Transition

Currently I am in a state of transition. I graduated from Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine on May 11th, 2012 and I will begin working next week (as long as my license application goes through). I am both excited and nervous about starting my first job as a veterinarian. I have a lot of confidence in what I know. I believe Kansas State has provided me with a solid education in veterinary medicine. However, I also know that there is still much that I have yet to learn as there is no way you could possibly learn everything you need to learn in 4 years of vet school. I know it will be a steep learning curve, but I am excited, eager and open to learning. I know that I will be a motivated veterinarian and I will work hard to make myself become the best veterinarian that I can be.

I've had almost a full month off now and I certainly feel ready to tackle whatever lies ahead for me. I'm not the type of person that does well doing nothing. And I mean, I haven't literally been doing nothing. I've been working out, seeing friends, hanging out with the fam.... Mike and I recently discovered Netflix and I watched the entire first season of The Walking Dead in 2 days! But, I definitely put myself in the working breed category. I both need and enjoy having a job. Not having a job for too long makes me go a little nuts. I have also been trying to study - trying to prepare myself for what I will see in practice. Since the majority of what I see will be walk-ins/emergencies, I've been trying to cover that area of medicine - HBC, acute abdomen, pancreatitis, CHF, CRF, seizures, effusions, toxicities, etcetera etcetera. It's a lot to cover! But I am sooo excited to learn and start doing what I've always wanted to do. It seriously feels like a dream come true.

People Relations

One of the things I always get angry at myself about is when I look back on a situation and think about what I should have said or done. Honestly, it doesn't happen often. I try hard not to get seriously get angry at other people. But people who are straight up rude and nasty really irk me. Today I called my licensing board to check the status of my application. I was told it takes about 5-10 business days to process applications and to check on the website to see if my license is up. I knew that I was on day 6 and that my check had not yet been cashed. So I call to check on the status because I want to make sure I can start work on June 11th. The response I got from the lady was basically telling me everything prior I told you (stuff I already know). Then I try to explain my situation and that I just wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong with my application so as to not cause further delay of my start date. Actually, I didn't even GET that far because she cuts me off and says "I can't go through more of these applications if I'm sitting here on the phone talking to you." <--- ?!!!! I was so shocked I couldn't say anything.

I know how hard some of these jobs can be. I know how hard it can be to deal with people and their demands. Customer service is one of the hardest jobs known to human-kind. Why? Because people can be rude, indifferent, careless and selfish. I know what it's like for customers to yell at you for something you had no power over. I've worked customer service for almost 10 years before I started vet school and I know how bad it can be. I also know that in general, if you are kind and accommodating to most people, they treat you back with the same courtesy. I know it sounds so simple and most people just don't have the patience for it. But it has worked for me. I have dealt with some pretty ugly situations just by putting myself in their shoes and being kind and things have worked out with the customer telling me "Thank you for understanding" even if things didn't work out in their favor. Anyway, the point of all this is not to put myself up on a pedestal. It's that even if you think you have the toughest job in the world because of all the people you have to deal with, maybe you should take a step back and look at how you treat people to begin with. If you put up a wall with people right from the get go, people are going to notice that. Not only will they notice it, but they respond to it. I know there are days when things will be worse than others. I know that there will be clients that no matter how kind you are to them, they will act the same no matter what - there are always exceptions to every rule. I do truly believe that in general, if you are kind to the people, they will be kind to you back.

Now I don't wish I went back on the phone in time and said anything nasty back to this woman. I just wish I could have told her that I understand how busy she is but that there is no need to be rude to people. It's not that I want to justify myself to her. I just want her to know that when you interact with people, you have an affect on them, whether it's positive, neutral or negative. There is always a result. For me, it's not going to ruin my day or change how I treat others. But I know and understand that not everyone is the same. Some people's moods change when people have been rude to them. For some people, it can really affect the climate of their day. It won't for me because I just don't think it's worth it. I will not allow a small event like that change who I am. But everyone who works customer service should realize that some part of the population of people they deal with, will be greatly affected by how they are treated. This kind of behavior can have a domino effect on people. We are sensitive creatures. And if you think you don't work the title of customer service in whatever industry you belong to, think again. The title doesn't have to be limited to "customer service" - it's really is "people relations". If you have a job where any time is spent interacting with people (customers, clients, co-workers, colleagues, patients, etc), whether it's done in person, on the phone, through the internet, whatever, you can have an affect on others - please remember that.