What is the reason for the veterinary back up?
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Anonymous
I already put a schedule out for myself to do this. Thanks for all you do. |
Anonymous
Thank you for the suggestion! I have an early appointment for my dog next week and will do this! Re: the negative messages online, my only advice is to stay away from it. I am a teacher. I don’t have any social media but ended up blocking dcum on my phone for awhile due to the bashing on certain threads this past year. Do your best to drown out the noise and know that for every vocal angry client, there are 10 truly grateful clients who just don’t remember to express their gratitude enough! ❤️❤️ |
Anonymous
+1 Nextdoor is a cesspool |
Anonymous
Yes, teachers are hit all the time on social media, but people aren't stupid enough to name names often , just schools, because teachers can sue for libel. Vets, or anyone, should consider this avenue. I see what people write, and I don't know how it flies without legal action. It is true that pricing does seem to prevail in complaints. It needs to stop, people are really awful. |
Anonymous
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I think the corporate model and some private vets trying to increase profits has created huge problems. We moved several states away and had to find a new vet. We picked one that a relative recommended when they lived in that area. Yelp reviews were generally good to fine with complaints about charging but the reviews at many other vets were the same.
First visit for a check up and shots was 400. Second visit for an ear infection a few months later was $2000. Our dog had had ear infections in the past from swimming etc and it was a simple visit and antibiotics. At the new vet they told us they would need do cultures to determine what caused the ear infection and other tests. It did not feel right at all but we’d do anything for the dog. The ear infection came right back after treatment from this vet. I tried a different vet that someone from the dog park recommended and that vet prescribed a 10 day antibiotic. I asked about needing to culture it and the vet told me that it not necessary. A broad spectrum antibiotic would knock it out. It did and it only cost $200. Years later I read an article titled is your vet ripping you off and the writer wrote about a very similar ear infection scam. I am very cautious about vets after that one experience. I think there are bad vets out there who are giving vets a bad reputation and putting clients on the defensive. |
Anonymous
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As someone with a senior dog that increasingly requires more care, the scarcity of vet availability scares me. The vet we've been going to for years was upfront that they are booked for months because of all of the pandemic pets the practice took on. It's a fabulous practice that really does try to accommodate everyone in the neighborhood. I will miss my dog when the day comes that he can't be saved. I don't think I will ever get another pet while I'm living in DC. It's brutal here.
Veterinary medicine wasn't even an option at the university I attended. I fully support efforts to make this field more accessible to enter and practice in. |
Anonymous
Do you really think that veterinarians are trying to "scam" their clients? Different veterinarians might view a case differently, but generally offering a culture isn't a bad idea. It might even be the standard of care. Your vet should explain the benefits of a culture, as well as any risks of not doing one. |
Anonymous
| I agree it’s mostly jerk behavior for new pet owners. |
Anonymous
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Vet here - PP about ear infections. Vets do not want to scam you. Trust me. But often owners won't get to the root of a recurring problem and would rather just treating the symptoms when they are bothersome. Ears are a good example. Recurrent ear infections are almost always tied to allergies. The allergic inflammation sets up an environment for bacteria and yeast to set up shop in the ear canal. With repeated infection treatment , antibiotic resistance can build up. Cultures can help determine that.
Do I culture every ear infection? Hardly. Do I culture those that are resistant to treatment. Yep. I tell people if the ear infection is due to allergies, then YOU WILL NEVER STOP THEM unless you treat the allergies. That may mean finding out what the pet is allergic to. Which is a process. I call it treating the ultimate cause of the infection vs. The proximate cause. Most owners are unwilling. They just want the ointment. Then they complain when it comes back. "you didn't fix the problem". The problem is allergies and I will never fix it. It can be treated, but that is a chronic thing and the owner has to put in the work and the money. |
Anonymous
| We had a golden who dove into any body of water within her proximity. Ear infections galore until we purchased a bottle of swimmers ear drops which we dutifully put in her ears anytime she went in water. Never had an ear infection again. |
Anonymous
To your last point, I have been in the field of veterinary medicine for 25 years. A lot of the problem, in my opinion, was that vet schools chose the wrong students. Picking the highest GRE scores does not translate into someone who will become a good veterinarian. Things have been turning around over the past several years. I see more and more former vet techs or others who worked in the field, and KNEW WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE to be a vet. They are making it through vet school and turning out to be very good and very caring. Finally. This was a huge source of frustration for me for a very long time. Back in the day, people wanted to put “Dr.” in front of their name, or chose the field because they thought the hours would be better than human medicine. These are not the people who should be taking up those precious few spots in vet schools. |
Anonymous
This, 100% this. As a vet practice owner, trying to find vets who will stay in the vet field is very difficult. The people who go to vet school are very smart, no doubt. However, that does not make them people persons. Additionally, since the field is female dominant, many leave to start families or go part time. We have an increasing number of vets who come out and work a few years in practice then decide it wasn't for them and move on to the FDA or other career that is not client facing. A love of animals and intelligence isn't always what is needed to make a good vet, unfortunately. |
Anonymous
Vets treat animals, yes, but they are really treating people. There is a lot encompassed in that scraggly whatever-poo or houndy mutt that meets the eye. It's a very emotional field of work, and interacting with the public is really hard. Vets aren't paid enough. |
Anonymous
+ a gajillion. I had little idea about this problem. As a 4 pet owner, I am so grateful for you vets and staff and I am SO SORRY about my jerk neighbors in DC and Bethesda. I agree- you should just ban them. Fire them. Do not accept even pointedly rude behavior, let alone verbal abuse Your practice will not miss them. My Dr friends fire certain patients (with plenty of notice) so I hope you vets feel free to do the same |
Anonymous
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My college age child is on a pre health path and is seriously considering vet school and has spoken with a number of vets over the past year. Without fail, every single one of them has told him not to go to vet school for three reasons. One, the pet owners are nightmares. Two, the insane debt he’d incur. Third, the abusive practices of many employers.
He still wants to go. I’m making it my mission to talk him out of it even though it breaks my heart. |