Veterinarians: I want you to succeed

Veterinary Economics editor Brendan HowardThis month in Veterinary Economics-as part of the dvm360 Leadership Challenge: The Burden of Care that spans this magazine and our sister publications (dvm360, Firstline and Veterinary Medicine)-we're looking, not at medical science or financial numbers, but something more nebulous yet far more important to you than almost anything else: how you feel about your life.

So ... how does that make you feel?

Seeing through the dark

In this life, every day, I can guarantee good and bad things will happen to you-and you will do good and bad things, on purpose or by accident. What I can't guarantee is how you'll feel about it.

Will you see the latest disgruntled client as another nail in the coffin of your dream to be a beloved animal doctor? Or will you walk into the next appointment convinced, instead, that good clients and bad clients come and go, but work that matters-veterinary medicine-lives on in your hands?

Worse yet, and even deeper, will you wish that you'd never gone to veterinary school ... that you didn't have a job that kept you away from your spouse and kids ... that you hadn't been saddled with so much debt on your quest for a DVM degree?

It's your psychology, your resilience, your outlook on life-yes, your feelings-that make cliches come true for you. You know, lemons into lemonade, see the sunny side, blah blah blah.

That's you that can do that. (Maybe with the help of prescription drugs and a good therapist; maybe not.)

If I could give you the world

As much as I want to give you the job you want, the family life you crave and the contentment you deserve, I don't have the power to do that. It's true that I do spend my weekdays hard at work learning about and sharing new and tried-and-true ways to help you earn more money, to smooth out client and employee conflict, and to be happier and more fulfilled at work and in life.

But I-like everybody else dedicated to making your veterinary life better-can only do one thing: Help you when you're ready to work on the parts of your life that you regret, that make you feel bad, that make you feel trapped.

A survey that tells your story-in all its facets

With the help of two concerned veterinarians-Drs. Eden Myers and Ryan Gates-we fielded the 2015 Veterinary Economics Career and Family Survey that looks at the complex balance of your time and attention-job, family, friends, community-and your feelings and thoughts about it all.

Click here to see whether you can see your story and your happiness in the data. Then head here to learn a few habits proven to make you a little happier, a little calmer and a little more clear-headed so you can decide what needs to change-or if, in fact, you're pretty darned happy with your life.

Either way, be mindful that everyone is fragile sometimes. (Some of us more often than others.) Don't ever let the burden of care you face as a doctor, scientist and caregiver bring you down. Reach out for help. Ask your peers for advice in person, online at dvm360.com and here at Veterinary Economics at ve@advanstar.com.

Your loved ones want you to succeed. A profession full of peers want you to succeed. Whatever success looks like to you-full-time, part-time, no-time, a dozen kids, no kids, married with a house, single in a yurt-I want you to succeed. Don't stop caring. Just remember to care for yourself too.