This summer, instead of working a 'real job', I'm spending a few days every other week with Dr. Nicholas Dodman at Tufts' Behavior Clinic. With the interest I've developed in behavior over the last year, and my desire to goof around as much as possible this summer, Dr. Dodman's schedule of seeing appointments Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of every other week is perfect. I'm learning a ton, and I have plenty of down time (which was a necessity for my last summer free from school).
I've spent two weeks at the Behavior Clinic so far. It is usually me and a gaggle of other students, usually a senior student, sometimes a selective student, and a summer intern from UMass undergrad. Everyone is wearing white coats, and this can sometimes be an intimidating audience for clients. Little do they realize that the only one who really knows what they are talking about is the doctor. Each of us has a different point of view to offer, and the doctor is kind enough to ask us for our opinions during client visits.
My first day in was slightly nerve-wracking. I had been told to report to the 'behavior room', which is exam room 4 in the Foster Hospital for Small Animals at 9:30 am. I get to the room, peer in the window, and don't see anyone I recognize. Two students in white coats, and two clients with a large Golden Retriever. Not seeing anyone I know, I stand in the hallway, perplexed. Am I in the right place? At the right time? Who can I contact? Just as I am about to abort the mission, Dr. Dodman rounds the corner. I sigh in relief. 'Dr. Dodman! I was looking for you! I'm the student who's going to be coming in... I saw people in there and I didn't recognize them...so I didn't want to barge in...' He says, 'Yes, they're called clients, that's the reason we're here. Now put on your lab coat, lose the bag, look professional and let's go in!' It wasn't mean, it was fact. Those are clients. Put your coat on. Put your purse away. We are professionals.
Ohhh boy, off to a great start. I'm worried I've just blown my first impression for someone that I practically idolize. This guy is the real deal . He's famous. He's an author. He's on Animal Planet. He has groupies. Don't screw this up!
I'm pretty quiet through our first two appointments, just taking everything in and making mental notes (as I had forgotten an actual notebook). Dodman addresses me and the other students while he's talking to the clients, including us in the conversation. We run late that morning, leaving us only about 20 minutes for lunch. Of course I have to run home to let the dog out, which will make me late for our first afternoon appointment. Great, I'm thinking, that's another strike against me.
I'm about ten minutes late for the next appointment, which is made increasingly awkward by our need for an extra chair, as Dr. Ogata, former behavior resident, is also sitting in on the appointment. They gesture to me as I open the door, and I scoot out in search of a chair. I look in the surrounding exam rooms, and the first brilliant idea that comes to my mind is to knock on the door of an exam room containing a uniformed police officer and a muzzled, huge German Shepherd. He is alone in the room. I knock, he unlocks the door (the door was locked? Good call, Lindsay) and I ask for a chair, apologetically. He seems slightly amused. I take the chair, and slink back into the consulting room. Awesome. And this case appears to be an especially difficult one; a recheck for an aggressive dog who hasn't been making a lot of improvement despite a lot of retraining and pharmaceutical intervention. The couple had a young baby, and were frustrated with the lack of progress. Understandably. Dodman smoothly comes up with a game plan for them, and sends them out hopeful.
Through that first week, I like to watch how he interacts with the clients. He puts them at ease; he makes jokes, tells stories, shares his own life experiences. He doesn't put blame on them for their pet's behavior, he doesn't reprimand, and he doesn't overwhelm. They have an enormous amount of respect for him. I hope to someday mirror his ability to interact with worried pet owners.
My third week in, at the end of an appointment, I'm getting together a package of handouts and business cards for the client to take home. Dodman asks what I've got, I tell him, and he turns to the clients and says, 'She's really got it together, doesn't she? On top of it!'.
Looks like I didn't blow my first impression after all.
More stories from the consulting room to come...
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