Daniel C. Randall, DVM, reflects on an online veterinary forum discussion that exposes concerns about empathy in veterinary relationships. Without empathy, Randall writes, we resort to vilifying our clients, blaming them for our low morale, exhaustion, and job dissatisfaction.
“We risk creating an “us versus them” mentality that seeps into our body language and our conversation tone,” he writes. We tend to display righteous indignation at the notion that we should endure a measure of inconvenience for the sake of a client. The real nature of our work relationship becomes obscured, and we focus our attention and energy on the expectations of the person who signs our paycheck, rather than on the clients who generate our paycheck.”
Source: Veterinary Practice News, March 6, 2018. Link.
In our efforts to manage our workload challenges, I fear we are sacrificing one of the key elements that can sustain us—the relationships with our clients. When we try to do our jobs at arms’ length, it becomes a dissatisfying experience for both parties.
INSIGHTS: Dr. Randall is impassioned and proactively references Frank Bealer’s, The Myth of Balance, that suggests a four-step approach to managing your career when achieving sustained balance is impossible. He expanded Bealer’s list to his own version of a 10-step approach specific to veterinary medicine in the article.