Rethinking Success in Vet Med: It takes a team to save a life (#443)

In veterinary medicine, as in many professions, we often celebrate the stars.

The surgeon with flawless hands. The diagnostician who spots the zebra in a herd of horses. The researcher whose name appears first on a publication.

But in doing so, we sometimes forget that modern veterinary care is not a solo performance.

It is a symphony.

One that falters if even a single instrument is ignored.

The Problem with Stardom in Veterinary Culture

Most clinics and teaching hospitals still evaluate performance through an individual lens.

Productivity numbers, case counts, revenue, or recognition at conferences.

While these metrics have their place, they can unintentionally teach veterinarians, nurses, and technicians to compete against each other rather than work with each other.

When success is defined by individual output, collaboration becomes secondary. Specialists may guard cases, interns may hesitate to ask questions, and support staff may feel unseen, even when their steady competence holds the practice together.

The result is a subtle erosion of trust and collegiality.

The culture becomes transactional rather than compassionate, and morale begins to fray.

Why Teamwork Matters More Than Brilliance

Every anesthetic induction, every critical case, every late-night emergency stabilization is a team effort.

The intern who places the IV catheter, the nurse who reads the patient’s subtle change in posture, the receptionist who calms the worried client, each plays a part in the outcome.

In human medicine, this shift from heroism to teamwork has been well documented.

Checklists, communication protocols, and team debriefs save lives.

The same applies to veterinary medicine, though we often resist admitting it because our profession still clings to the romantic notion of the lone vet who rides in to save the day.

But in today’s multi-disciplinary world no single clinician holds all the expertise.

The best outcomes come from humility and collaboration.

How the Current Reward System Fails Us

Most veterinary hospitals, universities, and corporate groups still reward the visible stars.

They are given titles, bonuses, or keynotes. Yet the quiet teamwork that enables them - the technicians who prepare every patient flawlessly, the residents who stay late to check bloods, the practice managers who juggle chaos - often goes unnoticed.

This imbalance creates a hierarchy of perceived worth that is both inaccurate and unsustainable.

When the brightest individuals are continually elevated, others eventually disengage.

Over time, innovation slows, burnout grows, and turnover increases. All because the system fails to recognize the interdependence that defines modern veterinary work.

Shifting the Culture

If we truly want sustainable excellence in veterinary medicine, we need to reward interdependence, not just individual performance.

That means:

• Reframing recognition

• Celebrate case outcomes achieved by teams, not just by the clinician of record.

• Including team metrics

• Track communication, continuity of care, and collaboration as indicators of success alongside revenue or caseload.

• Modeling humility in leadership

• Senior clinicians should publicly acknowledge the technicians, nurses, and students who make their work possible.

• Teaching teamwork early

• Veterinary schools can train students to see the entire hospital ecosystem as essential to patient care, not just the doctor-patient dyad.

  
  

The Quiet Strength of Collective Care

In the end, the most effective veterinary hospitals aren’t those filled with stars, but those where everyone shines in their own way. The surgeon, the nurse, the receptionist, the kennel attendant, the client who follows instructions faithfully.

When we recognize that care itself is a collective act, we build something far more enduring than a résumé or reputation.

We build trust.

And in a profession founded on compassion, trust is the real currency of excellence.

#bunyipsbooksbeyond