This is a weird thing, and there are a lot of changes I’m trying to get used to. For example, I went from a practice that was scolding the staff for walking my dog (even in their break time) to a place that the owner believes if there’s something the staff can do to save me time, that’s part of the job. So I’m continually being told to have them walk my dog, refill my water bottle, literally ANYTHING. I’m so used to being self-sufficient and not wanting to take advantage of the staff, that this is really hard for me!!
This week is the Veterinary Behavior Society meeting and Resident Short Course, which takes place directly before AVMA. My mentor and I agreed that given the short timeframe after my start date, and the additional financial commitment, that I would not attend this year. Of course, now that she is there and I’m seeing photos of all the behaviorists hanging together, I really wish I’d been able to attend!
We worked a very long day on Monday, seeing five new consults because it was the only day we were in the office. The rest of this week has been dedicated to me doing other stuff. For example, finishing reading and outlining Landsberg’s book, learning more about the pharmacology (which is the part that confuses me most), and working on my residency program proposal. Since this program is non-conforming (meaning it’s flexible, and not pre-approved), I have to outline my plans for every single part of the program. This means where I will be spending time to get experience with less common species, which courses I plan to take at schools, and exactly which textbooks I intend to read. This is more than slightly overwhelming!!
It has been very stormy this week and I not surprisingly didn’t get a damn thing accomplished for at least 2 days. I’m measuring my progress in terms of little increments...for example instead of completely panicking, I am only slightly panicking and slowly chipping away at the things on my list.
Speaking of which, I was speaking with the boss and she has offered both health insurance and 401K to this VERY small group of employees and they were both turned down!! Now I have to find my own health insurance which you may know is AWFUL and insanely expensive. So I will likely get very little coverage as I can’t afford the car payment that would be the full coverage I need. And I still need to do the basic stuff such as register my car here in Florida.
BUT there are some highlights, too. I will be spending one month of every year visiting the headquarters of the company sponsoring my residency. Typically that means a drive over to Texas, which is nice because Molly can hang with her grandparents! However, my mentor spoke with the company rep this week and is trying to finagle me spending one of my trips to their HQ in France!! Plus next year I get to go to a course in Ontario, and already know of time I’ll spend in Philly. I’m trying to see if I can schedule any of these visits near people from my class so I can actually see some friends!
