W L W L
SONGS OF PRAISE
BY DUGIE GEMMILL , PARKSIDE VETERINARY PRACTICE
As I sit in front of my computer , mobile phone to the left and coffee to the right , I am conscious that it the anniversary of the start of the biggest disruption that Parkside Vets had ever endured - the furlough of more than half our staff ; the creation of Team Scotland and Team South Africa ; the practice open seven days a week to provide the best care we could for our clients ; our exhausting shift pattern of three days on , and three days off .
From my kitchen table I can see the fruits of my lockdown labours in the garden – a gazebo with a Lazy-Spa , and a huge new flower bed . I am mindful that I am a lot less stressed and less fatigued than I was twelve months ago , but although we are all more hopeful for the future , things are far from normal . The effects of a year of stop-start lockdowns , uncertainty and the deprivation of social contact have taken a toll on us all . For anyone to deny they have at least flirted with the effects of depression would probably be untrue . The veterinary profession has one of the highest rates of stress-related mental health issues in the country and sadly the highest suicide rate . I know that I have battled to get out of bed on many a morning in the last year .
However , I do count myself a lucky man . I run a practice that has been in existence for forty years . We are blessed with a client base who value us and thus care for the practice and the practice team as we care for them . We have a team with an average tenure of ten years – ranging from one year to thirty ! What is my point ? Support , people , teamwork . These are the people that get me through . I found during lockdown , and over the subsequent months , quite simply a joy in working alongside my team at Parkside .
Every client knows the veterinary surgeons in a practice . Every client knows the reception team – the smiling , helpful voices , and face of the practice - but how many clients know the nursing team ? The nursing team – the Registered Veterinary Nurses , the trainees , and students , aspiring to be RVNs – are the glue that binds us together ; the hands that help heal , the hearts that care . The nurses hold our patients with care , they monitor the general anaesthetics , assist with surgery , change the dressings , and clean all the mess that the animals ( and vets ) make . Veterinary nurses are highly trained medical professionals with detailed knowledge of drugs , laboratory techniques , surgical techniques , and surgical equipment , wrapped up in a caring , compassionate package . They provide support – medical , surgical , and emotional – to the clients and to the vets ! I would not get through an hour , let alone a day , or a week without my team .
May is Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month . If you are of a mind to look , then look for # VNAM or # whatVNsdo on social media . You will see graphics of happy nurses with stethoscopes , applying bandages and holding cute cartoon puppies . Hopefully , you will then look a little further and get a feel for the depth of devotion , the breadth of learning and the wealth of experience and the height of passion for their vocation that exists in the veterinary nurse of today . Thank you , Lisa , Gemma , Shell , Hayley , Amy and Chanelle and to all those who have blessed the Parkside in the past . You are Veterinary Nurses and you are brilliant !
Dugie is a graduate of Glasgow University and has worked at Parkside Veterinary Practice since 1990 and has been the Clinical Director for the last seven years . He has a keen interest in laparoscopic and orthopaedic surgery .
24 wirrallife . com