So, I’ve officially been working at the clinic for a week (7 days). I work the part-time closing shift (’til 7pm) from Monday through Thursday. Today was not a good day and from what I’m noticing, I don’t think it will get any easier. It’s not that the work is hard. It’s that absolutely zero of my tech skills are being utilized there. It’s hard to explain why. I mean, I know why, it’s just hard to explain why to someone that doesn’t work in the clinic.
It’s a nice clinic and the doctor is really good… he just puts all his trust into this one girl who’s worked for him since he opened (a little over a year ago). She’s the office manager and he’s trained her to tech. She’s never had any other experience teching….yet he calls her to help him 100% of the time. I’ve barely had any chance to use any of my tech skills. So, what the heck have I been doing there for 7 days? Hmmm, let’s see… I mop the floors a lot. I sweep a lot. I clean counters a lot. I clean cages a lot. Basically, most of my time is spent cleaning this huge clinic while the office manager gets to tech (when I’m there, she doesn’t clean at all.. coincidence? I think not).
Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem cleaning. It is a big part of working in an animal clinic and with sick animals. But, if I had wanted to get a job cleaning all the time, I would have stayed at home and had my husband pay me a salary! 😉
On a more positive note, I love working with two of the other girls there. One is a receptionist and the other is a tech (who’s also been there a while, but seems to do an awful lot of cleaning and not a lot of teching). They are extremely cool and very nice. Also, I have to mention Bixby. He is the clinic cat (he lives there) and I wish I could adopt him and take him home. He will be the one I miss the most. Yeah… I’m seriously thinking about leaving already. The constant cleaning and feeling of worthlessness is not something I can handle for much longer. I know that anywhere else my tech skills will be appreciated and used. It’s just the dynamic of this particular doctor and this one girl. It’s like he doesn’t trust anyone else. Good clinic, though. Honest. Just not the place for me to feel like I’m “part of the team”.
At least this is my “Friday” and I’m off tomorrow. I am so looking forward to this weekend. My good friend Cat and I, along with a friend of hers, are heading up for a girls weekend in Big Bear. Cat’s friend has a cabin up there and we get to use it for the weekend. It’ll be just us girls going to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet in the mountains.
I need time to think and reflect and figure out what my next move is going to be. Kevin says to say something to the DVM. I pretty much have. I’ve directly told him that I’d like to assist more and that I’d like some more “hands-on” work. Oh well.. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe it was just enough to boost my confidence to go back to working with animals again. I can describe in detail every single animal that has been there since I’ve been working. It makes it that much harder to leave. That really is the best part – the animals. 🙂
I’m not sure if you’re a RVT/LVT, but if you are, then you should leave. However, if you’ve only done “in-house” training before, or havent worked as a tech for a while even WITH bc’s, then you can’t expect to walk into a what seems to be a really small clinic and get first class work settings. You’re new, you have to stay there, earn time and respect, and with that, you’ll get more tasks. Perhaps you should look into working at a emergency clinic, or a veterinary hospital, not a clinic.
are you working where i am? it certainly sounds it. too say my vet is anal is the understatement of the year. the hired cleaning lady left when i started so it’s been up to me to clean the walls, floors, corners baseboards with a toothbrush. three page protocol on correct mopping techniques…i’m sure janitors make more money.