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Dr. Coates is a veterinarian based in the other “Sunshine State” – that's Colorado to the rest of you – where she lives and plays with a varied range of animals. She shares her professional and personal experiences, Monday through Friday, here on petMD's blog, the Fully Vetted. Log in for your daily dose of her insight and wisdom.

 

A Typical Saturday in the Life of a Veterinarian

June 24, 2006 / (1) comments


June 24th, 2006

Saturday. A day of boredom in the extreme (routine well-pet visits) interspersed with heavy-duty end-of-life issues (euthanasia). In other words: a typical Saturday.

I hate typical Saturdays. It makes sense that Saturdays are days when working people plan routine care for their pets. And so it also stands to reason that this is a good day to organize a family trip to the vet to euthanize Fluffy. But that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it.

Aside from the obvious (everyone else I know is having a nice day off boating on the bay or biking to Key Biscayne) Saturdays just suck.

It’s the one thing about being a vet I don’t like: having to be here on a Saturday because while human doctors are judged by how well they practice medicine, veterinarians have to be both good at their jobs and keep convenient hours.

No one ever says to the pediatrician’s receptionist: I can’t take Mikey in to see you until 4 since I’m at work `till then. Or: How come you don’t have evening hours? How am I supposed to take little Stevie to the doctor if she’s not there after five o’clock?

Our [cheeky] reception staff has a good answer for people that take this attitude with them: Dr Khuly has a life, you know.

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COMMENTS (1)
1
by on 09/03/2006 04:16pm

Great blog!! I'm enjoying your entries! This one in paticular hits home. Yes, Saturdays SUCK! I hate sitting around Friday night with my neighbors as they discuss their weekend plans. In order to keep "good hours", I have to give up family weekend time. Oh well, it's worth it I guess!

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About fully vetted

Patty Khuly, VMD, MBA

Photo of Dr Khuly

Dr. Khuly is a former petMD blogger and small animal veterinarian in Miami, Florida, where she practices medicine at Sunset Animal Clinic and serves on the board of the South Florida Veterinary Medical Association. She is a graduate of Wellesley College, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and The Wharton School of Business.

As a significant sideline, she writes...a lot. She authors pet health columns for USA Today, The Miami Herald and Vetstreet. She also writes a popular monthly column for Veterinary Practice News and serves as regular contributor to Veterinary Economics, The Bark, and the Veterinary News Network.

Dr. Khuly lives in South Miami with her brood of hens, goats, dogs, cats...and humans.

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