In the Trenches

Maternity leave has been a wonderful experience so far. Falling almost exactly on the 1-year anniversary of when I started my first job out of vet school, I feel that the timing is a blessing in disguise. The honeymoon phase with my workplace is definitely over. The stress of interacting closely with a small number of diverse personalities in a high-stress environment was making me feel jaded and unsure about my chosen profession, or at least with my current workplace.

The other day we had an incident during morning treatments that profoundly upset the morale of our veterinary team. One of our technicians, who I will refer to as John, was getting a cat out of its cage when the cat became extremely fractious. This was not an unexpected event as the cat had been showing signs of aggression previously and John was prepared with leather gloves. However, the cat’s behavior escalated to bouncing off the walls in a furious ball of teeth and nails.

I am paid a base salary, plus 20% of my monthly production. This is the best arrangement according to what we were told in my business management courses in school. It makes sense. A straight salary does not always reflect the actual amount of time and effort that you put into a day or week of work. If I calculate my equivalent hourly wage based on my salary alone, it becomes depressing to think about how little I make given the energy and personal investment that I put into each case that I see. With a production bonus each month, theoretically I am being rewarded for my hard work.

The job description of a veterinarian should include financial advisor and salesperson in addition to medical professional. It is rare for an appointment to conclude without some sort of financial discussion occurring first. Whether I am giving an estimate for a dental cleaning, going over the ideal treatment plan for a sick animal, or discussing the cost of routine blood analysis, I am constantly trying to help clients make important financial decisions.