Happy New Year, Viewfinders! This week our hosts preview the veterinary profession’s toughest topics and trends we predict for 2022!

Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT join in a rapid-fire discussion of the top challenges they foresee for 2022 (and beyond).

Some of the issues they discuss include:

• Veterinary workforce shortages

• Mental health issues (burnout, depression, compassion fatigue, substance abuse, etc.)

• Veterinary staff wages and benefits

• Student loans an date rising cost of DVM/RVT degrees

• Inflation of vet services and products - what impacts will inflation have on patient care and client communications?

• Social media complaints - We’re seeing reports of vets being charged with ethics and professional behavior violations when they engage clients online. Yikes!

• Corporatization vs Independent Practices: How can we get along and compete?

• Core vaccines - potential challenges post-pandemic vaccine controversies?

• Politics - Veterinary Practices and 2022 Midterms

• What happened to the Veterinary Nurse Initiative (VNI)? Our continuing plea for veterinary technician Title Protection

• Telemedicine - Muddy waters ahead or smooth sailing?

• Brachycephalic breeds - Will US veterinary professionals speak out as they are in the UK?

• CBD - definitely maybe?

• Climate change

• Animal welfare and Food animal production, ventilation Shutdown (VSD)

Looks like 2022 is going to be an exciting and promising year! Happy New Year, Viewfinders!

Nearly 2 billion people, including veterinary professionals, are using Facebook in 2018. This week Drs. Ernie Ward and Cyndie Courtney along with Beckie Mossor, RVT talk with Dr. Caitlin DeWilde about social media and her business, The Social DVM. The group discuss Caitlin's story of becoming a veterinarian, the recent changes to the Facebook News Feed algorithm, and practical advice for managing a veterinary clinic's Facebook Page.  

Pet obesity in the U.S. continued to steadily increase last year, affecting nearly 59% of cats and 54% of dogs, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP). During their ninth annual survey, APOP also found pet owners and veterinary professionals disagreed on key pet food issues such as the benefits of corn and grains, value of raw and organic diets, and the best sources of pet nutritional advice. Veterinarian and APOP founder Ernie Ward, Dr. Cyndie Courtney, and Beckie Mossor, RVT talk about these issues and more this week! Follow us on Facebook at Veterinary Viewfinder or Twitter @VetViewfinder