Feeling a lot like a vet

Much delayed, this was my story from day 3.

The day started with a fascinatingly tragic case. A dog with a brain that’s pretty much fried and had been for a long time, with an interesting selection of neurological signs which weren’t consistent from day to day. It wasn’t all there, and it wasn’t worth keeping it alive. So I started my morning putting down a much loved dog that needed death much more than it would have benefited from treatment. Brains don’t fix themselves that well.

Then I put a cat to sleep, with the tearful owners requesting to be there as she drifted off. That’s always an anxious moment, because it is their last memory, and while you cannot make it a happy memory you do your best to make it gentle.

I was expecting that sort of morning to put a downer on your day.

Turns out it doesn’t.
I felt like I really started to fit into the practice on day three. I was getting into the groove of what I needed to do, understanding the computer system, knowing where things were kept and actually doing useful things. I still felt stupid about a lot of things, but they were bigger things to feel stupid about.

I have patients now too. It’s an odd feeling because I’m actually responsible for these animals now, not just following them. It’s a steep learning curve, but I’ll get there.

It’s difficult to adjust to home life too, and the need to cook every night. Partly this is because I’m not in a routine yet, and don’t have any leftover frozen meals stored. Balancing work and home is something I have to get the hang of.

It’s one day at a time at the moment. One day at a time.