Working Life
Bought: a second house in San Diego. Cash flow: sucks. California relief market: depressed and depressing. Solution: Extended licensing.
So here I am working on the Right Coast again, this time in Poolseville, Maryland until the end of July. It's a really satisfying clinic where the shortest appointment block is 20 minutes. Anything with an issue gets 30 minutes. The clinic owner took me aside on Friday and complimented me on how I handled a few cases and relayed that the clients are always complimentary. I know my production figures are excellent as well.
My insight regarding the last was that while I always hated "sales" - which I envisioned as endless cold-calling - what I do while being an animal's medical advocate is the essence of salesmanship. My job isn't just to provide medical care to a dog or a cat, it's to communicate to the owner what the issues are and the best way(s) of handling it. I've become better at providing analogies and information so owners can understand and empathize with their animal's condition.
What is helping and hindering is that I'm the New Guy. It helps that I tend to get new clients: those with new dogs, new to the area, or those that developed an issue and need to see a veterinarian *today*. With the first two my goal is to build a relationship so that we're not just another interchangeable clinic; with the last these animals need a more extensive workup or even emergency surgery.
Other than the occasional cat abscess, I haven't done any surgery yet beyond an intense dental procedure. The patient was a 17-yo minature schnauzer with a grade 5/6 pansystolic heart murmur and a mouth full of rotten teeth. The initial presentation was for purulent discharge from the nose. With the maxillary canines being movable with my fingers I had the diagnosis of oral-nasal fistula secondary to a tooth root abscess. The owners and I had a long discussion about risks of anaesthesia vs on-going oral pain and infection. A lateral radiograph of the jaw showed extensive bone resorption in the mandible with a substantial risk of fracture. This was at the very edge of my comfort zone and I recommended referral to a specialist practice. As they said, their finances limited the choices to no treatment or me.
All the teeth except the lower canines and the upper carnassials came out with just a twist of the extraction forceps. The former took very patient elevating before they were loose enough to be pulled. I felt that same feeling of relief once they were out with the jawbone un-broken that I feel after the body wall is closed during abdominal surgery.
So here I am working on the Right Coast again, this time in Poolseville, Maryland until the end of July. It's a really satisfying clinic where the shortest appointment block is 20 minutes. Anything with an issue gets 30 minutes. The clinic owner took me aside on Friday and complimented me on how I handled a few cases and relayed that the clients are always complimentary. I know my production figures are excellent as well.
My insight regarding the last was that while I always hated "sales" - which I envisioned as endless cold-calling - what I do while being an animal's medical advocate is the essence of salesmanship. My job isn't just to provide medical care to a dog or a cat, it's to communicate to the owner what the issues are and the best way(s) of handling it. I've become better at providing analogies and information so owners can understand and empathize with their animal's condition.
What is helping and hindering is that I'm the New Guy. It helps that I tend to get new clients: those with new dogs, new to the area, or those that developed an issue and need to see a veterinarian *today*. With the first two my goal is to build a relationship so that we're not just another interchangeable clinic; with the last these animals need a more extensive workup or even emergency surgery.
Other than the occasional cat abscess, I haven't done any surgery yet beyond an intense dental procedure. The patient was a 17-yo minature schnauzer with a grade 5/6 pansystolic heart murmur and a mouth full of rotten teeth. The initial presentation was for purulent discharge from the nose. With the maxillary canines being movable with my fingers I had the diagnosis of oral-nasal fistula secondary to a tooth root abscess. The owners and I had a long discussion about risks of anaesthesia vs on-going oral pain and infection. A lateral radiograph of the jaw showed extensive bone resorption in the mandible with a substantial risk of fracture. This was at the very edge of my comfort zone and I recommended referral to a specialist practice. As they said, their finances limited the choices to no treatment or me.
All the teeth except the lower canines and the upper carnassials came out with just a twist of the extraction forceps. The former took very patient elevating before they were loose enough to be pulled. I felt that same feeling of relief once they were out with the jawbone un-broken that I feel after the body wall is closed during abdominal surgery.