Pulse - March 2021 - 52

FROM THE SCVMA OFFICE

PETER WEINSTEIN,

DVM, MBA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

PWEINSTEIN@SCVMA.ORG

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

his month we celebrate 12 months of a stay-at-home order that came as a result of the
COVID-19 Pandemic. Maybe celebrate is the wrong term. Let's consider commemorate,
memorialize, observe.

With almost 500,000 American citizens dead from the
virus and millions more impacted directly and indirectly,
the past year has been one of great challenge. With veterinary practices " busier " than they have ever been and
the expectations from pet owners higher than they have
ever been, the last year has been one of great challenges.
And with staff members and veterinarians at the forefront of healthcare provision and an essential profession, the risk of being exposed to coronavirus has been
another great challenge.
Sometimes we learn more from difficult times than
from easier times. You can call that feedback. We learn as
people, as parents, as children, as employees and as business
owners. We have learned about our own well-being while
being concerned about the well-being of others in our
charge. We have learned about well-being associated with
a deadly virus. We have learned about well-being associated with a business/profession that is in great demand.
We have learned about well-being associated with being a
friend, a colleague and just being an empath.
We have made changes, modifications, adaptations -
what has been way too often called PIVOTS. Curbside
care makes the front seat of a car a virtual exam room.
Tele-medicine makes access to care available through
increasingly advancing technologies. Online access has
become the mandate, the norm, rather than the exception for many.
Daily temperature checks and health-based questions
have worked to try and keep the number of infected
team members to a minimum. PPE before TPR is also a
new rule. We used to worry about making sure we had
on cap, gown, gloves and masks because the practice act
and good medicine required them before surgical procedures. We now worry about mask, face shield, gloves,
and sometimes gown just to go speak to a client waiting
in the parking lot. From voluntary and slow change to
involuntary and mandated change, we have survived and
even thrived.
As we look in the crystal ball for the next year, instead
of us sticking needles in dogs, cats, cows, pigs, sheep,
horses, etc., it will be veterinarians and veterinary team
members who will be the recipients of needles. A vaccination will provide a level of peace of mind that will
hopefully allow us to start to return to normalcy...whatever that looks like. Whether normalcy will include
exam room visits vs curbside or a hybrid of both is yet to
be determined.
Normalcy to me will be something as simple as having
choices! Eat outside, eat inside, take out, cook at home.
Watch HBO Max or go to AMC theaters. Attend a
sporting event in person or watch on TV. Hug a real

person vs hug a monitor. Will we ever shake hands again
or will elbow bumps be the 21st Century handshake?
When this is all said and done - and less is said and
more is done - I look forward to safely celebrating the
future. Taking what is good from the past year and making it more of the norm - family time, dinners at home
at the kitchen table, binge watching stuff together. The
family unit, because of at-home schooling and no dining
in restaurants, has been taxed on one hand and tightened
on the other. Having more compassion and care and
concern, not just for personal family but for our professional families as well. The last year has been exhausting
because we are over-caring as a profession - about our
patients, our clients and our practice teams. It has been
compassion fatigue on steroids.
The fact that the SCVMA has combined virtual and
in-office work has shown that we can take care of our
membership and take care of each other as well. The
fact that we could integrate virtual CE and not miss a
beat shows the flexibility of the team and the membership. The SCVMA is learning and changing.
What do you look forward to most? We look forward
to seeing your smiling (unmasked) faces...soon. But not
too soon.
So, onward and upward. The completion of this
12-month cycle can be looked upon as a learning
opportunity. No pain no gain so they say.
Let's celebrate the good and honor and remember the
people who have gone above and beyond to care for the
sick and their families. The first-line human healthcare
workers have faced unbelievable challenges and deserve
recognition and a break.
But you, the SCVMA veterinary healthcare workers, have been challenged and come through. More
pets, more people, higher levels of care and new delivery
models don't come without stress and its concomitant
impact. To you who get scratched, bitten, yelped, with
sore backs, arms and legs, we salute you for your contributions during the past year.
OK, now go back out there in your masks, gloves and
PPE and explain fleas, ticks, diarrhea, lameness for the
thousandth time. And cuddle a puppy or kitten...prescribe pets instead of Prozac!!
THANK YOU! And here's to the next 12 months,
2021-derful. Thumbs up.

MARCH 2021

PULSE

Pulse - March 2021

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