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Pets with disabilities are nothing new in veterinary medicine. In fact, they are often the face of veterinary educational programs, rescue groups, and other nonprofit organizations. Unfortunately, many pets that become disabled are euthanized, abandoned, or relinquished to shelters, sometimes due to a simple lack of education on how to best care for them. According to Melissa Shapiro, DVM, owner of Visiting Vet Service in Westport, Connecticut, and the driving force behind the social media phenomenon @pinkpigletpuppy featuring her deaf and blind dachshund-Chihuahua mix, disabled pets today can enjoy a good quality of life thanks to the evolution of pet wheelchairs and carts, advancements in physical and alternative therapies, and the power of social media.

Decades ago, many clients whose dogs became paralyzed because of conditions such as spinabifida, cerebellar hypoplasia, or congenital leg deformities opted for euthanasia, either because they believed their pet would have poor quality of life or they felt unprepared to care for a disabled animal. Recent years have witnessed a movement among pet owners to keep disabled dogs and provide them with wheelchairs and other necessary equipment to give them a second chance at life, Shapiro said during a lecture this week at the 

“The perception of paralyzed and mobility-challenged dogs has changed dramatically in the past 10 to 15 years,” Shapiro said, attributing the shift largely to improved networking capabilities through social media. Now rescuers can fundraise to help save, treat, accommodate, and find homes for dogs that need wheels to get around, and owners can connect with other owners of disabled dogs for support and care information.

This increased interest in providing wheels for disabled dogs means veterinarians have a new role in advising and guiding their owners on how to care for wheelchair dogs.

The canine wheelchair industry has grown exponentially in recent decades, and new lightweight materials and designs can now accommodate dogs with a wide range of needs. Front carts, for example, can assist dogs with front limb abnormalities, including congenital deformities, missing limbs, and amputation due to cancer or injury. Clients must learn how to train their dogs to use the front wheels until they become accustomed to them.

Let owners know about social media groups, books, and other resources that can guide them as they care for their disabled pet. Here are some options:

According to Shapiro, front-leg amputees or dogs with congenital leg deformities should be acclimated to carts at about 7 months of age. The sooner they can get adjusted, the better.

Rear carts are useful for dogs paralyzed from intervertebral disk disease, spinal injury, neoplasia, hind limb deformities, injuries, and weakness due to arthritis and spinal cord degeneration. Quad carts provide support for dogs with overall weakness, generalized arthritis, cerebellar hypoplasia, and other musculoskeletal conditions, as well as those recovering from cervical surgery. Additionally, carts can be customized to accommodate individual dog needs.

According to Shapiro, there’s an art to caring for disabled pets. “You’re balancing medicine with compassion,” she said. “Clients look to you for support and guidance as they navigate this new and stressful situation with their pets. Having compassion for the people who are taking care of these animals is a big part of the package.”


One of the veterinarian’s roles is to guide clients with the difficult and emotional decision of whether to keep a disabled pet. Shapiro’s advice? Educate them about what is available to care for disabled pets, discuss quality of life, and provide general care recommendations and a list of useful resources.

Caring for disabled pets also involves treating secondary problems. For example, dogs using rear wheelchairs are at increased risk for developing urinary tract infections, abrasions from rubbing, ulcers, sensitive skin, and more. To help avoid some of these issues, make sure the cart fits properly and advise clients to change the pet’s diapers regularly.

Depending on the severity of paralysis, you may need to teach clients how to express the bladder and bowels and treat pressure sores. Some patients may also benefit from physical therapy, acupuncture, laser therapy, or swim therapy in conjunction with medical treatment.

Finally, make sure you connect clients with other owners who have disabled pets through social media support groups. Having a like-minded network of people to talk to can provide them with the support they need to adjust to this new way of life.

Caring for a disabled pet can be challenging, but the rewards are great. “These special pets can inspire their owners to face their own challenges, help children with special needs feel and be accepted by others, and promote empathy,” Shapiro said. “For veterinarians, caring for these pets presents a unique opportunity to be a part of something very special.”

Articles

The equipment and resources available today for disabled pets ensures that they can enjoy an excellent quality of life, but the veterinarian plays an integral role in ensuring a successful outcome.

Caring for disabled pets: balancing medicine and compassion

The itchy cat presents a puzzle at every step of the clinical process, from history and diagnosis to successful management. According to Ashley Bourgeois, DVM, DACVD, co-owner of Animal Dermatology Clinic Portland in Portland, Oregon, understanding the uniqueness of feline dermatologic disease is an essential step along that road.

 virtual conference this week, Bourgeois offered vital tips for approaching these patients, noting that the challenges are many. For starters, some owners don’t recognize that their cat is itchy. Cats tend to isolate themselves, especially when they don’t feel well, so an owner may not witness excessive chewing or licking. And because cats spend large amounts of time grooming anyway, overgrooming may be misinterpreted as normal behavior.

“A lot of these [dermatologic disease signs] can intermix, and allergies can present in different ways,” Bourgeois added, “so whittling down the list of differentials is not always straightforward.”

“Asking the right questions helps tremendously when deciding which diagnostics to perform,” Bourgeois said. History taking also allows time for the cat to exit the carrier and roam around the room, which can reduce stress associated with the veterinary visit. Other ways to reduce stress include petting the cat and offering a towel or another hiding place.

While taking a medical history, important topics include determining which areas of the body are most affected, when the issue started, whether the problem is seasonal, and which flea control products are being used (if any). Bourgeois also likes to ask which therapies have worked in the past. For example, if the cat’s signs are responsive to steroids, that suggests pruritus instead of psychogenic alopecia, she said.

questions. “Don’t just ask whether the cat is itchy. You need to identify what ‘itch’ is,” Bourgeois said, adding that owners may overlook signs such as head shaking or chewing feet. Cats that ask to be scratched more frequently than in the past may also be demonstrating pruritus.

Some pet owners don’t associate increased hairball production with increased ingestion of hair due to overgrooming. “I’ve met owners whose cats only get hairballs in the summer, when they’re overgrooming,” Bourgeois noted, suggesting that determining seasonality is informative in these patients.

Bourgeois suggests incorporating Fear Free handling practices when examining cats. Because dermatologic issues tend to be chronic and require repeat veterinary visits, it’s prudent to make office visits more comfortable. Tips include using synthetic feline pheromone sprays around the office and on towels, incorporating treats and toys to distract or engage with the cat, and performing otoscopic, facial, and oral exams at the end because some cats object to these parts of the exam.

Understanding how certain dermatologic conditions present in cats can facilitate recognition. For example, abdominal/ventral alopecia can have a variety of causes. Try to determine if the hair is falling out on its own, or if the cat is pulling out the hair. Falling out may suggest systemic illness or follicular disease, but overgrooming is more suggestive of pruritus. Scaling and crusting might indicate parasites or infection, but excoriations and plaques may suggest hypersensitivity.

Facial excoriations are another common presentation in cats. Differentials include aural pruritus (eg, ear mites or otitis), adverse food reaction, atopy, systemic illness, fleas, and idiopathic ulcerative dermatitis.

“Adverse food reaction can be dramatically pruritic,” Bourgeois said. However, broaching the topic can be tricky because some pet owners have very strong feelings about their cat’s diet and are reluctant to change. Similarly, some cats are picky eaters and share their owner’s reluctance to try a new food. Bourgeois has had success with hydrolyzed protein diets. “To me, these diets are one of the gold standards in trying to rule out food allergy in pets. Hydrolysis helps with digestibility and helps take away allergenicity.” She commented, noting that owners who are uncomfortable with this approach may accept a novel protein diet.

Eosinophilic granuloma complex is unique to cats, and indicates a hypersensitivity reaction. “It’s not a final diagnosis. It’s a clinical presentation. So, if you see an indolent ulcer or eosinophilic granuloma, that’s something to describe in your findings, but it’s not a true diagnosis,” Bourgeois warned. Cytology is useful in these cases, but histopathology may be needed to rule out other differentials.

Atopy in cats can be seasonal or nonseasonal, with a variety of presentations, including overgrooming, increased hairball production, alopecia, excoriations, and even signs of asthma. However, atopy is a diagnosis of exclusion, which makes it even more challenging to recognize and address appropriately. “Usually, we’ve already had [these cats] on good flea control,” Bourgeois said. “Either they’re completely seasonal, or we’ve done a diet trial to rule that out as a component. And then we’re working up atopic dermatitis.”

“Good flea control is essential in any pruritic cat,” Bourgeois cautioned, even in cats that live exclusively indoors. “I’ve seen indoor-only cats that live on the fourth floor of an apartment building respond to flea control alone. I tell clients that fleas are sneaky. They can jump on people, and onto elevators. So, let’s just rule out the easy things first and see if that makes a difference for your cat, before we set them up for testing and other medications that we may not need.”

Bourgeois prefers completing a few months of treatment with a rapid-kill product to help rule out flea allergy, noting that flea allergy may only be one component of the patient’s problem, so flea control should be continued while other differentials are being investigated and treated.

Bourgeois cautioned that psychogenic alopecia tends to be overdiagnosed. “Excessive grooming is much more often from pruritus than obsessive-compulsive disorder, being clean, or being stressed.” In a 2006 study of cats referred to behaviorists for presumptive psychogenic alopecia, 19 of 21 cats had a problem unrelated to behavior, and were instead diagnosed with problems like food allergy or flea allergy.

It’s also wise to avoid being fooled by corticosteroids. These agents are frequently used in cats because they’re effective and overall options are still limited. However, Bourgeois cautioned that asking the owners about the timing of long-acting steroid injections, such as methylprednisolone, can be important. Long-acting steroid injections can sometimes provide 2 or 3 months of relief. However, if the cat stops scratching for that period, the owners may falsely assume that the problem cleared up and recurred, without realizing that a medication was in effect that entire time. Bourgeois warned that effective steroid therapy can “mask” seasonality, pruritus due to diet changes, and other historical information that can help identify the underlying problem.

Giving a long-acting methylprednisolone injection with an antibiotic can also create confusion for owners. If the cat’s signs resolve for 2 or 3 months, owners may presume that the antibiotics cleared up the problem, instead of understanding that the long-acting steroid may have been responsible.

“I perform cytology on almost every case that walks in the door, because it tells us a lot of information. Even if the cytology was boring, that’s good for us to know,” Bourgeois said. She also recommends skin scrapings, dermatophyte culture, and trials with parasiticides.

“Sometimes, you need a few months of having these patients on good, high-quality, fast-speed-of-kill parasite control to know whether flea allergy is a component, or whether mites or lice (that we couldn’t find on scrapings) are an issue,” she said. Bloodwork to investigate systemic illness is appropriate in some cases. Bourgeois also recommends paying particular attention to claw and claw fold lesions, as autoimmune disease (eg, pemphigus foliaceus) can cause these. Cytology is informative, and biopsy can confirm this diagnosis.

Treatment options are still limited, but improving

Glucocorticoids remain a cornerstone of dermatologic treatment for itchy cats. However, Bourgeois is encouraged by the efficacy of some other products, including cyclosporine (available in tablets or liquid, and FDA approved for use in cats) and oclacitinib (which is currently off-label in cats). Bourgeois also a proponent of allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) for cats with atopic dermatitis. “It’s the only thing we know that can reverse the underlying immunopathogenesis [of atopy],” she said, noting that ASIT is a safe, long-term option that can reduce reliance on steroids and other medications.

Whichever treatment is administered, Bourgeois noted, “communication and frequent rechecks are foundational to success. We can manage these cats to have a good quality of life if we work them up appropriately and get the owners on board with us.”

Karen Todd-Jenkins, VMD, is a medical writer, technical director with animal health marketing agency Shepherd, and member of the American Medical Writers Association and One Health Initiative. She has been in clinical practice for over 20 years.

Waisglass SE, Landsberg GM, Yager JA, Hall JA. Underlying medical conditions in cats with presumptive psychogenic alopecia.

2006;228(11):1705-1709.doi:10.2460/javma.228.11.1705

Understanding the varied patterns of cutaneous lesions, response to treatment, and management of secondary issues is important for control of feline allergies.

Solving the itchy cat conundrum

With the number of opiates available and the various methods of delivery, choosing the best analgesia or premedication plan for patients can be overwhelming. As a result, it is easy to fall into the habit of using only 1 or a few protocols for every patient. At the 

virtual conference this week, Katrina Lafferty, RLAT, CVT, VTS (Anesthesia/Analgesia), discussed the many opioid options available and how best to tailor protocols to individual patient needs.

Lafferty, a senior technician in the anesthesia and surgery department at the  Wisconsin National Primate Center, started off by reminding the audience about the 2 main opiate receptors relevant in veterinary medicine: mu and kappa. Mu receptors, which are located primarily in the central nervous system and throughout the gastrointestinal system, have a stronger effect than kappa receptors, providing moderate to heavy analgesia. The primary effects of mu receptor stimulation are physical dependence, euphoria, analgesia, and respiratory depression. Sedation and constipation are also seen to a less significant degree.

 is the maximum response achievable from a drug under ideal circumstances. “This would be [the effectiveness of] a drug that is tested on a young, healthy animal in a perfect setting,” Lafferty said. “It is not a sick, compromised, extremely painful animal.” Efficacy is often confused with 

, which is the level of clinically achieved analgesia.

 have an affinity for binding to receptor sites and high efficacy. 

 also have a high affinity for binding but have no efficacy; rather they block the action of agonist drugs.

 acts as an agonist at 1 site, exerting a full effect, and as an antagonist at another, blocking any kind of effect at that receptor site. 

 typically have a strong affinity for binding to receptor sites but low efficacy. “This is one of those keys that doesn’t completely fit in a lock,” Lafferty said. “Partial agonists sit in the receptor but don’t fully activate it.”

Kappa receptors, also located within the central nervous system as well as in some peripheral sensory neurons, provide only mild to moderate analgesia. The primary effects of kappa receptor stimulation are sedation, analgesia, miosis (tiny pupils), and psychosomatic effects (eg, anxiety, hallucinations, and nightmares). It is unclear how these psychosomatic effects translate to veterinary patients.

The implications of agonists, antagonists, and mixed agonist/antagonists can extend farther than the immediate situation and decision at hand. Pure agonists have high binding affinity and result in a highly efficacious response. Pure antagonists have a high binding affinity but do not result in efficacy as they block actions of other drugs at the receptor. Partial agonists are able to bind to the receptor, but in a way that imparts lower efficacy than pure agonists. Finally, mixed agonist-antagonists act as an agonist at 1 receptor and as an antagonist at another receptor.

Exploring beyond these categorical characteristics, individual opioid medications have specific adverse effects and ranges of clinical effectiveness to consider. Lafferty presented several cases to illustrate how the various characteristics and mechanisms of action of individual drugs affect clinical decision-making.

Should morphine be used for premedication, sedation, or analgesia in a patient with a sharp esophageal foreign body? Given the high potential for morphine to cause vomiting, its use would be contraindicated in such a case due to the risk for perforation. However, morphine may be advantageous in a patient with a soft foreign body, such that the object may be vomited, avoiding the need for surgical or endoscopic removal in some cases.

Is butorphanol a good option for analgesia in a dog presented for a forelimb amputation? Given that butorphanol only has a mild to moderate analgesic effect, and the duration of action is only about 1 hour, butorphanol is not a good match for this clinical situation.

Is buprenorphine a good option for pain control prior to surgery in a kitten with a mandibular fracture that is being referred for emergency surgery? Although buprenorphine provides 6 to 12 hours of analgesia, it may not provide sufficient analgesia for the degree of pain involved in this case, and if surgery is anticipated during that time, the weak antagonist effect may interfere with the anesthetic and analgesic protocol.

In addition to determining the most appropriate medication for a particular clinical situation and patient, the best route of administration must also be considered. Potential routes include constant-rate infusions (CRI), epidurals, local blocks, transmucosal delivery, and transdermal delivery.

CRIs can circumvent the short half-life of some opiates and allow titration to a consistently effective dose, avoiding the peaks and troughs that result in respiratory depression and breakthrough pain, respectively. Local blocks that combine opiates with lidocaine or bupivacaine can extend the duration of analgesia from the block and minimize systemic side effects of opiates. Further, epidurals or local blocks may reduce the concentration of inhalant anesthesia required for procedures. Transmucosal delivery of buprenorphine is a useful option in cats, although onset of action is 60 to 90 minutes. In dogs, however, the dose requirements are much higher, rendering the transmucosal option impractical.

When naloxone is administered, it is important to remember that reversal agents reverse not only the adverse effects of opiates but also their analgesic properties. Lafferty noted that there is no true “half-dose” where naloxone is used. No matter the dose used, the reversal should be presumed to reverse all analgesia. It is also important to consider the duration of action of the opiates previously on board, as well as the reversal agents being administered. For example, the duration of naloxone is 30 to 60 minutes, so if the opiates previously administered have a longer duration of action, be prepared to re-dose the reversal agent if a relapse of signs occurs. Conversely, should additional analgesia be needed after administering naloxone, realize that additional opiates cannot be readministered until the duration of action of naloxone has elapsed. Due to this limitation, in some cases where analgesia is still required but reversal may be beneficial, butorphanol may be an appropriate option where partial reversal is sufficient.

Rebecca A Packer, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Neurology/Neurosurgery), is an associate professor of neurology/neurosurgery at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Fort Collins. She is active in clinical and didactic training of veterinary students and residents and has developed a comparative neuro-oncology research program at Colorado State University.

The selection of opiates available and the various routes of administration provide a wide array of options for analgesia in veterinary patients. 

Understanding opioids in veterinary medicine

 magazine asked experienced practice manager Emily Shiver to answer your questions about life in practice for managers, technicians, assistants, client service receptionists, and others. Got a question for her? Email us at firstline@mmhgroup.com.

 “I’ve been waiting for 10 minutes. This is insane! I’m not going to tolerate this. I’m leaving and telling all of my friends, posting on every social media outlet, and leaving you a 1-star Google and Yelp review!”

Unfortunately, this exact scenario played out at my former clinic. The client walked in midmorning on a busy Friday. He had been written off 2 years earlier and demanded to be seen right away. My client service representatives were kind and warm, but he would not let up. The lobby was crowded with people and pets and he put on quite a show. After he exited the building screaming colorful language, the representatives approached me immediately to discuss how they could have handled that situation differently. So, what is the best way to deal with angry clients?

There are a handful of reasons why clients get angry. They love their pets but cannot afford the best care or they have unrealistic expectations or are under the influence. Sometimes emotions are high because, after all, pets are members of the family. No matter what has set off your client, here are some tactics to help defuse the situation.

Express the importance of your practice providing a good experience

See if you can come to a solution that is beneficial for both parties

Sounds simple? Far from it. The reality is that some clients will not be tamed that easily.

When dealing with an angry client, the first thing I do is ask whether we can move to a private area. Try not to come off forceful. Remember, they want an audience. You can say something like, “I can see how frustrating this is for you. I want to help you; come with me.” If they are really stubborn, they might not budge. At this point, I tell them that I am happy to help them, but that we need to step into an examination room or even go outside. If the result is still no movement or a higher volume, I ask them to leave the premises.

One of the best ways to defuse an angry client involves good listening skills. Be warned: You might hear things you either will not or do not want to hear about your practice, your teammates, or even yourself, but try not to take anything personally. The client probably has not read 

 nor taken the test, so practice social awareness and maybe they will eventually apologize.

Some of my go-to empathy expressions include the following:

“I completely understand. I would be frustrated, too.”

“Thank you so much for sharing this with me. We cannot improve without feedback.”

“I am upset as well. It is certainly not our goal to provide anything but a good experience.”

Sometimes the conversation takes a turn for the worst. The client might say, “There is no way you understand what I am experiencing right now” or “You aren’t upset, you just care about money and are going to let my dog die.” If the conversation goes in this direction, I typically let them know they are not in a place to discuss this. Then I excuse myself, letting them know I will return in about 10 minutes. Nine times out of 10, this works great, and when I return, they are ready to chat or have replaced themselves with someone more level-headed.

Share your practice’s mission and core values with angry clients. For example:

“Our goal is to care for your pet as if they were a member of our family.”

They may tell that you have clearly missed the mark on your mission. Take the feedback with poise and grace and respond, “I am truly sorry we have not met your expectations. I do hope we can regain your trust and continue to provide care for your pet.”

Once clients become less emotional, they usually can explain what would make their experience better. Then you can work on a reasonable solution or compromise.

There are untamable clients in every industry. The goal is to make sure your team is prepared to handle them. I do not tolerate blatantly rude or disruptive behavior from clients despite our efforts and will ask them to leave the premises. You can do this.

The good news? It is possible to turn these untamable lions into purring little kittens with empathy, emotional intelligence, and effort.

Emily Shiver, CVPM, CCFP, is regional director of operations at the Family Vet Group, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Shiver resides in Florida.

Experienced practice manager Emily Shiver explains how to defuse angry clients.

Ask Emily: I’m an angry client. Hear me roar.

“Mentorship matters” is a catchy use of alliteration, but what does it really mean? That is the question that Kate Boatright, VMD, and Tannetje Crocker, DVM, explored during a presentation this week at the 

 virtual conference. As both mentors and mentees, the doctors agreed that the role of mentors in the veterinary profession is pivotal to its continued success.

“Mentorship has been vital, especially early on in my career, to ensure a strong foundation,” said Crocker, who practices at Northwest Animal Hospital and the Animal Emergency Hospital of North Texas, both in Grapevine. “I think I could have potentially been a veterinarian who stopped practicing or burnt out. But instead, I had a group of people who were there to support me, cheerlead me, and guide me in a new direction.”

It is without a doubt a symbiotic relationship, added Boatright, an associate veterinarian, freelance speaker, and author in western Pennsylvania. “Being a mentor has helped revitalize my career from time to time when I start to get a little bored or burned out. Mentorship is all about the relationship. You can get so much more out of it than teaching someone or learning from someone.”

Early-career veterinarians, recent graduates, and veterinary students face myriad challenges in the transition from school to clinical practice that mentors can help guide them through successfully. According to Boatright and Crocker, novice veterinarians face several challenges that a mentor can help them overcome:

 The belief that they are a fraud is a feeling described by many new veterinarians during the first years of their career. “It is important to encourage mentees and remind them that they do know what they’re doing,” Boatright said. A lack of confidence should not be equated to a lack of knowledge.

 Recent graduates are often overloaded by student debt. “We choose this profession because we love the animals and the people we work with, but it can be daunting for a new graduate to have all of these bills,” Boatright said. Having a mentor who is reassuring and can relate to the burden of creating a financial roadmap is a huge relief.

 Many factors will affect a new veterinarian’s confidence in their skill level, including school curriculum, externships, internship training, and personality. A 

 conducted by dvm360® asked readers what areas of clinical practice they felt least prepared for as recent graduates. More than half of respondents said they felt unprepared for dentistry, 49% for behavior, and 33% for nutrition.

In a survey Crocker conducted through her Instagram account (@CrockerPetVet), she asked what graduating veterinarians look for when searching for their first job. Mentorship was consistently among top responses, she said, yet only 46% of respondents said they already had a mentor. “It is important to realize that there is a need out there and that you can help fulfill that need as a mentor,” Crocker added.

Crocker said she would like to see more hospitals promoting mentorship programs in their job listings and discussing the program during new-hire interviews. Not only does having an established mentorship program attract new staff to your practice, it helps keep them. Mentorship reduces turnover and drastically reduces the high cost that hospitals incur from hiring and training new associates. 

 reported that less than one-third of new graduates surveyed remained with their initial employer for longer than 12 months. Lack of mentorship and support was a primary reason for leaving.

 “We know that if we can provide mentorship we can help bond these veterinarians to our practices and retain them for longer,” Boatright said.

Mentorship provides opportunities for the mentor to learn by being exposed to new ideas and the current veterinary education curriculum. “I have fallen more in love with veterinary medicine since engaging as a mentor,” Crocker said. “It has reminded me of why I went into veterinary medicine and why I love what I am doing. I think the idea of mentoring can be overwhelming, but it is definitely worth it if you look into it.”

People are generally convinced that becoming a mentor is a big commitment. But that is not the case, Crocker said. Mentorship can be conducted in many ways, both virtually and in person. The doctors also reminded attendees that mentorship is not always a long-term relationship. There are 3 common types of mentors.

These are virtual relationships that are primarily communication-based and conducted via text messages, emails, and social media. This type of mentorship is ideal for a mentee seeking advice and guidance without hands-on skills training.

“I have veterinary students who I consider mentees but have never met in person,” Crocker said. “I think that even if you are very busy and don’t have a lot of face time to give somebody, you can still take a few minutes to say, ‘I am open and available if you have questions or concerns or need a listening ear.’ You can do all of that virtually.”

“A virtual relationship can be really valuable,” Boatright added, confessing that even she and Crocker have not had the opportunity to meet in person.

Some mentorships occur through a single event or brief time period to help a veterinarian get through certain stages in life. It is not a maintained relationship, but it is valuable in the short time that it lasts.

In some instances, mentorships may span for a year or more and may even extend through multiple phases of a career. These mentorships tend to vary between in-person and virtual communication as time progresses.

There are many ways to connect with potential mentees, Crocker assured attendees. She recommended attending job fairs or offering to speak at school events. “Clubs are always looking for practicing veterinarians to share what their life is like,” she said. “You don’t have to be a well-rehearsed speaker. The students are hungry for your stories.”

Social media offers a way to engage with numerous students simultaneously. “I have found it very rewarding to interact online,” Crocker said. Through Instagram, she has shared her professional experiences and received positive feedback. “That is the main way students will reach out to me and ask to come and spend time at our practice or just ask questions. People are fearful of social media, but it is a more positive place than you might imagine, especially when working with the younger generation of veterinary professionals.”

In some instances, a mentorship program might benefit from a structured guide and well-defined agreement. “But it doesn’t have to be that way,” Boatright explained. “It can be a more casual structure.”

When establishing a mentorship program or individual relationship with a new mentee, she encouraged attendees to ask the potential mentee about their expectations. Do they want to schedule regular meetings to review cases? Or do they want conversations to be more relaxed? The American Animal Hospital Association 

 provide a comprehensive framework for developing a structured mentorship program.

Mentorships apply to teaching clinical and technical skills as well as soft skills. Different clinicians have strengths in varying areas, and it can be beneficial to have several doctors in a hospital mentor a young veterinarian.

Boatright and Crocker hope to see an ongoing cycle of mentorship develop within the veterinary profession. “You meet young veterinary students and help to encourage them and invest in their careers, and then they will go on to become mentors and reach back to the next generation to want to give back to the profession,” Crocker said.

Be prepared: A look at what you didn’t learn in vet school. 

. May 7, 2018. Accessed February 26, 2021. 

https://www.dvm360.com/view/be-prepared-look-what-you-didnt-learn-vet-school

Jelinski MD, Campbell JR, MacGregor MW, Watts JM. Factors associated with veterinarians' career path choices in the early postgraduate period. 

Tait J, Carpenter T, Davidson S, et al. The American Animal Hospital Association mentoring guidelines. 

https://www.aaha.org/globalassets/02-guidelines/mentoring/mentoring-guidelines.pdf

Becoming a mentor can be easy, rewarding, and monumentally influential. 

Are you ready to become a superstar mentor?

Our Fetch dvm360 February virtual conference started yesterday and the fun continues tomorrow. We will continue to update you with our latest conference coverage and other news affecting the veterinary industry.

 Here's a look at some of our conference articles and other headlines from this week.

 at Fetch dvm360, Colleen Best, DVM, PhD, CCFP, explained why and how setting and asserting boundaries can improve your well-being, build resiliency, and shape how you engage with the world around you.

Fetch speaker Tai Ogg, DVM, MPH, shares everything you need to know before transitioning from an associate veterinarian to a relief veterinarian. 

Kate Boatright, VMD, and Tannetje Crocker, DVM, discussed the significance of mentorship yesterday during their lecture at the 

BluePearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital

 has released 2 reports outlining how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected pet ownership and veterinary practices in the United States.

 announced the appointment of Amanda Landis-Hanna, DVM, to the role of vice president of veterinary and animal welfare outreach.

Stay tuned on social media and dvm360.com for conference updates, articles, and more!

Check out this week’s top stories and our latest conference articles.

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