Being a vet A lot has changed for me in the last year but coming to work still provides me with some sanity and knowing that I am helping all your animals is still a great motivator. Having a child has meant that I have cut my hours back and finding that work life balance is a lot more challenging but getting to see you all and your pets makes it all worthwhile. I have worked as a vet since 2009. During my studies in Sydney I also did some after hours work. Vets deal with people from all walks of life and must handle some hairy situations. I have a couple to share. As a student vet in Sydney I had a knife pulled on me in consult as I started to discuss the costs involved with trying to save a puppy. The clients were clearly distressed about their puppy and acting inappropriately. It is very difficult as a vet to balance the need to fix and help every animal with the needs of the business. Verbal abuse is something I have had to deal with quite often unfortunately, but a physical threat was incredibly confronting. The situation was diffused but it is certainly something I will never forget. As a freshly minted vet up in Queensland, one of my first weekends on call dealt me a case that I was not prepared for in the slightest. There was the sweetest little dog that came in and I was advised that she had been sexually abused. I was required to report this to the police and the case became very involved. The dog required surgery and was then rehomed. Unfortunately, she became aggressively overprotective of her new family and had to be euthanased. This case will forever be in my mind and strengthens my drive to be the best advocate for my patients that I can be. During my first year I also vividly remember the day that I was required to euthanase 10 animals. A litter of 4 puppies and 6 other individually owned animals. At the time I felt that my world was ending as well. It took a large toll on my mental health but also helped to teach me resilience. Euthanasia is a necessary common procedure, but it is still difficult to perform. In most cases I am aware I am doing the right thing by the animal, but I would much prefer that I could fix the animal. I guess as vets and pet owners it is something we learn do deal with if not accept. It is not all doom and gloom though. Most of the time I can help my clients to be more comfortable and live a better life. I especially love working out a diagnosis and treatment plan for medical cases, my problem-solving brain delights in it. Reproduction is also a favourite of mine, making new pets is very rewarding. I look forward to seeing you all in clinic to help your pets live their best life!
The Magic of Mayhem By Keeley Adams Your usual shift as a veterinary receptionist is about to begin. Glancing at your schedule for the day, it will undeniably look remarkably different by 6pm. You inspect the clock and view the hand about to tick over to 8am – it’s almost time for the phone lines to open. You square your shoulders and bravely meet the eyes of the other receptionist across from you as you prepare like soldiers would for war; it’s go time. Your headset starts ringing and you have seven callers on the line in the span of a few seconds. The schedule looks full already but you don’t give up, searching to see where you can possibly fit them all in. Moving around the colour-coded appointments like a real-life game of Tetris, you fist-pump when you accomplish what seemed impossible 10 minutes ago. This continues for a few hours; an endless cycle of being seemingly full for the day but not able to turn away callers with sick pets who you know from experience may be urgent cases. Some of the calls are decidedly less urgent. You spend 6 minutes on the phone with a client who assures you that their dog has been getting ‘oxtun’ for years and they need to order some more. You rack your brain trying to work out what ‘oxtun’ could be, presuming it to be some sort of drug, before realising that the elderly caller is actually trying to order “ox tongue” for her dog… You provide her the correct number for the local butcher. Meanwhile, you can see your other receptionist carrying her fifth boxful of injured wildlife out the back for a vet or nurse to assess; by the way the box is bouncing about in her arms and making an awful screeching sound, you presume it to be a boisterous cockatoo. Good luck with that one, guys! By the time the clock reaches 11am, you scurry into the break room to boil the jug for your second (or third) cup of coffee before retrieving the multiple vials of blood for the external pathology courier whom you all lovingly refer to as “The Blood Man.” You don’t let the sight of the four different types of bodily fluids you see being tested in the lab deter you from that coffee you were making. And yes, that’s right, I said four bodily fluid types… use your imagination! Back at your desk, the cutest puppy imaginable is in for its first vaccination and hobbles behind the reception desk to say hello. And while many would assume that veterinary receptionists only cuddle puppies all day, the reality is that they also have to be constantly prepared as the first to assess and respond to any emergency calls. Both phones ring at 1pm, and with your receptionist’s equivalent of the “spidey-sense”, predict that these will be the “big calls” for the day. As suspected, one caller describes how their puppy has eaten a whole box of rich, Belgian chocolates while they were at work and the second client requires urgent help for a calving at a rural property. You get to work quickly, asking the dog owner to bring their pet into the vet hospital immediately and confirm the address and contact details of the client for the calving which a vet will have to go out to as soon as possible. You race out the back to let the vets and nurses know while your other receptionist works at rescheduling some of the non-urgent appointments to slightly later in the day. One vet is out the door with his nurse as quickly as he can to the calving, while the others prepare for the urgent case coming through the door. A short time later, you watch as the cheeky chocolate-eating puppy is out the back, vomiting to expel the toxins they ingested into a bucket (and no-doubt reminding some staff of distinct instances from their youths which they’d rather not remember). The rest of the day flies by with countless vaccinations, consults and hospital patients, and before you know it, the vet who was sent out to the emergency calving exhaustedly returns, their overalls covered in substances one would rather not think about (or smell) for too long. You dread to think about what their assigned work car must look like inside! Eventually, the clock ticks over to 6pm and the phone lines finally close, allowing any other emergencies to be handled by the appointed after hours vet. The receptionists heave a sigh of relief, finally getting a break from the non-stop sound of the phone ringing and everyone prepares to go home. One thing I have learnt about being a veterinary receptionist is that it certainly consists of more than just booking appointments; it is about managing the “magic of mayhem” that exists in our workplace in which everything can change in the blink of an eye… or the ringing of a phone. But we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Family has always been incredibly important to me; they are people I would do absolutely anything for and support no matter what. I grew up with an older brother and pretty much anybody that has one knows what that means. I remember when he first got his P’s whenever I would be in the car with him and try to drink; he would slam the breaks on and I’d spill it all over myself. Even though he is an incredible driver he can also be a crazy one when he has somewhere to be. Not to mention whenever my parents would go away, I would have to clean up his dishes for him. I knew from the moment that I walked into Yass Valley Vet that it was the place I wanted to be. I just felt safe. After moving from the Illawarra to Yass, I had been working at a vet in Canberra. Although I enjoyed working there, I really wanted somewhere closer to home. When the opportunity arose at YVV I grabbed it straight away. The trust we put in each other is phenomenal (especially the way some of them drive!); and it’s something I value immensely. Not only are my co-workers great people, quite quickly they felt like family! The guys are like big brothers to me. I first felt it when in the car with one of them and I tried to have a drink.... he touched the breaks and made me spill it all over myself (just like my big brother used to do). Another time (which is quite constantly) we have to clean up the dishes for them which they have left lying around. The girls are like sisters, both older and younger. Supporting each other through anything; like when I constantly injure myself in stupid ways.... who else would I want laughing at me when I cut my hand with Nail clippers! Yes the dog ones, not human ones. Or when I constantly jam my fingers in things. Even when I use metho and find a cut or scratch I did not even know existed. Like my co-workers I have always had a love of animals. Whilst growing up I had various pets, dogs, bearded dragons, horses and even a snake. My main problem is wanting to rescue every animal that needs helping but as I’ve been told by my family many times “No Mikky”. There is nothing better than loving the place where you work, the people you work with and your patients/clients. Being able to care for sick animals is so rewarding and I love it. The fun times with my co-workers don’t hurt either! Especially now that they feel like family.
