The Changing Face of Veterinary Medicine

I have been a veterinarian for over 20 years. My initial exposure to working within the veterinary field started when I was 15 years old. I am not going to tell you my age – but you can bet on my vet experiences spanning over 30 years. What has changed – a lot.

The first clinic I worked in was a small rural hospital. The clinic supported large and small animal care. I started by cleaning kennels and caring for all the animals that were boarding at the clinic. I also became fierce with moping. I went on to help with technician roles such as cleaning teeth, assisting in surgery, and providing support for any needed small animal and large animal procedures. I will never forget the time when I helped give an elephant a penicillin injection. I also helped deliver piglets, and I provided support during large animal surgeries. My experience was quite varied, and I am thankful that I experienced all sections of the clinic – including working as a receptionist (and catching the lead receptionist/ manager for embezzlement). These experiences gave me exposure to what it felt like to work in all aspects of a clinic, and this afforded me the ability as a doctor to relate to employees and their jobs.

Things that will last forever in my memory include the extra time veterinarians took to talk with owners regarding more than just their pet’s vet care. While assisting the vets in the exam rooms I heard many conversations about a person’s family, discussions of current events, and other various topics. I do not remember feeling rushed to get a person & their pet in and out as quickly as possible. There was extra time during the summer months for ice cream parties, and I was frequently allowed to leave early to hit the pool. Right before going to vet school, I was allowed to take time to go to the city pound to look for a canine companion to go with me to vet school. Finding my heart dog, Chance, will come up in future blog posts. He was the best.

I went through seven years of school to become a veterinarian. I was able to get in early after completing prerequisites – at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL.  I then headed to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, IL for vet school.  I will need to strain my brain to remember experiences while I was in school – memories are a big blur.

My first job was at a clinic located in a suburb outside of Chicago.  I picked the location I wanted to live in, and then I picked the clinic I would choose to apply for. I oversaw arranging open jobs in a big binder, so I could tell that the clinic I was interested in was looking for new graduates annually.  That told me that I would likely be at the clinic for a year, and I was ok with that. My prediction rang true as the manager was reading the dress code to me on day one. I was not allowed to wear socks with a print or shoes without a back.  I was wearing socks from my mother that had a cat print on them, and my Birkenstock’s were the slip-on variety. Woops! If a dress code was going to be the focus of my first day I had this gut feeling my laid-back mentality was going to be challenged. It was, and I lasted exactly one year.

I went on to do an internship at Purdue University, I was an emergency doctor at a clinic outside of Chicago, and I worked at a variety of small clinics in Illinois, Maine, and Iowa – including my own house call practice.

I think that the number one thing that has affected veterinary medicine (as well as human medicine) is the advent of digital records. When you are in the office now are you sharing your pets (and your) history with a person who is staring at a computer screen and plucking away on a keyboard? How many times are you answering the same questions – repeatedly? Unless you have been going to the same vet clinic & human doctor for a while – how many times do you have conversations about things other than your pet (or yourself?)? Do things feel rushed? I have been ‘blessed’ to need a variety of different doctors, and it is quite rare for me to feel connected on more than a surface level to these human doctors who I trust with my long-term health . I even have times when I am not examined. Do you? I have repeatedly had to advocate for myself, which is stressful and disappointing. Which animals gets a full exam every time they see their doctors? Pets.

I did have to deal with transitioning to electronic records when I was working at a specialty hospital as an emergency veterinarian in 2003/2004. My day ran from 7am-7pm +, and then I sat and routinely typed up records for a minimum of two hours. Finishing at 9pm was considered a short day. It was miserable, and I frequently had to pull over to sleep at rest stops along my 1 and ½ hr drive home. One night I was literally dosing off as I was driving home, and I came to right as I almost plowed into the car in front of me. I literally thought I was going to die if I kept up the schedule – I was frequently running on empty. My guardian angels had to work overtime during those years.

I pushed to move to Maine. We had visited once for a wedding & it seemed magical. There was a program called Farmlink that helped to connect landowners with farmers who wanted to farm – but did not have the funds to purchase property. We landed up in Midcoast Maine on a 100+ acre farm (4 acres open – the rest was woods). There was a cabin on the property that we lived in. It did not have indoor plumbing or electricity. There are MANY stories that will be showing up in my personal blog in the weeks/ years to come about this period in my life. What is pertinent for this post is that I was back to writing records again. There was time for the technicians to write down a basic history that I could read as I was heading into a room. As I asked additional questions, I was able to look owners in their eyes to get the full story – body language and all. I performed my physical exam and was able to write down my findings right away. I had time to discuss our treatment plan (as well as write it down for the owners). There was also extra time to discuss topics just as I had experienced at the small country hospital when I was 15.

Another interesting phenomenon while working at the rural clinic in Maine was that owners were a part of their pet’s treatment plans – especially when I was called back into the clinic to pull porcupine quills in the middle of the night. I would sedate the dogs, and the owner and I would both pluck out quills as we chatted about their naughty porcupine-sniffing dogs. Owners helping with procedures were unheard of in all clinics except the country hospital I started out in when I was 15. I will say that the owners assisting with c-sections on their animals and clients who were the extra set of arms during their pet’s emergency laceration repairs/ porcupine quill plucking will have a story that will last a lifetime. Although it was considered couth in other clinics it was part of the way things ran at times – especially in the middle of the night.

I started my own house call practice in 2011 to work around our newborn’s schedule. I would take him with me at times when I knew he was going to likely be asleep. When he stirred, I would feed him & then put him back in his car seat – that I had brought into the house. Client’s hearts melted as we worked on their critters all the while I had my owner critter with me. I also worked nights and weekends while my partner was home.

A major thing that I started out with for my business & continue to this day is implementing a 2-page exam/ history/ medical plan report. I have time to ask specific questions; I performed my exam & write down the results. I then write down the pet’s treatment plan. When I am done writing I tear off the second page for the owners to have. I have extra time to chat with owners about their lives, and I am routinely asked about mine – especially when it comes to my now 15yr old son.

I have worked part time in two small animal clinics in Central Iowa since moving to the area in January of 2012. It was shocking to me how much veterinary medicine had changed since I was last in a clinical setting in 2010. One clinic was so busy they had 15-minute appointments to fit as many patients in as possible. Another clinic was heavy into very specific digital recordkeeping, so I was back to seeing clients all day & then typing hours of records at the end of the day. I have never been so distressed as a veterinarian – not even when I was working as an emergency vet outside of Chicago. I was hardly taking a deep breath during the day, and then my focus while I was aimlessly typing records was the time I was losing with my family. I really do not know how veterinarians working in traditional clinics are able to have a work/life balance these days. If you are interested in the consequences of current veterinary medicine mental health trends I suggest looking up Not One More Vet.

So I am back to written records and enjoying a fresh start with my new business name – Dr. Strobbe Integrative veterinary care. I have extra time to spend with my clients and their pets which is right up my alley. I am sure there are veterinarians who are capable of typing/ interacting/ and getting out of work on time, but I think it is rare these days. I wouldn’t change my current career choices. I am thankful I get to call the shots since I own my own practice. Thank goodness!!