Veterinary Team Training

The amputation of tails and ears are still fairly common in the United States. In most every other country in the world these practices do not occur or have been banned. What is docking and cropping and why is it still being done with such regularity here in the United States? Are there any benefits? How often do injuries of tails and ears actually occur? Don't judge the title alone. Instead, listen to the podcast in which I spent months pulling together data and studies to educate individuals on this topic.

Yes, veterinary medicine costs a lot of money if you want the best care for your pets. However, compared to human healthcare it's a fraction of the cost. If you own a pet you must listen to this podcast as you will gain insight and an understanding into the cost of veterinary medicine and how you can help you and your pet. If you work in vet medicine this podcast is also for you to help change the narrative that is hurting the profession.

How is the bar set in your hospital? Are you setting expectations too low where your superstar performers are sliding down to meet the low expectations? Is the level of expectations the same for all team members? Too often leaders start to move the bar of expectations lower to meet the poor performance of those on the team. When low expectations are set for some team members, this will eventually cause all team members to come down to the low bar.

How you decide to let someone go is a direct reflection of what type of leader you are. Do you terminate someone on their wedding day or the day before a much-sought after vacation OR do you terminate with empathy? Join me on this podcast as I recount way too many terminations without empathy and how you can let someone go with respect and kindness.

My YouTube vlog on this subject resonated with a lot of people...like a lot...more than I would have expected. It's individuals like the veterinary technicians who graduate with a degree and are told they can't perform the skills they are legally allowed to do OR the regional director who is micromanaged and who are not permitted to develop out new programs that would help the hospitals. Turns out, it's a plague in veterinary medicine and it results in people quitting and sometimes quitting the profession. While this podcast doesn't have all the answers, it offers a more in-depth view on why this is so common and steps you can do for yourself if you're in s similar position.

I dislike when someone intentionally or unintentionally puts up barriers in front of others which results in them being blocked from their success. We don't talk enough about people being the roadblock to success. This podcast dives into the types of road-blocking people and shares some ideas of how to kick those roadblocks out of the way.

Short staffed? Concerned everyone is leaving the profession? Who isn't?! In this podcast I talk about the key things that ALL veterinary professionals really want in their job. And no, it's not petting puppies and kittens all day.

Most everyone I know in veterinary medicine has a side hustle. But can you turn your side hustle into a real business? Is it worth it? I dive into my own experiences and what it's like to take a side hustle to your only source of income.

One of the biggest stresses in veterinary medicine is the affordability of care. Veterinary professionals go into the field because they have huge empathy for pets and the people who own them. Unfortunately, when clients can't afford services this often results in huge stress for the veterinary teams. Is giving away your services for free the right thing to do? How do you stop feeling guilty about charging for medical care? While this podcast does not have all the answers it touches on a few concepts to think about and some systems to have in place to help clients in need.

Hospital leaders and doctors will often say, "We can't live without our veterinary technicians." Then the same hospital leaders and doctors will say, "We don't trust our vet techs, they shouldn't do that skill and anyone can be trained to do a vet techs job." Utilization of the veterinary technician/nurse continues to be an issue worldwide. Why? I dive into some of the roadblocks and why it's important to start FULLY utilizing vet techs/nurses.

Do managers expect more from their childfree employees? The answer is a resounding "yes". Let's talk about some data around this topic and things that managers and employees can do to ensure equality in the workplace.

Breaks are not only required, but essential for employees. If you are in a leadership role, stop telling employees, "there's always something to do so sitting is not allowed" and encourage people to take breaks. If you are an employee, stop saying, "I have no time to take a break" and take your break! This podcast dives into data behind the importance of breaks and ways to have a real break instead of shoveling food into your face at lightning speed.

Unfortunately the way most people provide feedback to each other is simply terrible. However, when managers provide terrible useless feedback to an employee it causes distrust, resentment, self-loathing and gossip. This podcast is for everyone who wants to improve their feedback skills. Stop giving terrible feedback where your employee is left confused and angry. Learn the steps to productive healthy feedback.

Anger is an important feeling, but did you know there's healthy versus unhealthy anger? Let's embrace anger in a healthy way. Healthy anger can help with burnout and other life challenges. Time to get angry!

One point of contention I hear from many veterinary professionals is the divide between some doctors and techs. Let's talk about the key things to grow the relationship between any veterinary technician/nurse and doctor.

I hear from so many managers "Gen Z is so lazy! They have no work ethic! They are the most difficult generation to manage!" Is there any truth to these statements? What do we need to do differently, if anything, to support Gen Zs? Tune in to hear my thoughts on the generational divide. You'll be surprised by the data which may have you changing how you speak about younger generations.

"One toxic person can't really be that bad, can they? After all, it's my highest grossing doctor. It's my best veterinary technician of 20 years. How can we run a hospital without a practice manager? I can't afford to get rid of them! Sure, they are cranky and negative, but they are a high performer!" Too often I hear these statements from hospital leaders justifying why they retain one toxic employee. Can one toxic person ruin your whole team? Let's talk about some interesting studies and what to do if you have that one negative team member.

How should we manage the client that is screaming at us? What should we say? How should we act? I've been lecturing on managing difficult clients for almost 8 years now and wanted this podcast to include tips and tricks on how to deal with what I term the Exploding Bully client who is out of control.

Stop blaming the profession for all its problems. It's time we all start figuring out what we each have the ability to fix and start fixing it. We ALL have influence over something in this profession; ourselves, our teams, and maybe even more. Complaining doesn't fix anything. Use that energy to fix what you have control over!

Fact: If you are not fully utilizing your vet techs/nurses/assistants then you are contributing to them leaving the profession. Fact: If you are not fully utilizing your vet techs/nurses/assistants then your hospital is not as profitable as it could be. Fact: If you are not fully utilizing your vet techs/nurses/assistants then your doctors are burning out at a higher rate. I understand we are all short staffed, but the failure to utilize the team to their highest potential is adding to the shortage. It is a reason why people are turning OUT of the profession all together. Let's talk about the complex issues of utilization, define some misconceptions about the profession, talk about why rolling back licensure is not a solution (I'm looking at you Washington) and what effective utilization looks like.