Grit is not loud.
It is not the applause after a successful surgery.
It is not the plaque on the wall.
It is not the award handed under bright lights.
Grit is what happens on the days no one sees.
It is showing up after a sleepless night managing a dystocia case.
It is smiling at a client after reading a one-star review that questions your integrity.
It is paying salaries on time even when collections are delayed.
It is carrying the weight of payroll, inventory, utilities, compliance and still stepping into the consult room calm and composed.
For a veterinarian, grit is layered.
Clinical grit.
When the CBC doesn’t match the clinical picture.
When the ultrasound shows something unexpected.
When you lose a patient despite doing everything right and still scrub in the next morning.
Emotional grit.
When euthanasia becomes part of your weekly rhythm.
When clients cry in front of you and you cannot.
When you absorb grief that isn’t yours, but you carry it anyway.
Financial grit.
When you choose long-term growth over short-term comfort.
When you take a loan not for lifestyle, but for equipment that elevates standards.
When you reinvest profits into systems, training, diagnostics, and people instead of applause purchases.
Grit is not intensity.
It is consistency.
It is reviewing numbers monthly even when they hurt.
It is mentoring younger vets even when you are tired.
It is choosing professionalism over pettiness.
It is answering regulatory requirements properly, not shortcuts.
Grit is understanding that legacy is built in repetition.
In the Philippine setting, where resources are not always complete, where certain gold-standard drugs are unavailable, where regulation is evolving, grit means adapting without lowering standards. It means finding ethical solutions within local realities.
Grit is also humility.
You ask questions.
You attend CPD not for the certificate, but for competence.
You invest in diagnostics because guessing is not grit. Precision is.
And perhaps most importantly, grit is staying kind.
In a profession that can harden hearts, staying compassionate is a deliberate act of strength.
You are not just practicing medicine.
You are carrying a profession forward.
Grit for a veterinarian is not surviving chaos.
It is building structure inside it.
Dr. Geoff Carullo is a Fellow and the current President of the Philippine College of Canine Practitioners.
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