BUSINESS OF PRACTICE: MANAGING ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Curbing Ruminative Thoughts


Rumination is a coping mechanism that involves exces- sive focus on unwanted thoughts. This may include recurrent analysis of situations with negative outcomes, stress-induced thinking associated with recent interac- tions, searching for meaning in negative situations, or overanalyzing thoughts, decisions, and actions.16 This is particularly important for veterinarians as the tendency to replay clinical cases, outcomes, and interactions with owners is common. As the professional expectations of veterinary school often set veterinarians up to seek per- fection and carry unrealistic expectations of themselves and their abilities, rumination becomes a key coping mechanism that many veterinarians use to deal with the disconnect between expectations and reality. Rumination is perhaps one of the biggest hindrances


to mindfulness and present-moment awareness, as by definition ruminative thoughts are replaying past or future events. The combined ability to see a broader perspective while practicing nonjudgment of self was found to be a powerful tool for interrupting distressing thought patterns. Mindfulness appeared to influence this by allowing people to recognize their thought pat- terns when they occurred, learn to nonjudgmentally assess such thoughts and differentiate facts from fic- tion (i.e., “the story I’mtellingmyselfvs the truth”), practice self-compassion, and be able to see how their thoughts fit into the bigger picture. Veterinarians described a newfound ability to let go of situations by shifting the internal dialogue toward less reactive and more compassionate thoughts. This reduced stress lev- els, allowed for greater professional satisfaction, and allowed veterinarians to enjoy their personal time without being distracted by distressing, repetitive thoughts ofwork.


7. Tool Number 3: Drawing and Honoring Boundaries


Learning to form and honor structural, emotional, and social boundaries, was an important theme that emerged across nearly all interviews. Boundaries are particularly important for equine veterinarians as their work life has a much higher tendency to merge with their personal life, and learning to integrate work and life in a sustainable way is important for well-being, resilience, and career longevity. Many individual differences exist on the continuum of ac- ceptable boundaries, but mindfulness consistently facilitated the development and understanding of whatworks for an individual in practice.


Separating Work from Life by Managing the Transition Between Them


In Dr. Grice’s 2020 survey,2 58% of vets leaving prac- tice cited excessive work hours and lifestyle as the main reason. Interestingly, despite being satisfied with their career choices, most participants still felt they didn’t have an acceptable work–life integration. That said, mindfulness taught them to reframe their perspective on their work–life integration, draw


boundaries around what was acceptable and unac- ceptable, and most importantly, be present when engaged in both personal and professional time. For this group of veterinarians, their professional


and personal lives appear to exist in separate spheres that don’t necessarily compete with each other as expected in the traditional definition of work–life bal- ance. Integrating work and life successfully required respecting the boundaries of both spheres, being pres- ent and in themoment when engaged in either aspect, and quickly transitioning between spheres with awareness when necessary. This resulted in higher personal and professional satisfaction from both aspects of life, even if not fully balanced. Participants reported that mindfulness was important in facilitat- ing their ability to accomplish this by learning pres- ent-moment awareness, and being able to do so was a major step toward finding peace and longevity in equine practice.


Creating a Practice That Works


The art of saying no is an important skill that many veterinarians struggle to learn. Many participants discussed the difficulty of saying no to clients, particu- larly early in their career, and howthis often led them to overextending their physical and emotional boun- daries. Interviewees reported thatmindfulness helped them to acknowledge and prioritize their own needs, and this facilitated drawing boundaries and saying no when necessary. This led to more control over how they spent their time, limited interactions with bad clientswhowere emotionally and financially draining, decreased tolerance for clients who were verbally abu- sive or unreasonable, and provided less guilt or fear of potential consequences when saying no. Most impor- tantly, saying no allowed veterinarians to align them- selves with great clients who shared their values and respected their professional relationship. This had a direct impact on lasting professional fulfillment and a desire to stay in practice.


8. Tool Number 4: Life and Career Resilience


Mindfulness has been shown to predict resilience through the development of self-compassion,4,17 posi- tive affect,18 and nonjudgmental awareness,4 and par- ticipants emphatically agreed that mindfulness was a significant contributor to personal measures of resil- iency. Although there are numerous definitions of re- siliency in the literature, to this population, resilience was defined by learning to believe in a future that is good.


Believing in the Future to Be Good


Allowing oneself to believe in a future that is good, de- spite difficult personal circumstances in the moment, appears to be an important predictor of resiliency. Although only a small number of participants reported suicidal thoughts at some point in their career (4/14), nearly all could recall very difficult times when they were not sure how tomove forward.Many believed that


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