A Special Day to Appreciate Special People
This Friday is the International Day of Veterinary Medicine. Do you have pets? Does your veterinarian know you by sight, and maybe even remember your pet’s name? Then you’ve got the makings of a great client. Want to achieve greatness? Here are three rules deeply explained in my book, Happy Vet Happy Pet – Caring for Your Pet’s Caregiver The three simple rules:
- Respect hospital hours – that includes not contacting your vet outside of hospital hours via social media or cell without specific permission.
- Respect every single person in the hospital. Veterinarians #1 wish is that their clients would be kinder to their staff.
- Follow after-care instructions to the letter. Don’t stand between your veterinarian and them doing what they’re called to do – make your pet well again.
If every client followed these three simple rules, veterinarians and their teams would be able to breathe a sigh of relief, they would feel less stressed, and the suicide rate in the veterinary community would go down.
Suicide? Yes. Veterinarians are up to four TIMES more likely to die by suicide than their non-veterinary peers. It’s the reason I wrote the book – to help clients understand, support and maybe even save the life of their veterinarian. The rate of veterinary suicide was tracked and documented by the CDC pre-pandemic. There’s not new published research, though there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that indicates the suicide rate could be even higher now because of the added workload and the challenge of keeping the hospital staffed.
Please follow those rules above, and if you’d like a deeper understanding of why the suicide rate is so high among veterinarians and their teams, please read my book or reach out to me with your questions.
This week, especially Friday, celebrate your favorite veterinarian and their team. The life you save may be the one you currently count on to keep your pet healthy.
Meanwhile, walk in the Crocs of veterinarians as they feel the same feels we all do – check out the Tiny Bites podcast for quick solutions to universal issues.
Feeling some first-day jitters? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
Do your thoughts need experimenting on? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
Need to understand and help a bullying co-worker? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
The Wellbeing Wisdom Tiny Bites podcast is the world's second-shortest podcast, 90 seconds or less per episode, and it comes out every day at the Center for Workplace Happiness website and wherever you listen to podcasts. It’s my goal for you to find nuggets of brain science wrapped in plain language that help you be more successful in every aspect of your life. If you like it, please subscribe and share it with your friends.
As for your veterinarian, my big ask of you is that you remember they’re professionals, highly educated, highly motivated to help animals, and deserve your respect. Share that information with everyone you know who has pets. Veterinarians and their teams are not commodities, they’re treasures and deserve to be treated that way.
Wags, Sandy Weaver, Program Director, Center for Workplace Happiness
PS...looking for something different to give your clients, teammates or family members this year? Check out the personal development courses and books available through the Center for Workplace Happiness. Need a bunch? Enjoy generous bulk discounts!
