The "why" behind NEW VET BURNS

NEW VET BURN (noun): An example of when a veterinarian was led astray or things did not go as planned when working up a case.

Failure is a HUGE fear for any new graduate veterinarian. We know imposter syndrome is real, and self doubt runs high in our profession. Because we have felt these same things. But why!? Each of us got accepted into arguably the hardest medical profession out there. We busted our booties to get here, and graduation alone should prove that you can do this.

Every single doctor, veterinary or otherwise, has had a burn happen to them at some point in their career. Although, you do not always hear about them. We have both hidden behind our burns and been embarrassed to talk about them. It is difficult to admit when something does not go as planned, but how bad is that for your mental health and stress level? It can make you feel alone and contribute to negative well-being.

We started this series to open up our community to a place where we can learn from each other and grow together. We both believe that part of the issue with burn-out in our profession is a lack of camaraderie. That is why you hear the buzzword "mentorship" so much! It is THAT important. We have a blog post dedicated to finding mentorship, but here is the thing. There are many forms of mentorship. It can be a physical doctor within your clinic AND virtual mentors you look up to on the internet. We feel that you should have many mentors because there is SO much to learn in this profession. Learning from each other is the best way to grow, and multiple mentors bring more experiences and perspectives for you.

So, where do NEW VET BURNS fit in? This is going to be an honest, open series dedicated to sharing past experiences with you. It will be case based and relatable where we discuss the presentation of the patient, what led us astray, and how we learned from it. Every burn is an example of growth in that doctor's career. Every single doctor has a NEW VET BURN, and these will be real examples from fellow colleagues in the profession. We are only two people, so we are excited to have guest veterinarians share their burns with you.

Our hope for our fellow new graduate community is that by sharing these burns, you will be less hard on yourself. Internalizing these moments will quite literally "burn you out." Mental health awareness is a big passion of ours and finding ways to improve this within our profession is a big focus for us. There is not an easy solution to this problem, but rather a series of solutions. We want to start addressing this problem by focusing on the new graduate crew.

Hey, new grad rockstar! We are talking to you. You are the freshest into the profession, and you are the future of veterinary medicine. We want to help YOU succeed, and we understand that all of the things our older generations went through can be made better for you. Self awareness, practice, and camaraderie will get you there. VETS ON THE RISE is here for you. Now, make sure to check out our weekly burn series posted every Friday.