10 Tips for Recovery from Burnout and Setting Healthy Boundaries as a Veterinarian

In this conversation, the speakers discuss the challenges of veterinary life, particularly focusing on burnout, the importance of setting boundaries, and the necessity of self-care. They share personal experiences and practical tips for managing stress, prioritizing rest, and seeking emotional support within the veterinary community. The dialogue emphasizes the need for veterinarians to take breaks, use their PTO, and establish healthy work-life boundaries to maintain their mental health and well-being. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the challenges faced in the veterinary field, emphasizing the importance of shared experiences, therapeutic conversations, and the need to reconnect with one's purpose. They discuss the significance of finding joy outside of work, managing toxic client interactions, and the power of delegation. The conversation also highlights the necessity of implementing small policy changes to improve workplace dynamics and the importance of giving oneself grace in the face of burnout.

Takeaways

• Veterinary life can feel overwhelming and 'ghetto' at times.
• It's essential to take breaks and focus on self-care.
• Setting firm work-life boundaries is crucial to prevent burnout.
• Rest and rejuvenation are vital for survival in the veterinary field.
• Taking PTO should be a priority, not an afterthought.
• Emotional support from peers can help alleviate feelings of isolation.
• It's important to recognize that not every request at work is your responsibility.
• Creating a consistent sleep routine can improve overall well-being.
• Taking real breaks can help recharge and improve productivity.
• Establishing boundaries with work communications is necessary for mental health. Therapeutic conversations can lead to significant personal growth.
• Shared experiences with peers can provide essential support.
• Reconnecting with your 'why' can reignite passion for your work.
• Finding joy outside of work is crucial for mental health.
• It's okay to limit exposure to toxic clients.
• Delegation is a sign of strength, not weakness.
• Small policy changes can greatly improve workplace morale.
• Burnout is a signal to reassess your well-being.
• Giving yourself grace is essential in a demanding profession.
• You are not alone in your struggles; everyone faces challenges. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Personal Anecdotes
• 0:35 Veterinary Burnout: Understanding the Issue
• 1:15 Setting Healthy Boundaries
• 7:01 The Importance of Saying No
• 11:11 Prioritizing Rest and Sleep
• 16:20 Taking Real Breaks and Using PTO
• 17:13 Navigating Time Off in Veterinary Medicine
• 19:37 The Importance of Taking PTO
• 24:18 Seeking Emotional Support
• 28:38 Understanding Trauma in the Workplace
• 33:19 Reconnecting with Your Purpose
• 39:47 Building Joy into Your Routine
• 41:43 The Importance of Joy and Self-Care
• 44:08 Managing Toxic Client Relationships
• 49:19 Delegation and Team Support
• 53:37 Advocating for Change in the Workplace
• 1:04:54 Giving Yourself Grace and Understanding Burnout
• 1:05:15 Embracing Grace in Burnout
• 1:05:56 The Importance of Self-Care
• 1:08:24 Hydration and Nutrition for Well-Being

Transcript

Vetted In Vet Med (00:35)
We're back. It's been a couple of weeks since we initially posted the most recent episode in regards to veterinary burnout and just signs of veterinary burnout. And so today,

We are back to follow up on just some recommendations for recovering from burnout and mainly setting healthy boundaries for yourself as a veterinarian. And again, these can be applicable to all fields, but since we are veterinarians.

Vetted in Vet Med (01:15)
That's what we're gonna talk about.

Vetted In Vet Med (01:16)
That's what we're going

to talk about

So and we'll will share our own personal experiences and what we do and how we can relate to some of these recommendations as well. So the first one is going to be setting firm work-life boundaries. So we are leaving work at work. We are avoiding checking our emails.

Vetted in Vet Med (01:42)
period.

Vetted In Vet Med (01:46)
and reviewing cases after hours

Vetted in Vet Med (01:48)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. If they text you, I didn't see it until the next morning. I'm so sorry. Even if I did say it nine times out of ten, I saw it. Oh, honey. Yeah. This is...

Vetted In Vet Med (01:59)
You

We are saying

no without guilt. Okay.

Vetted in Vet Med (02:09)
I mean,

not a fiber in my body, especially towards the end there. But like being in a new space now, I'll answer some stuff, but I'm not going to feel bad if I didn't see a message. Of course they're not asking me things as extensive as I was being asked, but it's more like, can we give this spay dog that wanted meds after you left meds? Yeah, sure.

Vetted In Vet Med (02:29)
Good

No.

Vetted in Vet Med (02:40)
But like I was out of town and they asked me a question and I was like, two hours later or three hours later and I was like, ⁓ I'm late, but yeah, of course. And they're like, okay, thanks.

Vetted In Vet Med (02:52)
Yeah. Yeah.

Right. Finito

And I feel like some of that is okay, because at a point in time, I was feeling like I don't want anybody to contact me at all. Like when I leave out these doors, like don't text me, don't call me, especially if it's my day off. Like I don't really want to hear from y'all at all. But.

Vetted in Vet Med (03:10)
Beep beep

Vetted In Vet Med (03:23)
Some of the things, just being more practical and more reasonable, some of the things I feel like are appropriate. And I would prefer that they did ask me if it's something like, especially like what you just said, instead of them feeling like they don't know what to do. I wouldn't want them in that circumstance. And so I do feel like some things are reasonable to reach out to.

Vetted in Vet Med (03:36)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (03:50)
to me about when I'm not there, but in regards to certain things about, you know, whether it's a pet that I saw, if it is not an emergency, like, please leave me alone. You know, especially like if I saw the pet yesterday and then they came back today and I'm not there, the doctor that's there.

They, that's on them now, you know? And sure, right, they're the doctor

Vetted in Vet Med (04:21)
They are the doctor in question.

Vetted In Vet Med (04:24)
for the day, not me. So leave me alone. But yeah, even the checking the emails, the reviewing of the cases, I still struggle with that. Because not more, not really like in the clinical setting, but like,

Because when I was working, especially when I was working for a corporate, I did not put that email on my phone at all. Because I didn't want to, I only wanted to check the emails when I got there. In your position, I feel like that might have been harder to, like you probably couldn't do that.

Vetted in Vet Med (04:56)
⁓

I should have did it. I'm sure, yeah. That was something I should have done and just left it on the work phone.

Vetted In Vet Med (05:03)
Mm-hmm. ⁓

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (05:13)
And so, you know, kept two things separate, but you know, towards the end, I mean, I sent out an email to all of the people, I mean, higher ups, my line manager, everybody else's line manager, if you wanna contact me, this is the number you do it. If you wanna email me, this is the email that you do it. Don't confuse the two, I will not answer my personal mess. I mean, personal text or phone about anything work related. And.

Vetted In Vet Med (05:16)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (05:41)
My boss had a hard time with that. She would steadily text me on this personal phone. And guess what I didn't do? Answer. That's the boundary, ma'am. You're pushing it. you... Yeah. I mean, aside from letting me know that you were nothing but my boss, you know, by the way that you were moving, this is the boundary that I'm setting. And if you want to cross it, you will be met with silence.

Vetted In Vet Med (05:51)
That is the boundary that you set

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yeah, yeah. So, you know, not every request, every shift, weekend, appointment, et cetera, is yours to carry. I've definitely gotten better at that. Like, I think, you know, when I was there, they just stopped asking me because they already knew.

Vetted in Vet Med (06:10)
So, yep.

Vetted In Vet Med (06:32)
You know, and it just depended on what the circumstances were as to why they were asking me to cover. But most of the time, the answer was no, I can't because I have kids and I want to spend my time with them. I already have something to do. I'm going somewhere and I didn't give any explanation. Like, no, can't cover it. No. And that was not always the case for me, just because I was a people pleaser.

Vetted in Vet Med (06:52)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (07:02)
I was always saying yes and then I just got to the point and I'm still there. I'm like, I can't really do more than what I've signed up to do. And sometimes I can, you know? And then it's up to me to decide if I want to use my time to do that or not

Vetted in Vet Med (07:12)
Yeah.

Mm hmm. ⁓

Yeah, I mean, I felt like ⁓ in the last title that I held of area chief of staff, it was almost like if

The shift wasn't covered. It was almost like an obligation for me to of feel it. And one thing that ⁓ one of my coaching chief of staffs told me before I even got into it wholeheartedly was like, it's not your job, It's not your job to cover all these, it's your job to do this, this, this, and this. And that was probably the best piece of advice she ever gave me. And I had to like really drill that in.

Vetted In Vet Med (07:40)
We have.

Mmm.

Hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (08:05)
it's not my job to cover everybody's shift. If you can't do it, I'm so sorry. Like I still somehow managed to spread myself thin. And you know, times where the weekend pay was a lot, you know, to be on your check. And I was like, okay, I'll do it. But I got to leave at this time or, know, something like that. So just to kind of make it more appealing to me.

Vetted In Vet Med (08:08)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Thank

Vetted in Vet Med (08:35)
⁓ yeah, it's just, if you don't want to do it, don't do it.

Vetted In Vet Med (08:41)
Don't do it, yeah. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (08:45)
It's

business for a reason, they'll figured out.

Vetted In Vet Med (08:47)
They're

gonna figure it out. They're gonna figure it out. ⁓ Yeah. So, and that one, couldn't, I feel like I could ride that one hard. Just keep riding it. Just keep riding. Because even when it comes down to you already overwhelmed on your schedule, somebody comes back to say, hey, somebody called, you know, they want to bring such and such in. I had something like that the other day. I had two euthanasias.

Vetted in Vet Med (09:00)
Yeah.

Uh-huh.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (09:17)
already for that morning, they came back and wanted to try to add on a third euthanasia for the morning. And I was just like, no, I can't. I, you know, it's sad because it's unfortunate, you know, that,

but I'm like, I just can't take every euthanasia. And there's a limit that I need to set for myself. I'm like, I'm already overwhelmed.

Vetted in Vet Med (09:37)
Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (09:43)
with all these chronic cases and I've already had to put one dog down I'm about to have to put another one down like

Vetted in Vet Med (09:51)
Yeah.

And I will say, I have, me in this moment, I'm literally having like one of those Eureka, aha, because I really did contribute to that culture of add it on, add it on, add it on. And not because that's what they wanted me to do. It was almost like a challenge for myself.

in a sense because I would say it's not because of what they wanted me to do this what was kind of instilled in the beginning and I was capable of doing certain things doesn't mean that you should though because why are you so tired why are you so frustrated why are you so this and that it's because you did accept ⁓ 30 plus pets in a day it's just and you know

Vetted In Vet Med (10:29)
Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (10:43)
I kind of fed the beast.

Vetted In Vet Med (10:45)
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yeah, yeah.

The next one is to make sure you are prioritizing your rest and your sleep. So burnout often worsens with chronic fatigue. So you wanna make sure that you're creating a consistent sleep routine and protect it like any other important appointment. And...

I have to stress that good quality rest. We talked about it before, getting your sleep, getting good rest, because you could still be laying in your bed and still stressed about the events of the day or the previous day, where it's like,

Vetted in Vet Med (11:28)
And then.

Vetted In Vet Med (11:32)
yes, I'm laying in bed, but I'm not actually resting.

Vetted in Vet Med (11:37)
You're scrolling.

Vetted In Vet Med (11:38)
Yeah,

scrolling, right, all of that. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (11:42)
Thinking hard

Yeah. I just think that if you create, cause I've done this thing to where I'll put cause I feel like this is the absolute latest, well, the absolute earliest, a lot of the times that I can go to bed is 10 30, which is still late. I tried to still go before, but there's a thing on my phone and it says like, your bedtime is almost near.

Vetted In Vet Med (12:06)
Mm.

Vetted in Vet Med (12:16)
wrap it up girl and it almost puts me in this mindset like okay okay let me get myself together even if you don't meet that actual deadline or that time frame it's telling you to put in your head that you need some rest this is the time frame in which you can get this amount of time like this amount of sleep get to it ⁓ this setting you know setting reminders and

Vetted In Vet Med (12:33)
Hmm.

Yeah, yeah, it's super.

Yeah, we have access to all this technology. Like I put my phone on, you know, do not disturb, I'm asleep, you know, at a certain

Vetted in Vet Med (12:46)
Yeah.

And then sometimes

I be like, notify anyway.

You

Vetted In Vet Med (13:01)
And even for the phone calls, because initially I didn't want to put my phone on sleep after a certain time because I'm like, what if there's an emergency? Because I've definitely got that in the middle of the night. But you can set the people that want to be able to have that call pushed through. So I did create a list of,

Vetted in Vet Med (13:08)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (13:25)
people that I'm like, okay, if they call me at two o'clock in the morning, then yes, please, let that call go through. But everybody else, they're just gonna have to wait till tomorrow or they're gonna have to figure it out. So that's definitely helped me is do not disturb.

Vetted in Vet Med (13:30)
Yeah.

Amen.

Yeah, that's good. I probably should incorporate that into my life. think one thing my therapist did tell me that, you know, sometimes we often we think about rest and going to sleep right away or not right away. So when you sleep at night and give your ample amount of sleep, but rest is also for your mental health and your brain as well. And although it's all part of it.

Vetted In Vet Med (14:16)
Thank

Vetted in Vet Med (14:20)
but waking up in the morning and especially those who have kids or have to get to work and all that kind of stuff, just kind of sit there in the bed and you don't have to say it out loud. I know that's not for everybody, but I think it should be for everybody. asking yourself, what do you need from the day? Do I need grace today? Do I need

Vetted In Vet Med (14:30)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mwah.

Yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (14:49)
Patience today? Do I need, you know, confidence and just kind of talking it through and setting an intention. Because you wake up, I used to have it real bad, wake up, grab your phone, scrolling. Why? Why do I need to see what's going on in other people's lives right now? I don't. I just woke up. am I like, thank the Lord girl. Thank the Lord we all awake.

Vetted In Vet Med (15:00)
Mm-hmm.

lives when you trying to get your life together.

Yes.

Please!

Vetted in Vet Med (15:19)
Like, why are you grabbing his phone? It's not your life. It's not your life. So, you know. Yeah. At this point, does it matter? Does it matter what happened overnight? Like, this morning, I don't know, did the tsunami hit Hawaii? Did I know this morning? I didn't. Because I said, thank you, Lord. We all opened our eyes this morning.

Vetted In Vet Med (15:21)
Yeah. To see what happens overnight.

Girl

Thank you Lord Right.

Right.

Vetted in Vet Med (15:48)
And

this morning, I need a little rejuvenation because school has started and I'm tired. So that's what I asked for today, like a little rest or rejuvenation. I am sleepy. It's like daylight savings. Jesus, I lost two hours. Woof, it's awful. I can't believe it either.

Vetted In Vet Med (16:05)
Yeah.

I still can't believe they started so early.

But we're here.

Vetted in Vet Med (16:16)
but we're here I guess

Hmm.

Vetted In Vet Med (16:20)
The next one is take real breaks. Step outside, get a fresh breath of air, or just sit in silence. Even if it's for five minutes, just take a break. Use your PTO when you need to use it and not just when it's convenient for other people. And I know when I first started, when I was at my

Vetted in Vet Med (16:30)
and

Vetted In Vet Med (16:48)
in my lab animal position, I never took PTO. Like I hardly ever took PTO. And when I left, I had so much at that time, they would still pay you out for your PTO. And that was a nice little, to me, that was a nice little bonus check But, you know, it was just representative of

Vetted in Vet Med (17:04)
Okay.

Vetted In Vet Med (17:13)
the fact that I never took time off. And even when I did, I did use the schedule around, you know, what was convenient for everybody else. Like, who else is gonna be here during that time? Who won't be here during that time so that, you know, it'll be convenient for me to then take my time off. And now...

For one, with me doing the part-time relief, I'm like, I just won't schedule myself, you know, doing the time. But the other side, like doing the part-time lab animal, I just submit the time. I don't even care to look to see who's off, who's here, anything like that, because for one, it's so many of us. I'm like, somebody will be here. But also, they don't be caring.

Vetted in Vet Med (17:46)
Hello.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (18:09)
I'm like, they just be booking they time

Vetted in Vet Med (18:12)
You the only person asking that question.

Vetted In Vet Med (18:14)
Yes, I'm like, why? Why do I care so much? on the flip side, they are not thinking about me. They are just scheduling their time and they're getting up on out there. And even like we have in a couple of weeks, it's going to be just me and one other vet for the whole college because everybody decided to take time off on the same day. So it's just going to be just two vets there.

Vetted in Vet Med (18:26)
Yep.

And

Vetted In Vet Med (18:43)
and we have nine facilities and I'm like, I don't really need that. I didn't need that time, but I'm like, why is everybody taking this time? What's going on? Why? But I figured people try to take their last minute vacations before, school starts back, but

you know, that's not the first time I've been in that situation where it's been, just me and one other vet and none of them people didn't care when they put their time in.

They just put their time in. And my supervisor, I mean, she at least did ask like, are y'all okay with just being just y'all two, but, and we were fine with it. But I'm also like saying to myself, this is not the first time that everyone has left. like, you know, there's been times where there would be like even just one person there. But so we had to put a stop to that, but them people don't be caring.

Vetted in Vet Med (19:11)
Yeah. Yeah.

I don't. Again, they gonna figure it out. You not taking PTO is only helping them. It ain't helping you. Honestly, people need to start thinking about jobs. Even the people who are supplying the jobs, they need to start thinking about this. It's a mutualistic relationship.

Vetted In Vet Med (19:41)
They gonna figure it out.

Thank you.

It's just mutual, yes.

Vetted in Vet Med (20:01)
work you give me pay and so In turn if you put down PTO as a part of my benefits, I'm gonna take it then don't look crazy Even if they do look crazy like if somebody gives you, know push back of course within reason ⁓ like

Vetted In Vet Med (20:03)
I'm a periodic, yes.

Yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (20:22)
Okay, you can be upset, but this is the time that I'm taking again, within reason. And this is like, I'm choosing to use it. I don't want to be paid out Because what it all boils down to is, and I know people have seen it, and I know you've seen it, I've seen it, you die tomorrow

Vetted In Vet Med (20:22)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. They are gon' fill it. Immediately!

Vetted in Vet Med (20:46)
They're going to be looking to fill your position. Yes,

like as soon as they can. You don't think my position up on my own? Well, I'm actually no, I don't think my position has been advertised for me, like looking at like the job listings. They hadn't been advertised, but they looking for somebody. They're looking for somebody.

Vetted In Vet Med (21:09)
They looking for somebody. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (21:14)
Do

they have a whole lot going on to where they don't? It's not gonna matter, but yeah, but anywho.

You can't have an area chief of staff, if you only got one area. But yeah, stop thinking so hard about it and do it. Take time for yourself. It's intentional rest, intentional rejuvenation, and spending time with people other than you.

Vetted In Vet Med (21:34)
Thank

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

and some of these practice managers too, don't let them intimidate you. You're the doctor. And that is their responsibility to find somebody to feel in those days if you're not going to be there. Because they'll guilt you into being like, well, I don't know if I'll be able to, as if they are your boss. I don't know if I'll be able to

Vetted in Vet Med (22:09)
Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (22:13)
allow you to take that time because Dr. So-and-so will also be out during that time.

That ain't got nothing to do with me. I definitely

shot that one up, because I've gotten that. And I'm like, do what you got to do, because I'm going be there. And now I'm having to copy. Now I got to go above you and include your boss, who is in control of my schedule, but is not my boss.

Vetted in Vet Med (22:29)
Is that all?

EHEH

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (22:48)
And my boss too. I never understood, I never appreciated really. So yeah, I'm like, do what you got to do, because I'm not going to be there.

Vetted in Vet Med (22:50)
Makes no sense.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (23:03)
And I've definitely had to walk out in the midst of the chaos to just take a breather for myself, whether that was just stand there in silence, make a phone call to my husband or a close friend. Am I tripping? Let me tell you what's happening, right now? Because I'm about to leave.

Vetted in Vet Med (23:11)
And.

Let me tell you. Listen,

I've walked out, but who knows if I'm going to return? Nobody knows. They're going to question this every time I'm walking out this facility. Not now. Not now. Not my people now, because we could. We good We good then it was like Russian roulette.

Vetted In Vet Med (23:34)
Yes, yes. They all went to the park.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (23:50)
Which day had the bullet, honey? Because I'm not coming back. I'm not coming back. I feel like I made that announcement every time I went for lunch. I might not come back. Didn't ever know if I was 100 % serious on actually pulling the trigger because I was always 100 % serious.

Vetted In Vet Med (24:00)
I might not come back.

goodness but yes take real breaks.

Vetted in Vet Med (24:18)
Mm-hmm.

Vetted In Vet Med (24:21)
Seek emotional support. That's tip number four. Seek emotional support. So that can be talking to a therapist. It's helpful if the person is familiar with either veterinary or health care burnouts. But it can be just your regular therapist that you already feel comfortable with. And then also, you can consider joining a peer support group.

or Veterinary Mental Health Forum to realize that you're not alone. So for me, it was very helpful when, I saw like even your posts and being able to establish this relationship that I do have with you.

Vetted in Vet Med (25:03)
you

Vetted In Vet Med (25:05)
And it wasn't necessarily to like be able to sulk in our sorrows.

Vetted in Vet Med (25:12)
⁓ for

sure. We're not trauma-bonding, guys. We're not trauma-bonding.

Vetted In Vet Med (25:17)
But it was more of, in this phase of my life of having somebody who, really understood what I was going through. And then I understood what they were going through and just really being able to kind of build, work through it and, you want somebody that you can talk to. Cause when I think about,

Certain situations require me to have to talk to different people because I need the person to really feel what I've.

Vetted in Vet Med (25:46)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (25:53)
you just don't get the same, just like, umph, or like what you need from somebody that's not like literally going through the same thing, or they have gone through something similar. So there are some people that regardless, they can offer good advice, you know, regardless of whether they've experienced it or not. But for me, like,

Vetted in Vet Med (26:02)
You

Vetted In Vet Med (26:17)
some of the people that I was talking to, for one, I felt like I was just dumping so much on them. And they can't really appreciate everything of what you're saying. And some people they just let you talk and talk and talk. And then like, okay, are you gonna say anything? ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (26:32)
Okay.

Vetted In Vet Med (26:38)
Okay, bye. You know, I've said all these things and...

Vetted in Vet Med (26:41)
Thanks for listening.

Vetted In Vet Med (26:50)
So yeah, in that situation, it was nice. Cause I mean, now I don't even really have to talk about those things anymore outside of like when I brought up on these episodes. There's a point of reflection, but like how I was feeling when I was going through those things at that time, like I feel like I met my match when

Vetted in Vet Med (27:06)
Yeah.

Thank

Vetted In Vet Med (27:20)
we started talking about it. And so it's, yeah, it's, been helpful for me to move on.

Vetted in Vet Med (27:28)
Yeah, yeah, it's definitely been therapeutic and I didn't realize, I think I was talking to you about this, but I didn't realize I had actually, I was actually still holding on to stuff.

Vetted In Vet Med (27:43)
Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (27:45)
until I talked to my therapist a couple of weeks ago. And I was just like, cannot, and I'm still grasping things, because I know my cousin likes to say that our generation loves talking about, ⁓ trauma, trauma, trauma. listen, traumatizing. I'm traumatized, okay?

Vetted In Vet Med (28:01)
Because we've been through so much.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Vetted in Vet Med (28:14)
That last, like, hurrah at that corporation was traumatizing. And I didn't realize how traumatizing it was until I talked to Daveeta for the listeners out there, ⁓ about how the fact that I tried to go back into relief work and I physically cannot do it.

Vetted In Vet Med (28:21)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (28:39)
I have a fear of going back into the workplace in that type of environment and in fear of things are gonna turn out even in the short term aspects of things. Cause I understand, like I completely grasp the fact that this is not my hospital. I don't owe them nothing, but this time that I'm here, all that kind of stuff, I just physically cannot do it yet.

Vetted In Vet Med (29:05)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (29:07)
I'm still working through the tidbits and the mental anguish that I have. She told me I was literally, she was like, you didn't deal with it, you just kind of packed it away. And I was like, girl, leave me alone. But I know, thanks.

Vetted In Vet Med (29:19)
Yeah.

Look at you doing your job

Vetted in Vet Med (29:29)
So I said all that to say, my therapist is everything to start with. But you really have to talk to people and like Daveeta said, people who get it. I talk so in such detail to Dexter and my mom and everybody around me about what's going on. They were having, you know.

Vetted In Vet Med (29:34)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (29:56)
Genuine reactions like I know she didn't I know you know that kind of stuff. So yeah but Therapy was always great. Therapy definitely got me out of that hole of a place. Yeah Push me into the right direction for sure

Vetted In Vet Med (29:58)
Yeah.

⁓ hmm.

in it.

Yeah.

Yeah. I think me going to therapy made me realize that I had to be the one to do something about the way that I was feeling.

she did make me realize that, yeah, girl, you do have a lot going on, you are very stressed. How are you doing all these things? How are you managing all these things? And I'm like, that I think that was when I started to come to the realization, like, I'm the one that's in charge of, everything that's going on. And what I feel like I'm

capable of doing what I actually want to be doing.

Vetted in Vet Med (30:58)
Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (31:01)
In turn, me doing something about it is what it's gonna take to no longer feel this way. And there was no more at that point of suffering from analysis paralysis. I just had to go. But yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (31:07)
Yeah. Yeah.

That's a word because I literally got to a point where like, girl, I am tired of hearing myself talk about the world. Like, this is, I'm getting on my nerves. And I got to be getting on your nerves. I'm tired of talking about this. gotta make a move, gotta bust a move. You gonna barbecue or you gonna mildew?

Vetted In Vet Med (31:28)
I'm myself,

Yes, yes.

Bye.

Vetted in Vet Med (31:51)
Woo!

Vetted In Vet Med (31:53)
goodness. And I see people also like all the DVM mom, support groups on Facebook and stuff like that too. I enjoy those groups mainly for the cases that people send through have been really helpful. But there are some women on there where that's all the support that they may currently have, you know, they might not have family or friends.

Vetted in Vet Med (32:06)
Mm-hmm.

Vetted In Vet Med (32:17)
to talk to and so they feel pretty comfortable. Whether it's, sometimes they post anonymous, which is fine, but it's at least some type of forum or outlet for them to express what they're going through. Because there are some women that are really, really, really going through ⁓ some really hard things that they feel like that's their only place to...

Vetted in Vet Med (32:23)
And

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (32:44)
to share that information and to help them through it. And so it's nice to be able to have those type of groups as well. I usually just stay in the background.

I review, sometimes I will comment, but I usually don't post on there.

And it could be a level of comfortability, but it's still nice to see how supportive the women are to the women that do actually post on there.

Vetted in Vet Med (33:15)
Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (33:19)
All righty, so this one definitely could have been at the top of the list and it is reconnecting with your Why This is tip number five, reconnect with your Why Reflect on what drew you to this field in the first place. That's what you're gonna have to, you're gonna have to hold on to that.

Vetted in Vet Med (33:19)
.

Vetted In Vet Med (33:41)
You know, you can, if you enjoy journaling, you can journal about memorable patient wins or heartwarming moments to help to reconnect your purpose. But yeah, asking yourself why you did this in the first place and holding on real tight.

Vetted in Vet Med (34:00)
Ooh,

faith of a mustard seed

don't know if I ever actually questioned, like, why am I doing this? It's just like, why am I doing this this way? Cause

Vetted In Vet Med (34:13)
Mm.

Yes.

Vetted in Vet Med (34:21)
They definitely had me question like, if I was good at what I do, ⁓ if I was good enough for this field. And you have enough doubt in yourself every single day. To go into a workplace to have people feel like you have to doubt that. Get out

Vetted In Vet Med (34:25)
Hmm.

Mmm.

Hmm

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (34:50)
Like they

tapping the teacup, baby. Get out. Get out. Because you were going into the sunken place. Do not, do not listen to the lies, the fallacies, because you're here for a reason. But you just got to, you got to hold on to that. Like, yes, the whole why. Like, why am I here?

Vetted In Vet Med (34:52)
Thanks

Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (35:19)
Sometimes

certain places aren't for you. You've got to find your niche. Veterinary Medicine has a wide array of things for you to do. So just find something that makes you happy in it. Cause you start, just for a reason, you just didn't realize what your niche was.

Vetted In Vet Med (35:32)
Thank

Vetted in Vet Med (35:37)
And don't ever let nobody tell you otherwise.

Vetted In Vet Med (35:37)
is.

Exactly. Yeah, that's a yeah, that's that's the place I feel like I'm currently in. And I mean, at one, I don't think I ever question why. But I have thought about, OK, well, if I don't do this, what else would I do? ⁓ essentially, it's probably the same thing. But then I finally came to the.

know, realization that yes, I definitely, this is my calling for sure. However, and I've said it before, I just needed to look differently for me. And I think that what we both have done is very brave, it's bold, it's courageous to leave an area of, even though it was very stressful, it still was an area of comfort.

Vetted in Vet Med (36:15)
Okay.

Vetted In Vet Med (36:30)
and stepping out, it

takes a lot, you know? So it's awesome too, to be able to have the family support, to be able to do that. Cause I think in some instances with, you know, some people that want to step out, they may not be surrounded by family at all.

Vetted in Vet Med (36:34)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (36:56)
and so to be able to like leave where they currently are, it may take an even bigger step. But you know, I always say, and I feel like I've been saying this a lot, even to my kids, I'm like, what's the alternative?

Vetted in Vet Med (37:10)
I'm laughing because I can only imagine what those conversations are like with the kids. What's your alternative, ⁓ What do you want, what do you want mama to do?

Vetted In Vet Med (37:24)
because my alternatives with them are pretty drastic. You can go feed the dogs. The alternative would be going and living, you know, like being homeless. ⁓ you know, Now, if you don't want to do responsibilities and you're giving up on life, then

Vetted in Vet Med (37:24)
We're good. ⁓

Don't his dog, Hort.

Vetted In Vet Med (37:53)
You need to go. Okay.

Vetted in Vet Med (37:55)
Do you want to fight me?

Just say that. Look, I've definitely said that to my kids. But it...

Vetted In Vet Med (37:59)
And I would never

never put but I need them to realize it starts here

with responsibilities and if you can't do them you're giving up on yourself okay but

Vetted in Vet Med (38:17)
That little one told me yeah one time. I said ⁓ yeah. I started it. ⁓

Vetted In Vet Med (38:21)
You can't take nothing with you. ⁓

So,

but yes, the alternative, right, what's the alternative? If you want to stay here and be depressed, anxious, probably lonely, frustrated, like your mental health is subpar, that's the alternative, staying here or venturing off. And it might not even be the next location, but.

you still would have taken that chance, that leap of faith to try to, make your life into the vision that you see for yourself.

Vetted in Vet Med (39:10)
Yeah. Yeah, no, for sure.

Vetted In Vet Med (39:16)
And so part of that is, writing down what you want that to look like, what do you

want your vision to look like? What would your dream vet life look like to you? So that may mean that you need to sit down and write that down so that you can have a better idea of, the next moves that you may need to make in order to make that happen.

Vetted in Vet Med (39:44)
Absolutely.

Vetted In Vet Med (39:47)
Alrighty, so the next one, number six, tip number six is build joy into your routine. So make sure that you're making time for things outside of veterinary medicine, whatever that may be, whether that is crafting, spending time with your family, working out, doing pilates, ⁓ going out into nature, some people enjoy.

Vetted in Vet Med (40:11)
Any more notes?

Gardening

Vetted In Vet Med (40:17)
gardening, going on hikes, just even going just for a simple walk, you know. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (40:26)
Ground yourself.

Walk outside with no shoes on sometimes. If you got grass somewhere. ⁓

Vetted In Vet Med (40:29)
Right. ⁓

You know, every time I think about walking in the grass, with no shoes on, I think about Dr. Anderson.

Vetted in Vet Med (40:35)
Come on.

⁓ lord. I would have had all kinds of parasites but I hear you.

Vetted In Vet Med (40:49)
I mean, I grew

up right, and even to this day, I still go out there with no shoes on And I encourage my kids to do that as well. But I do think about him all the time in the back of my mind. Like, when you step out into the grass and then the hookworms, they're going to hook you on your foot.

Vetted in Vet Med (40:54)
Absolutely. Absolutely.

Come on, dude.

Meanwhile,

we on top of the whole cabinet. Why are you up there?

Just, y'all wish y'all had a vet school like this. That was epic. It was epic.

Vetted In Vet Med (41:33)
And you got to make sure you wash your hands because

Vetted in Vet Med (41:36)
Hehehehehe

Vetted In Vet Med (41:39)
You

touch this, you pick up a cookie, you eat the cookie, and now the worms...

Vetted in Vet Med (41:43)
Yeah

Vetted In Vet Med (41:52)
You done ate the worms. ⁓ Lord. So yes, remember that joy, joy and joyful activities, they're not a luxury. I think we feel like we have to work our way and work ourselves up to deserve to have time to enjoy things. And

Vetted in Vet Med (41:55)
Thank

All right.

Vetted In Vet Med (42:19)
they need to already be a part of the schedule, you know, and that's your maintenance, you know, whatever that's going to be. If you want to make sure that you get massages once a month or, personally, if I could, I would like to go once a week, however.

Vetted in Vet Med (42:22)
I love you.

⁓ amen. Amen. I ain't had one of the ages.

Vetted In Vet Med (42:47)
Imagine how, I imagine that I would be like just free flowing, like just so less stressed if I went once a week. But at minimum, I would like to set myself up to go at least once a month. I have not accomplished this yet, but that is something that I have written down that I would like to be able to do is to have the massage.

The one that's also like stretching, like the massage and the stretch. That's what I want. At least once a month. But again.

Vetted in Vet Med (43:13)
Amen. Amen.

Night.

I have yet to try that one, but I really do want to try. You know, I would like to be outside a little bit more, but I also would like to not walk outside right now without feeling like I'm being cremated. So, yeah. Yeah. And it's humid, so it's instant perspiration, like pouring sweat. I hate it. I hate being hot.

Vetted In Vet Med (43:29)
Yeah, my gosh. It's so hot, it's disgusting.

Mm-hmm. So it is this man.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (43:48)
For those

of you who wanted the heat, I want y'all to go walk outside with no water, no shoes, no sand, and soak it up. Soak it up. For those who did not want this. I knew what was coming. You should have enjoyed the cold. Anywho, sorry.

Vetted In Vet Med (44:02)
Yeah.

Dear.

So make sure

that you make time for things that make you happy. Let's see, number seven is limit toxic client exposure. So it is okay to refer or to dismiss consistently abusive or disrespectful clients, okay? And to help your team, okay?

to help your team build that confidence in telling these people goodbye and no, you can create a script along with your team to deflect or manage the boundary pushing clients professionally, okay? Because we don't want your team up there flicking people off or cursing them out, you know?

Vetted in Vet Med (44:41)
All right.

Yeah,

yeah. That's yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (45:00)
We don't want that

I've seen those posts too where the client is cursing the person out the front and that person retaliates and they curse them back out. then they're asking, should I write up my receptionist or should I fire? I've even seen them say, should I fire my receptionist? And it's like, no, no, should not. Have a conversation. Exactly. Have a conversation.

Vetted in Vet Med (45:09)
Mm-hmm.

Have a conversation. Have a conversation.

Vetted In Vet Med (45:32)
about what happened. And then, I mean, she should also, I'm assuming it's a she, but he or she should also be maybe put through some type of training to be able to deal with those types of situations in a more professional manner. And so,

Vetted in Vet Med (45:34)
Mm

Okay.

⁓ huh.

Vetted In Vet Med (45:59)
That may go even just further than just letting the person go or writing them up. I would recommend some type of like conflict type of training for them to help them out. Cause it ain't gonna be the last time they have to deal with that

Vetted in Vet Med (46:16)
Yeah, no, no, for sure. I feel like where I came from, they fostered that type of behavior. They absolutely were okay with subjecting their team members.

Vetted In Vet Med (46:23)
Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (46:29)
their veterinarians, their practice managers to the toxicity that is of an entitled and irate client, highly disrespectful. There have been too many times that I have come in contact personally with people who have disrespected me and I never curse nobody out, but.

Vetted In Vet Med (46:48)
Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (46:51)
I was probably a little less professional in some situations than I probably should have been. But I feel like it was probably after being pushed by the same person, probably. I can name a few. But there were two, and I'm kind of going off on tangent, that little story time, two Black women who...

Vetted In Vet Med (47:03)
Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (47:13)
came for me in saying that I couldn't have been, one was like, I couldn't be the vet because she's never seen a black vet And she just, ⁓ they went, yeah, both of them went into this spiral about my, me being black. And, it was just a lot of self hate. It was really sad to see when I finally met in person after this. I don't know, it was a whole thing. I said that to say,

Vetted In Vet Med (47:28)
What do you think?

Vetted in Vet Med (47:38)
Neither one of them were fired after they wrote the nastiest things and said the nastiest things about me. And this was even before I got my position for one of them. She continued to say things and it was crazy. Me personally, doing my own house call business. I'm gonna let y'all know right now.

Vetted In Vet Med (47:40)
Mmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (48:03)
If you are in the Jackson, Flowood, Madison, Brandon, Braxton, whatever area, I do pick and choose my clients. I'm not gonna tolerate the craziness. I will limit my interactions with you if I feel like you're starting to get a little bit overtly entitled. Because again, this is a business.

Vetted In Vet Med (48:11)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (48:28)
This is also a mutualistic relationship. I'm helping you help your pet and in turn you are paying me for this service. We are gonna act like this is a professional and mutualistic relationship. I'm very, Kind of relaxed in how I do things. So we have very.

Vetted In Vet Med (48:44)
Yes.

Vetted in Vet Med (48:47)
know, open conversations with my clients and.

We have a good time, but I don't ever want you to feel like this gives you a runway to run away. Don't do that. Because I have every intention of relieving you of your services to me if we go left with it. It's as simple as that. So coming from a very...

Vetted In Vet Med (49:00)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (49:19)
Toxic place, I will not allow toxicity into my workspace that I have created for myself any longer. So, don't do it. You shouldn't do it. We got enough toxic stuff in life.

Vetted In Vet Med (49:29)
Exactly. Yeah.

in life exactly

and I do think that it is I don't know I mean it definitely gives you the entitlement and I feel like it's a bit it's a little easier to since you are in control you're in charge to say we're not doing that or I'm no longer going to be able to service you and your pet

Whereas in some of these clinical settings, you would think that you would have more say as the veterinarian. And that's not always the case with how things are set up in some of these clinics. And I think that that needs to be reconsidered. If that's not how the power dynamics work in the clinic that you're at.

Vetted in Vet Med (50:25)
Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (50:25)
You still have to have some kind of say and some control as to who you're going to see. And then you have to stand on business. And then you have to train the team as well to not accept that and not to allow that. Yeah, because I would see that a lot. I feel like once there is a note on that person's record, why are they

coming now to a different location?

Are we just waiting for this bomb to explode once again?

Vetted in Vet Med (50:59)
Yeah,

so they can subject them to more people. Let's just spread the toxicity. Let's do that.

Vetted In Vet Med (51:02)
My

So I mean, I feel like once they've had whatever type of altercation or situation at a different location, that should just be them banned from the corporation in entirety. Like, we don't wanna see you, like that was just down the street. We don't wanna see you over here. I don't really know what happened over there to prompt that because sometimes you'll have them

Vetted in Vet Med (51:18)
Yeah.

you

Right.

Vetted In Vet Med (51:32)
be crazy over there and not be crazy over here. But I don't even really want to take the chance to be honest with you. I don't want to take the chance to see if you gonna have to fool on us too.

Vetted in Vet Med (51:35)
Yeah.

Yeah.

And don't get me wrong, there have been some situations I have had. I can remember walking out to this lady and we like, I mean it was back and forth, back and forth. And then we kind of came back together like, girl, my bad. I don't know what was going on. She said, I don't know, we good. And there are a lot of those situations because sometimes everybody have it just.

Vetted In Vet Med (52:12)
Right. Right.

Vetted in Vet Med (52:14)
It's a little triggered. And there are those times in which I can excuse things like that when you can actually talk to somebody, come back and try to figure out what's going on and things of that nature.

we can have conversations like that, but when you just start going off the hinges, there's another side note that I want to add in just because these are toxic people and all that kind of stuff.

One point I wanted to make is that when we move these clients from place to place, I don't know about you, but I've had a lot of experiences with people with really serious mental health issues in this field and in the clinic space. You don't know what this client will end up doing to...

set this person off. You don't know how much people are willing to take it there. And then with the same thing with the client, like you don't know if your response is enough to set this client off to a very violent way of expressing themselves. So you have to be careful about that too. I tried to make that point in a clinic setting and then somebody turned it around.

Vetted In Vet Med (53:09)
Right.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (53:37)
and said that I was saying not nice things and it was crazy. But that was always my point. If you're not really willing to take it all the way there, don't do it.

Vetted In Vet Med (53:44)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Don't do it. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (53:53)
Don't do it. Some people, some people really, they're ready to, to come.

Vetted In Vet Med (53:54)
Right.

They ready to

set this place off, okay? They ready to set off.

Vetted in Vet Med (54:01)
Set it all.

Lil Boosie Yeah. Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (54:05)
Yeah, so yeah,

you definitely have to be careful and you know, if we can try to defuse some things, but it's tough because even those people at the front, they got to be, I say they are the first line of defense, okay? So you make sure you put some good people up there that can help put some of these people in their place, for one.

Vetted in Vet Med (54:23)
Literally.

And.

Vetted In Vet Med (54:34)
but also help to kind of diffuse some of these situations as well. Because some of them people at the front, they be bout to, okay? They be ready to go toe to toe with some of these clients and...

Vetted in Vet Med (54:42)
Yeah.

you

I had

one run into a room when they felt like someone was talking about them. I hope you listening.

Vetted In Vet Med (55:00)
In some cases, you appreciate those type of people that's just ready, like they ready for war, but you know, it has to be a balance. It has to be a balance.

Okay, tip number eight is delegate and share the load. You do not have to carry everything. It is not all on you. You need to train your techs. You have to trust your team and lean on your support staff. So make sure that you are asking for help when you need it. And that does not mean that you are weak. When you're asking for help, that is wisdom.

Vetted in Vet Med (55:28)
Give it away.

Vetted In Vet Med (55:48)
You are wise for asking for help.

Vetted in Vet Med (55:51)
Don't

wear yourself out with no silliness.

Vetted In Vet Med (55:53)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. I have definitely struggled with that. Just taking on so much and not really knowing how to delegate. And that was partly because it was a lack of trust in the team. And it wasn't even my direct team. So when I was in my...

lab animal position in my previous role, I was more of like health surveillance and we already had a very small team and it ended up being myself and one technician and that was my team. Whereas I had initially started off with three people on my team, two of those people had left and then I was down to one and it was the responsibility of the health

surveillance team to do quality control and monitoring for making sure we don't have an outbreak of viruses or bacteria that we exclude from our rodent colonies. And

with that, we had to collect samples from the mice and rats from all of our nine facilities at that time. And that was a lot.

I was running around, I, myself, along with the technician doing this physical, I'm like, we have thousands, tens of thousands of cages of rodent, and we were responsible for doing that. And so I eventually had to lean on a different set of people to help, but like, before I got to that point, I was wearing myself

Vetted in Vet Med (57:15)
No.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (57:43)
thin, because that was not the only area that I was over. I was over other facilities. I was over like all of our zebrafish as well. And that was a brand new like facility. Like it was a lot. And so

people were like, well, you can ask the vet techs or you can ask the path lab. And I'm like, they don't know what they're doing.

We have a system, we just don't have enough people. And I didn't trust them to be able to collect the samples and make sure everything was labeled correctly and all of that. And then I just had to, you know, I just had to rely on, had one of the vet techs help and then I had the people in the path lab help us as well. And it felt, I don't know.

Vetted in Vet Med (58:25)
Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (58:39)
It was just a mix of emotions because we weren't able to physically do it in a timely manner. You feel like inadequate because this is your job. But at the same time, you just have to give, you gotta give that thought process up because.

Vetted in Vet Med (58:46)
Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (58:59)
we would not have been able to get it done, because all of this also has to be done within a certain timeframe. And we would not have been able to do it without that additional help. So that was the beginning of me

learning that I have to delegate things. can't take things on everything on by myself. I still do struggle with it, but I've gotten a lot better. And being in that corporate

environment, it does force you to have to delegate. But I think the challenge there is when there are, they're just hiring technicians with no experience,

Vetted in Vet Med (59:29)
Welcome.

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (59:40)
they're not training them appropriately either, so that I can't trust them, you know, and where I currently am doing relief.

I found myself being able to delegate more efficiently because I have a really, really good group of technicians that they'll ask me, you know, if they don't know how to do something or don't feel confident in something or whatever. But for the most part, I'm like, this is what this is supposed to feel like, you know, we're still, they were doing multiple things.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:00:14)
Mm hmm.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:00:19)
at one time, we're getting these babies out in a timely manner. They're all getting the treatments that they need to be getting simultaneously because I have a group of people that I can trust. And in the event that you can't trust them, then you have to train them. And I feel like that shouldn't even just all be on you as the vet.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:00:42)
Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:00:44)
Where's the manager? Their manager, cause that's the thing in those types of settings, you're not the boss of the technicians. So, you know, their manager is their boss and that's who should be helping to train them so that.

You can trust them.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:01:05)
Yeah, yeah. Only have one, one really good one of those here. Only one. Out of like three. Still my girl. To this day Yeah. We see you, girl. I've seen you. Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:01:13)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

She know who she is.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:01:32)
one of my best clients right now. no, just lean in, especially if you got a good partner in all of this. ⁓ Lean in and push out. A good delegator is to me also a good leader in a sense. Let me be clear. ⁓

Vetted In Vet Med (1:01:36)
Hmm.

Yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:02:01)
a characteristic of, does not make you a whole good leader. It's a characteristic of a good leader, being able to not feel like you can do everything or you have to do everything by yourself. yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:02:06)
Right.

Thank

Yeah, yeah.

And you're doing your part to it allows you to do the things that just you can do. Whereas there are some people that that's all they do is delegate. They don't do anything at all.

Those people right there are true masterminds, okay? They are true masterminds.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:02:33)
⁓ no.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:02:43)
If you can delegate and make people feel like, this is a team effort and you sitting back and ain't doing nothing, hats off to you.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:02:54)
Look, round of applause. You got it boo. You got it. You have the star quality.

Wow, you fooled us all. You fooled us all.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:03:08)
Yeah?

OK. So number nine, Advocate for change. Talk to your leaders at the clinic about scheduling limits, mental health resources, and realistic caseloads. Even small policy changes like 10 minute breaks, blocking off the schedule that you can catch up.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:03:24)
Mm hmm.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:03:32)
do callbacks or no double bookings, which sometimes like where I'm at currently, there's no double bookings unless there's like a walk-in. But you know, where I was before, there was always double bookings and even triple bookings, yay. ⁓ But even these small policy changes can make a difference, okay?

Vetted in Vet Med (1:03:50)
Yep.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:03:58)
Because depending on what these babies are coming in for, you can have back-to-back appointments, and they be 30-minute appointments, and you still make the same amount of money that you would have made even with the double booking. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (1:03:59)
Right.

Yeah. So what, how did, how did this end?

Looks like we broke even here, right?

Vetted In Vet Med (1:04:26)
Like

we broke even. ⁓ Lord. And number 10 is give yourself grace. That can be, you know, again, that one could have been shot up at the top. And I feel like that deserves a double. Like, can be. Not. This one, give yourself grace. Give yourself grace. Give yourself grace, grace, grace, grace.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:04:40)
You

Listen, this is not in chronological order, guys.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:04:54)
Burnout is not a failure. You are not a failure. It is more of a signal, okay, that your body is giving you that, hey, something is not right here. We're not okay. You are human. I am human. We are all human, okay? And we're carrying a lot,

Vetted in Vet Med (1:05:07)
Mm

Vetted In Vet Med (1:05:16)
especially if you have had kids, if you're in some type of leadership role, even if you're a new grad and you ain't got no kids, it's still a lot. It's ghetto, it's ghetto. But listen, we signed up for this, okay? And you know, at the end of the day, that you love what you're doing.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:05:23)
It's all ghetto

It's all Ghetto.

Hmm.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:05:38)
You know, you love this, you love those animals, and you love the difference that you're making. We just need it to look different. We need to take breaks. We need to focus on ourselves. We need to take a step back, reassess, and reset.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:05:47)
You know.

Reset, rejuvenate, rest, all of those things. Never meant more to me than it does now. Like, my rest is vital to my survival. It is a must. Like, I have to do these things in order for me to be a functioning citizen of

Vetted In Vet Med (1:06:02)
Mmm.

Absolutely.

This my survival yet.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:06:22)
this very ghetto universe that we're in right now. Like, if you want to see crazy, that must mean that I not given myself grace today.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:06:26)
Mm-hmm.

Right ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (1:06:36)
Like girl, calm down, calm down, it's okay. now like, most of the time I feel like what people have seen in the last six months, the crashing out, the mental temper tantrums and all that kind of stuff, I think that literally is me, like me in like panic mode. So like.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:06:49)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:07:05)
being able to just kind of sit back and begin, well, that didn't get done today. I didn't answer this person today. I didn't get this done, or I only got this done.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:07:17)
Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:07:20)
I did something. So yeah, it's only me and I'm just trying to make it every day.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:07:21)
You did something, something got done ⁓

Yeah.

And drink your water. Drink water.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:07:34)
Oof.

Oof.

Add some watermelon to it if you want to.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:07:41)
Add some

watermelon or some lemon or something to it, refresh and rehydrate yourself. Because that's also part of our issue. We're not hydrated.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:07:51)
You're

just walking around ⁓ electrolytes all out of whack

Vetted In Vet Med (1:07:57)
depleted.

Okay, eat your lunch. Okay, take your break to eat food. So yeah, I feel like I'm more, plump, hydrated now than I had been before. And even preparing myself, I would have the water there and not take a sip the whole day. Like,

Vetted in Vet Med (1:08:01)
Ooh, that that

Yeah.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:08:24)
because you just going, going, And that is not okay. We don't want our skin drawn in, like we want elasticity, okay? We want plumpness, we want glowing, okay? That's what we're going for. And we cannot look like what we been through or what we are going through. I'm so keen on that, so.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:08:26)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

You know, we can't look like what we've been through.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:08:52)
Drink your water, take your breaks.

And that is all. I definitely am working on following this advice.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:08:57)
⁓

Yeah, because I don't want nobody for not one minute to think that this is something we got in the bag. I know I don't.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:09:09)
Absolutely.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:09:12)
No, ma'am. No,

Vetted In Vet Med (1:09:13)
So again, it's a working process. It is a journey. And if there are any other recommendations that you guys may have in how you deal with burnouts or self-care, then make sure y'all leave us a message. Leave us a comment.

Vetted in Vet Med (1:09:36)
Email us.

Vetted In Vet Med (1:09:37)
you

can email us. So we'll be looking forward to it and we'll see y'all next time.