A Writer's Guide to Veterinary Hospitals

A

Writer’s Guide

To

Veterinary Hospitals

By

DOROTHY CALLAHAN

Copyright Page

Copyright © 2021 by Dorothy Callahan

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by:

Somerwynd Services

ISBN-13: 9781393148593

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Cover art by: Somerwynd Services

Photo by: istockphoto.com

Acknowledgment

Writing a book always feels like it happens in a vacuum, but it takes input from amazing people to see it through to completion. As always, I want to thank my husband, Craig, for always being so incredibly supportive as I pursue my writing passion.

To my amazing critique partners, Laurie Gifford Adams and Lorraine Lander, who saw to the structure and gave me some great ideas for the overall project.

To the incomparable Carissa Keller, LVT, who guided me through the technical aspects of the things I’m not legally supposed to do (and therefore didn’t).

And to the tens of thousands of people who crossed my path over the last two decades, you helped me fill in the gaps! It takes all kinds of people to contribute to a non-fiction book, so whether my memory of these interactions falls under Good, Bad, Unplugged or Unhinged, I appreciate the opportunity to capture the experience!

Table of Contents

Preface

Let’s Start with the Basics

Meet the Staff

Kennel Attendant

Receptionist

Room Assistant

Veterinary Technician

Practice Manager

Veterinarian

Let’s Talk Fear Free

Life with COVID-19

Tools of the Trade/Preventative Medicine

Terminology

Hospitalization

Surgery

Toxins and Drugs

Saying Goodbye

You’ve Got to be Kidding Me!

Second Chances

It’s a Wrap!

Resources

About the Author

Other Books by Dorothy Callahan

Preface

I’ve spent the last fifteen years working in veterinary hospitals, in almost all capacities and job positions therein (except the actual doctor). Over the years, I have cleaned kennels, answered phones, scrubbed in for surgeries, set up blood and fecal tests, cleaned and prepped surgery packs, walked dogs, held animals for treatment, helped owners say goodbye, sent out reminder cards, chased down debtors, done janitorial services, breathed life into C-section babies, and felt the gamut of emotion from joy and excitement to blood, sweat and tears.

Before that, I did hard time working at an animal shelter, pet stores, and kennels. I’ve pet sat. I’ve fostered dozens of mama cats and orphaned kittens. I’ve rescued wild birds. Throughout my life, I’ve owned pretty much every animal from sea monkeys and hermit crabs to fish, cats and dogs. I’ve had many types of birds, and even got into the exotic craze of the 80s and had chinchillas (which I bred) and even two prairie dogs. I guess you can say I’m a lifer.

But it took reading books where the main character was a veterinarian to make me realize people want to write about vets, but not everyone realizes what it’s like to work in that medical setting. Those authors, lamentably, did not. But I do. And now you can, too. When readers are in the know, it can be irksome to read something that is blatantly wrong. The entire premise of the story goes out the window at that point. Don’t lose your reader!

This guide is intended to help you flesh out your character’s job title and daily duties, since most hospitals have a variety of staff in a variety of positions. Not all hospitals work the same way, and your character will certainly be entitled to a scope within your work. As always, you may want to check with your local veterinary clinic or research online to see if your setting has state limitations.

The job positions will be listed according to experience needed and pay grade.

While most people/readers will automatically think veterinarian when reading about an animal hospital, a breakdown of other positions where your character can work will also offer chances for conflict and depth. Each position will have its inherent strengths and weaknesses.

This guide is IN NO WAY intended to replace proper veterinary care or to instruct the reader on how to treat or cure patients. It is intended for general knowledge of how a veterinary hospital really works. It is not a substitute for actual medical advice. It is not intended to circumvent a doctor’s diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. This guide is IN NO WAY intended to diagnose, treat or prescribe medical care. This is not a medical how-to guide and should not be treated as such. The purpose of this book is to give genuine insight into what it’s like to work in the veterinary field, whether that is for one or two vets, a dozen, or those working in a shelter environment. Terms that are heard and used frequently are addressed and explained. Medications and treatments that are common occurrences are mentioned but are not intended to be in lieu of actual medical care and should not be consulted in the event of actual medical need. Please consult your veterinarian if your pet needs medical attention. This is not an exhaustive guide, so if you have created a specific medical need for a pet in your story, consult a veterinarian for how best to proceed with your plot.

My goal is to broaden the scope of your writing and give a true view of what goes on behind the scenes when working in the animal field so that you will have a more genuine knowledge of this medicine, even if you don’t have a pet.

Let’s Start with the Basics

Veterinary medicine spring-boarded from human medicine. Many drugs, treatments, and surgeries are direct descendants of the human medical field. The purpose of veterinary medicine is to provide proper medical care and preventative medicine to pets as well as to educate owners, and to do so with respect for all living things. Many people in all aspects of this field feel passionate about animal care and can be found volunteering their time to other animal causes. It is not uncommon for people in this field to help out at spay/neuter clinics, to foster animals for local humane societies, to raise money for animal related causes, and to join with other like-minded people for fun and leisure, like dog-centered events (sheep-herding trials, Frisbee relays, etc.).

Your character should show a desire to help animals in need, from rescuing a stray pet running around loose outside, to going door-to-door to raise money for their favorite pet charity, to taking their dog to the park where it can play and socialize with other dogs. Perhaps your character rescued a high-energy dog from a shelter or inappropriate home, and realized the dog had a super-sniffer. Your character might want to hone that dog’s skill into a profitable field, like Search-and-Rescue, cadaver dogs (finding bodies after a catastrophe), drug and bomb sniffing dogs, or more creative outlets, like the Beagle who returns missing items to travelers inside the airport, chasing them from gate to gate to make sure their items are back in their possession. All of these outlets require a person who is passionate about working the pet to the best of its abilities, giving it a job. Writing contrary to the true nature of animal people will add conflict to your character’s core beliefs. Does your character enjoy this field? Was your character bullied or guilted into this livelihood? Is there an agenda that needs to come to light?

While this field may seem immense, many people recycle in this industry. I’ve seen techs move from hospital to hospital, honing their skills, only to leave and become a drug rep or dog trainer (still in the animal field, mind you). They’ll work in pet stores and kennels until they can go to college to become a technician or veterinarian. They’ll train dogs and pet-sit when they’re not in school. You’ll see them knitting blankets for shelter cats and lobbying for dog parks where pets can safely play. They’re not activists per se, but passion for animals is their driving force, and if they can’t fulfill their need in one location, they’ll seek it elsewhere, and astute observers will note familiar faces everywhere they look.

Some things that are common to every veterinary hospital are listed below, with descriptions. Again, some hospitals will be different. Some do not stock inventory, like flea/tick protection, antibiotics, pain meds, and the like. Others may not offer surgery. This would be a personal preference of your character. Stocking inventory adds to the doctor’s taxes, so some doctors may prefer to write scripts and have their clients fill them at a local pharmacy or online. Other veterinarians may not want their clients shopping online at unknown websites and worry that the products they prescribed might be faked or mislabeled by disreputable companies. Again, this is doctor preference. Retired veterinarians might no longer be able to perform surgery but choose to stay in practice. From a character development standpoint, this can stem from eyesight problems, loss of hand/eye coordination, nerve damage leading to inability to hold a scalpel, etc. Imagine a veterinarian who had lost hearing but still wants to practice. How could this character listen to heartbeats? Great place for conflict, and probably more common than you’d think. (Doctors are notoriously stubborn people!)

Okay, I promised you the basics, so here we go.

If you like to start with backstory, or are a notorious plotter, you might want to decide if your veterinary hospital is independently owned versus being part of a corporation. Most hospitals start out independent, and if the doctor is highly successful, may decide to open another location. However, this is not the normal way that veterinary corporations are born. Most commonly, one hospital is doing so well that another one, usually nearby, starts to falter. The profitable one may have longer hours, more doctors on staff, greater ease of having a sick pet seen and treated, or more comprehensive medical care, like in-house x-rays, dental care, surgical suites, and even cryo- or laser surgery and cold laser therapy. These make it easier for a client to have one-stop shopping and are very desirable.

Here are a couple of examples:

Let’s start with Dr. Smallpotatoes. He doesn’t want a lot of overhead, so perhaps his place closes at 4 Monday through Friday and is only open until noon on Saturday. Or maybe he won’t stock medicine, so the client must take a written prescription (script) to a pharmacy to get it filled, which means more driving around and more time invested to help the pet feel better. Or maybe Dr. Smallpotatoes only has one doctor on at a time. What if this doctor doesn’t like taking in emergencies? Where is the panicked owner with the vomiting kitty going to go?

Why, they’ll call Dr. Welcome down the road, get an appointment, and be seen straightaway. Whiskers is now well on the way to feeling better! Thanks, Dr. Welcome!

Amplify this over the course of ten years, and you can see which hospital is going to grow, and which one is going to have disgruntled clients. So, what happens to Dr. Smallpotatoes’s hospital when he doesn’t have enough clientele to stay open? Honestly, he’ll eventually sell. But doctors sell client lists to new doctors, not buildings, and this guy, well, he doesn’t have much of a client list anymore, does he?

But Dr. Welcome does. She sees the benefit of branching out and taking over that faltering client list. In fact, Dr. Welcome’s own staff of associate doctors now has so many clients that they can’t get them all in the door. So, Dr. Welcome would be wise to purchase that other hospital and move her own staff into it.

After all, half of her clients came from there, anyway!

Thus, the hospital corporation is born.

With income now coming from two sources, Dr. Welcome will likely add hours to the other hospital and add all the amenities her place has, like x-ray capabilities and a full surgery suite. If you’re looking for a good place to add conflict and setting, how about a takeover? Oftentimes the acquiring doctor will keep the staff, since they know the clients and patients and really, why be a jerk? But, like many people have experienced, it’s always weird having a new boss, and what if your character is the deposed doctor? Or a long-term employee who is torn that the last doctor retired? A set-in-their-ways staff member who detests change? What if the new owner decides all the existing employees are now new hires and reduces not only their pay, but their acquired vacation time? Good place to start a story.

Anyway, once Dr. Welcome and her staff are situated, another opportunity to expand may come down the pipeline. What if another hospital, maybe twenty miles away, has another doctor considering retiring? How did this new hospital work out for her? Dr. Welcome might jump in and buy that next one... or might have learned her lesson after acquiring Dr. Smallpotatoes’s place. Your choice.

The reason I’m addressing this early on is because there are inherent benefits and drawbacks to each. Private hospitals will have more leeway in how they do things, whereas corporations might be limited to a structured setting. Regardless, each doctor or owner has a preference of how they do and don’t want things done. This can be anything from staff working overtime to cleaning up patient messes on the floor. (This is a big one, by the way. Who is responsible? The owner? Or the staff? That’s a lot of pee and poop over the course of an 8-hour shift.)

Small hospitals might have a harder time dealing with the schedule when people call out sick, while corporations might be able to pull people from another branch to fill in. Another good place for conflict: who gets chosen to fill a shift at a strange hospital, and how will that work out for all involved?

Private hospitals might expect their staff to be cross trained to fill in on every role, while corporations might have more restrictions on what can or can’t be done.

Expect either hospital to be compliant with HIPAA and OSHA laws. HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, passed in 1996, and in a nutshell states that each patient has a right to doctor/patient confidentiality. While the patients in our case are the animals and are considered property in most states, the owners of the animals are still in a doctor/patient relationship and are therefore covered under this act. This means that no one in the building should be discussing patients where other clients can hear. We’ll address how to utilize this when we get into the Receptionist section.

OSHA is Occupational Safety and Health Administration and states that the workplace must be safe for employees and clients. Hazardous materials must be labeled, emergency evacuation plans need to be posted, fire extinguishers need to be checked monthly for pressure, and first aid kits need to be readily available. That’s just