This week we’re joined with vet tech/nurse extraordinaire, Harold Davis, RVT, VTS (ECC) to discuss an important (and exciting) new initiative from our friends at the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) - the Veterinary Nurse/Technician Empowerment Initiative!

Harold currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for NAVC and is one of the key drivers behind this expansive seven-part initiative to empower and celebrate veterinary nurses/technicians (and, yes, Viewfinders, Dr. Ward asks Harold to explain that hyphen!). Harold has also been instrumental in many modern-day advancements within the veterinary profession and his story is as much inspirational as impactful. We know you’re going to love this conversation!

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT discuss how Harold became an RVT, his secret for remaining enthusiastic about his profession for 46 years (!), his career path, his role in the formation of Veterinary Technician Specialists (VTS), and what the NAVC Veterinary Nurse/Technician Empowerment Initiative is all about. So much to talk about!

Viewfinders, definitely check out the links below detailing how you can participate in this initiative. And while you’re clinking away, please stop by Apple Podcasts and click on 5-stars for us! It would make our week!

Thanks again for listening the past five-and-a-half years! Talk to you next Wednesday!

Happy National Veterinary Receptionist Week! This week we celebrate the incredible veterinary receptionists that make our lives so much better! April 24-30, 2022

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT share the many reasons that veterinary receptionist are integral - and essential - members of the veterinary healthcare team.

Veterinary receptionists are the initial, and often final, point of contact for pet parents in a veterinary clinic, answer medical and pet care questions, and handle a host of challenging client interactions - Let's Show Veterinary Receptionists the Love They Deserve!

Our hosts discuss the evolving terminology of veterinary receptionists, including customer service representatives (CSR's) and Dr. Ward's own "Client Coordinators."

They share why front desk turnover rates may be affecting a clinic's growth, and why low wages and benefits may be a part of the problem. Roles, responsibilities, and training are also covered in this dynamic conversation.

Viewfinders, we hope you'll find this podcast inspiring and encourage you to celebrate your veterinary receptionists this April!

For more information, visit https://www.veterinaryreceptionistweek.com

What happens when a person appears at a veterinary clinic claiming to be a pet’s owner? How do veterinary professionals know they’re the rightful - and legal - owner? How does the client prove it? Who can make medical care decisions and how do we hold them accountable? Viewfinders, there’s a lot more to discuss on this topic than simply, “I found this pet. Can I keep it? Thanks.” You don’t want to miss this one!

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT tackle the tricky topic of how veterinary clinics determine who is a pet’s owner, who can make decisions, and, ultimately, who is responsible for paying?

Even more complicated, what happens when a spouse or partner rejects the other’s decision? If you’re like us, you’ve probably already experienced a bit of this, but don’t worry, we’ve got even more worst-case scenarios to share!

We also review how, and how far, should a veterinary practice go to ensure a pet parent is truly the “pet’s owner.” What happens when we ask too much - or too little - verification and things go horribly wrong (and they do)? As Dr. Ward says, “There are so many ways these situations can go sideways, it’s hard to keep your head on straight!”

Speaking of keeping your head, what happens when a spouse or partner claims their significant other “wasn’t in their right mind to make that decision”? The hits keep on coming in this episode!

Viewfinders, this is another tough topic our profession needs to do a better job addressing. By alerting you to potentially problematic scenarios, we hope you’ll be better prepared and able to create staff training and clinic policies to, as Beckie always says, “Get ahead of it!”

We’ve been saying for the past two years that there’s never been a better time for veterinary professionals to change jobs or renegotiate your contract. This week we review what you should be looking for if you’re “checking out how green the other lawns may be.” Hint: Pretty green!

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT share what attributes to search for when you’re scrolling job listings, questions to uncover the “real workplace conditions,” and tips for negotiating wages and benefits. Whether this is your first or fourteenth job in a veterinary practice, there’s something for everyone in this week’s podcast!

Share your thoughts on our social media or write to us at veterinaryviewfinder@gmail.com

And don’t forget to leave us 5-stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player. It really helps get these conversations to other veterinary professionals interested in making our profession better! Thank you for listening the past 5-1/2 years!

Many veterinary professionals have been asked by pet parents to omit, edit, or alter a pet’s breed or history on a form for housing, travel, insurance, or other “official” forms. This week we discuss the medical ethics surrounding designating a “pit bull mix” as “mixed breed” and other potentially uncomfortable scenarios. Viewfinders, this is a good (and important) one!

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT get real about requests they’ve received from clients trying to move or visit loved ones, obtain vaccine status, or pet insurance. Most of these conundrums involve banned breeds, and pets that are well-mannered or otherwise healthy. These request seem to come out of nowhere and there are no easy answers.

Our hosts offer advice on politely - and legally - handling these pet parent pleas along with their concerns on veterinary professionals’ future liability and the impact of emerging technologies.

Dr. Ward reviews how he believes genetic testing will both transform - and potentially complicate - client petitions to “delete” certain breeds or physical attributes on legal forms.

Beckie explains how veterinary technicians are often caught in the middle of veterinarian and client disputes over these forms and how to navigate those turbulent waters.

Viewfinders, this is another good conversation on a topic we don’t often discuss publicly. Share your thoughts with us on our social media channels or at veterinaryviewfinder@gmail.com

Also, please do us a HUGE FAVOR and leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! It helps us reach other colleagues and keeps these important conversations going!

Have you ever had a job benefit or workplace perk suddenly taken away? What about a new hire that is given compensation above long-time team members? Are some employees allowed to bring their pets to the office while others aren’t? In the past were you offered free or “at cost” vet care but now you have to pay? Viewfinders, we’re hearing more of these stories about workplace inequities, so this week we’re going to tackle it!

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT explore what happens when the benefits or perks of working in a veterinary clinic are suddenly taken away or reduced. What happens when veterinary professionals depend on these perks to make up for poor pay?

We’re hearing of veterinary practice owners and mangers blaming inflation, workplace shortages, and increased demand as reasons they’re cutting back on certain benefits. We’re also learning of situations in which new hires are offered more CE pay, association dues, and other perks to get them to join a practice, while not offering similar wages and benefits to existing staff. And that’s causing all the feels.

Viewfinders, this is another topic quietly percolating out there in veterinary world. We’ve got a chance get ahead of this potential issue before it damages your team morale.

Don’t forget to share your thoughts with us on our social media channels or at VeterinaryViewfinder@gmail.com

What happens when veterinary professionals accidentally or inadvertently break or damage equipment (or even uniforms) when caring for pet patients? This week we share why this is a harmful management tactic and better ways to communicate the proper care of veterinary equipment. Beckie is "coming in hot" in this episode!

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT tackle a real-life dilemma Beckie recently ran across on her social media. The post discussed how a veterinary practice had recently added a new piece of equipment and the boss told the team, "If you break this, it's coming out of your paycheck." You can bet our hosts have strong opinions on why this is potentially harmful and may be a subtle signal of a toxic workplace.

Dr. Ward reveals he has encountered this sentiment in a wide variety of settings. He explains why this management strategy may actually result in employees hiding any equipment damage from owners, putting patients at risk, and cause a cascade of blaming each other. He also discusses why an imposed "fear of the consequences of damaging equipment often leads to underutilization and a waste of resources."

Beckie expresses the dangers of "leading by fear" in the veterinary workplace an dhow even seemingly minor comments such as these undermine team morale.

Viewfinders, our hosts encourage us to carefully analyze our language and monitor for unintended consequences. They also offer several bits of advice on how to protect expensive equipment while optimizing its utility. This is a good one!

This week we're thrilled to bring you an exclusive - and her first ever - podcast interview with the 2022 National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) President, Ashi Selke, RVT, CVT.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT learn Ashli’s story of becoming a veterinary technician, her personal military service, how she got involved with NAVTA, and plans for her leadership term.

Beckie encourages NAVTA to accelerate their title protection plans and initiatives, and offers advice to work both with the AVMA and state veterinary medical Boards.

Ashley offers her take on the recent AVMA HOD meeting in which the Utah Representative, veterinarian Dr. Paul Toniolli said of allowing veterinary technicians into the AVMA membership: "Little by little the camel gets in the tent, and the master of the camel gets shoved out of the tent. Now, I don't know that our association would be overtaken, but the principle that the camel in the tent teaches is that sometimes small, seemingly harmless acts, even made with good intentions, can sometimes have very negative repercussions, and that would be our concern. Somebody with alternative ideals might try to get in and strong-arm the association." Alrighty then.

Viewfinders, this is a fascinating back-and-forth between two passionate veterinary technicians dedicated to improving their profession. We think you’ll enjoy it!

To learn more about Utah veterinarian Dr. Paul Toniolli’s remarks, read here: https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&catId=617&Id=10685148

To read NAVTA’s Title Protection Report, visit here: https://www.navta.net/news/navta-report-shows-title-protection-for-veterinary-technician-is-needed-and-desired-but-absent-and-misunderstood-in-most-states/

Happy belated Veterinary Assistant Appreciation Week! February 14-18, 2022 was celebrated by the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City - and we missed it! This week we take time to not only appreciate our beloved veterinary assistants, but also discuss some of the challenges and opportunities we see in the future of this essential role in veterinary medicine.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT share their love and respect for these often unsung heroes of veterinary medicine. The pair discuss some of the prior (unnecessary) drama between celebrating National Veterinary Technician Week and other recognitions for veterinary team members. Dr. Ward emphasizes that, “Celebrating one group doesn’t take anything away from another.”

Beckie posits on whether or not vet assistants are over- or underutilized in clinics and why “Veterinary State Boards need to get ahead of this issue because private entities already are there.” Both hosts offer setting boundaries and credentialing for veterinary assistants.

Beckie stresses the National Veterinary Technician Association’s Approved Veterinary Assistant Program (link in notes) and offers her opinions on soem of the rapidly developing private programs.

Viewfinders, this is another important topic that transcends an “appreciation week.” Share your thoughts and opinions with us!

If you’d like to see Beckie and Ernie “live” on the internet to take your questions, drop us a line at VeterinaryViewfinder@gmail.com!

The Approved Veterinary Assistant program created by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America: https://www.navta.net/veterinary-assistants-program/

While many of our podcasts have focused on the current veterinary workforce shortages, perhaps we haven’t talked as much about retaining staff as we should. This week we discuss how hiring, onboarding, phase training, new employee intergration, and personality matching can help keep good staff longer and improve your team’s ability to attract and retain new hires.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT talk a deep dive into the steps you need to take when hiring and onboarding new veterinary team members. From Dr. Ward’s method of “team interviews and hiring,” to Beckie’s nightmare stories of “first day disasters,” this episode is packed with practical advice for any veterinary clinic interested in attracting and retaining and the best teams.

While no one can’t magically get you new employees, we can help you keep your best team members and maybe make your practice a “destination career” or at least a supportive, nurturing, and collaborative environment. Viewfinders, this is a good one to share with your friends and co-workers!

Veterinary unions are once again in the news. A Thrive (formerly Pathways) veterinary clinic in New York recently voted 2 to 1 to form a union. There is growing interest in veterinary unionization, and this week we're joined once again by one of the leading voices in this movement, Liz Hughston, MEd., RVT, CVT, LVT, LVMT, VTS (SAIM) (ECC).

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT talk with Liz about the latest developments in the Thrive veterinary clinic case and other veterinary unions across the country, what a union really is and how collective bargaining could help veterinary professionals, tactics commonly used to discourage veterinary professionals from pursuing collective bargaining, and why this discussion is arguably more important than ever before in our profession.

Viewfinders, this is an important topic that has the potential to improve many aspects of the veterinary profession that we feel need changing. From low pay to title protection, to resources to help prevent burnout, unionization is one mechanism to give veterinary professionals working in corporate-controlled clinics a real voice.

To learn more about the National Veterinary Professionals Union, visit www.natvpu.org.

To watch the John Oliver Union Busting reporting Liz referred to in the podcast: https://youtu.be/Gk8dUXRpoy8

Liz also recommends this video on Union Busting: https://perfectunion.us/