set to high standards

Sometimes I am really amazed at the high standards veterinarians are held to. I have a lot of respect for M.D.s and sometimes I am jealous of how they can do so much for their patients that we can't yet. But there are also a lot of times when I realize as veterinarians we do so much more in other ways. And we really hold the bar high too.

For instance, when I think about follow up, I know the amount of time we as veterinarians spend talking with owners on the phone is INCREDIBLE. I have never actually received a phone call from one of my M.D.s to discuss lab results. In fact, I used to get a phone call from a secretary, but now I don't even get that, I get a letter in the mail saying that the labwork was ok. If I ever called the doctor to discuss a question I had as follow up I have never been allowed to speak with them, instead I leave my message and then the doctor's assistant calls me with an answer later, however if I have a follow up question after that i have to go through the same delayed process. Yet when it comes to being a vet, we call all owners personally to discuss labwork results. Owners will call us months to years after I saw the patient with follow up questions, and half the time it is a separate problem that we have to tell them to come in for to get evaluated for, but we still discuss the implications of what could be wrong with them over the phone.

And then when it comes to discharges, we take it to another level as a veterinarian. For instance, when I send a patient home I have a handwritten discharge anywhere from 2-3 pages long explaining what happened in the hospital and discussing step by step instructions for at hom care. And these instructions are expected to be idiot proof. Sometimes I write these handouts with step by step instructions even when I treated the patient as an outpatient. For instance, a newly diagnosed diabetic about to start insulin gets a 2 page handout on insulin care, administration, urine monitoring, etc. I have never received discharge instructions from an M.D. and asking around I don't know anyone else who has either.

And then there is the whole financial thing. I am jealous of M.D.s then, they often can run whatever test they want without worrying about finances. Yet we are forced to make estimates, revise them, and often time pick and choose diagnostics or treatments based on financial capability, hoping that we choose right. Our hands are often tied even when we have the capability of giving a patient everything a human with the same disease might need, because the owner is not willing or able to pay the $5000-10000 it might take. I know, that is a lot of money, but most of the time we charge 1/10th or less of the price for the same thing that a human patient gets cahrged for that.

We definitely take it to another level. Sometimes I wish M.D.s would take some advice from us!