely okay for me to perform veterinary medicine in nearly all capacities.) And the appointments were quick and vaccines all given in the scruff. Eventually, we'd get around to doing surgery-because surgery was done when there was time, it explained why the animals spend the night. There were a couple of spays and an enucleation. No catheters were placed, no fluids ran. I pretty much flat out refused to do surgery because I was appalled by the anesthetic protocol. (It could have its benefits but there were some areas that needed improvement.)
We went out and vaccinated some horses. I was treated to a demonstration on how to draw blood and give vaccines to a fractious horse. I don't know why he chose a mule to demonstrate this on. And again, I've been a vet for two years. I know how to vaccinate and draw blood. Ugh.
A few more appointments were seen. I asked if they had the 4dx SNAP test (it tests for heartworm disease, lyme disease, anaplasmosis and erlichia) and was told no because it misses several tick borne disease-which it does. And then there was something about a dog needing to have two tick borne diseases before seeing clinical signs. (I didn't understand what was being said here so I didn't argue it. I know for a fact that a dog can have one disease (such as lyme) and have horrible clinical signs. Enough that they get euthanized for it!)
Eventually, the day would wrap up and I was back to being grilled. I was told that that he wanted a vet that would make him money, a vet that should be in it not only to help animals but to make money. Okay. I was ridiculed for doing my clients a disservice because I try not to answer the question 'what would you do if this was your pet?'. (I believe my job to be to educate the client on all the options, give them the best option and then work with what the client chooses. If I go with 'if this was my pet', it may not be the best choice for the client and their animal. It may be self serving of me. And I believe I need to keep my objectivity.) I was again told that my methods of treatment were no good. My philosophy on euthanasia was brought into question. It was then discussed that we'd see how well I worked cattle tomorrow and then I said I would be leaving that night. He said he thought so and asked why. I told him that I didn't think our philosophies on veterinary medicine would work very well. He said he knew he was argumentative but I was close minded and unreceptive to change. Well, if its presented to me as an argument, no, no, I'm not receptive to change because you make me defensive. Its a two way street. I was on the verge of tears when I left. He wouldn't let it go.
So I left and felt great about it. The knot in my stomach which had actually started the night before unwound itself. I blindly drove north. I ate some Sonic. I drove through the pouring rain to St. Louis where I holed up in Motel 6. In the rain, I realized, I was nearly blind. I hung out in Motel 6, did some shopping and then ate dinner with my MOH, Amberle. I then flew back home so I could be on call.
We'll not be moving to Missouri needless to say. If a vet acts that way when they are interviewing someone, imagine how they'd be as a boss? Ugh, it makes my stomach hurt. (Elements of this interview reminded me of this blog. You should check it out regularly. Its got some gems we all can relate to.)
I wasn't out of town doing anything particularly thrilling. No OC (Ocean City) for us this year-unless I can find a weekend to steal away in May. What I was doing was looking for a new job. I returned to a practice I interviewed at 2 years ago in Wisconsin and then I had an interview in South Central Missouri, for which I may have been overly excited.
Packing for only carryon luggage is hard especially when going on interviews for which you are trying to be prepared. Rubber boots, coveralls, khakis, shirts, white coat, socks, underwear, pajamas, scrub top and then all the things you think you might need-thermal underwear, long sleeve shirts, hoodies, extra jeans. Then you realize the giant pile of clothes will not fit into your suitcase. At this point, I checked the weather and decided that it wasn't going to be cold enough to warrant long johns, more than one hoodie and I'd just have to wear the same jeans on multiple days. There was lots of tight rolling of clothes and stuffing underwear and socks into spare shoes. I somehow managed to get the suitcase closed. Then there was the ordeal of the second carryon. Initially, I was just going to take my purse which is large and would easily hold my vet bag stuff (minus the like $50 in coins and sharp pointy objects-read-pocket knife I've never used.) Then I thought that I might want to bring my laptop for some blogging I intended on doing. So then I had to change bags and ended up with two very heavy ones.
Then Sunday morning, I got up super early. Joe happened to wake up too and decided to drive me to the airport which was nice. I got the the ticket counter and was told I was at the wrong one. Then I couldn't get the self check out thing to work prompting assistance from the ticket agent. Apparently, it wasn't working because my ticket wasn't paid for. SHOCKING! because I had bought the tickets a week earlier through Priceline. So I had to buy a nearly $300 ticket to get me to Milwaukee-my first destination of three. From there, flying was pretty routine. There was some turbulence between Harrisburg and Chicago as well as a practical joke from the pilot but it was all handled well. I eventually got to Milwaukee, got lost, ate some Culver's, bought some groceries (remembering the bad restaurant near the hotel) and then made it to Wittenberg.
Monday's interview went pretty well. I get along fantastically with the two owners of the practice and their practice only seems to have good places to go. They are building a new clinic because their small animal side has outgrown their current one. It was a good day. My only reservation is now that it is Wisconsin. Granted, it was raining and chilly the whole time I was there. They are about one month behind spring wise as well.
Tuesday, I spent traveling. A drive back to Milwaukee, a flight to Chicago, a flight to STL and then a drive down to see my grandparents. From there, I drove across southern Missouri to my next interview. It was really pretty and looked a lot like Pennsylvania. I got to the vet's house and ate dinner with him and his wife. I was holding up pretty good hopes for this practice-it was in a nice area, it was in Missouri, there was lots of houses/land for sale at reasonable prices. As the evening went on, I wasn't thinking that things were going all that well. You have to understand that when vets get together, its a lot of one-upmanship. Who saw the most appointments. Who convinced the difficult client to spend money. Who did the most difficult surgery, saw the craziest emergency, etc, etc. Even in two years, I have some pretty good stories. We discussed some things that I had seen and I realized I was being questioned about how I treated things. But not in a constructive manner. It was more like this:
DR-I give lots of dogs with diarrhea an injection of cortisone.
Me-I don't do that.
DR-Why not?
Me-?? (Okay, I don't have a good reason not to EXCEPT that steroids can actually cause diarrhea. There is a place and time for their use in diarrhea but just willy-nilly is not something I do.)
Then I was told that I wasn't doing any favors for my clients by not running CBCs on parvo dogs or bloodwork on milk fevers. What?
I was already feeling like this was going poorly when I went to bed that night. I wondered if sneaking off would be professional. I decided to wait it out. He might be argumentative but maybe he had a great bedside manner or was a great doctor.
In the morning, I walked over to the clinic with the vet and his wife, who worked as an office manager. The office was a metal building with nice landscaping next to the highway. There were some cattle working facilities and a garage. Inside though, it smelled like cat piss. I kid you not. And the whole clinic was super dated-dated and dirty. All of the linoleum was pitted and torn. In one office, there was carpet from the '70s that was torn and stained. Dog fur was everywhere. The ceiling tiles were stained with cobwebs and dog fur clinging to it especially around the air vents. There was stuff everywhere too.
I also noted an abundance of outdated drugs. For instance, the oldest one I noted expired in 1986. Yes, it was old enough to drink, old enough to rent a car. How efficacious can that be? How safe? Then I noted one from 1991. This particular drug is readily available so there would be no reason to keep an expired partial bottle. Then I noted at least a half dozen expired bottles of vitamin B. Vitamin B isn't really all that stable. At least not stable enough to be hanging around nearly 10 years after the expiration date.
I watched a couple of appointments-I wasn't introduced, I didn't have much input on how the particular case could be handled, I didn't get to do anything. (Also, keep in mind, I am licensed to practice in Missouri so it would be completely okay for me to perform veterinary medicine in nearly all capacities.) And the appointments were quick and vaccines all given in the scruff. Eventually, we'd get around to doing surgery-because surgery was done when there was time, it explained why the animals spend the night. There were a couple of spays and an enucleation. No catheters were placed, no fluids ran. I pretty much flat out refused to do surgery because I was appalled by the anesthetic protocol. (It could have its benefits but there were some areas that needed improvement.)
We went out and vaccinated some horses. I was treated to a demonstration on how to draw blood and give vaccines to a fractious horse. I don't know why he chose a mule to demonstrate this on. And again, I've been a vet for two years. I know how to vaccinate and draw blood. Ugh.
A few more appointments were seen. I asked if they had the 4dx SNAP test (it tests for heartworm disease, lyme disease, anaplasmosis and erlichia) and was told no because it misses several tick borne disease-which it does. And then there was something about a dog needing to have two tick borne diseases before seeing clinical signs. (I didn't understand what was being said here so I didn't argue it. I know for a fact that a dog can have one disease (such as lyme) and have horrible clinical signs. Enough that they get euthanized for it!)
Eventually, the day would wrap up and I was back to being grilled. I was told that that he wanted a vet that would make him money, a vet that should be in it not only to help animals but to make money. Okay. I was ridiculed for doing my clients a disservice because I try not to answer the question 'what would you do if this was your pet?'. (I believe my job to be to educate the client on all the options, give them the best option and then work with what the client chooses. If I go with 'if this was my pet', it may not be the best choice for the client and their animal. It may be self serving of me. And I believe I need to keep my objectivity.) I was again told that my methods of treatment were no good. My philosophy on euthanasia was brought into question. It was then discussed that we'd see how well I worked cattle tomorrow and then I said I would be leaving that night. He said he thought so and asked why. I told him that I didn't think our philosophies on veterinary medicine would work very well. He said he knew he was argumentative but I was close minded and unreceptive to change. Well, if its presented to me as an argument, no, no, I'm not receptive to change because you make me defensive. Its a two way street. I was on the verge of tears when I left. He wouldn't let it go.
So I left and felt great about it. The knot in my stomach which had actually started the night before unwound itself. I blindly drove north. I ate some Sonic. I drove through the pouring rain to St. Louis where I holed up in Motel 6. In the rain, I realized, I was nearly blind. I hung out in Motel 6, did some shopping and then ate dinner with my MOH, Amberle. I then flew back home so I could be on call.
We'll not be moving to Missouri needless to say. If a vet acts that way when they are interviewing someone, imagine how they'd be as a boss? Ugh, it makes my stomach hurt. (Elements of this interview reminded me of this blog. You should check it out regularly. Its got some gems we all can relate to.)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The Cat's Out of The Bag
Not literally. You shouldn't put cats in a bag. They don't particularly like it. I'm pretty sure I've tried.
Anyway, you may recall about a month ago, I posted that my clinic was no longer going to do large animal.
The reason was a combination of BF retiring, BR not wanting to do large animal any more and thus leaving only me and TH to do it all. From there, it depends on what you want to believe regarding who wants to really do large animal/emergencies and so on. I'm going to reiterate how upset it makes me. At first, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. As much as I like doing farm calls and working on large animals, I do struggle with it. I've become very proficent at small animal medicine. What really upset me though was wondering what the farmers were going to do. To me, there wasn't much time for them to find a new vet. I felt like we were betraying them. Felt like we were being unethical. BF reassured me that he was going to still be around even if he was retiring. He was going to keep a few herds for repro work too.
I asked about sick work for BF's herd and it looked like maybe I could do some of that. Joe and I discussed it and to me, an occasional goat in the office or sick cow on emergency when no one else could be gotten wasn't enough. I felt somewhat betrayed. I felt we were betraying the staff that had horses. I felt betrayed because here I was four months from having a wedding in a place that no longer held my perfect job. Decisions weren't made quickly. There was more planning and more time leading up to me finding out. I feel betrayed that I couldn't of known sooner.
Joe and I discussed it and it was decided that I should look for a new job. Thursday, I told the staff. I figured they deserved it. That and lots of questions were going to be raised when I was gone all this week. I've been on a few interviews and they all have seemed to go well. I'd really like to stay in Pennsylvania but am willing to go whereever there's a good job with equal mixed animals.
It wasn't easy to tell the staff. They have been my best friends and mentors for two years. They have made me into the vet I am today. They have tolerated my ignorance, rambling and crazy ideas regarding treatment. They have listened to things that they didn't have to. I'll miss them dearly.
I wish I didn't feel like I betrayed them. I wish I didn't have to leave. I really thought this was going to be the place where I was going to work forever...BUT I know if I don't move on now, I never will. Three months to allow for all the changes will turn to six, six months will turn to a year and a baby. A year will turn to five to ten to twenty years and then I'll look back and wonder what happened to me doing large animal medicine? I really liked it.
I can only hope that the next job is as good as the first. That the vets are as good of mentors, that the techs are as well trained and tolerant and that medicine can be practiced as well as I practice it now. I can only hope that the next job IS the job that I'll be at forever. (That and Joe doesn't want to move again.)
Anyway, you may recall about a month ago, I posted that my clinic was no longer going to do large animal.
The reason was a combination of BF retiring, BR not wanting to do large animal any more and thus leaving only me and TH to do it all. From there, it depends on what you want to believe regarding who wants to really do large animal/emergencies and so on. I'm going to reiterate how upset it makes me. At first, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. As much as I like doing farm calls and working on large animals, I do struggle with it. I've become very proficent at small animal medicine. What really upset me though was wondering what the farmers were going to do. To me, there wasn't much time for them to find a new vet. I felt like we were betraying them. Felt like we were being unethical. BF reassured me that he was going to still be around even if he was retiring. He was going to keep a few herds for repro work too.
I asked about sick work for BF's herd and it looked like maybe I could do some of that. Joe and I discussed it and to me, an occasional goat in the office or sick cow on emergency when no one else could be gotten wasn't enough. I felt somewhat betrayed. I felt we were betraying the staff that had horses. I felt betrayed because here I was four months from having a wedding in a place that no longer held my perfect job. Decisions weren't made quickly. There was more planning and more time leading up to me finding out. I feel betrayed that I couldn't of known sooner.
Joe and I discussed it and it was decided that I should look for a new job. Thursday, I told the staff. I figured they deserved it. That and lots of questions were going to be raised when I was gone all this week. I've been on a few interviews and they all have seemed to go well. I'd really like to stay in Pennsylvania but am willing to go whereever there's a good job with equal mixed animals.
It wasn't easy to tell the staff. They have been my best friends and mentors for two years. They have made me into the vet I am today. They have tolerated my ignorance, rambling and crazy ideas regarding treatment. They have listened to things that they didn't have to. I'll miss them dearly.
I wish I didn't feel like I betrayed them. I wish I didn't have to leave. I really thought this was going to be the place where I was going to work forever...BUT I know if I don't move on now, I never will. Three months to allow for all the changes will turn to six, six months will turn to a year and a baby. A year will turn to five to ten to twenty years and then I'll look back and wonder what happened to me doing large animal medicine? I really liked it.
I can only hope that the next job is as good as the first. That the vets are as good of mentors, that the techs are as well trained and tolerant and that medicine can be practiced as well as I practice it now. I can only hope that the next job IS the job that I'll be at forever. (That and Joe doesn't want to move again.)
Help for Crazy Vet Case
We saw this cat at work and I'm not sure what's going on. If anyone has seen something like this, let me know.
We didn't want to be bit so we were super careful with this cat.
We didn't want to be bit so we were super careful with this cat.
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