Blog

by Senani Ratnayake, RVT

I decided to do my Mic Drop at the Uncharted Veterinary Conference on a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Over the years, working as an RVT, consultant, and speaker (both inside and outside the veterinary industry) I have heard many crazy, heartfelt, and devastating stories that made me stop and think about all of the things that had to line up in order for that story to take place. Sharing a personal experience of mine allowed me the opportunity to share the twists and turns of a series of “What If…” moments that led to a truly memorable time in my life. The veterinary setting in my Mic Drop allowed for a deeper set of “What If's” as I encouraged everybody to be aware of when we are judging, in order to really consider what circumstances may have led to something being different to what you picture as “ideal.” Speaking is my passion and I feel especially privileged to have been able to speak to the Uncharted Tribe. “What If…” you watch my Mic Drop? Well, I hope it inspires you to think, even if just for a moment!  [Read more…] about Mic Drop: What If…

by Carol Hurst, LVT, CVPM, CVJ

There seem to be a lot of misconceptions regarding empathy out there. What it is, what it isn’t and how it can help you be stronger.  [Read more…] about What Empathy Isn’t

by Carrie Jurney, DVM DACVIM

When we read about the veterinary suicide problem, I think a lot of us feel sympathetic, but detached from the situation. If you aren't personally experiencing mental health and wellbeing problems, even the most compassionate person can feel like it's not your problem. More than that it's easy to feel powerless against such a big and scary thing. However, one Thursday afternoon I learned that this was in fact my problem, and I could in fact do something about it.

You can help people experiencing a mental wellbeing crisis. In fact, I would argue that those of us who work in the veterinary field have already honed many of the skills critical to compassionate crisis intervention. Certainly, when I did my first crisis intervention, I had no formal training. I got through it with the skills I had worked on in exam room for years. In this mic drop, I talk through my first crisis intervention, some of the skills that helped me through and what I've learned in my crisis counselor training since.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Unchartedvet.com editorial team.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“Carrie likes to refer to herself as a “”tragic extrovert.”” She brings enthusiasm to anything that she takes on.

As a passionate speaker about mental health, she brings this energy and humor to what otherwise can be a rather challenging and somber topic. Because of her work as the Director of Forum Moderators for the board of NOMV, she’s sought extensive continuing education in crisis counseling and suicide prevention. She brings this knowledge, and her experience doing peer to peer interventions with members of our group, to her lectures.

When she’s not managing the day to day activities of the NOMV forum, she is a practicing veterinary neurologist, wife to Chris and zoo keeper of three rambunctious cats.

by Tyler Grogan, CVT

In 2017, I turned 26. Naturally, I started to realize I was creeping farther from my 20s and closer to my 30s. So what do many women I see do as they also notice their approach to a time when certain things may no longer be an option? You sign yourself up for a half marathon. I went throughout my year with the mantra, “This will be my Year of Accomplishment.” Running a half marathon was going to be the icing on the ever present in my mind birthday cake of my year. I trained (by running for a month, doing a 5k, running a day at Uncharted and occasionally having panic moments and jumping on the treadmill for 30 minutes once every month or so). Suddenly, November was upon me. It was time to run for 13.1 miles and not die (because nothing bad ever happens at Disney World). Was I ready? No way. Was I going to do it? You bet I was. [Read more…] about I Am Not a Runner

by Anonymous

I made a mistake. I am embarrassed it happened, but I can’t deny that it did. A patient was transferred to me after spending the weekend at the emergency clinic where she had been treated for possible diabetic ketoacidosis. The patient was stable, but since she had just started on insulin, I wanted to monitor her for the day. The clients called me every hour to ask how her dog was and making demands for treatment. It was a busy day and I was frazzled. When they came to pick up their dog, I was in the middle of two appointments. I grabbed a pharmacy bag from the fridge thinking it was their insulin, talked to them about a plan, then sent a technician in to discuss further monitoring of the diabetes. [Read more…] about What Happened When I Owned My Mistake