How To Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Working at Wise Owl Animal Hospital is difficult but enjoyable after being there for three months. Ktanaw, the Human Resources Manager, scheduled a Skype meeting with her for my training performance review. When it was finally the day to meet, I started to feel anxious as the time comes closer. The more I think about it, the more nervous I become.My heart would feel constrained and it would be very hard to breath. I would take deep, slow breaths to calm my nerves. I am usually a overly critical person and I tend to overanalyze the little things. I focus on the negative things rather than the positive things. So I began thinking about all the negative things, such as my careless mistakes, that the management team and my trainer would say about me.

When it started, my nerves slowing faded away. After my training performance review, I asked her about the transition from a Kennel Assistant to a Vet Technician. She gave me advice by asking other Vet Techs and their stories. All stories had common motive, which was creating a plan and follow it. Some would stay as Kennel Assistant for a few months or years until they are ready to take up the position of a Vet Technician. When the meeting finally ended, I began thinking about a certain question:” What is MY plan?” I would have to think about getting out of my comfort zone, the essentials to become a Vet Technician, and finally formulating a plan. I took the first step of getting of the comfort zone by becoming a Kennel Assistant but now I want to take a step further. In “Comfort zone: Model or metaphor”, Mike Brown discusses how to “provide students with favorable conditions for authentic and meaningful experiences where they are challenged in an appropriate manner and suitably supported by those with a genuine interest in their learning informed by sound educational principles.”

This emphasizes the idea of the comfort zone should be about learning and growth through meaningful involvement with genuine interest rather than executing doubtful learning and practices. When working at Wise Owl Animal Hospital, the training for a Kennel Assistant takes practical involvement for certain tasks for most of the time. Each task I do is certainly more interesting to do and learn about. I learned more through interesting hands-on experiences , such as restraining aggressive dogs and cats, rather than watching videos or reading from the book. The training for a Vet Technician is more elaborate than the Kennel Assistant training. Practical involvement will be more included when becoming a Vet Tech. The challenges will break my mold to be able to reach to higher levels in my professional and personal life. It might be “chaotic” but it is the only way to get things done.

In “Comfort zone: Model or metaphor?”,Mike Brown discusses “if you are in your comfort zone you are not learning, if you are out of your comfort zone you are learning. “ (2008, p.2) If I want to learn of what’s beyond then I want to be out of my comfort zone. It is up to me to push the boundaries of my comfort zone to become the person I want to be . By learning to grow out of the comfort zone, I need to start thinking about what is necessary to become a Vet Technician. In “Veterinary technician assistant curriculum guideline”, Mickey E. Rash discusses “the ultimate goal when developing any vocational/technical curriculum is to prepare a student for a position in the workplace.” (2000, p.53) It emphasizes the goals to prepare someone for a position at Wise Owl Animal Hospital by learning about animal medicine, medical knowledge,zone and practical skills. If I want to become a Vet Tech, I need to prepare what going to happen and what I would expect.

I will need to learn how to face certain challenges when becoming a Vet Tech, such as dealing with angry customers, aggressive or uncooperative animals, euthanasia, and seeing severe injuries caused by trauma or neglect. Every day is always different and full of surprises. This leads to stress, which is one of the biggest factor why people quit. However, I must not give up even if the challenge is hard for me. I want to prepare myself first before taking on the challenge. In “Veterinary technician assistant curriculum guideline”, Mickey E. Rash discusses “every member of the animal health care team must win the trust of his community to care for their sick animals and maintain a good moral character.”(2000, p. 54) This emphasizes that each member must care for the sick animal needs to help win the trust of his clients and animals. However, a Vet Tech job is not about playing with little kittens and puppies.

It is a hard job and isn’t always about playing. In the end, it is about veterinary medicine, and to pursue this you must really want to make a difference In order to be successful, I must be require a true love for animals but it must be coupled with aptitude and skill. As I gain more information of what I need, I can finally formulate a plan that I use and follow. Developing a plan is a way to focus the efforts and figure out how you’re going to get things done. This plan would take time and commitment if I want to make it into a reality. I must manage my own career path at my own pace. By doing this, I would be able to take advantage of the resources and opportunities surrounding me, such as asking questions to certified Vet Techs when needed, and having my continuing education online.

I need to make sure that my plan are aligned with my goals by reviewing your mission, vision, and objectives. The plan is continue being a Kennel Assistant for the next two years or less depending whether I’m ready to move up or not. I could do this by continuing my education, and practicing my skills that will be needed in the hospital. The information I should know before moving up are the parasites, parasites preventions, vaccines, and their costs. Each week, I would review this information and I would ask Ton, my supervisor, to test me.The skills I need to work on are nail grinding, checking for vitals, checking for respiratory rate, and handling aggressive dogs. I would practice on the dogs and cats when I’m free to check their vitals and respiratory rate. I could take each opportunity to do a nail grind and handling aggressive dogs. It is important to start thinking about my future to be able to prepare myself. This plan would be a useful guide to help evaluate my progress and change any approaches as time go on.

All things considered, if I want to move closer to my dream then I need to get out of my expand my boundaries. Getting outside your comfort zone helps me be more productive, creative, more flexible and even contributes to my happiness. By becoming a technician, I would have the academic training and knowledge that other vet assistants might not. Techs really learn about the bodies and functions of animals and learn to understand the reasoning behind measures and practices. By achieving my dream , I could find many opportunities that are out there