March 13, 2017 3:37 AM EDT
Thank you for your courage in admitting your error in such a public way. Veterinarians so seldom do this and when they do it's usually in a one on one, personal conversation. I practiced emergency medicine for 28 years. I made errors over those years under the same circumstances that you did- long hours with little or no sleep, stress from handling multiple patients as the only doctor on duty, and also due to inexperience in the beginning, fresh from vet school. Blaming myself and doubting my competency took a toll. There were several points where I would have left the profession if my identity hadn't been so completely tied to being a veterinarian. Finally my physical and mental health forced me to leave organized medicine. I am thankful that I was able to talk to a veterinary career counsellor and I was fortunate to find a second veterinary niche that is still fullfilling, but less stressful.