Client Emergencies: Not Just About the Pet

A hero – a pet’s lifesaver in an emergency

The situation
The client’s frantic—you can hear her hurried steps as she charges up to the hospital entrance.

Shaking and crying, the client Ms. Smith informs you, “I got him two days ago from the pet store. He was fine this morning. He didn’t want to eat…but he was fine!”

Your expert response

You reach for the limp bundle of blanket and beloved pet in her trembling hands. “Okay, I’ll bring him in so the doctor can take a look. We may need to do some blood work and give him some medicine. Is that okay?” Once Ms. Smith has agreed, you take the puppy and bring him inside the exam room.

While checking gum color, skin turgor and heart rate, you speak clearly and quickly, making sure to offer a chart (and a pen) to her, indicating where to start on the form. Maintaining eye contact, you finish your last sentence while quickly moving to the treatment area. You rapidly sling a few warming bags in the microwave and reach for the 50% dextrose, clippers, IV catheter, glucometer, syringe, needle and tape.

You somehow manage to juggle all the supplies and gently transfer the puppy to the treatment table while simultaneously calling for the veterinarian in the back office. She enters and quickly performs the physical exam.

With one hand, you hold off a tiny leg and draw in a breath, trying not to feel like if you breathed, the tiny vein would collapse.

Catheter unsheathed, you try not to think about the impossibility of this huge device threading into such a small and collapsed vein, but it has to. But then it’s in—you’ve got it! You grab the dextrose and slowly start pushing. Gently, you rub the puppy’s back as you finish administering it. Just as the microwave signals, the puppy lifts his head, and within minutes, he is slowly licking food off your fingers. Ms. Smith is led into the exam room to see her recovering puppy, and you watch her face transform as she realizes that everything is going to be okay.

The reward

This is the exhilarating feeling that we get on occasion—the reason we do what we do. We take a grave situation, and turn it completely around. We save lives. We change lives.

Our reality

Unfortunately, not all of our emergency cases are that cut and dry.

Sadly, few emergency patients have such a good prognosis with such a quick resolution. Emergency veterinary professionals are often able to make an immediate and dramatic impact on pets and their owners, but in other areas of practice, those opportunities come less frequently. How do we still get that “hero” feeling that fuels our drive for this field?

The truth is, that even in a setting where the vast majority of patients are not immediately critical, we still have opportunities to make a dramatic impact in our clients’ lives. We can still be a hero to them.

Another kind of hero – a lifesaver for a client’s emergency

Everyone knows and dreads that particular client!

She comes rushing in—35 minutes past the start of her hour-long appointment. She comes in angry, she comes in late, she comes in angry that she is late; that traffic slowed her down, that her confirmation call was left on her home phone rather than her cell phone, that she was held up at the dry cleaners, that Fluffy puked in the car, and all over the dry cleaning.

What does she want at that moment?

She wants to be seen and have everything in her life righted by the 1 event she feels she can control. When you begin to explain to the client that the appointment procedure may have to be altered, she inevitably feels out of control. Her resulting panic will—and frequently does—quickly escalate the situation into something unmanageable and very unpleasant.

This is where you can be a hero.

It’s time to use your training, distance yourself professionally, and work the problem like a negotiator safely talking a distraught person off a ledge.

5 Steps to Being a Hero Even in Non-Emergency Situations

Step #1:

Talk them into a more reasonable place. Your client is acting out due to fear and anger. Present yourself as a strong person of authority.

Explain:

• Your goals are the same
• You likewise want what is best for their companion
• You’re committed to finding a solution together that is going to work for not only the patient, but for everyone involved.

 By stating these facts, you will give the client a point of direction and be a calming influence.

Step #2:

Listen and state your purpose. Actively listen to the client to be sure you know exactly what her concerns are. Is she afraid to reschedule because she will be charged a late fee? Is she afraid her pet can’t wait another week to reschedule? Is there a sick child or some other outside issue? Paraphrasing concerns back to the client will help you organize the situation in your mind as well as assure the client that you are taking everything in.

Step #3:

Be firm; discuss options and give them a feeling of control, even as you direct where the conversation is going. Do not waver.

Example:

“The appointment you scheduled was for an hour of the doctor’s time, including diagnostics. Due to the time, we can’t see you as previously scheduled. It would be unfair to you and Fluffy to try to squeeze an hour of necessary veterinary care into that into 25 minutes, and it wouldn’t be fair to the other patients and clients to make them wait.”

Provided no one is in immediate danger (clients or patients)—offer as many options as possible. Could she see another doctor? Could she drop the pet off and pick up at the end of day? If the appointment involves several procedures, could the appointment be broken up or abbreviated for the time that is available? Let the client choose what will work the best for her.

Step #4:

Involve your colleague(s) and extend your hospital’s professional commitment and trust.

• Introduce them to the alternate doctor.
• Call a technician up to take the pet and explain the drop off procedure.
• If the client simply wants to go home, reschedule her appointment, and walk her out to the car.

Whatever option the client chooses, personally assist them with the transition.

Step #5:

Follow up! Even if the rest of the events go smoothly, a follow up call that evening or the next day can help soothe any residual negative feelings, and assist with maintaining a good client-practice relationship. If the client is still unhappy, ask what she would have wanted done differently—what alternate outcome would have made her more satisfied with your clinic? Often, if unreasonable expectations are voiced out loud, the client will see them as such and be happier with the resolution of the day.

Conclusion

Whether it’s a puppy, kitten, or other animal patient that you save (or merely see), for that client, you may have been her lifesaver that day.

Remember, there’s more than 1 way to be a hero!

Reference
Getting Past No: Negotiating with Difficult People. Ury W—New York: Bantam Books, 1991.