How Compassion Fatigue is Wrecking the Veterinary Profession | NHP Podcast Ep 46 Drs Morgan & Holder

[@kristinneal4789]

Thank you both. I’ve been a vet nurse for18 years, and I feel blessed to work for a specialty practice that reveres work/life balance, equity, kindness and compassion. We require all clients to sign an agreement before being seen that says they will be kind and respectful, and we have a giant NOMV poster in the lobby.

[@jeanparsons4247]

I have a hard time fathoming how all vets are subject to compassion fatigue - perhaps a lot of it is the people who work in the vet offices that see all the clients that cannot afford the care needed for their pets and they see the suffering that results from it. Vet practices seem to have become all about the almighty dollar and animals and pet are the ones who suffer the most.

[@scotthenson]

Great interview and topic. Thank you!

[@kristinneal4789]

Is the gathering going to be approved for CE credits?? I’d love to go!

[@DrJudyMorgan]

Yes! The International Naturally Healthy Pets Experience is approved for 6 RACE credits by the AAVSB!

[@kristinneal4789]

Yay!! Thank you!

[@naznow]

I’ve become so dismayed by the state of medicine, including veterinary medicine. It’s become too profit-driven, and I don’t blame the vets! You guys have such a challenging job. But I gotta tell you, I was disgusted by the vet I used for many years when she made it clear she saw me and her other clients as cash cows. At first I just said no when they tried to ‘upsell’ me on their shit food, way overpriced pills($10 each for constipation!) etc, but after my senior dog finally passed and we were no longer coming-in so frequently, I was told they keep their appointments first for people that come in regularly. Really? I said, are you kidding? I’ve been coming to see you for over a decade with all of my animals. I have spent THOUSANDS of dollars at your practice. WE should be getting some kind of priority! Things must change. I would love to have a crew of pets once again but it’s cost-prohibitive. The costs for exams, lab work, procedures, even dentals, have become astronomical where I live.

[@altajansenvanvuuren]

In South Africa too It is so hard to keep up. So you don't get new pets. 🥺

[@treasuretrovel3816]

Veterinary medicine used to be very practical based vs. expensive, high-end diagnostic based for small vet practices. Let me explain. 45 years ago, if you took your dog in for blood tinged urine, the veterinarian would assume the simplest explanation of a UTI and prescribe an antibiotic. Nine times out of ten that was the end of the problem and that was that. There was no $300 ultrasound of the bladder plus $350 bloodwork plus $300 sterile bladder tap and urine culture plus..... Because there are now advanced diagnostic techniques in small animal practices (ultrasound, MRI, CAT scan, Intra oral X-rays) and advanced surgeries and therapies, the price of even a routine office visit for an ear infection has gone up dramatically to fund all the equipment and special training expected in a practice. An owner can't simply tell the veterinarian they just want the dog's tooth extracted without a pre and post X-ray (which is the best standard of care) because they can't afford the extra $200. The choice then is to just get no care for the dog. It has become an all or nothing choice for many pet owners. Because of the advancements and higher price tags, pet insurance became a thing. As more people got pet insurance, there was an expansion of veterinary specialty practices because they now had clients willing to have the expensive procedures for their pets. So, prices went up even higher for procedures which then led to ever increasing pet insurance rates. It is my opinion that the field has reached a tipping point at which the pet insurance rates have increased to a maximum causing many pet owners to terminate insurance, Myself included. The current, bad economy certainly helped precipitate this since veterinary care in the budget usually has to take a backseat to rent and feeding the humans. So, now, all that expensive equipment is not being used as much because many people just can't afford to have a dog and also pet owners are turning toward better, home holistic care and nutrition as something they can afford. For example, for a simple ear infection: $75 for the office visit, required extra $50 look under the microscope for yeast and/or bacteria and then a $50 tube of ointment that treats yeast and bacteria both the same anyway so could have skipped the required pathology but the vet required it as standard of good care. Total of $175. Smart owner then does research online and starts cleaning their dogs ears twice a month to avoid another expense.

[@kristinneal4789]

As a veterinary nurse, and a pet guardian, I see both sides. I think in an ideal world, we would all feed species appropriate fresh food, provide our pets with The Five Freedoms, focus on functional breeding that looks at generational health (physical and behavioral), and have all pets matched to truly appropriate homes. That would prevent a large number of veterinary bills. That being said, EVERY medical provider should offer/recommend what’s medically best for the pet in the moment. A professional’s assumption about a client’s willingness/ability to pay for the best should not be the basis for our recommendations. That being said, we do need to understand that not everyone can/will pay for the best care, and that should NOT be an excuse for us to decline a lesser treatment UNLESS providing that treatment would be harmful. Back in the days when we just prescribed an antibiotic if a pet showed urinary symptoms, we also often prescribed an antibiotic when there was another issue, causing the urinary symptoms (like cancer, or behavioral issues) or prescribed the wrong antibiotic multiple times before hitting upon the one that actually cleared up the infection. When we prescribe the wrong antibiotic for an infection or an unnecessary antibiotic, we are contributing to antibiotic resistance, which is on the rise in both human and veterinary medicine. If in the ear infection, example, we prescribed a medication to treat both bacteria and yeast, but only yeast were present, we are again, contributing to antibiotic resistance. If there is only bacteria present, we are killing off non-pathogenic yeast, which are contributing to maintaining balance in the ear. Commensal bacteria and yeast serve a functional and symbiotic purpose with our pets bodies. Whenever we unnecessarily disturbed that balance, we are creating another issue that the body then has to deal with. I have seen so many pets with allergies go through years of cycles of antibiotics and anti-itch medications that cost thousands of dollars more over a Pets lifetime than allergy testing would cost. If they had only found out what the pet was allergic to and dealt with helping to balance the body systems and minimize exposure to allergens, They would have actually saved money in the long run. Anyway, the TLDR version is we offer the best because it’s the right thing to do, not because we are getting rich. I make about 1/5th the salary of a nurse practicing my specialty (anesthesia) in human medicine, and I am one of the better paid folks in my position.

[@treasuretrovel3816]

@@kristinneal4789 If modern veterinarians were offering "the best" then they would not all be pushing the Hills Science Diet and the heart worm meds in the dead of winter and the excessive vaccination protocol. Just sayin'