***** Logging started: 2/20/2003 8:57:23 PM

Nanette Walker Smith: Welcome to the "Vet Tech Survivor" chat Vet Tech Survivor - How to balance your work and your personal life, something everyone needs help with!

Everyone on the VSPN staff laughed at me when I said I would lead this chat :) But I figured after my disastrous last fall.... I'd like to think I learned something from that. So while it's still fresh in my mind...

For some reason the veterinary profession...especially veterinary technicians seems to invade our entire lives. Is it because we love our work (certainly it isn't the pay in most circumstances!)? I've had a lot of people tell me that it's because we are Type A personalities. But I have trouble accepting that completely. Why is it that we invariably allow ourselves to be overworked (to the tune of 50+ hours a week) on a regular basis?

Karen: I've known what sounds like type B people do just fine.

Nanette Walker Smith: Now, realizing there are several in our profession that don't have families at home (other than animal that is) does that mean those folks don't have a life outside their work? I doubt it. But those people especially seem to be the ones who become "abused' by our profession.

Karen: I think people just like what they do.

Nanette Walker Smith: I agree...there is no way other career fields would have such a ferocity of dedication without something else to keep them going. That in itself is an in-depth psychological issue

Karen: I see myself becoming part of what will happen I hope I don't become ' abused' by the system.

Nanette Walker Smith: But you see Karen.... if you can identify that BEFORE it happens...that is a huge plus in your favor. You know what you are looking at and are more apt to not allow that to happen to the extent that others do.

I'm so tired of hearing the excuses of "well there's no one else to do it" What about someone else to take care of yourself and your life out side of work. Realistically, a NORMAL workweek of 40 hours is only 24% of the entire week! Why is it that veterinary technicians take that 1/4 of each week's life and turn it into 50+ % of their lives? Remember we have to sleep...so that takes up 33% of our time (if we truly get our 8 hours); that still leaves 43% of our week for family, school, personal time, etc.

Taking that information and looking at what I did to myself last fall...not even close I was getting about 4-5 hours of sleep a night (which right there affects you ability to make conscious decisions). I was working more than full time for VIN/VSPN, Teaching 3 classes at the VT Program, Taking a killer Masters class with lots of papers, and running a household with a husband, 6 year old, 2 dogs, a cat and a guinea pig. Not to whine, but that definitely was not a good balance and I was NOT surviving...by a long shot

Karen...do you feel that Type A people have a tendency to believe that they are the only ones that can get X job done right?

Karen: Maybe that Type A may feel that they get X jobs done. On the second question I don't have as much experience working with many people with different personality types.

Nanette Walker Smith: I kept saying "I can do it, I can do it", but when you keep saying that and don't account for all you said you could do, it becomes a snowball.

Karen: (I keep forgetting what Type A and B are. Sounds like if a person keeps repeating or doing something long enough

Nanette Walker Smith: B is more easy going may get things done but is able to prioritize. When I realized I was working over 60% of the time, sleeping less than 20% and doing all my other chores in the remaining less than 20% of the time. I knew I was not going to survive.

Karen: they could get caught up in trying to do things all by themselves and not ask others for help. I noticed that I did that several times in school already but that may have caught up to me.

Nanette Walker Smith: It's easy to allow that to happen in school. Exactly Karen. SO.... what did I do to get out of this rut.... and this is what I recommend for my "Vet Tech Survivor" talk. I've always excelled much more when I'm busy...I'm a scary bored person...I get into trouble.

I think the only saving grace about school is that you know there is an end.... you have a semester end and no matter how busy you are; it's a mental breather break...if even only for a week sometimes, it's better than nothing

The bad part is going to work continuously day in and day out and not allowing your self to take that break or allow yourself to re ground

1. Set yourself a goal date for your break. Whether it's a day off on a weekend, a 3-day camping trip, a cruise, etc.

2. Then make lists for your daily tasks. Make them reasonable...spread things out so you don't take a look at Monday's list and see 25 things you have to do that day that just sets yourself up for disaster!

Karen: I should try to prioritize myself better. It's too easy for me to get off track but I am trying very hard in prioritizing. And it seems to work.

3. Then keep looking forward to your goal, and take one day at a time. I did that for 2 & 1/2 months. I re prioritized stuff that didn't need to be done immediately to a time when I would have less issues to deal with work and I got rid of those things that really didn't matter. There were several things that got put off until the last minute, but they were ones that could be dropped if necessary.

4. Prioritizing is one of those things that may take you about 10-15 minutes each night before you go to bed, but I've found if I take that small amount of time to review what I need to do the next day, I actually sleep better (because I'm not worrying about how I'm going to arrange my day...it's already done) I have a better focus when I wake up

5. Schedule time for yourself and for your family. I made a deal with myself that I would stay away from the computer from the time my daughter and husband get home in the evening, through dinner, and all the way until the daughter goes to bed. I need to spend time with my daughter, attend to her needs, talk face to face with my husband (rather than sideways as we sit in our adjoining computer desks in the office every night). This became another type of priority

6. I prioritized my sleeping. My goal is to get in bed by 11:15pm every night...earlier if possible. Well.... I haven't been perfect on that one, but I'm doing much better than the 1 or 2 am I was doing last fall. No matter what anyone says you CAN NOT function on lack of sleep. Your reaction time goes down, you have more of a chance to miss issues with your patients, especially in surgery because you zone out those kinds of things. And sucking caffeine products is not a cure!

Karen: That's true I know I need at least 8 hours of sleep

Nanette Walker Smith: The way you tell how many hours you really need naturally is go to sleep at a reasonable hour and sleep until you wake up for me it's 7 & ½. Although I may still be tired, if I go over that...I can't sleep well the next night and may even be more tired during the day. You can oversleep!

7. When I made it through Christmas.... I set a new goal date. You have to keep doing it...you can't do it once and think the world be all right. Our dedication to our profession is like a drug or an addiction. You can't let it get a hold of you. Why do you think we have such a huge attrition rate in our profession!

Even though pay is always close to the top or at the top of the list...it's issues like respect...burned out... etc. that get top billing also. Those last two act like a catch 22 revolver. We want respect so we do more, we don't get it so we work harder, and we keep going and going and pretty soon...at an average of 9 years in practice, we are history!

This survivorship is one of the things we need to teach more of in school. It's kind of like teaching DVM's practice management in vet school (which has really only been prevalent for a small part of the last 10 years of history). If we want to keep techs in practice and keep the numbers up, we have to teach them how to survive so it will then be easier to survive because there will be more techs in the field!

So.... those are my methods of survivorship. I also have realized that if it doesn't get done today...I can try tomorrow...the world will NOT end! That's probably the hardest thing for me to accept, but I've noticed this has really helped my stress level.

Karen: Those are good methods of survivorship that you have.

Nanette Walker Smith: Thanks Karen. And the less stress you have the better you sleep and that just helps :)

Karen: I should try working on prioritizing and not be to scared/nervous on given resumes to potential employers.

Nanette Walker Smith: The worst thing you can to is 'talk yourself into' being apprehensive. Yes there will be failures, but there are always other practices, other jobs

The other thing you need to do is LEARN from each experience. I tried that one time way back ancient days ago. When I couldn't decide what University to go to. So I applied to 7 of them...all really good schools with vet schools (that was my original goal). Imagine how befuddled I was when i got accepted to all 7? I mean flattered yes, but it didn't solve my problem. I still had to decide. Have someone proof your resumes an instructor at your school, a DVM in the field, and a VT in the field, take that input and improve your resume from that...you'll feel less apprehensive that way and you will have 'tested' the waters on some people already in the profession. Kind of like stepping in and out of the door of the gym to make sure the doors don't close on you. It reassures you that you're ok and you are a good person and a great potential employee

Karen: I will see on others looking at my resume. Though I should have started sending out resumes several weeks ago.

Nanette Walker Smith: Well Karen...no better time than NOW. I'd be happy to look at your resume, I'm used to doing that for my students. But also.... know what you want. Know what issues you are definite on and what issues you can allow some slide on. I.e. that includes benefits (health, dental, 401K, uniforms, vacation, etc.)

Karen: This session was very interesting.

Nanette Walker Smith: Thanks

***** Logging stopped: 2/20/2003 9:51:09 PM

Participants: Nanette, Karen, Phyllis