What are common medical issues that pets in Singapore face? What are the challenges of working as a veterinary professional? How did Dr Esther and Jeremy enter the industry?
Our head veterinarian Dr Esther Lam and vet nurse Jeremy Mak, from Paws N’ Claws Veterinary Surgery and the Medical Grooming Centre, recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Joshua Simon, radio presenter at Kiss92 FM.
Listen to the recording of our full radio interview at this link.
Dr Esther and Jeremy shared candidly with Joshua and his listeners about topics such as:
- How and why they got started in the veterinary industry [10:46]
- Compassion fatigue among veterinarians, vet nurses, and technicians [13:44]
- Our Fear-Free concept, which reduces the pet’s fear, anxiety, and stress [15:47]
- Common pet ailments seen at vet clinics [18:40]
- Considering the cost of vet bills as a pet owner [21:10]
Read on for some key highlights from the chat!
Joining the veterinary industry
Joshua Simon: How did you become a vet and vet nurse? What were your origin stories?
Dr Esther Lam: Animals cannot speak, which means they need humans to be their voice and to advocate for and ensure their well-being. I would like to be an advocate for them.
At the same time, I hope to educate pet owners so that they know what to look out for, in case their pet is suffering but unable to let them know what is wrong.
Jeremy Mak: I started out as a nurse for humans. But I’ve always liked animals since young. The team at Paws N’ Claws and the Medical Grooming Centre have been very nice and patient, and I’ve learnt a lot of new skills since joining them and moving to the veterinary sector. I don’t regret switching to this industry.
Compassion fatigue among vet professionals
Joshua Simon: Being the animals’ doctors and nurses, you’re often seeing the stress and pain that the animals go through. How has that affected you?
Dr Esther Lam: Compassion fatigue is unfortunately very common in the veterinary industry, due to the high stress, long hours, and emotional toll of our work. For example, we have to see animal deaths, or talk to pet owners who are sometimes reluctant to spend money to improve their pet’s well-being.
But most of us try our best to cope with the compassion fatigue. At the end of the day, we still want to help our patients — the pets — become happy and healthy.
(Compassion fatigue refers to the emotional, mental, and physical distress or exhaustion felt from being exposed to others’ trauma or while providing care to another.)
What is Fear-Free?
Joshua Simon: A really interesting thing about Paws N’ Claws and the Medical Grooming Centre is your Fear-Free approach. Your team ensures that our pets are safe, well taken care of, face minimal stress, and feel as calm as possible. Tell us more.
Dr Esther Lam: Fear-Free is a relatively new concept in veterinary medicine. It seeks to recognise and reduce the pet’s fear, stress, and anxiety during visits to the vet clinic or animal hospital.
Fear, stress, and anxiety in animals can have many negative effects. For instance, it will be more difficult for the veterinary staff to examine the pet properly. Sometimes, the pet might hide certain symptoms from us as well. Fear, stress, and anxiety also affects the pet’s immune system and slows their rate of recovery from illness and wounds.
It will therefore be positive for everyone, including the pet owner, to be involved in a Fear-Free approach in caring for the animal.
Common ailments among pets in Singapore
Joshua Simon: What medical issues or conditions do you see most often among animals who come into your facility?
Dr Esther Lam: Skin allergies are probably the most common issues we see in pets in Singapore. Many dogs and cats can develop allergic reactions to food items or things in the environment. Often, pet owners may miss the signs — for example, they might think their dog is licking his paws a lot simply because he’s bored, but most of the time the dog is actually feeling itchy at his paws.
Jeremy Mak: Besides skin issues, we also often see ailments such as inappetence (loss or lack of appetite), pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), hypertension in cats, and more.
For your pet’s skin issues, be it infections, allergies, inherited or chronic skin diseases, the Medical Grooming Centre offers detailed consultation and customised treatments. Find out more about our services and view our price list here.
For other medical conditions and concerns, Paws N’ Claws Veterinary Surgery is equipped to offer medical and surgical services such as routine consultation, vaccination and preventive care, surgeries, dental care, x-ray imaging and ultrasound, hospitalisation care, consultation for birds and other exotic pets, and more.
Medical Grooming Centre 