Your ideal veterinarian?

[gpmo]

Hi all,

I am currently in my second year of vet school and plan to specialize in reptiles and amphibians. Today some classmates and I were discussing the human/animal bond and what qualities we think are essential for a good vet. If you could pick your perfect Vet, what qualities would they possess, what is the most important to you?

Gpmo (her)

 

[beeze]

Knowledgeable and truly cares about animals.

 

[Lizardlover]

At first I thought the thread title was "Your ideal vegetarian".

Anyways, I think an ideal vet is not only animal friendly but people friendly, and is patient enough to explain things to the owners of the animal. Especially for a herp vet, being that people that bring in their herps won't always have them under proper care.

 

[laurie]

The ideal vet already exist. His name is Ivan Alfonso, of Orlando. He has all the attributes listed then a lot more. And yes for anyone who asks I am completely objective.

 

[SpinyFranky]

I think caring about the animals is important, but knowledge is more important.

No one wants a under qualified vet - especially in a field as specific as reptiles, where efficiency and superiority of the field means a higher customer retention rate

Being "over qualified" would probably be the best reason to choose one vet over another, plus it would let you charge more to your customers ( just saying ).

For example, I am taking my chams this weekend to see a Vet in Beverly Hills, his appointment is going to run me more than $100 for the two chams, for the "visit" alone, no meds or fecals included.

I couuulllddd go to a vet thats only 5 mins away from my house, where I could get both chams in for about $60.

I chose the more expensive vet because after a little research I learned that the Dr. Has helped many chameleons (so he has background experience), he has kept chameleons before (more experience) and he is a reptile specialist. Compared to the other vet whose mainly seeing cats and dogs, and would most likely treat my chameleon as an Iguana. The choice became obvious.

Besides strong knowledge in the field (especially one as complex and diverse as reptiles/amphibians) I would have to say that I would rate care received, follow-up care (I.E calling to see if the medication is working for the animal - see if its doing better - e.t.c e.t.c) personality (please don't yell or say "you should know better!" to a patient.... some people do it, and it just makes them sad.) as part of the overall package that would keep me coming back to you as my vet.

Good luck in Vet school!

 

[laurie]

I think caring about the animals is important, but knowledge is more important.

No one wants a under qualified vet - especially in a field as specific as reptiles, where efficiency and superiority of the field means a higher customer retention rate

Being "over qualified" would probably be the best reason to choose one vet over another, plus it would let you charge more to your customers ( just saying ).

For example, I am taking my chams this weekend to see a Vet in Beverly Hills, his appointment is going to run me more than $100 for the two chams, for the "visit" alone, no meds or fecals included.

I couuulllddd go to a vet thats only 5 mins away from my house, where I could get both chams in for about $60.

I chose the more expensive vet because after a little research I learned that the Dr. Has helped many chameleons (so he has background experience), he has kept chameleons before (more experience) and he is a reptile specialist. Compared to the other vet whose mainly seeing cats and dogs, and would most likely treat my chameleon as an Iguana. The choice became obvious.

Besides strong knowledge in the field (especially one as complex and diverse as reptiles/amphibians) I would have to say that I would rate care received, follow-up care (I.E calling to see if the medication is working for the animal - see if its doing better - e.t.c e.t.c) personality (please don't yell or say "you should know better!" to a patient.... some people do it, and it just makes them sad.) as part of the overall package that would keep me coming back to you as my vet.

Good luck in Vet school!

See you and I both need to be in Orlando for vet care. Not only is Dr. Alfonso a vet such as you described, experience, caring, knowledge, has keep chameleons but charges a decent rate he is truly an excellent person. We can use more vets like him and I am sure Colorado will be getting one in the future.

 

[morpheon]

If you go back to when you used to study at primary school, who were the best teachers? Who have been your best friends before? How about the best coworkers you had when you worked anywhere?

At the end, i see two main profiles:
1) The competent guy. No matter what other qualities some guy may have, if he's not good at what he's doing, it's worthless.
2) He's human. What i mean by human is they are able to be empathic or sympathic, to understand the person's sadness, to be careful for both the animal and the owner. At the end, your clients are both of them, never forget it. You work for the animal's best, but the paying client behind the credit card is human and has feelings.

The competence is something you already know how to work on it. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been accepted to the vetenarian medicine school!

Now what you have to improve (and learn) is your capacity to cope with other humans. If you can't discuss and talk to clients, don't work in the public. What the public wants is the opposite of the doctor at the hospital telling you that you will die in a month like he would tell you that he went to McDonalds yesterday for lunch.

Don't forget: the link isn't only between you and the animal, it's between you and the owner of the pet too! If i was wrong, tell me why some doctors in medecine, veterinarians, dentists and so many take psychology classes? Because they work in the public with humans and they believe it is important to be able to understand them, to know how to react with them.

If you still have any doubt, go to Futureshop or any other place where they sell big TVs for a few thousands dollars, or cars, or whatever expensive. Go see the vendors and listen to them. At the end, try to find out why you liked some guy and why you didn't like some others. You'll soon realize that the ones who see you as their pay check won't be the one you like. But those who try to understand what you really need, these are worth a lot!

Sadly, i don't know personnally Dr. Alfonso, but this is what i heard from him.

 

[gpmo]

Hello everyone

Thanks for all of the great input! Sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread, we have had a ton of tests this past week It sounds like my classmates and I are on the same page as all of you (a good thing!). Here is the list summary of what I strive for in veterinary medicine. Feel free to add anything else you believe is important.

Good Doc List

Compassion
Knowledge
Honesty
Competence
Communication
Dedication

gpmo (her)

 

[kinyonga]

One thing I wish vets would do, especially with exotics, is to follow up on the "patient". If they called to see how the chameleon did after it had been treated they would learn whether the treatment had been successful or not. I have heard of so many people comment about taking the reptile to the vet and the lizard died a few days later. Perhaps if vets knew this they could learn something from it?

 

[laurie]

One thing I wish vets would do, especially with exotics, is to follow up on the "patient". It they called to see how the chameleon did after it had been treated they would learn whether the treatment had been successful or not. I have heard of so many people comment about taking the reptile to the vet and the lizard died a few days later. Perhaps if vets knew this they could learn something from it?

You would love the vet in Florida, I can have a vet here treating my chams. The vets here know very little of any reptiles. Dr. Alfonso will check in with me to see how I am doing the the vet care I can get and if my chameleon is ok.

 

[lisa h]

Luckily I have found the perfect vet, and although he is not knowledgable as far as cold blooded animals are concerned, he is wonderful with everything else I have. He is intelligent, and open minded. He doesn't ever tell me what to do without asking my opinion first. We discuss everything, and he never looks down on me. He wants my ideas about what's going on with my animals, and what I think the best options are. He is very open to learning new things, and has implemented some of the more "obscure" (not sure if that's the right word) things I have researched. He thinks outside the box and encourages me to do the same. AND, compassion, compassion, compassion for my animals, and for me as well. I love the man!!

 

[DGray]

First, I must say, the OP has the most amazing openness to the input of one community of potential clients and patients. Kudos. This says quite a lot about about the OP. Best wishes in your profession.

I have had many many dealings with many many vets on many different pets, and many animals in zoos. I have met so many vets who are over-confidant.

I have seen many great outcomes. I have seen many bad outcomes and deaths.

Sometimes a vet makes a mistake, and cannot accept and admit their error to the client. I expect an admission when there is a mistake. I'm not going to jam anyone up, or sue or anything, its just that arrogance annoys me.

A little humility is refreshing, when its in order. A vet should be prepared to recognize when they are not sure. Sometimes the client has more knowledge than the vet. A vet should be willing to take the client's preference from time to time.

Another thing that gets me is vets who charge a huge premium on lab tests. I know what these cost, and I get steamed when I am over-charged on these needed tests. Vets need to stay in business; as a business owner I know this, but I would rather pay top dollar for professional advice, not for a premium on third party tests.

Especially with reptiles, I choose a vet with a great deal of experience. One who has had a long interest in herps usually gets my patronage.

I wish you well in your career.

 

[eisentrauti]

The perfect vet should know more about chams than me. He should work efficient and he should be a realistic person. I can't stand people spending 100s of $ or € for terminally ill animals...

 

[draetish]

I have had bad experiences with vets and my chameleons and I agree with all that has been said. One thing I would like to add is: If a vet is not sure or doesn't know, they should tell the petowner. That way the petowner can make the decision to seek treatment elsewhere. The vets I'm referring to did not know what they were doing but acted like they did and my 2 chams died because of it. Maybe having a computer set up to print off care sheets for the petowner would be a good idea and referring them to a forum like this.