Feeling frustrated with "old school" practice owner
I'm 4 years out of vet school and started working at this clinic in January. Initially I felt like I had the autonomy to practice medicine I'm proud of, and have had great patient outcomes. Recently, however, the owner (70s, M) has admonished me for not prescribing antibiotics and steroids when he would deem necessary. He has been combing through my records and has lectured me for a couple of situations that I am confident I handled correctly.
For example,
- not using convenia in a young cat with hematuria (signs resolved with pain medication and urinary diet)
- not prescribing clavamox in an old dog with mildly bleeding skin masses (they were not infected)
- not prescribing steroids and cefpodoxine in an old dog with chronic atopic dermatitis and a superficial pyoderma (I sent home topical medications and treated with cytopoint)
I have tried to explain that antimicrobial stewardship is important to me and I will prescribe systemic antibiotics when necessary, but he insists that AMR is not a concern. That they've always used these drugs and not seen any resistance. (That's not how AMR works though?) Lately he has been so frustrated and curt when he talks to me about these cases that I find myself prescribing antibiotics when I typically wouldn't, just to avoid being chewed out. I might be early into my practice, but these sorts of cases are not new to me and wish I had the ability to practice my own medicine, even if it differs from his.
Tl;Dr: old school medical director has scolded me multiple times for not using antibiotics/steroids as much as he'd like and it's wearing me down.