polychromatic (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
polychromatic) wrote2019-07-22 08:03 pm
polychromatic) wrote2019-07-22 08:03 pm
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Well! The "daily journaling" plan has well and truly fallen by the wayside and is certainly not helped by dreamwidth's refusal to work in my preferred web browser! I was going to hold out and wait to see if the issue could be fixed, but here I am using Microsoft Edge 10 days later!
I have always lamented that I do not have a thicker skin - even when I know things are not my fault or that hurtful comments are undeserved, I still can't help but let it get under my skin for a day or two. At the beginning of last week, I was subjected to a five minute tirade by a client - one that I had helped with their dog before - because I had the audacity to address myself with the "Doctor" title while making a work-related phone call in the capacity of my job title. My call was not unsolicited - the clients had reached out and requested to speak to me about supplements for their dog and I had attempted to contact them at the phone number I was directed to use in the message left for me. I had left them voicemails detailing who I was (Dr. ________ from ________ Veterinary Hospital). When I attempted to follow up the next morning, I was lambasted by this client who felt that the fact that I referred to myself as Dr. ________ was unprofessional and arrogant, that it was unnecessary for me to declare my "doctor" status and that it was especially unacceptable for me to refer to myself as such to him in particular because I was half his age. He repeated this multiple times to me, discussed how the other veterinarians on staff never referred to themselves as "Doctor" (which is not true) and that he himself was a Doctor and never used that title with his patients and so he felt it was inappropriate that I did.
I was so shocked by this unexpected tirade that I could only reply "Okay" and "I understand" when he paused for my reaction. What do you say to someone when they are doing their best to belittle you and your professional status like that?
After he was finished, he then let me know that it was his partner who had been trying to get in contact with me and asked me to call the correct number so as not to waste anyone's time. As if he had not just wasted mine and his by going on this unrelated rant.
It took me a few moments to recover, but I quickly came to the conclusion that I had done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment and that I do not deserve that level of emotional and verbal abuse over an issue like this. So I did go to one of the partners of the clinic to tell her what had occurred and requested that I no longer see or communicate with these clients. It was gratifying that she took my concerns seriously and that she also validated my feelings about what had just happened. But it did colour the rest of my day, as I started to feel jittery introducing myself as "Dr" to clients I had never met before. My heart actually dropped when I spoke to the partner of the man who had yelled at me when I - unthinkingly - referred to myself as "Dr" when picking up his call. I steeled myself to be yelled at again.
I don't know what drove that client to feel he could speak to me in such a condescending way. Age obviously has something to do with it, but I can't help but wonder if my gender and being a visible minority play a part as well. It is obviously his issue and not mine, but I feel like it is going to take me time to get to the place where I can feel confident again in my professional title - one that I worked hard to earn.
I have always lamented that I do not have a thicker skin - even when I know things are not my fault or that hurtful comments are undeserved, I still can't help but let it get under my skin for a day or two. At the beginning of last week, I was subjected to a five minute tirade by a client - one that I had helped with their dog before - because I had the audacity to address myself with the "Doctor" title while making a work-related phone call in the capacity of my job title. My call was not unsolicited - the clients had reached out and requested to speak to me about supplements for their dog and I had attempted to contact them at the phone number I was directed to use in the message left for me. I had left them voicemails detailing who I was (Dr. ________ from ________ Veterinary Hospital). When I attempted to follow up the next morning, I was lambasted by this client who felt that the fact that I referred to myself as Dr. ________ was unprofessional and arrogant, that it was unnecessary for me to declare my "doctor" status and that it was especially unacceptable for me to refer to myself as such to him in particular because I was half his age. He repeated this multiple times to me, discussed how the other veterinarians on staff never referred to themselves as "Doctor" (which is not true) and that he himself was a Doctor and never used that title with his patients and so he felt it was inappropriate that I did.
I was so shocked by this unexpected tirade that I could only reply "Okay" and "I understand" when he paused for my reaction. What do you say to someone when they are doing their best to belittle you and your professional status like that?
After he was finished, he then let me know that it was his partner who had been trying to get in contact with me and asked me to call the correct number so as not to waste anyone's time. As if he had not just wasted mine and his by going on this unrelated rant.
It took me a few moments to recover, but I quickly came to the conclusion that I had done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment and that I do not deserve that level of emotional and verbal abuse over an issue like this. So I did go to one of the partners of the clinic to tell her what had occurred and requested that I no longer see or communicate with these clients. It was gratifying that she took my concerns seriously and that she also validated my feelings about what had just happened. But it did colour the rest of my day, as I started to feel jittery introducing myself as "Dr" to clients I had never met before. My heart actually dropped when I spoke to the partner of the man who had yelled at me when I - unthinkingly - referred to myself as "Dr" when picking up his call. I steeled myself to be yelled at again.
I don't know what drove that client to feel he could speak to me in such a condescending way. Age obviously has something to do with it, but I can't help but wonder if my gender and being a visible minority play a part as well. It is obviously his issue and not mine, but I feel like it is going to take me time to get to the place where I can feel confident again in my professional title - one that I worked hard to earn.