Vet Times

Tag: Stress

  • Blue dog and Blackfish

    Blue dog and Blackfish

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    For the second post in my self-imposed “communication month”, I have a Netflix-based idea. I finally watched Blackfish as I’m working my way through my playlist on the app. If you’re unaware, this is a documentary concerning the capturing of wild whales and cetaceans, and keeping them in captivity to perform for the public. Blackfish…

  • A Christmas cheer

    A Christmas cheer

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    This year has had, at least from my peculiar and very Western perspective, a peculiarly narrative structure; specifically, the classic narrative structure of a disaster movie (although at times it has felt more like a 10-season box set). It started, as many good stories do, right at the start of the year with dark rumours…

  • Pandemic puppies

    Pandemic puppies

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    It is with much mirth they read the many comments that the childbirth explosion after the first lockdown will be made up entirely of first-borns. Parents, exhausted from home schooling, smirking at what is to come for those who did not have to be a 24-hour entertainment centre seven days a week for their children…

  • OSCE alternatives?

    OSCE alternatives?

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    Any education process has always been in a state of change; it’s the one thing you can guarantee. While I know this causes stress, it’s worth focusing on what the educational process is aiming to achieve. In particular, with OSCEs, its aim is to ensure you are a safe and competent practitioner – for you,…

  • Covideo killed the radio star

    Covideo killed the radio star

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    While I try and keep these blogs as supportive, informative and educational as possible (I promise I do!), sometimes a little fun is required. During lockdown I marvelled as my clinical colleagues stepped up to continue providing for our patients, and I know this has been hard – shifts extended, clients more stress than usual,…

  • Connection: steps five and six

    Connection: steps five and six

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    The right intentions, a friendly smile, a warm introduction and appropriate touch – four easy ways to help you foster connection with your clients, as described in the previous post. This part will look at two more common-sense strategies to help you forge fast bonds with your clients and ensure problem-free consults: finding common ground with your…

  • The borrowers?

    The borrowers?

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    Having written on what I see as the perils of the popularity of “borrowing” pets via apps and websites, I was saddened to see that, with the COVID-19 puppy boom, these are now being seen as a “normal” alternative to doggy day care. A sad narrative of puppy farm dogs with behavioural issues and ill…

  • Connection: steps one to four

    Connection: steps one to four

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    In the previous post I told you about my mnemonic to help me remember the seven tools we can use to help us connect with our clients: IS IT CHE(esy). Intention, Smile, Introduction, Touch, Common ground, Humour and Empathy. Let’s look at the first four. Setting your Intentions Is it easy to always be the kind…

  • The person behind the grades

    The person behind the grades

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    This year has thrown a lot of annual landmarks into disarray, and A-levels were no exception; my heart went out to all the students this month whose results days did not go entirely to planned. It has been three years since I went, heart in mouth, to receive my own dreaded envelope. Even when I’d…

  • Feline fine in lockdown

    Feline fine in lockdown

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    Since the start of lockdown, I’ve been seeing a lot of cats in practice – not that I’m complaining, as a self-confessed “crazy cat lady”. A lot of these cases have been geriatric cats – many of which presented with chronic vomiting or reduced food intake (with various aetiologies). However, when we tore through our…