23 Jun 2020
In her latest diary, Nat Scroggie recounts all the things she enjoyed in her first full week back in full-time practice.
Nat Scroggie
Job Title
Image: THPStock / Adobe Stock
In my previous diary entry, I wrote about my feelings ahead of starting back full‑time on days in a new practice. It was not just anxiety around getting to know new people behind layers of personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing, but also apprehension about what state that team would be in.
So many stories exist of exhausted and demoralised staff on veterinary social media groups; I did not know what to expect.
At the end of a tiring, but rewarding, first week, I wanted to write down all the bits I enjoyed in the hope it may offer a small bit of reassurance to others who may also feel anxious about returning to the new normal.
For those worried about joining or rejoining a team after time off, please be in no doubt that you will be welcomed with open – if socially distanced – arms. First day back at school nerves are hard to combat, but trust me, they will never have been more pleased to see you, and arriving ready to help is a great feeling.
That said, you may initially feel as though you have walked into a bizarre alternate universe. The good news is you will be so busy that by day two it will feel like you have been doing it forever – not least because everything takes so bloody long.
One big difference is no clients in the building. I enjoy the client communication aspect of my role, but admit there have been some big bonuses. Firstly, I have a qualified staff member holding every animal. It has now been some time since I have had to examine a cat on top of a shoulder, or accidentally grazed a boob while auscultating the heart of a Chihuahua clutched in a client’s bosom.
I have also noticed that, despite the protests of “oh he will be so nervous without me”, most of our patients have been significantly calmer. Has anyone else noticed that?
Amid organised chaos, I have been grateful for the building’s new privacy. You are free to consult Google in a tricky case or yell a question to a colleague without having to concoct an excuse to leave the consulting room. No one judges you when your vaccine shoots straight through the other side of the rabbit or screams when you make a nail bleed.
The whole building is your own, so you spend far less time wearing a professional mask (just a fabric one), which makes it all a tiny bit less tiring.
Every practice has different COVID protocols, but as a small animal vet used to spending summer months inside, I have enjoyed completing the bulk of each appointment outdoors. It can be stifling in a mask and visor in the sun, and somewhat soggy in the rain, but I feel better for the time outside – even if it is in the practice car park.
Wearing PPE takes a bit of getting used to, but I have been relieved to join a practice that is taking our safety so seriously. We have only been using reusable resources to preserve PPE for where it is most needed.
Seeing the practice owner wandering around all day in his bright green washing-up gloves helps us know we are all in it together, even if I have yet to master taking a blood sample in a pair of marigolds.
One thing you may be anxious about is clients’ reactions to these strange new protocols. Most clients are incredibly grateful that you are risking your safety to see their pet, with many of them asking how we are doing before they get on to their reason for visiting.
But our brains are often intent on disregarding those positive interactions and focusing on the difficult ones. I have made a mental decision not to let those ones take up any space in my mind, and that has helped a lot.
We finished the week with the monthly tradition of “food Friday”, where the practice owners treat the team to lunch. We took time to eat together, at a distance, sharing out slices of pizza that had been divided by knife and fork.
The days have been long, and we are only just starting to tackle the backlog, but I finished the week with a big smile on my face and a belly full of hard-earned pizza.
The coming months will be hard on our profession, so try to find a moment to reflect on the strangeness and the bits you will miss when practice life returns to normal again.
Maybe next summer I will choose to chat to my clients outside on sunny days – just because it is nice, not because they cannot come inside.
