Wow, it's already been over a year since we moved to Jasmine's ranch and started working with our new vet. One thing life taught me is that there are awesome vets out there but not all vets out there are awesome. Our past experiences had been mixed to say the least.
Having finally had a great vet I was quite stressed about having to look for a new one.
I've put a lot of time into researching the vets and veterinary hospitals at our new location before I finally made my choice. Of course, things can look great on paper and reality might be different. Once I selected our vet, first thing we did once we arrived was to make an introductory appointment. Everything went great and our choice was sealed for the time being.
This week I was happy to post a 5-star review on our new vet hospital's Facebook page.
(I don't write bad reviews but good ones have to be earned.)
After a year working with her, I'm happy she's the one I chose.
Beside regular wellness exams, we've been working on specific issues such as Cookie's incontinence and elevated ALT. I think I know her well enough now. And I like her very much. She's competent, dedicated, constantly learning new things, open to alternative options, happy to discuss things with me, and has great bedside manners with our dogs.
We are on the same page about things.
She has all the qualities I loved in our vet down South.
Reflecting on the two got me thinking. I love that her and I are on the same page. But I do miss the numerous discussions we had with Jasmine's vet about things we disagreed on. His point of view was often different than mine. We'd argue our point, with mutual respect, until one of us became convinced. Sometimes he'd convince me, sometimes I'd convince him. We both had to put a lot of work into backing up our convictions.
Did our opposing convictions lead to better decisions?
I think most of the time they did. We'd both consider everything whether we agreed with it or not. And the best idea won. Are we missing out on better solutions by thinking the same way? Perhaps not. I always research everything to death and do my best to consider everything that is out there. And I am sure she does too. I ask everybody who's willing to answer. My goal is to always make the best decision possible. So I think we are okay.
If you and your vet don't agree on everything don't take it as a bad thing.
As long as you can have an open dialog, disagreement can foster better ideas. As long as your vet doesn't dismiss ideas without considering them fairly, having opposing opinions will make you both work harder on your decisions. And the patient wins in the process.
What do you think?
Are you and your vet on the same page? Did you disagree on some of the things? Who wins the argument and why? What do you think is better for your dog?
Related articles:
Looking For A New Veterinarian: Our List Of Questions
We Have Picked A Vet At Our New Location
We Have Met Our New Vet: She's A Keeper
The Evolution Of My View Of Vets, the Universe and Everything
Veterinarians Are People First
Finding Dr. Wonderful And Your Mutt's Mayo Clinic: Getting Started
Reasonable Expectations: The Ability to Discuss Your Internet Research With Your Vet
Having finally had a great vet I was quite stressed about having to look for a new one.
I've put a lot of time into researching the vets and veterinary hospitals at our new location before I finally made my choice. Of course, things can look great on paper and reality might be different. Once I selected our vet, first thing we did once we arrived was to make an introductory appointment. Everything went great and our choice was sealed for the time being.
This week I was happy to post a 5-star review on our new vet hospital's Facebook page.
(I don't write bad reviews but good ones have to be earned.)
After a year working with her, I'm happy she's the one I chose.
Beside regular wellness exams, we've been working on specific issues such as Cookie's incontinence and elevated ALT. I think I know her well enough now. And I like her very much. She's competent, dedicated, constantly learning new things, open to alternative options, happy to discuss things with me, and has great bedside manners with our dogs.
We are on the same page about things.
She has all the qualities I loved in our vet down South.
Reflecting on the two got me thinking. I love that her and I are on the same page. But I do miss the numerous discussions we had with Jasmine's vet about things we disagreed on. His point of view was often different than mine. We'd argue our point, with mutual respect, until one of us became convinced. Sometimes he'd convince me, sometimes I'd convince him. We both had to put a lot of work into backing up our convictions.
Did our opposing convictions lead to better decisions?
I think most of the time they did. We'd both consider everything whether we agreed with it or not. And the best idea won. Are we missing out on better solutions by thinking the same way? Perhaps not. I always research everything to death and do my best to consider everything that is out there. And I am sure she does too. I ask everybody who's willing to answer. My goal is to always make the best decision possible. So I think we are okay.
If you and your vet don't agree on everything don't take it as a bad thing.
As long as you can have an open dialog, disagreement can foster better ideas. As long as your vet doesn't dismiss ideas without considering them fairly, having opposing opinions will make you both work harder on your decisions. And the patient wins in the process.
What do you think?
Are you and your vet on the same page? Did you disagree on some of the things? Who wins the argument and why? What do you think is better for your dog?
Related articles:
Looking For A New Veterinarian: Our List Of Questions
We Have Picked A Vet At Our New Location
We Have Met Our New Vet: She's A Keeper
The Evolution Of My View Of Vets, the Universe and Everything
Veterinarians Are People First
Finding Dr. Wonderful And Your Mutt's Mayo Clinic: Getting Started
Reasonable Expectations: The Ability to Discuss Your Internet Research With Your Vet
I like our current vet. We don't always agree either, but he is kind and patient and listens. He knows not to push certain things and understand I have a budget. I hope he doesn't retire soon as he seems fairly old.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one problem I've had is there are multiple vets working at this particular clinic and I don't like one of them. We met with him twice when our usual vet was busy with emergencies and now I know to make a point not to see him unless we have no other choice.
I was worried about our vet down South retiring too. But then we moved and I was stuck looking for a new one anyway. This one is pretty young, so I have one less worry.
DeleteOur new hospital has multiple vets also. I have nothing against them but I hand-picked the one in particular and one of the points I made right at the beginning was that I want her to be our dogs' "family vet." I don't mind seeing or talking to another one about some things but she is the one in charge of our dogs' medical management. Unless time is of the essence I always request appointments with her specifically.