Week 10: Llamas, Yosemite, and the Art of Negotiation!
This week started off with a day packed full of lectures on public health which helped build momentum for the week’s activities! On Tuesday we worked through a few case studies that utilized our knowledge of diagnostic testing and applied that knowledge to few public health outbreak examples. We also worked on determining if the data produced from these studies was statistically significant and if so, what it actually meant. A lot of these test were things that I had learned in past statistics classes so it was interesting to blend that together with current knowledge and see how it was relatable to veterinary medicine. The day continued with a great lunch talk from Lance Roasa who is a veterinarian and a lawyer. He currently works on VIN’s legal team to help veterinarians review and understand their contracts. His talk focused on “The Art of Negotiation” and it are some of the main takeaways:
1. Know your worth (and what the going rates are for first-year veterinarians).
According to the most recent reports from the AVMA, the average annual starting salary for first-year veterinarians is $125,000. Lance made it a point to emphasize that this is the AVERAGE and in California it is around $140-150K. It was also noted that signing bonuses are currently averaging $30,000 for corporate practices and about $10,000 for private practices. With these signing bonuses it is super important to see how it is written into your contract. If you do not fulfill your end of the bargain and end up spending less time at that clinic than initially agreed upon, you may be left repaying them a good chunk of that bonus.
2. Watch out for recruits!
On average, recruits get a nice check of about $25-30K if they get your signature. That being said, they will try to do just about anything to get you to sign. If you have a recruiter trying to chase you down, make sure you have checked out the clinic on your own and spoken to people that work there. The last thing you want is to sign the contract and be stuck in a place that does not properly fit your needs.
3. The amount of money you can negotiate will be based on your expected capacity to
perform.
Hospital managers are looking for veterinarians that have strong soft skills, robust communication, and are emotionally intelligent. They are not going to be asking you about your GPA… they know you graduated vet school and passed the NAVLE so you obviously have to have a strong grasp of the basics. They also know that the medicine aspect is something that develops over time while in practice. It is MUCH harder to teach soft skills and emotional intelligence so if you work on honing these skills, it will pay off in dividends.
4. Vets are viewed as commodities.
If you go to a practice and while trying to negotiate a fair salary they immediately shut you down, they are viewing you as a commodity. This may hurt in the moment, but it is honestly a blessing in disguise because they are not looking at you as a full person, they are looking at you with dollar signs over your head. You want to make sure that you are going into a practice that views you as an individual and will work with you to meet your needs.
5. Negotiations are all based on relationships.
Wording and social cues plays an instrumental portion in your ability to secure a contract that both you and your future employer are happy with. You are initially going into this conversation with a diametrically opposed interest, salary. The more you can establish fairness and back up your requests with evidence, the more likely you will walk out of the conversation with a contract you both are happy with.
This talk was a great way to start thinking about how I might approach contract negotiations in the future! It also made me think about the non-negotiables in my life and what I will want to discuss during these important meetings. I am grateful that UC Davis is providing such thorough information on topics that may be hard for new graduates to navigate!
The rest of the afternoon consisted of a physical exam lab on rabbits, guinea pigs, and rats. This was a fun way to put our handling skills to the test and then understand the normal parameters for these animals!
Wednesday started off with some additional public health lectures and a lab on measuring disease occurrence and effect. The afternoon involved a follow-up session for our outbreak problem-based-learning group. This time we were given the lab results from the animals and humans that had died. Fortunately, all of the reports came back pointing to the same bacteria indicating that we had found the pathogen responsible for this outbreak. Our next task was formulating a plan on how we would contain this outbreak and present our plan to a “government official” aka our lovely proctor on Friday.
Thursday started off with another round of case-based learning that was focused on assessing the validity of a few different studies and then analyzing the results. We then transferred into a journal club session and ran through a few articles and assessed their data collection methods. These activities were interesting and provided a nice reminder of the importance of understanding what each study type indicates and actually taking the time to analyze the results. It can be very easy to manipulate data with different sample sizes or populations so being able to decipher the data and understand what the study is actually saying is crucial!
The day wrapped up with an integrative medicine shadowing session. Integrative medicine combines alternative medicine (acupuncture, laser therapy, shock wave therapy, etc.) with conventional medicine. The patient was a 9-month-old mix that had received orthopedic surgery for a humeral fracture two months ago. The appointment started off with some manual manipulation and stretching and then shifted to some basic mobility work with some balancing tools placed under a yoga mat. The goal was for the dog to walk across the mat and balance on these objects. She then got a round of shockwave therapy and ended with a water treadmill session. By the end of the visit, she had some improvement in her range of motion and the owner was sent home with some exercises to do before the next appointment.
Friday stated off with the last exam for our Basic Fundamentals block! This exam focused on the public health material that we had recently covered and was a nice way to wrap up the past 8 weeks of material. After the exam I did another shadowing session at the integrative medicine clinic and was able to observe a few rounds of acupuncture both electroacupuncture, dry needling and hydro-acupuncture. Each treatment varied based on the needs of the patient and it was interesting to learn about the benefits that each version of acupuncture presents. Most of these patients receive multiple treatments during their appointment so I was also able to observe transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy, laser therapy, and some additional shockwave therapy. During my shadowing session I was also able to exercise a dog on the water treadmill! I enjoyed seeing yet another aspect of veterinary medicine and it was pretty amazing to see the difference that these treatments had on the patients. All of them walked out of the clinic with a little more pep in their step, or some extra speed (for those in wheelchairs). It was also great to visibly see the relief in their eyes when they started to feel the effects of the treatment, specifically the acupuncture! The remainder of the afternoon consisted of the outbreak presentation with our facilitator and a debrief with our block leaders.
Saturday started bright and early with a 3:30 wakeup for Yosemite! Morgan, Katelyn and I met Naomi and Katie at the park and we tackled Cloud’s Rest. This was a beautiful 13 mile hike with 3,000 feet of elevation. At the peak you have a gorgeous panoramic view and can also see Half Dome! After the hike was over we went and hung out at the lake for a bit and marveled at the beauty. We then headed to the valley to check out the sunset and enjoy the beautiful fall colors. It was the first time I had ever been to this park and I am already looking forward to the next trip!
Sunday started off with some awesome llama volunteer work! I had never worked with llamas before but had an absolute blast doing physical exams, hoof trimming, vaccines, and deworming. I was able to work on Red, a gentle 15-year-old. He was honestly an angel during his exam and was also very tolerant for the hoof trimming! It is awesome being able to work with different species because even though I plan on tracking small animal, I want to have the knowledge and skillset so that I can comfortably work on other species. The rest of the afternoon consisted of catching up on some housework and getting ready to start the next block which covers heme, lymph, and coagulation! As we go into this next block I thought it was fitting to end this week's blog with a quote from one of the wisest people I know...
Quote of the week: "Let's case this joint." Dr. Sprayberry 2022
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