#and then go into debt bc ER visits are expensive as fuck

[femme-malewife]

I don’t know why but food has become hard to hold down lately

#liiike. #8/10 times that i eat a meal ill feel sick #and half of the time i end up puking it up #it happened again tonight #idk man my stomach is just mega sensitive ig??? #i already cant eat any pork whatsoever without puking and sometimes chicken and a lot of the times fish and #idk. #i really dont #i can have instant meals but even then sometimes (4/10 times) i end up feeling nauseous #maybe theres something wrong with me? #but im not gonna find out lol i already have two medical bills coming in #one for a visit/bloodwork and one for an EEG that ill get in a week #sooo i cant afford going to a normal doctor yet #its ok ill probably just throw up so much that i wont be able to ever hold down food and then ill end up in the ER again #and then go into debt bc ER visits are expensive as fuck #welcome to america

[kangals]

probably a shit platform for this but hey, vet PSAs that i’m writing bc if i have to kiss ass to one more pissy client i’m going to implode:

-virtually every vet ER in the US is understaffed right now. there has been a shortage of ER vets in the workforce for years and it’s only getting worse. so many reasons - massive schooling expense/debt, high turnover, physically and emotionally draining job, etc. even the large chains like VCA are having to completely shut down ERs in some locations because they just can’t keep it staffed. ppl just don’t want to go into emergency med when primary and specialty care is an option and honestly i don’t blame them.

-support staff - techs, assistants, front desk - are terribly underpaid, basically industry-wide. this isn’t a super profitable business anyway but if you’re not a doctor, you’re shouldering most of that burden. and then they have the same problem of staff shortages, high turnover, high stress, etc.

-COVID protocols are likely going to stick around at least through the fall - thats assuming we don’t get a second wave then (aka super unlikely). that means curbside visits, aka get used to your pet going in to the hospital by themselves while you wait outside. (obvs the exception to this is euthanasias)

-sidenote: your pet does not need you to accompany them. for everyone that whines and cries about how their pet gets nervous without them, they’ll be scared, 9/10 times the pet is significantly better behaved and more calm/relaxed without the owner present. the building is much calmer and quieter without foot traffic and it reflects in the pets. either your pet has a problem bad enough it needs to be seen now without you, or it doesn’t and you want to wait until you can go in - thats it. pick one.

-summer is the busy season for ER vets. that’s just how it is. more dogs outside getting injured and hit by cars, more cats roaming and eating poison and fighting each other, more parasites, more traffic, more heat stroke, more poisonous plants, more puppies/kittens, more pools, more wild animals, etc. summer is always crazy even without the added spice of a pandemic.

-yes you will almost certainly have a long wait time if you go to a vet ER now. yes its annoying. no calling every 10 minutes to ask if you can be seen is not helping. heres a tip: if you bring your pet to the ER and everyone drops everything to get them seen ASAP? thats a VERY BAD thing. be grateful your pet is stable enough to wait with you instead of being rushed in in critical shape.

-yes everything is still the same price. no you do not get a “discount” because we have safety protocols to keep you and our staff from getting sick, why the fuck would you even ask that.

-sidenote: yes the ER is expensive. no vets do not purposefully try and inflate your bill with “unnecessary” tests, just fucking tell them you have a budget. no vets/hospitals do not “get rich off your pets.” if you want to get rich there’s about a million other jobs they’d be more qualified to do that do not involving intense emotional labor and make way more money. if you do not trust that your vet has your pet’s best interests in mind then FIND ANOTHER VET.

-yes phone hold times are long. most hospitals are dealing with 200%+call volume bc they’re doing almost everything with the clients outside the clinic, everyone and their grandmother has got a new puppy they want seen, and no one has the patience to wait on hold more than 10 minutes so they just keep hanging up and re-calling repeatedly and putting themselves in the back of the phone queue and getting mad it’s not working. thats like the phone equivalent of slamming a call elevator button over and over, it does nothing, stop.

-sidenote: if you call an ER for a update and they tell you no news is good news and the drs are busy but we’ll call you at X time, wait until X time. you do not need hourly updates on your dog that has been sleeping all day! the drs have more important shit to do. again if you don’t trust your vet then find a new one.

-yes everything pretty much sucks right now. no ones happy. the vets aren’t, the staff isn’t, admin isn’t, clients aren’t. we want thing to go back to normal, but they can’t right now, and thats just the way things are. you’re not getting special terrible treatment, you’re just getting what the world is serving and you’re going to have to deal with it like everyone else right now.

-yes having a sick pet sucks. its the worst! vets and vet staff are all animal lovers and pet owners too. we also go apeshit when our pets are sick bc its awful and you feel helpless and frustrated. we get it. but if you take out your anger on your vet/vet staff you are a genuinely bad person. do you even know how nasty clients are getting to our staff? they scream and curse and throw tantrums. they yell racial slurs at PoC staff. they threaten to burn the clinic (and animals) all down. they threaten to kick down the doors and strangle/punch/beat staff. they call the cops. they make us call the cops on them. they emotionally abuse and gaslight and say terrible hurtful things and make ppl who are trying their damnedest to help your pets break down in tears. you wonder why vets and vet staff have such a high suicide rate??

-sidenote: if you’ve been to the vet recently and your experience didn’t totally suck (not counting long wait times or safety protocols bc as mentioned thats just how it be right now) pls just write them a thank you card or something. tell them you appreciate that they’re there for you and your pet and thank them for their hard work and help. name names if you remember them. everyone’s morale is super low right now and notes from clients are genuinely treasured and loved. (normally i’d say send food but, again, safety protocols).

anyway i need to go back to blowing smoke up these peoples asses. if you disagree or want to argue any of these points i literally do not give a shit about you or your opinions. be nice to your vets everything sucks right now they’re just trying to help.

#but MY hospital isnt having these problems great shut up i do not care #long post