Dr. Smith and Dr. Rohrig on Health and Wellness

Dr. Jeff Smith
Dr. Jeff Smith, Practice Owner, Veterinarian

When you think of a vet you think about a small office and about 5-10 employees but we have begun to outgrow that number. We now have over 20 people working at Danville Family Vet and it has gotten to the point where not everyone is in the building on a given day. This makes communication an issue and questions are raised such as: how do we work out differences; how do we communicate efficiently; and how do we get along. These are things that we weren’t taught at vet school!

So many vets are introverts with Type A personalities that are used to getting what they want. They worked really hard to get through vet school and had to do it independently; nobody else was going to do it for them. When you join a small practice, you are working with only a few other people. This becomes more difficult when you expand and add more personalities to your work environment. It is extremely important to recognize that there will be others with different personalities but they still bring important additions to the practice.

At Danville Family Vet, we recently became AAHA accredited. Being AAHA accredited holds our practice to a higher standard for both our clients and our employees. We have recently started a wellness protocol for our staff to make sure they are taking care of themselves first and foremost. Taking care of yourself is so important and our great staff has already begun to make their own wellness plans.

The culture and value that we add to each other and the community on a human level is a great asset that is often overlooked. We can become too focused on the ins and outs of practicing veterinary medicine that we can forget about these things.

Our pets also make us healthier and happier by decreasing our stress and giving us a reason to get out and exercise. Nicer weather is also a factor for our overall wellness. When the sun is out it can impact our mood making us happier and more energetic. We want to take advantage of the great weather by being outside whether it’s walking your dog or riding your horse.

We want you to know that our team at Danville Family Vet is a passionate group of individuals that not only care about you and your pets but for each other. It’s so much more than just medicine.