Wow what an exciting few weeks it's been! We have interviewed and hired 3 new staff members, including a second doctor for our staff - Dr. Krissy Bussmann. I was so excited to meet Dr. Bussmann at the annual Portland Veterinary Medical Association Holiday Party last year and when she off handedly asked if we were hiring, my answer was a sudden epiphany - we just might be! Michael and I had been thinking about expanding because there were more and more days where we couldn't accomodate all of the requests for appointments. After interviewing several doctors we finally decided that Krissy was the perfect addition to our practice. I hope you enjoy this interview with Dr. Bussmann as a chance to get to know her a little better. Next time you're in say hi and please mark your calendars for June 13th for our Open House where you can get the chance to chat with Dr. Bussmann, meet the rest of our new staff members and celebrate our one year anniversary with us!
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Dr. Kristin Sulis, Tommy Rizos-Bussmann, and Dr. Krissy Bussmann
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Here's my interview with Dr. Krissy Bussmann -
Q: Tell us about how you chose a career in veterinary medicine and your path to general practice.
A: Veterinary medicine really chose me. When I was little, probably 6 or 7, I told one of my parents’ friends that I wanted to be a horse when I grew up. Everyone was thoroughly amused, but I was half (or mostly) serious! This love of horses evolved into demands for horses, and eventually my parents succumbed to my pleas. I ended up showing hunters and equitation on a national level through high school, college, and vet school. Early on, I realized that animals were not just a passing fancy. I spent hours at the barn, and followed the vet around to the point of serious annoyance. I set my eyes on my goal and never looked back.
In vet school, I realized that I love emergency medicine – I like to call it “Extreme Medicine.” I wanted to be a Critical Care specialist, which requires at least 4 years of training beyond vet school. I applied for and was accepted into an internship at a busy specialty practice. For your readers that don’t know, an internship is an extra year of intense specialty training, and is a stepping stone to a residency, which is an intense 3 year stretch leading up to a horrifying 3-day exam, and hopefully, board certification in Critical Care. After my internship, I was accepted into a residency program. However, the minute I was accepted I had a sinking feeling that ER and Critical Care wasn’t right for me. But I couldn’t place exactly why, and I figured that a residency was something to be proud of, so I followed through with my original plan and moved to Oregon to start my career. It took me 3 months to realize why I had that original sinking feeling. In the ER, I never got to form a relationship with pets and their families, and I never got to see the pet again to find out if my treatment was helpful. I found myself longing to build those relationships – and I was never going to find that as a Criticalist. After several more tearful months, I left my residency, and then, through sheer luck, or fate, found you and Mt. Tabor Vet Care.
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Krissy & Jason on their first hike in Oregon
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Q: We are so excited to have you on board as our second veterinarian. What made you interested in Mt. Tabor Veterinary Care?
A: One of my friends who was starting a veterinary business was making visits to every practice in Portland to introduce himself. He knew what I was going through with my residency, and when he met you, he immediately told me about her and the practice. That night, I spent hours reading this very blog, thinking, this is EXACTLY what I have been looking for. Mt. Tabor’s motto is to provide unparalled, uncompromising patient care and client communication that includes and values the client’s decisions, needs, and limits – and believe it or not, this is VERY hard to find in a veterinary practice as a whole. One of the reasons I was so reluctant to leave ER medicine is that I wasn’t sure I was going to find a place that I really meshed with and valued my ideals. But Mt. Tabor, you and your staff are completely in line with my values. It’s like a dream come true!
Q: All veterinarians have passions in medicine. What are yours?
A: I LOVE explaining health conditions to families. Knowledge is POWER. How can I expect a client to blindly follow instructions without knowing why I want to do a certain test or why I’ve prescribed a medication? That makes no sense! A client needs to truly understand what’s going on before they can play an active role in their pet’s care. LISTENING is equally important – what’s the point in pursuing expensive tests or extensive treatment if they don’t think that their pet be able to emotionally handle it? They are their pet’s best advocate to me, they will be able to tell me things about their pet’s personality that I would never be able to tell from an exam. Once I’ve given them all the information I can, then it’s up to them to decide which approach is best for their family and for their pet.
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Taking in the beauty of Bryce Canyon
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Q: What do you see as the most difficult thing you do in your career as a veterinarian?
A: The thing that comes to mind first is euthanasia. I used to work emergency, where there is a lot of sickness and injury, and a lot of euthanasia. I have been asked numerous times by families – “This must be so hard, how can you do this all the time?” My answer is that it IS hard to watch a pet pass and to watch a pet’s family go through the pain and loss of letting go. But the flipside is that euthanasia is peaceful, and painless. It literally means “good death.” Sometimes, when I know that a pet is truly suffering, euthanizing them almost brings tears of relief to my eyes, and I see the same tears of relief in their family’s eyes. The most heartfelt thank you cards I have ever received have been from families whose pet I euthanized – because they are truly thankful that I was there to offer a painless passing.
We have the privilege of choosing our pet’s passing. We don’t have to watch them suffer – we can DO something! By accepting a pet into our lives, we implicitly accept that we must someday decide to let them go. Death is part of the journey of life, and we can be with them for every moment, all the way through to the end. It makes every minute we have with our pets that much more valuable.
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Krissy and Lou in the Missouri snow
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Q: Tell us about your pets.
A: My husband and I have two phenomenal whippets, Tommy and Lou. Tommy is an elderly fellow, and my husband Jason got him in California long before we met. Tommy has been with us through it all – moving across the country once with Jason’s job before we met, and TWICE for my internship and residency. He’s full of experience and wisdom – we call him an “honorary human.” I’ve never heard him bark. He’ll mingle at parties and quietly lean up against your leg when you’re not paying attention. You can hold him upside down in your lap for hours and he won’t care, and he knows more English than your average toddler.
Lou is younger and much more spry. He is, I admit, a little neurotic. This is solely because I dote on him so much. He is very intelligent and seriously reads my mind, but his incessant demands can be a little annoying! He’ll jump into my arms, he’ll jump through hoops, and he rudely jumps up on me, but he loves me and my husband blindly and unconditionally, as imperfect as we may be. I didn’t choose Lou, he literally chose me. Jason and I made a special trip up to Chicago to look at several whippets in rescue, and when we saw Lou, he ran up to me, layed down on my feet, turned belly up and begged me to take him! On the trip home, he was so carsick and shaking, until I got in the back seat with him, then he let out a huge sigh and fell asleep.
Tommy similarly “chose” Jason. He was an outdoor dog (imagine a whippet outdoors in a kennel!). He was at the very end of the row, and when Jason got to his kennel, opened it and knelt down, Tommy threw his paws upon his shoulders and said “take me home please.” Now the two of them enjoy numerous soft, fluffy beds, 3 coats apiece, daily romps in the park, frequent jaunts in the woods and two humans at their every beck and call. I would leap through hoops of fire for my dogs.
For more information check out Krissy's bio on our website.
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| 06 May 2009 - One Year! |
We were so excited to celebrate our one year anniversary on May 6! Many of you know from the blog that I really wanted to open on a holiday and finally we opened on National Crepes Suzette Day. It is also the anniversary of the day the Eiffel Tower opened to the public and George Clooney's birthday. Any of you who have been in to our clinic have seen the strong Eiffel Tower influence in our french decorated bathroom as an homage to our shared anniversary. Look for the George Clooney picture to go up soon! Thank you all so much for your support this last year, as readers, clients and fans. We really appreciate your enthusiasm and well wishes. Cheers to another great year!