A disturbing article in the Washington Post. Between the article and the comments three things stand out to me:

Student loan debt

Cyber-bullying

Pet insurance



Suicides Among Veterinarians Becomes a Growing Problem.

I lived with a veterinary practice manager for a few years. She said that some (a lot? more than zero) people go into veterinary medicine because they wash out of people medicine. The consequences of mistakes are lower. That and the nature of the business attracts people who are a little off-kilter, or puts them a little off-kilter after a few years.

And, every veterinarian has ready access to euthanasia drugs.

I'm kind of surprised the WaPo only just got wind of this. It's been a major discussion in my corner of the world for quite some time--but then, I know a lot of veterinarians and am very friendly with several on a personal basis, including some family.

I gather the hardest part for many vets is pet owners who not only do not appreciate what vets have done for their animals, but who actively blame vets for things they have no control over, who sue them, who report them to the state board, all because they can't accept that their animal can't be saved. All the while complaining about the bill for care.

I've been lucky in the vets I've had over the years. Some truly outstanding people. And the losing patients really does get to them. Our Missoula vet saw us through the passing of Tucker, Ben, and Jasper. She was our rock. I still cry when I read the card she sent me after Jasper died. This was no cursory condolence card, but a long, heartfelt, very personal letter. When she put Tucker down in our back yard and hauled him off for us, she returned his ashes in a beautiful polished oak box, not the cheap tins you get from the humane society. She held my hand through all their illnesses and listened to me cry and grieve when they died. She was very no-nonsense, and yet she always knew exactly what to say. Not many like her!

I really liked my vet in Massachusetts. (The administration of his practice was a disaster ... scheduling issues, failure to call back, billing mistakes), but I put up with all of that because the guy himself was so good to me and my animals. He'd spend an hour with me just talking about the history of Lyme vaccines! (And perhaps that bears some relationship to his scheduling issues.) I NEVER felt time pressure with him ... he took as long as I needed to talk through every single issue.

I now have a vet I like a lot in Oklahoma. She's very good, but I still miss the guy from Massachusetts.

There was a saying going around when I was in vet school, that it was harder to get into than med school because there were fewer vet schools in the country, close to 30 now) than medical schools, but the AAVMC says that is a myth, the acceptance rates are similar, about 50% or applicants get into veterinary school, and same goes for medical schools.

As a veterinarian, you do all the schooling that a human doctor does, and you make a fraction of the salary. And unless you live in a metropolitan area, with access to an emergency clinic that you can turn your calls over to (which are generally only small animals) your practice is expected to be on call 24/7. Your clients don’t generally carry insurance, and your tests and equipment and drugs medical procedures all cost the same as human ones do, but your clients often don’t want to or can’t afford to pay the bills because it’s only an animal. But by god you’d better be there when they need you.

Every place I’ve moved, when I’ve met the horse vet in the area, and they find out I was a vet, I’ve been offered a job. On the spot. And I’ve said no thank you because it’s an exhausting and overwhelming and sometimes dangerous profession (especially large animal) that does not pay very well at all.

There is a local vet office with one great vet and one greedy one. Ms Greed is always pushing for tests and more. She talks more about $$ than the diagnoses. Results we have gotten from her work were poor.
She may be gone Did not see her on recent trips.
Have spent hundreds on treatments by the other vet. He is good.

Yep, and add in the fact that your patient can't talk to you, explain what's going on, how they are feeling, or even what kind of treatment they might want. Plus, many of them can seriously hurt you while you are trying to examine them.

I was friends with a vet in AZ who said that the most common problem he had (this was a small animal vet, so we're dealing largely with pets) were clients who refused to pay him if their pet wasn't cured or died. This after he explained in detail the risks associated with the treatment.

Jodi, until about a year ago there was not a single decent equine vet here in the Queen City. If you had something serious going on you had to trailer to the board certified specialists in Three Forks and pay an arm and a leg just to walk in the door. Now they've hired a satellite roving vet based here, and after four years of trailering Deva back to Missoula for vet care, I've signed on with this new guy, and he is great! The few decent equine vets we have had here in recent memory have either retired or switched to small animal care. I was told by one of them that equine vets have no life whatsoever, and from watching the good ones, I can believe it. My Missoula vet has been divorced three times I'm told. I will still trailer over to him if my local vet can't handle something.

Did you find a decent vet for Rico in Butte?

Yes. We have a guy out of Whitehall that I really like. He comes to the barn regularly.
He offered me a job.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
... after four years of trailering Deva back to Missoula for vet care, I

... I will still trailer over to him if my local vet can't handle something.

How often do horses need to see a vet? Sounds like more doctor visits than I have.

At least once or twice a year for vaccinations (if you don’t do your own) and dental work. But horses are notoriously good at hurting themselves, so often more than that...

Aren't you worried about autism?

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
But horses are notoriously good at hurting themselves, so often more than that...

Speaking of which, how's that foot? Is he fully recovered?

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
Aren't you worried about autism?