We all need a time-out sometimes. Maybe you swapped your scrubs for business casual in a non-clinical career opportunity or maybe you stepped away to start a family, focus on your health, or pursue a passion for travel. Regardless of how you spent your time away, picking up that stethoscope again might bring a flood of self-doubt:
“Do I still remember how to perform a spay?”
“Are my client communication skills too rusty?”
“What if an emergency comes in and I freeze?”
The thought of catching up with changes in the veterinary profession—new veterinary drugs, updated treatment protocols, emerging diagnostic tools—might seem overwhelming. But you’re not alone, and with the right resources and a little support, you can rebuild your confidence and thrive in practice again.
In this blog, we’ll explore the common challenges of returning to veterinary practice and practical strategies you can use to tackle them.
Catching Up With the Latest on Veterinary Drugs and Dosages
When you prescribe the same medications every day, it’s pretty easy to keep common drugs and dosages top of mind.
But during time away, things can change. New drugs will probably appear on your pharmacy shelves, and you’ll probably need to refresh your memory on familiar drugs and dosages, too.
This is where a trusted, continually updated resource like Plumb’s™ comes in. With Plumb’s™, you get immediate access to drug information designed to support you through the constant changes in veterinary practice.
- Continually updated: Our drug monographs are continually updated, so you can trust you’re accessing the most current version of Plumb’s™.
- Quick access to dosages: Each drug monograph features quick links to dosage information so you can jump right to the details you need.
- Built-in drug interaction checker: Our easy-to-use, animal-specific drug interaction checker lets you check for potential drug-to-drug interactions before you prescribe.
So when your first emergency case comes in and you need to confirm a dosage for a new medication, you can skip the outdated references and click right into Plumb’s™ from your phone or computer to find the information you need in seconds.
Following the Latest Diagnostic and Treatment Details
Returning to veterinary practice will likely reveal just how quickly veterinary medicine changes. Familiar diseases may have entirely new treatment protocols and new diagnostic tests might have rendered previous methods obsolete. Catching up—and keeping up—is essential. But where do you start?
Continuing education (CE) is a great way to bring yourself up to date. Many webinars and CE courses are now available on-demand online, so you can complete them on your own schedule. Check out Clinician’s Brief and Plumb’s™ for upcoming CE opportunities.
In addition to ongoing CE, a trusted source of continually updated diagnostic and treatment information can help you confidently provide your patients with the best care.
Whether you’re treating a condition for the first time in years or wondering if the guidelines for treating a familiar condition have changed, Dx & Tx—the diagnostic and treatment monographs in Plumb’s Pro™—have you covered.
These continually updated clinical monographs are written with general practice in mind and provide the diagnostic and treatment information you need to confidently care for your patients. For instance, curing feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) might have seemed unthinkable years ago—but today, we have advanced options for treatment. With Dx & Tx in Plumb’s Pro™, you can review the latest recommendations on diagnostic testing and new therapeutic approaches in seconds.
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Providing Clear, Confident Veterinary Client Communication
Refreshing your clinical knowledge is only half the battle when returning to veterinary practice—you also need to clearly and confidently communicate your recommendations to clients.
Planning a general script or jotting down a list of essential points can help ensure you cover everything your clients need to know.
Written handouts are another invaluable tool, helping you reinforce your explanations and make sure your clients take home the details. Plumb’s Pro™ makes this easier with a library of handouts tailored for veterinary practice:
- Clinical handouts cover clinical conditions, preventive care, and common procedures in easy-to-understand language
- Drug handouts clearly explain what medications do and how they are used
Consider printing relevant handouts and reading through them in the exam room with your client, highlighting the important details to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Rebuilding Clinical Confidence and Managing Your Stress
Even when you’re fully caught up with the latest information and ready to communicate effectively with clients, that little voice in your head might still pipe up with “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Rebuilding confidence after a hiatus from practice takes time, and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed at first.
Here are some strategies to ease back into practice and help manage your stress:
- Lean on your team: Consider asking your practice manager if you can see only wellness visits at first, or request extra time for appointments until you get back into the swing of things.
- Find a support network: Discussing your feelings with colleagues, family, and friends can help. Online communities or social media groups can also lend support as you get plugged back in.
- Ask for help: If certain procedures (eg, surgeries, dentals) make you nervous, arrange for a colleague to be available to give advice or jump in if needed.
A trusted clinical decision support tool like Plumb’s Pro™ can also help boost your confidence, especially in high-pressure situations. For example, if you’re concerned you’re missing steps in your diagnostic or treatment plan, algorithms in Plumbs Pro™ can help guide your decision-making.
Whether you’re starting with clinical signs or a specific diagnosis, these easy-to-follow visual roadmaps can help ensure you feel confident in your process.
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If you’re worried about overlooking differentials, DDx, the newest feature in Plumb’s Pro™, can help you double-check and prioritize your differentials. Enter any clinical sign to get a comprehensive, peer-reviewed list of differentials organized from most to least likely.
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Remember: rebuilding your confidence after being away from practice will take some time. With support from your colleagues, a compassionate mindset for yourself, and trusted tools like Plumb’s Pro™, you’ll be back in the swing of things before you know it. You’ve got this!
Want to see Plumb’s Pro™ in action? Watch a free demo.