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1. We love our jobs and your pets. I love my clients and I love my patients. I chose to be here. I have made enormous financial sacrifices, left an $80,000+ per year profession after 14 years, went back to school, received a college diploma, and started from scratch, at 35 years old. I now earn less than $25,000 a year. I did this because I love animals and chose to pursue an emotional paycheck, to love my job, and to follow a dream.
2. We do not receive kickbacks from food manufacturers. Yes we make profit from them no different than how Petsmart or Petland makes profit from their food sales. My nutritional education via college, though limited was NOT taught by food reps. Yes food reps do provide in house "lunch and learns" bringing us up to speed on their latest research and products. We recommend these products because we believe in them and we have had positive results with them. They provide science based, factual research and spend millions to gain veterinary endorsement. Yes I understand suspicion of bias in research. But if not the manufacturers whom do you propose should be responsible for the research and development of pet foods?
3. We don't trust online pharmacies. It's true. Why? Because knockoffs, expired and tainted products are sold every day. We also genuinely want the best for your pet. That includes a DVMs evaluation and ongoing support and monitoring. We honestly are not rubbing our hands together, chuckling "mwa a a" over a $50 exam fee. To be honest no profit is made with exam fees. They basically break even, the DVMs wage and operational overhead.
4. Illnesses and emergencies are unfortunately expensive. Please be prepared, as the loving owner you are, to bare the financial burden an understand that it is sheer economics that binds us. At the end of the day we are happy to make a 10% profit margin on your bills. So that $1500 emergency surgery actually only resulted in a whopping $150 profit to the business. We are faced with grief striken, financially restrained clients daily. Providing services on a "promise to pay" would effectively put us out of business. I know, I know...you get paid Friday, you are good for it...but time and time again we are burned. We simply cannot. And it's honestly not up to me, so please understand, I am actually human. I see death everyday. The loss of your pet affects me deeply. I do care.
5. I am truly sorry for the wait. Life at a veterinary practice is unpredictable. Emergencies, treatment or surgical complications, late clients are part of day to day operations. So please keep this in mind. Never schedule an appointment when strapped for time. Good doctors do not rush through there appointments. Diagnostics take time. Prescriptions require attention to detail. There is a team of professionals working together to ensure your pet receives the care it needs. We can only go so fast. 20 min exam, 20 min diagnostics, 10 mins to fill prescriptions, 20 mins to discharge you with instructions. Not to mention the time that goes into writing up your charts...40 mins to an hour is a safe assumption for your average visit.
6. Most vets do actually care. I mean this with all sincerity. I have had the pleasure of knowing some amazing doctors. Yes they will often propose the most expensive method of treatment first. In a perfect world every pet would receive the highest level of care, with in depth diagnostic testing, potential surgery, preventative care, nutrition, etc. It is in the best interest of the animal to recommend the highest level of care first. Then, if necessary, adress and work with the owner and their financial constraints as they are encountered. If you are of limited means communicate with us. Be kind. And be proactive. You'll be pleasantly suprised with the outcome.
7. The dreaded "A Clinic". Well know to us, this term is used to describe low quality, low cost clinics that in the old days had names that started with an "A" so they were the first in alphabetical phone book listings. Not all low cost clinics are "bad". Many are non-profit, recieve funding and subsidies, and rely on volunteers, while providing resonable standards of care. And "A Clinic" is typically understaffed. They cut corners, use cheap, low quality meds, have untrained staff and rely on sheer volume, and vulnerable clients who can't afford better.
8. Your small gestures mean a lot. That thank you card made my day, those cookies lifted my spirits, and that positive online review had me beaming and proud. Thank you for recognizing those of us that go over an above because we care.
I am a medical professional and every day I feel the lack of respect & attitude that I am just in it "for the money" Like most everyone in this world I get out of bed every morning Really Wanting to do a really good job to help those who need me. To be accused of less hurts, even if it is just that others don't understand why we do what we do.
Carry on with your important work, I hope you are at my pup's clinic when I need you! Now I am going to read your post to my pups
1. We love our jobs and your pets. I love my clients and I love my patients. I chose to be here. I have made enormous financial sacrifices, left an $80,000+ per year profession after 14 years, went back to school, received a college diploma, and started from scratch, at 35 years old. I now earn less than $25,000 a year. I did this because I love animals and chose to pursue an emotional paycheck, to love my job, and to follow a dream.
This is the overall attitude I have seen from Veterinary services!
2. We do not receive kickbacks from food manufacturers. Yes we make profit from them no different than how Petsmart or Petland makes profit from their food sales. My nutritional education via college, though limited was NOT taught by food reps. Yes food reps do provide in house "lunch and learns" bringing us up to speed on their latest research and products. We recommend these products because we believe in them and we have had positive results with them. They provide science based, factual research and spend millions to gain veterinary endorsement. Yes I understand suspicion of bias in research. But if not the manufacturers whom do you propose should be responsible for the research and development of pet foods?
It is unfortunate that many professions have tainted this view with their actions (I've seen it first hand). These "lunch and learns" are invaluable not only to help veterinarian staff keep updated on new developments but also to give them a much needed and deserved break during their week! They are a win-win situation and if manufacturers want to continue them that's great since the vast majority of Vets and their staff I have dealt with are not influenced by them to push their products if they do not truly believe they are worth it.
3. We don't trust online pharmacies. It's true. Why? Because knockoffs, expired and tainted products are sold every day. We also genuinely want the best for your pet. That includes a DVMs evaluation and ongoing support and monitoring. We honestly are not rubbing our hands together, chuckling "mwa a a" over a $50 exam fee. To be honest no profit is made with exam fees. They basically break even, the DVMs wage and operational overhead.
4. Illnesses and emergencies are unfortunately expensive. Please be prepared, as the loving owner you are, to bare the financial burden an understand that it is sheer economics that binds us. At the end of the day we are happy to make a 10% profit margin on your bills. So that $1500 emergency surgery actually only resulted in a whopping $150 profit to the business. We are faced with grief striken, financially restrained clients daily. Providing services on a "promise to pay" would effectively put us out of business. I know, I know...you get paid Friday, you are good for it...but time and time again we are burned. We simply cannot. And it's honestly not up to me, so please understand, I am actually human. I see death everyday. The loss of your pet affects me deeply. I do care.
A very good perspective that people need to look at is compare your Vet bills to similar bills for medical treatment of yourself. After doing that people should have a better understanding that the services they are receiving from their Vet staff are way under priced for the high level of service they do provide! It is unfortunate you run into the problems of payment and some people just don't understand that Vets can not work for free.
5. I am truly sorry for the wait. Life at a veterinary practice is unpredictable. Emergencies, treatment or surgical complications, late clients are part of day to day operations. So please keep this in mind. Never schedule an appointment when strapped for time. Good doctors do not rush through there appointments. Diagnostics take time. Prescriptions require attention to detail. There is a team of professionals working together to ensure your pet receives the care it needs. We can only go so fast. 20 min exam, 20 min diagnostics, 10 mins to fill prescriptions, 20 mins to discharge you with instructions. Not to mention the time that goes into writing up your charts...40 mins to an hour is a safe assumption for your average visit.
This is an unfortunate byproduct of today's "instant gratification" society. What is also interesting are many that might complain of this wait forget the same thing happens with their own Doctors (for many valid reasons) but won't think twice about sitting and waiting. I personally like the waiting at the Vet's office. We not only get quite a bit of entertainment out of the pets coming in but our Pups get to socialize a little too sometimes.
6. Most vets do actually care. I mean this with all sincerity. I have had the pleasure of knowing some amazing doctors. Yes they will often propose the most expensive method of treatment first. In a perfect world every pet would receive the highest level of care, with in depth diagnostic testing, potential surgery, preventative care, nutrition, etc. It is in the best interest of the animal to recommend the highest level of care first. Then, if necessary, adress and work with the owner and their financial constraints as they are encountered. If you are of limited means communicate with us. Be kind. And be proactive. You'll be pleasantly suprised with the outcome.
You're being easy and making an understatement here! Vet's and their staff go beyond caring and tend to treat your pets as their own and still try to maintain as much of an emotional detachment as they can. As an example I just had my boys neutered and one had major complications (the pups physical issues) which resulted in a much needed overnight stay for observation. Our Vet knows how much our Pups mean to us and how much we do care when they are separated from us for any reason. Carrie, a licensed Veterinary Assistant (Country Friends Veterinary Clinic - Our Staff), purposely came in that evening to check on our Pup, along with others, to make sure they were comfortable, happy, and doing well. They do have staff that check on the animals overnight but she wanted to make sure the Pup was doing well due to its complications and our concerns. It wasn't something she had to do it was something she wanted to do!
7. The dreaded "A Clinic". Well know to us, this term is used to describe low quality, low cost clinics that in the old days had names that started with an "A" so they were the first in alphabetical phone book listings. Not all low cost clinics are "bad". Many are non-profit, recieve funding and subsidies, and rely on volunteers, while providing resonable standards of care. And "A Clinic" is typically understaffed. They cut corners, use cheap, low quality meds, have untrained staff and rely on sheer volume, and vulnerable clients who can't afford better.
Not sure what you're getting at with this one though? Many Veterinary operations call themselves XXX Clinic as ours does. The word "clinic" has been unfairly linked in peoples' minds with such operations as "methadone clinics", clinics such as what you describe above and run by some large operations in the pharmaceutical industry, etc. But there are also many good human "clinics" out there such as The Mayo Clinic, or The Cleveland Clinic, both world renowned operations.
8. Your small gestures mean a lot. That thank you card made my day, those cookies lifted my spirits, and that positive online review had me beaming and proud. Thank you for recognizing those of us that go over an above because we care.
More people need to realize this and take just a few minutes out of their day to do just this! I've seen threads on this board about "Gifting" to this or that service provider but too many forget their own Veterinary Service personnel!
Some thoughts and comments above in blue.
I'll expand with one more major thought that you alluded to above but will make it more clear here. If people would talk to their Vet's and the staff they will find that most of them also have four legged furry family members of their own. As parents to four legged furry family members, and pets, we only see and live the lives of our own. Yet these Vets and their staff not only live the lives of their own but also the lives of their patients. Vets and their staff are unlike human Doctors and staff who can easily detach themselves from their adult patients (and some with their children patients) many because they don't have their own children, or they have become hardened to how people are and can become having seen the nastiness in people. Vets and their staff on the other hand see only our furry family members and how they will give unconditional love and happiness if we return it to them and they see this because they too have furry family members. When our furry family members pass again we are dealing with only them but the Vets and their staff are dealing not only with them but also the many others they have had to treat and help until their passing.
IMO the Veterinary Services people tend to be so unappreciated for all their hard work and dedication. It is sad that our own President makes a big deal about pardoning the turkey every year at Thanksgiving but there is no real national holiday or recognition day for those that help keep our four legged furry family members, and other pets, healthy and happy!
Hope you keep your perspective after the honeymoon period is over. There are a number of dedicated long term vet techs and assitants in the practice I go to. They are wonderful with the animals. But most of them don't know squat about nutrition. They simply parrot out what they were taught by Hills or Royal Canin.
Maybe your clinic doesn't take ...erm...incentives from pet food companies but many do.
This is only one "contest"..but I bet there are plenty more.
6. Most vets do actually care. I mean this with all sincerity. I have had the pleasure of knowing some amazing doctors. Yes they will often propose the most expensive method of treatment first. In a perfect world every pet would receive the highest level of care, with in depth diagnostic testing, potential surgery, preventative care, nutrition, etc. It is in the best interest of the animal to recommend the highest level of care first. Then, if necessary, adress and work with the owner and their financial constraints as they are encountered. If you are of limited means communicate with us. Be kind. And be proactive. You'll be pleasantly suprised with the outcome.
I take my pets to an absolutely wonderful practice that I have always appreciated, but the experience I had recently when the time came to have my 18 year old CRF kitty put to sleep, just made me appreciate them all the more. The Vet and the Vet Tech were so kind and so gentle and reassured me, once I indicated that I did not want him to suffer, that I was making the right decision. They made a clay paw print for me to keep and they wrapped his body in the nicest, quilted wrap so that I could have him buried. A week later I received the nicest sympathy card signed by all of the Vet Techs at the practice and the Vet. They made a very difficult situation a bit easier and it was very obvious that they were all very caring people.
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