Banfield Pet Hospital’s Post

Thanks to Ontario Government funding, OVC is launching an innovative micro-credentials program designed to elevate the roles of Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVTs) in primary care teams. Program offerings include: -Companion Animal Primary Care 🐕 🐈 -Effective Veterinary Teams 🤝 -Veterinary Healthcare Delivery to Underserviced Communities 👐 -Equine Primary Care 🐎 This initiative, co-created with University of Guelph - Open Learning and Educational Support (OpenEd), Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians, and industry partners, aims to address workforce shortages and enhance the skills of RVTs, enabling them to take on advanced roles in veterinary healthcare. OVC's Dean, Dr. Jeff Wichtel, emphasizes the importance of this program in building capacity in veterinary medicine and providing targeted skill development for RVTs. This is a significant step towards improving the availability and affordability of veterinary services across regions. https://lnkd.in/gA7vKTCM #VeterinaryMedicine #MicroCredentials #ProfessionalDevelopment #OVC #UniversityOfGuelph #VeterinaryTechnicians #HealthcareInnovation

A little delayed but Happy New Year everyone! The last year or so I have worked on building. Building something with my friends. Building something for myself and my family. Building something to give back. Building something that will make an impact in my little corner of the veterinary world. 🌎 I’m so proud to say I now co-own 2 veterinary practices. Practices that will be used as a safe place within this industry. A place of growth and support no matter what position you are in within the practice. A place where all doctors, including foreign doctors, will find mentorship. A place to get people on their feet and sprout wings to fly. I spent the last year consulting with veterinary practices throughout Florida and the US. I put together a practice management series to provide support and easy to follow tips and resources that can be used in everyday practice. It was amazing and so much fun! I am grateful every single day I chose this path. I’m grateful for the people I meet and the life long relationships I have made. I’m blessed to have a husband that supports me and has also joined me on this journey! Thank you to every one who has believed in me and pushed me when I needed a push. The future is bright and I’m so excited to keep building and growing in 2024. I typically have a word of the year but this year will be a little different. This year it’s a few more words than one…… I want to keep growing myself within this industry. This will allow me to offer as much support as possible to as many as possible. #veterinarypracticeowner #veterinarymedicine #wordoftheyear #sentencesoftheyear #vetmed #vetmedicine #vetmedlife #support #growth #growthmindset #consulting #veterinaryprofessionals #vettechlife #practicemanager #practicemanagement

Important Survey Findings: Addressing Workforce Challenges in the Veterinary Industry A recent survey by the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) reveals a significant discussion about the role of credentialed veterinary technicians (CrVTs) versus the creation of a new midlevel practitioner (MLP) in the veterinary field. Key takeaways: 1) Survey Results: 61% of respondents are technicians, and there’s strong support for better utilizing CrVTs rather than creating an MLP. 2) AAVSB's Stance: They will focus on expanding the scope of practice for CrVTs, given the concerns around MLP implementation. 3) Concerns from VMG Survey: Practice owners expressed fears about MLPs impacting care quality, training adequacy, and potential risks. The data indicates a clear preference for maximizing the use of current veterinary technicians to address workforce shortages before considering new roles. My Thoughts: I believe that focusing on enhancing the role of CrVTs is a prudent approach. Given the current concerns around MLPs, it seems wise to fully utilize the talents and potential of our existing technicians. By expanding their scope of practice and improving their support, we can address workforce challenges more effectively and maintain high standards of care. I’m interested to hear your thoughts on this approach. Do you agree with prioritizing CrVTs, or do you see a role for MLPs in the future? Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gJ9f5i9f #VeterinaryIndustry #VetCare #CrVT #WorkforceSolutions #VeterinaryProfession

🎓 Calling all future veterinarians! 🐾 As you prepare to embark on the next chapter of your journey, we want to send a huge shoutout to all upcoming graduates gearing up for the NAVLE testing window! 📚💼 Your future Veterinary Healthcare Associates team is cheering for you and sending positive vibes into the universe. Here are a few tips to help you ace the exam and stay positive throughout: 🗓 Stay organized: Create a study schedule that works for you, and stick to it. Break down your study material into manageable chunks and review consistently. 🎯 Practice, practice, practice: Utilize practice exams and questions to familiarize yourself with the format and types of questions you'll encounter on the NAVLE. 🧘♀️ Take care of yourself: Remember to prioritize self-care during this busy time. Get plenty of rest, eat nutritious meals, and make time for activities that help you relax and recharge. 😃 Stay positive: Keep a positive mindset and believe in yourself. Visualize success, and trust in your preparation and abilities. 🤝 Reach out for support: Don't hesitate to lean on your peers, professors, and mentors for guidance and support. We're all rooting for your success! You've worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and we have no doubt that you'll shine bright on exam day. Wishing you all the best as you conquer the NAVLE and take the next step toward fulfilling your dreams of making a difference in the lives of animals. You've got this! 💪🐾 #NAVLE #VeterinaryMedicine #FutureVets #YouveGotThis"

Friday morning musings! Maybe a bit devil’s advocate… but maybe not! 😳What if our pursuit of advanced care and more complex procedures in veterinary care is also having the effect of driving down our clients’ access to care for their animals? 💥 What does a fully stratisifed (with respect to care options) veterinary sector look like? We need specialists and we need primary care. 🤯 How can we develop our professional identities to integrate this concept of full access to care being the driver, not solely advancement of care? After all, we can’t all be specialists! And even specialists have constraints to what they can do (financial and otherwise) 🙌🏻I believe that thinking about the way we do what we do non judgementally is fundamental to opening up care to more animals, not just the ones we already see. ⭐️The chapter below explores all of this beautifully - nicely thought out and laid out! 💥I’d like to add that the concept of Contextualised care helps us do that truly non-judgementally. As a vet, a word nerd and applied linguist, I think that terms such as spectrum of care maintain judgement by their conceptualisation and then further discussion of ‘basic and advanced’ options (i accept that this is not specific to this article- it’s an accepted way of describing it in USA). IMHO these terms then become counterintuitive to the message of opening up care to as many as possible. And the message we give ourselves and our clients is key to opening up this space. Nobody likes being offerred the ‘basic’ when looking at their sick pet! Words matter. 😻I also believe that all of this is fundamental to our own sense of self and our own mental health (hopefully one day we will have evidence for this!) 💥Contextualised care is all offering options tha fulfill welfare concerns and are appropriate to diversity-of animal owners we have, of our own professional competencies, of situations in which we find ourselves. Would love to hear your thoughts too.

Are you considering starting your own independent veterinary practice? If so, you're not alone - entrepreneurship is on the rise among young vets. But what do you really need to know to make it on your own? To help you navigate this process, check out the latest article from Veterinary Practice, which highlights the New Practice Academy initiative https://lnkd.in/evHK9crE This program is designed to support veterinary professionals like you who are looking to start their own practice, offering guidance on developing a business plan and implementing a practice management system. According to Tony Houghton, managing director of VetIT, "We work closely with new practices of all types and see the difference that expert support makes. The right practice management system is essential for a successful and profitable business." He believes that providing this expert support through the New Practice Academy will help build thriving practices and a strong veterinary sector. Whether you're just starting out or already established, this article is a must-read for anyone interested in starting their own practice. And if you're attending London Vet Show & BVA Live in Birmingham, be sure to join the session "Ready, Set, Launch: Launching Your First Veterinary Practice" on June 7th at 12pm in Exhibitor Showcase Theatre 2, supported by NVS Group. #veterinary #startup #newpractice #practicemanagement #vetnurse #vetsurgeon

An incredible year for our company The Webinar Vet & some incredible achievements! To think we released 152 webinars, 66 new VETchat podcast episodes, had users sign up from 165 countries, 5 million minutes watched on our site WOW... the list goes on 📢 Being a world leader in Veterinary CPD/CE is something we are very proud off. Also to see the positive impact on education to Veterinary professionals all over the globe. Check out below to see more of our achievements 😍 #globalleaders #veterinaryeducation #TheWebinarVet #yearinreview

Another thing that the average person might not consider when it comes to becoming a vet: Communication. Person to person communication. Vets and vet nurses need to be able to understand what the animals they treat are communicating to them, they need to be detectives, figuring out the problem from the evidence, but they also need to be able to effectively communicate with the people about their pets. People who are probably highly stressed and emotionally charged. Even more so when they don't know how they're going to afford the treatment needed. Critical skills that PDSA are helping the next generation of vets to develop.   https://lnkd.in/e5YgUy6D

We have supported over 1000 individuals in the veterinary industry and I get a little emotional thinking about how far this thing has come since the start. As a mission-driven entity, we at MentorVet focus first and foremost on intentional impact, and we wanted to share with the world how we are supporting this profession! We are so proud to announce the release of our 2022-2023 impact report. In this report, we highlight the power of purposeful collaboration to support the people of our profession. Now with around 40 sponsors and partners (and growing), we were able to continue expanding our reach this year. In 2023, we pioneered the evolution of mentorship into other areas of the profession, including to a group that is very near and dear to my heart—veterinary technicians. One of my favorite sections of the impact report is some of our preliminary results from our MentorVet Tech pilot study. Spoiler alert! Over time, on average, vet techs who participated in the program had significant improvements in wellbeing and significant reductions in burnout. MentorVet Tech is now one of the only programs in the industry that has data showing significant impacts on mental health and wellbeing of veterinary technicians. We now have a measurably effective program to reduce burnout in veterinary technicians! If you want to learn more, please check out our impact report by clicking the link below and let me know what you think! https://lnkd.in/gB-8eFeT Thank you to the wonderful individuals on the MentorVet team that put a lot of hard work into making this report—Jacob Oswald, Mariel Hendricks, BS, RVT, Ellen Turner. And we wouldn’t be here without the amazing support of our founding sponsor Merck Animal Health. We look forward to an exciting 2024. More news to follow about our plans for next year! #vetmed #vettech #vet #veterinary #veterinarian #collaboration 

A collaboration between Evette, a veterinary relief staffing company based in Dallas, Texas; and Shepherd Veterinary Software, a cloud-based practice information management system (PIMS) provider based in Prescott, Arizona, has recently been announced. The collaboration is intended to help alleviate the ongoing workforce shortage in the veterinary profession as a result of burnout, staff turnover, and vacation time. Click the link below to read the full article on DVM360.com. #veterinarycareers #veterinarymedicine #veterinarians #technicians #practicemanagers #practiceowners https://lnkd.in/dEwbapcp