This week we’re delighted to share the microphone with registered veterinary technician specialist, Liz Hughston, MEd., RVT, CVT, VTS (SAIM, ECC). Host veterinarians Ernie Ward and Cyndie Courtney and registered veterinary technician Beckie Mossor embark on a wide-ranging discussion about veterinary staff unionization and collective bargaining, Liz offers her perspective on the Veterinary Nurse Initiative (VNI), and the quartet discuss pet medical marijuana / CBD / cannabis usage. This podcast is a little longer than normal, but I think you’ll want to stick around for the entire conversation! 

Cooperative Veterinary Care is the latest concept to help make veterinary patients more comfortable during examinations, testing, and treatments. This week host veterinarians Ernie Ward and Cyndie Courtney, and registered veterinary technician Beckie Mossor are joined by Monique Feyrecilde, LVT, VTS (Behavior). Monique is co-author of a new book debuting this week, Cooperative Veterinary Care with Alicea Howell.

Imagination, curiosity, and creativity are essential traits, attributes, and skills for successful veterinary professionals (and people). This week host veterinarians Ernie Ward an Cyndie Courtney along with registered veterinary technician Beckie Mossor explore the creative side of veterinary medicine. The trio traverse Thoreau’s take on inspiration and creativity, share tales of imaginative solutions discovered in exam rooms, surgical suites, and strapped onto turtle shells, and simple steps to encourage your creativity. Dr. Ward reveals what a nootropic stack is, shares some of his favorite freaky supplements and rituals, and the gang goes bonkers over people who shut down ideas. This episode is entertaining, educational, and maybe a little weird when Ernie gets in his infrared sauna to meditate and take mushroom extracts. (Joking). 

MONEY! What do veterinary professionals do when a client can’t afford the cost of pet care? Are we providing the best veterinary medical care at an affordable price? How do we deal with situations when a client can’t - or won’t - pay for “gold standard care?” Do payment plans work? Should veterinary technicians discuss billing and pricing with clients? Those are a few of the topics our trio tackle this week. Host veterinarians Ernie Ward and Cyndie Courtney along with registered veterinary technician Beckie Mossor share their experiences and insights in confronting cost of care controversies in veterinary practice. 

Does National Pet Dental Month Matter Anymore? Since 1995, veterinarians have celebrated National Pet Dental Month each February. But has the "holiday" lost its luster? Veterinary dental specialist Dr. Heidi Lobprise weighs in with host Drs. Ernie Ward and Cyndie Courtney along with Beckie Mossor, RVT. The group discuss why veterinary dentistry still isn't being prominently featured in most veterinary school curricula, the role and future of veterinary technicians in pet dentistry, Dr. Lobprise's 2-week dental recheck strategy, and why veterinary professionals should be talking more about chronic inflammation (CI) in our pet patients. 

You know what we’re talking about because you deal with them, too. Angry, upset, threatening and irate veterinary clients can damage team morale, cause unbearable stress, and adversely affect patient care and client service (for our nice clients). This week, our hosts tackle how they deal with irate clients, how to spot a “secretly angry” client, and steps your team can take to help prevent conflict in the future. Drs. Ernie Ward and Cyndie Courtney along with Beckie Mossor, RVT share stories from their practice lives (Dr. Ward’s gun battles! Beckie witnesses trashed lobby TV’s!), offer advice on addressing anger in the exam room, and explain why “Firing Clients” may not be the correct terminology nor professional mindset we should be using. This is a wide-ranging, highly informative, and provocative conversation your entire practice team should consider listening to as a group. Bonus points if you identify and explain Dr. Ward’s musical choice this week! 

With the 2018 Super Bowl this weekend, we decided to take a deep dive into what makes the best veterinary teams successful. Hosts Drs. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT review some of the common characteristics of the best teams, how to integrate new employees into your clinic team, what are some of the pitfalls of overstepping professional or personal boundaries in the workplace, and more. Learn what "Book Clubs and Bars" have to do with establishing appropriate professional relationships in your clinics. The trio offer advice on what to do with a toxic team member, Dr. Ward shares his love for personality testing his staff, and why written job descriptions, evaluations, mission statements, and appointment scripts are incredibly important for success. This wide-ranging conversation is sure to inspire you to make your team ready for the Big Game... and beyond!

Finding good employees is a challenge for any clinic. Finding good veterinary technicians is even harder! This week Drs. Ernie Ward and Cyndie Courtney, along with registered veterinary technician Beckie Mossor are joined by “MKA from Minnesota,” or Michelle Krasicki-Aune, MBA, BS, CVT, a credentialed veterinary technician who has a company dedicated to providing clinics with relief veterinary technicians, mentorship, and much more. Michelle tells how (and why) she became a veterinary technician (canine heartworms are involved), how the profession has changed, and where she thinks the future of veterinary technicians lies. Along the way, the quartet chat about the Veterinary Nurse Initiative (VNI), her best advice for staying motivated in clinics, how managers and owners can learn from RVT/CVT/LVT’s, and some of the challenges she sees in daily practices. 

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.  

This week, Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT talk with large animal veterinary nurse an equine nursing specialist Heather Hopkinson about the differences - and similarities - of large and small animal veterinary care. Heather shares her story of a young girl working at stables to earn horse riding lessons to becoming a pioneer and leader in the large animal veterinary technician world. Beckie and Heather recount their days together in veterinary technician school, how the veterinary nurse initiative (VNI) may affect large animal veterinary professionals, and the shared struggles of all animal advocates. The trio explore how compassion fatigue and burnout are different in the large animal world, how language and words affect emotions, and Heather explains why all veterinary nurses are at risk for attrition and unhappiness if they don’t find meaning and purpose within - and outside - the veterinary profession. This is a great conversation that applies to anyone working in the veterinary industry.