Every day I experience an overwhelming phenomenon, one I
don’t recognize adequately and one that I should pay homage to every day.
A very large veterinary hospital such as ours runs on the
efforts of the lay staff. These are people who give that extra hug for every
patient in their care, people who have to repeat patiently the same directions
over and over again, people who hold an animal lovingly while protecting the
examining doctor and the pet, people who love animals but because of the
business we are in, experience those who are extremely ill and those who have
come to the end of a beloved life.
It is such a magical experience that it is easy to settle
into it without routinely marveling at what these very special people do. We
are often busy and scurry by that person who takes extra care to make sure a
cage is very clean and that the fluids are being delivered right on time. We attract
the person who notices that a pet owner is particularly anxious and may need
some extra attention.
The unspoken mantra has been and always will be “the pet
comes first”. So maybe a lunch break
gets overlooked so an animal can get an extra walk. We have the phone operator
who notices when a client needs an appointment right away even though they were
too shy to ask. We have the receptionist who will sit down and have a gentle
conversation with a pet owner or a pet to put everyone at ease.
How can one not be spellbound by the special things that
occur in a hospital that has developed such a culture? Technician’s Week, in
October, helps remind me not to take any of these special people and their
special actions for granted. Hopefully I never will.
Steve Steinberg, VMD, DACVIM(Neurology), CCRT
Chief of Staff, VCA VRA
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