Letter to dvm360: It's not the DVM's job to check on clients
"Veterinarians do not need to be worrying about personal issues in people's homes," says one Facebook user in response to the latest ethical dilemma from Marc Rosenberg, VMD.
"Part of the problem with our veterinary profession is the ever-increasing stack of things we need to worry and stress about. We do not need to be worrying about personal issues in people's homes." (Photo Getty Images)In a recent installment of "The Dilemma," Dr. Marc Rosenberg states that veterinarians should, for all intents and purposes, investigate the home lives of people receiving controlled drugs, stating in the last paragraph, "It's not a lot to ask."
Yes, in fact, it IS a lot to ask. Our job is to do the best we can to treat the animals in our care, not to cure all of society's ills.
In the same issue, there was an extensive article on veterinarian suicides. Maybe Dr. Rosenberg should consider that part of the problem with our profession is the ever-increasing stack of things we need to worry and stress about. We do not need to be worrying about personal issues in people's homes. We can't fix everything, and a teenager stealing Frosty's meds is one of the things we can't fix.
Not my circus, not my monkeys.
John David Hopkins, via Facebook
