Dear Colleagues,
I’m floating with happiness!
Its that time of year where everything gets reflected upon and I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how appreciative I am of you.
I can imagine that some readers to this might roll their eyes. “She doesn’t know me, how can she appreciate me?” Well, let me try to explain.
At the moment, I’m not a practicing vet and I feel a little guilty.
I love practicing veterinary science. Nothing gives me greater joy than seeing an animal return to health. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than helping a sick animal be relieved of its suffering. And to be restricted from doing that due to circumstances of my current life is a challenge. My mother says I am happiest when I come home from a long day in the clinic. I have stories to tell and I seem to bounce around like I used to when I came home from primary school, or collapse in a heap from exhaustion and overwhelming emotional experience.
As someone not currently in general practice, I’m a little jealous of you. You are so lucky. And I am so thankful that you are out there. Without you at the front lines of our community, battling for the rights of animal health and welfare the world would be a dismal place. Wave after wave of ignorance and curiosity would inspire pet owners and animal production/race carers to perform all sorts of acts on their charge without understanding how or why they are doing what they are doing. They would neglect their pets from ignorance. They would attempt to treat their own pets out of love, and in return cause them more harm than they could ever imagine. But most of them don’t because most of them have you. How lucky are they!?
People know that they have to take their animals to the vet. And we can proudly stand on the claim to be the most knowledgeable and practiced group people on the planet with the knowledge to help them. That is no small thing. Yet it is often forgot. And to gently remind people through our professional services marketing strategies is a good idea. So, people don’t forget.
You stand at the foot of the waves, whether small or big, not knowing the rhythm or current beneath and you face disease, pain and injury everyday. Thank you.
And while I can’t practice in clinic with you at the moment, I can be apart of the mission through VetPrac and that makes me so happy, I’m floating.
VetPrac serves to assist you. It exists to give you the skills to face your challenges with confidence so you can bridge the gap between learning and doing.
When you come to a VetPrac workshop I feel great joy. It gives my life and work meaning to see you learning and developing. I know that when you have a new skill you will use it for a good cause. You will go back into practice and “smash it”, fixing patients and situations for the rest of your career like you were born with it. And clients will be in awe of you, for your abilities. You are the superheros of the animal kingdom. Maybe that sounds a bit over the top… but I don’t think so. When I see the light bulb moments that go off in a VetPrac workshop as you “get it” I get tingles. I know that feeling, and it’s addictive! I am so happy that you get addicted to it too. It changes lives for the better.
The more we learn, the more we grow. And the more we grow the more capable we become. And the more capable we become the better equipped we are to face the challenges of chaos and misunderstanding that plaque the earth. During the holiday season, I think a lot about that. About time honoured celebrations that often rise out of a successful fight against oppression, evil, chaos and torment. In those situations, animals are often the last considered, and we as vets are the first and most capable responders. We have to be very compassionate and understanding to do what we do. Its not easy, and we do it with dignity. I love that about our community.
2017 was a great year at VetPrac. All of our workshops were full and fantastic. Every participant attending reported that the skills they learned would be immediately applicable to practice and that our programs are good value for money. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Except maybe an update every now and then… I’d love to get a message from you with a photo of your patient sometime telling me how you’ve used your VetPrac acquired skills. That would warm my heart and give me tingles.
We ran orthopaedic, soft tissue and dentistry and animal handling practical skills workshops. We also successfully launched our internal and interpersonal skills programs. All of these will continue in 2018 as we focus on offering you the best training in Australasia. I hope you will join us on this journey.
We love connecting with you and working together to give animals a better quality of life. Thank you for your support.
I am so happy to be able to share with you another end to another year. Thank you for being a part of this journey.
We wish you and your families and loved ones a safe an happy holiday season and we look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Lots of Love,
Ilana Mendels and the VetPrac team! xx