Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP When we last saw Katie,* a young veterinarian whose demanding job was significantly interfering with her life satisfaction, she had decided to improve her physical and mental wellness by adding her favorite hobby back into her routine. She used the S.M.A.R.T. Goals paradigm to create a realistic initial goal of…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP Mark,* a twenty-eight-year-old emergency veterinarian, started getting serious about creating his self-care plan after a particularly difficult week. He had drawn holiday weekend duty in the ER, and his last shift was exceptionally busy, with a heavy load of trauma patients, many of which didn’t survive. Toward the end of…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP Sydney* is a 41-year-old credentialed veterinary technician with more than twenty years of experience in the field. She typically works 40-50 hours a week at a busy small animal specialty practice, and she loves her job despite the high level of stress. Recently, her 10-year-old son was diagnosed with a…
What is Vet BLUE®? FAST is an acronym that stands for Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma. It is an ultrasound exam developed by trauma surgeons (yes trauma surgeons) in the 1990s and used in people as a screening test for the detection of free fluid in the abdominal cavity, ascites, and the pleural cavity…
Pit viper envenomation is a common emergency throughout a large portion of the United States. Pit vipers are snakes in the family Crotalinae and include rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths. Envenomations may range from mild to severe. Dry bites—where no venom is injected—can occur, but are rare and happen in fewer than 15% of cases. This…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP In the last article we met Sydney*, a longtime veterinary technician who was experiencing feelings of guilt surrounding her need for a job change. After examining the ways in which her work in the veterinary field both contributes to her core identity and impacts her other roles and responsibilities, she…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP In the last article, we followed longtime veterinary technician Sydney* as she investigated job opportunities and identified potential areas of career interest. After using the O*NET Interest Profiler to learn about her RIASEC code, Sydney was able to feel more confident about evaluating potential jobs and finding a good fit…
This post is provided courtesy of Euthabag and was previously published on their website In 20 years of wearing my veterinary coat, I have seen the craziest situations. From a cat with an arrow through its epaxial muscles to a 200lb man crying more at the death of his dog than his mother. I have…
Non-traditional Diets and DCM Update: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a devastating disease of the heart muscle which causes the heart to become enlarged with poor pumping function. It is the second most common heart disease in the dog with chronic degenerative valve disease representing 75% of cardiovascular disease in this species. Primary DCM is presumed…
Lauren S. Grider, DVM, CCFP Naya* is a twenty-six-year-old veterinarian who is seeing her last patient of the day. The patient, a seven-year-old Golden Retriever named Clara*, is bright, alert, responsive, and very affectionate. Clara’s owners explain that they are seeking humane euthanasia because of Clara’s chronic skin problems. Currently Clara has severe alopecia and…