Another blog post about a busy working day...

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

David Mills — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:33:14 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]Is she really your girlfriend, or are you her big experiment? [/quote]

Apparently I'm a functioning sociopath with chid-like tendencies and an over-affinity for non-verbal beings. In other words, I'm don't really like her friends, I take the piss too much, and like animals.

However, I do leave the toilet seat down now and even sometimes wash my hands after. Perhaps I am being played after all?

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

Dagmar Steele — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:52:39 GMT

[quote user="james herriot lied"]

In reply to Dagmar:

Who the hell gave that post one star?*

I certainly recognise the pattern of behaviour, having followed it most of my working life. I'm on call now and at work, and just phoned home to talk to the kids before bed. But I found, as always, that I didn't really want to hear their news, as I had one ear on the practice phone. Stupid, stupid, stupid - only people with very damaged lives wood think that either noble or normal.

I agree with David's girlfriend: I've always identified those micro-managing, flamboyantly self-sacrificing colleagues as would-be martyrs. The only problem I have with it is that I suspect I'm one too!

*: rhetorical question - I reckon I've already worked it out.......

[/quote]

Uh, I hadn't even noticed that someone didn't like what I wrote..

James, recognizing the patterns is the first step out ;-) Your description of the phone call to your kids sounds very familiar. But David's partner is right: We make the choice how and where we work. And if we can't shrug everything off (and there's more of us who suffer from this than like to admit I'm sure) we may have to accept it and change things so they work for us. .... In theory at least ....

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:50:01 GMT

[quote user="David Mills"]I showed this to my partner who's a psychiatrist in training[/quote]

Is she really your girlfriend, or are you her big experiment?

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

james herriot lied — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:41:09 GMT

In reply to Dagmar:

Who the hell gave that post one star?*

*: rhetorical question - I reckon I've already worked it out.......

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

David Mills — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 16:38:24 GMT

I think days like this are possible - in fact I suspect most practices could make days like this possible by over-booking and under-staffing. I showed this to my partner who's a psychiatrist in training and distilling what she said, is that the person has need-centred martyrdom. I cannot believe that every day that critically sick animals are arriving to push the consult times back. Why try to squeeze in so much surgery including a cruciate and patellar repair (surely you would have known how tricky it was going to be?)? Why wake up so early and then go into work 1h45m later? Why be bothered with Facebook 'friends' requests for help? Why book in so much consulting on a daily basis? Apparently some people thrive on the idea of being needed the whole time, and can turn this into martyrdom i.e. they don't have to do it, but do it in cycles, and take pleasure or satisfaction from complaining about it. Another feature of them is that they micro-manage - e.g. why spend 45 minutes with a blocked cat when the vet techs can do most of what you were doing?

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

Stigen — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 12:03:09 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]

Can't sleep due to a cracking toothache, and this popped up on my Facebook newsfeed:

https://ocrtrivet.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/the-harsh-reality-of-vet-med-what-the-world-needs-to-understand/

I've read posts like this before, but what interested me were the comments on the post - 80% people saying how they agree that this is what a vet's life is like, 20% saying that the work-life balance is wrong and some time management techniques need to be used (apparently the day descried is a typical day). After reading it I'm agreeing more with the minority, and if I was in a practice like that I'd be out of there as soon as!

Thoughts?

[/quote]
God...the worday she is describing sounds like an utter nightmare. I`ve had some bad days in my time, but rarely anything like that. Working in a busy practice I would feel the stress on my body everyday,the responsibility and the expectations of the owners can be hard to deal with.

I don`t see how anyone can sustain a life like that.Any job that can make you physically sick from stress is not worth doing. I don`t want a shortened lifespan due to my job.
Fortunately I`m not in a busy practice anymore. I am rarely stressed, and have lots of time off,both during workhours and after.

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

Dagmar Steele — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 10:29:35 GMT

The stress people feel is hugely related to how their personality is. Can you live a normal life while on call even if nobody is calling? Some can, I never could. I'm always tense, I don't plan any activities as they might get interrupted, I wasn't even able to play with the kids as I always expected the phone to ring. And I can't sleep while on call, even worse when I had to get up and try to go back to sleep. I have also learned the hard way to say no to people asking about pets I haven't even seen. It's still not easy for me and think about each incident way too much afterwards. Others may be different and may not suffer from all the demands pulling at them because they can shrug them off. The woman writing the blog clearly suffers from it and if she described a normal working day for her I'm worried where she will be in ten years time.

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

Joyce Whitehead — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 10:13:41 GMT

I would certainly not be staying there long term. I also think that the friends and Facebook "friends" asking for advice is easy. Tell them you're not their vet, and to phone their own! I occasionally get asked about non clients' pets (mainly my brother tbh) but my advice is always, if you're worried, get to your own practice. I was rather surprised that she managed 4 neuters and a cruciate/patella surgery in just over 2 hours. That is going some, although I'm not an orthopod. As a new grad (30ish years ago) I worked in a really busy practice, and some days were a little like this, weekends always involved full days Saturday and most of Sunday (open surgery Sunday morning). It was great experience, as the practice was one of the cheaper in the area, so we got to do lots of surgeries we wouldn't maybe get to do now (certainly not as a new grad), but after 2 years I needed a more relaxed job. I think the equine post is more like other jobs I've heard of, and we can all remember nights like that. The call just after going to sleep is still something I find hard after all these years, as I can't drop off again like I used to, and end up awake half the night.

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

Sammy82 — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 09:59:29 GMT

My experience (mixed rural practice) is more like Wren's, of course there are busy days like mentioned in the first post but certainly not every day. Eating my lunch in the car while driving to another call or writing up notes was quite normal though. The chronic lack of sleep/disrupted sleep and almost falling asleep behind the wheel feel very familiar. Sleeping 1+2+3 hours (with half an ear on the phone) when being called out twice during the night just does not equal 6 hrs of non-interrupted deep sleep.

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

Wren — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 08:59:03 GMT

I may be biased by mostly havng working in mixed practices outwith cities, but even amongst my small animal friends I don't know too many people in the UK who have a similar regime to that. The odd day, sure, but not a typical day. Going from post on global vet groups on FB and other places it does seem to be more common to have that sort of aa working life in the US. I'm with the 20% though, there is no way on earth I could work like this.

I found this one on a horse forum and as an equine vet it more accurately mirrors my experience. I don't tend to have crazy days, and currently generally am quiet in the night (jinxed it now), but I do wonder about the long-term effect of chronic sleep disruption on those who are regularly called out of their beds.

http://vettingawaywithit.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/to-sleep-perchance.html

Re: Another blog post about a busy working day...

Lucy Fleming — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 08:39:46 GMT

I just read this this morning and thought the same thing - yes the occasional day like this may happen, but if every day is like that then it sounds like the clinic needs to look at making some changes! I'd be another one hightailing it out the door if that really is a typical experience there.