We talk a lot about the importance of rewarding and recognizing your veterinary team members, but what about celebrating them? This week we discuss the difference between benefits, incentives, and rewards and why all are essential in maintaining a harmonious and healthy workplace environment. Viewfinders, there’s much more to this topic than an “Employee of the Month” certificate!

Host Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, take a deep dive into what it means to celebrate veterinary clinic employees. Dr. Ward suggests “inspiring” should be an essential element of any celebration, and Beckie offers real-world tips for highlighting team members.

Viewfinders, what are some of the ways you celebrate your team? Share them on our Facebook or Instagram pages at Veterinary Viewfinder, or email us at veterinaryviewfinder@gmail.com.

As PRIDE Month comes to a close, we wanted to share our thoughts, experiences, and tips for being a better ally for the veterinary profession’s LBGTQ+ community. 

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, reveal their experiences and learnings from their own LBGTQ+ advocacy efforts. Dr. Ward shares lessons from his political campaigning and Beckie reviews how she has grown in her allyship efforts.

Have you ever talked smack about another veterinary clinic? Have you ever had a client bad mouth their previous vet? This week we examine how we talk about our veterinary colleagues and how we may be inadvertently “talking trash” about each other.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, explore the intentional and unintentional ways our comments and questions may negatively impact our colleagues. From clients questioning prior care to veterinary professionals publicly dismissing others’ opinions and actions, this episode features a bevy of thorny ethical and moral dilemmas.   

Viewfinders, how we treat each other affects our personal and professional self-esteem and joy. While we point out that we’re not against speaking out when negligence or malpractice occurs, we question how seemingly innocent remarks can “throw a colleague under the bus.” 

Viewfinders, this is another good podcast episode to share with your colleagues and friends!

Do you have a boss or manager who constantly checks everything you do? Do you feel excessively supervised? Does your boss tell you what task needs to be accomplished and by when… but then watches your every move and frequently criticize your work and processes? If so, you may be micromanaged.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, begin this podcast by defining micromanagement in the veterinary clinic. They discuss a micromanager's typical traits and actions and why some people are more likely to micromanage than others. They explore how harmful - and counterproductive - micromanaging can be and the negative impacts on team morale and job satisfaction.

Our hosts share techniques for talking to a micromanager, reducing the anxiety-creating impacts of a micromanager, and how you can foster a trusted, collaborative workplace.

Viewfinders, this is an excellent conversation to share with your entire team. It's also a great one to share with a micromanager (anonymously, of course!). 

Please share your experiences and thoughts on our Facebook and Instagram pages or email veterinaryviewfinder@gmail.com.

“Sweetie, can you help me?”

“Hey, Doc, can you check this out?”

“Honey, that’s very kind of you.”

Do any of these terms make you feel disrespected? Uncomfortable? 

It doesn’t matter why; if terms like these make you feel uneasy, you’re entitled to speak up. This week, we discuss inadvertently hurtful words and phrases that veterinary professionals frequently encounter in practice. We also discuss ableist language and how you can become a more sensitive a respectful communicator.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, explore the world of words meant to help but may accidentally harm. They discuss common terms to discuss with your team along with ways to politely - and civilly - let others know a term is upsetting. 

Viewfinders, this is an excellent conversation to share with your team. Please share your experiences and comments with us on our Facebook or Instagram pages or veterinaryviewfinder@gmail.com.   

Veterinary appointment no-shows can wreak havoc on your schedule, decrease revenue, and lower team morale. This week, we examine strategies for dealing with veterinary clients who fail to show up for their appointments.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, tackle the too-common problem of veterinary appointment no-shows. Dr. Ward shares the history of strategies to deal with no-shows over the past 30 years and why the issue is more critical than ever.

Beckie offers several solutions to curbing and controlling no-shows and chronically late clients. 

Our hosts discuss solutions that have been successful and additional problems created by late and no-show clients. They also review if they believe it is getting better or worse.  

Viewfinders, share your thoughts and experiences on our Facebook or Instagram pages or email us at veterinaryviewfinder@gmail.com

This is another conversation about violence in veterinary clinics that we wish we didn’t have to have. This week we want to discuss some of the lessons veterinary professionals can learn following the fatal shooting of a veterinary team member at the Shively Animal Hospital in Kentucky.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, discuss the growing threat of workplace violence in veterinary clinics and steps to take to prepare your team.

Dr. Ward recounts his personal experiences with gun violence and the staff training he implemented in his veterinary clinics after his first encounter as a young veterinarian. 

Beckie calls for more conversations with team members on how to respond to threats, and both hosts call for more attention to the issue from national organizations such as NAVC. 

Viewfinders, have you been the victim of workplace violence? What steps are you taking to keep your staff safe?

The video and article Dr. Ward refers to in the podcast can be found here.

Viewfinders, we've got lots of questions about swapping stuff with other veterinary clinics! Chances are you've asked to borrow or been asked by a neighboring veterinary clinic for medications or supplies you've run out of. How do you charge for them? What happens if you discover your price is significantly different than your competitor's? Do you even send clients to another practice or business to pick up something you're out of?

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, tackle the tough - and surprisingly complicated - the topic of sharing meds and supplies with nearby veterinary practices. From delivery charges to who asks and answers, this is another wide-ranging conversation that starts on borrowing medications but ends up discussing employee benefits. Viewfinders, we think you're going to enjoy this one!

Please join us in congratulating Beckie on her latest adventure as President of the Veterinary Technician Program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina! Hooray! We wish her the best of luck!

We know there are significant health benefits to sharing your home with a pet. So why don’t more older people have a companion animal? This week, we explore the possible stigma and biases faced by seniors who could benefit from pet ownership. Viewfinders, this is a good one!

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, tackle a tough topic rarely talked about: the fears, concerns, and even biases faced by older people considering adding a new pet into their home. Many of these perceived risks and fears may be unfounded, yet they serve as a real barrier to pet ownership by many. 

Beckie begins by stating the obvious: many seniors fear what would happen to a pet if they died. Our hosts review some of the solutions to these worries and question how often it becomes a matter of relinquishment.

Dr. Ward shares some of his clinical experiences dealing with older clients considering a new pet and reveals how his own implicit biases may have influenced certain decisions. 

Viewfinders, this is an important topic that we believe needs more attention from veterinary professionals. If you have ideas or resources, share them on our Facebook, Instagram, or email us at veterinaryviewfinder@gmail.com

“Lasting hope starts here.”

This week, we’d like to introduce the Viewfinders to a fantastic new veterinary support organization, the Veterinary Hope Foundation. We’re thrilled to speak with one of the co-founders, Dr. Blair McConnel, and the head of the Mental Health Professionals for the organization, Krista Martin, LISW-CP, LCSW.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, review veterinary professionals' unique mental health challenges and how the free Veterinary Hope Foundation support groups work. 

Dr. McConnel shares why she co-founded the Foundation and how anyone in veterinary medicine can benefit. 

Krista Martin shares how the six-week programs work, why these use “affinity groups” to place veterinary team members with similar experiences or challenges, and why six to eight-member groups are the most effective. 

If you or someone you know could benefit from joining a free peer group such as this, sign up at www.veterinaryhope.org.

Viewfinders, please share this podcast with your team and colleagues. 

Thank you to the Veterinary Hope Foundation for giving us hope to overcome our mental health challenges and find a nurturing and supportive community! 

It’s Veterinary Receptionist Appreciation Week, and we’ve got the person who started it all, Ethel Pawlak! Joins us to celebrate our amazing veterinary receptionists April 23-29 as Veterinary Receptionist Week! 

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, are joined by the person who started Veterinary Receptionist Week some nineteen years ago, Ethel Pawlak. We share her story of decades in veterinary practice and why she believes veterinary receptionists deserve their own special week of recognition. We agree!

We discuss why veterinary receptionists (CSRs, etc.) are often unsung heroes in the veterinary profession and how they can make - or break - a veterinary experience. 

Dr. Ward advocates for better pay, benefits, training, and support and expresses how a stable veterinary receptionist team can grow your business. 

Beckie praises veterinary receptionists' unique skillset and why she believes they are essential for successful patient care and client service.

Viewfinders, how are you celebrating Veterinary Receptionist Week? Share your thoughts, experiences, and ideas!

Thank you, Ethel Pawlak, for advocating for veterinary receptionists! 

This week, we’re delighted to bring you a special episode on large animal and livestock veterinary technicians featuring The Cattle Vet Tech, Meg Harrington, BS, CVT. Meh shares the latest update (and back story) on the recent changes to expand the scope of work veterinary technicians in her home state of Arkansas can perform and why she’s so passionate about large animal medicine!

We don’t talk nearly enough about our large animal colleagues nearly enough on the Veterinary Viewfinder. This week, hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT, are joined by Meg Harrington, BS, CVT, the “Cattle Vet Tech,” to talk about her life, career, and why she’s fighting to expand the roles of veterinary technicians in Arkansas and around the country.

Viewfinders, we hope you find this conversation as inspiring as we did. Thanks again to Meg for her persistent advocacy of the veterinary profession!