Too Much of a Good Thing?

[ladysprite]

I love my new practice so much. And I'm utterly boggled at how quickly and well it's taken off. But I'm starting to feel a bit like Mickey Mouse in 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' - like I've created something with no real idea of just how big it was going to get, and where it was going to take me, or how to keep it all calm and smooth and under my control.

My practice is growing. It's thriving. I'm getting word-of-mouth referrals; other vets are sending clients my way; people whose pets I've helped to pass are calling me in earlier to help support their remaining pets. I'm seeing more and more hospice cases, too - I've been booked all this week without a single euthanasia. People are calling me specifically to ask for help managing pain, or assessing quality of life, or just coming to terms with a terminal diagnosis and finding family consensus. And it's amazing.

I'm also, because I had to make my schedule for relief work several months ago, working 3 days a week doing 10-hour shifts with an hour commute each way. So I'm trying to squeeze all of these patients into the corners and spaces after work and on weekends, and using my lunch breaks (when I get them) to do callbacks. Most nights I've been seeing appointments and writing charts and answering work emails until after 9pm.

I swear I never expected it to go like this. I don't think I actually had any concrete expectations, beyond 'I'm going to try this, and we'll see what happens.' I sure as hell didn't think that I'd be this busy this quickly. I am delighted and excited and inspired and awed and grateful.

I am also exhausted as hell....

Comments

[ckd]

You are doing amazingly needful work, and it shows. As starcat_jewel says, once your relief schedule starts to give you some relief, things should get easier to manage. Hang in there and you'll get through the rapids: wet, tired, but exhilarated.