The process of critical inquiry required to collaborate on diagnosing our most complicated cases demands humility, courage, curiosity, and expertise — and perhaps most important of all, the ability to work as a team.

 

Leo had a litany of health issues. He’d suffered blood loss from coagulopathy, secondary to liver disease, secondary to right-sided heart disease and systemic hypotension, secondary to pulmonary hypertension. To our dismay, his hypotension did not improve with a blood transfusion and intensive treatment.  The chance of him responding successfully to further treatment for any kind of substantial time was extremely minimal. We knew it was time to let him go. 

 

We didn’t confirm the diagnosis until after Leo died. It was extremely emotional. Afterward, we talked about Leo in rounds. We celebrated Leo, and we celebrated the quality and collaboration in the care that Leo received. Everyone at MPH had contributed a huge amount of effort to help him. Most significantly, everyone had responded with camaraderie and support.

 

This, above all, is what allowed us to offer the highest level of support to Leo’s owners, helping them to understand both medical issues and treatment options throughout the process. Over the course of several days, they had conversations with multiple MPH veterinarians, all of whom wanted to contribute to ensuring the best possible outcome for Leo and his family. At MPH, the harder the situation, the stronger our team’s resolve becomes. 

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Leadership has everything to do with the character traits that you emphasize and project, and those traits are influenced by the people around you.  At MPH, we consciously build a climate of positivity, empathy, and support in an effort to continually grow. For us, leadership means that we respond to the most difficult circumstances we face with grace, selflessness, and teamwork — in the service of constantly improving outcomes for our patients.