September is here. Does anyone else feel like this year has FLOWN by?!

There's four months left in 2025. Four months is plenty of time for amazing and transformative experiences to occur. Let's make the most of it.

Also, it's officially #PSL season. Is there anything better than the transition from summer to fall?

In case you're new here, The Evolved Vets (TEV) provides Life Coaching for veterinarians. TEV uses a proven method grounded in neuroplasticity and values-based living to help veterinarians live their unique version of a successful life.

Engage with me in this weekly newsletter for musings about a life well-lived in vet med. 

If you want to go deeper, The Evolved Vets 6 month 1:1 coaching starts in October with one spot left. Book an Alignment Call to see if it’s for you.

The Hardest Decisions I Make as a Veterinarian

A few months ago I made a post about this idea and it seemed to resonate. I’ve seen too many doctors step away from practice recently. I became curious why friends and colleagues reached burn out around 5-7 years post-graduation—and either left the field or continue to suffer through every shift.

My observations led me to this conclusion: the hardest part of my job is not making medical decisions. It’s making financial and ethical decisions.

Finances are Intertwined with Every Treatment Plan

My ability to diagnose and treat pets depends on what the customer can afford. In a daytime vet practice, the average bill is probably $200-400. At the ER, the average bill is $1000.

This is the cost of care and I can assure you that vets are not hiking prices simply because they can. The increased cost of veterinary care over the last 10 years is primarily due to the elevated standard of care expected for pets now that they're often treated as family members. The prices are also what they are to be able to sustain fair wages for vets and vet nurses/vet techs. This point alone can be an entire post. Of course things like rent, cost of goods, equipment, etc. have inflated too, consistent with other industries.

All of this to say, veterinary care is a service that costs money. Sure, it’s similar to human medicine in ways, but insurance isn’t widespread, there’s no medi care or medic aid, and there’s no vet clinics required to treat pets with no money (like a hospital would for a person who can’t afford care). This little “finance” difference profoundly changes the way I practice vet med.

Here’s Why It Gets Tough

Of the 10-20 cases I often see in a shift, at least a quarter of them are complex. They’re complex because

1. It requires making a hard call (hello, decision fatigue, regret, and second-guessing)

2. It’s sad (euthanasia is ALWAYS sad)

3. It’s hurtful when people blame me (fortunately these are more rare because I've worked on my comms skills, but when it happens, I feel a sense of anger, defeat, and unfairness that I'm being blamed when I care about what’s best for the pet).

4. I don’t have time to process my emotions in the moment (it stay mitigated throughout the shift so I can move from case to case)

THIS IS WHY VETS BURN OUT. This is why vets leave the profession. This is why vets have pre-shift anxiety. This is why vets have trauma. This is why vets search for ways to numb out. Arguably, this is why some vets seek out leadership roles off the floor (yes I know, bad reason to get into leadership, but I’ve seen it many times). It’s not the medicine. It’s the other stuff.

Alright, it's not all doom and gloom. Continue reading about these hard decisions on my blog for specific examples and a few solutions that have helped me manage this part of vet med.

What’s New on the Pod?

One of my recent podcast episode released yesterday. It's a punchy 26 minutes of listening that will leave you with a burst of confidence to get out there and be yourself! I share my personal transformation story and walk you through an exercise to make more authentic decisions for you now.

I also introduce the Four Os to help you make decisions with clarity:

1. Obligations: Are you saying yes because you feel like you should?
2. Optics: Are you doing it to look good in someone else’s eyes?
3. Objectivity: Are you choosing it just because it makes sense on paper?
4. Outcomes: Are you clinging to a specific result instead of following what feels aligned?

  Full video linked below.
🎙️ Ep. 17 Why is it so hard to be ourselves? With Bethany

🎧You can also listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts