Role Play

This evening I had the opportunity to perform a role play, a requirement for my Bereavement Issues elective I am in (the same one for which I had to work the pet loss hotline three months ago if you remember me writing about that).  My professor for that class acted as a client whose dog I had just euthanized and she was lamenting over the death of the dog.  During her lamentation, she mentioned that her 22 year old son had been found 5 weeks prior in his dorm room, he had hung himself.  Now, this was a real situation that happened in the clinic at school awhile ago.  So, I had to act as the doctor and talk to her as she struggled with these emotions.  It was recorded so I can go back and critique myself.  It was challenging but it was a good experience too.  I was talking to my Dad later on on the phone and I told him that this was one of those things that I never really thought of when I decided I wanted to be a vet, dealing with distraught pet owners.  There are a number of pet owners who become very emotional during the euthanasia of their pet and it's up to us as the veterinarian to help them through that.  While it's probably not my strong point, I took this class to try to help me in this area.