Along with the growing demand for a strong social media presence in veterinary medicine comes a dire need for a healthier work-life balance, says Caitlin DeWilde, DVM, owner of The Social DVM, a veterinarian-owned and operated social media marketing company.

“Very few of us [veterinary professionals] are happy and have a good work-life balance. Over time, this can lead to a real problem like psychological distress,” she said.

 virtual conference, DeWilde highlighted the crucial role social media plays in promoting veterinary practices and how it can also contribute to mental health issues such as burnout and compassion fatigue within the profession. To curtail these evolving stressors, she provided 3 social media safeguards that practices can utilize to promote a healthier and more cohesive workplace.

bad. DeWilde told attendees that there are quite a few perks. When used properly, it can help enhance the quality of care your practice provides, boost your reputation, and increase clientele. “It’s not all bad, you can still use social media and have a good work-life balance,” she said. Here’s how.

: Allows you to connect with friends, family, and colleagues.

: Provides mindless entertainment to combat the stress brought on by COVID-19 and curbside care.

: Offers access to various groups, information, and events for us to engage in or attend.

: Enables professionals to connect internationally, converse and collaborate.

: Offers mentorship and support to professionals seeking advice on complex cases or in need of recommendations.

: Increases online visibility, facilitates appointments, reviews, and builds reputation and client base.

Does your employer have a social media policy? According to DeWilde, these policies help determine who is responsible for responding and monitoring reviews and who creates, posts, and monitors the content. “I find a lot of people are not aware of what their true policy is or maybe they don’t have one,” she said. “Social media policies help you to be aware of what those expectations, roles, and timelines are.”

For example. Many veterinarians like to dive right in and handle situations, “that’s how we operate,” said DeWilde. However, when it infringes on your personal time, a lot of unnecessary stress will start to accumulate. Having defined and assigned roles can help set boundaries so that you aren’t working or worrying after hours about negative reviews or comments. “Are we responsible for this 24/7? The answer should be no,” she added.

Determining your level of involvement in social media at your practice is integral. Do you want to share the responsibility of creating and posting content or be the only one in charge? How much time are you willing to spend on it? “If you’re becoming involved in [social media management], you should know what that commitment looks like,” she said. DeWilde generally divides veterinary social media into 2 groups of people: Those who love it and spend way too much time on it, and those who don’t enjoy it and are unsure about how much time (and skill) is required.

Additionally, upper management doesn’t always consider the time, effort, and commitment it takes to manage social media properly. If you’re involved in creating, posting, monitoring, and analyzing content, you should be compensated for the additional workload.

“Bottom line is, how much time are we investing in this? Most practices don’t think about this from a time perspective. They don't think about the fact that it will take this person or these team members 4 hours a week to create, post, and analyze this content,” DeWilde said.

Social media can feel like a full-time job, making it tempting to manage it all on your own. Remember that your team is there to help. Implementing a team approach to managing social media ensures that the weight is being distributed equally so that no one is bogged down. DeWilde says taking a team approach enhances clinic culture by incorporating a diverse collection of voices to represent the practice. In addition to this, it also promotes the fostering of new ideas and support. “However you divvy out [the responsibilities], know that it allows for a collective voice and the bouncing of ideas. Talking to the front desk for ideas is a great resource as well as they are the ones who understand your clients the best,” she said.

The vast and evolving world of social media can be consuming and addicting, which is why it’s crucial to take breaks from it every now and again. According to DeWilde, managing your social media use can help you avoid negative effects on work-life balance, addiction, and boost productivity. “I can tell you from experience that going unplugged helps me be more in tune and in the moment. Sometimes you just need that break, and it’s amazing what you will get done when you’re not looking at your [device].”

Articles

Overseeing your clinic’s social media comes with many caveats ranging from fun and creative to stressful and burdensome. Find out how to curb your social media use and set boundaries when you’re on and off the clock. 

3 safeguards for managing social media at your veterinary practice

Longtime Fetch speaker Bash Halow, CVPM, LVT, BA, owner of Halow Consulting and dvm360

 Editorial Advisory Board member says although the Fetch conferences (register 

 have been virtual this past year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he's still enjoying the unique opportunity to connect with his colleagues online. 

“I’m so grateful for this organization,” he says. “The bond that the faculty has had over the years has been tremendous. I have 10-year friendships that I developed with the attendees," he told dvm360.

Halow, says although he loves the convenience of virtual meetings, there's nothing like being in person. In fact, he says he can't wait to return to the live conferences later this year. For him, there's nothing like reuniting with friends around his passion—veterinary medicine. Continue to stay tuned on our social media channels and on dvm360 for our latest Fetch Virtual conference coverage, updates, interviews, and more! 

Watch the video below to hear more of Halow's thoughts on the Fetch Virtual conferences and more.

Videos

Certified practice manager and Halow Consulting owner reflects on how the Fetch dvm360 conferences have impacted his life both professionally and personally.

'These are few of my favorite things'—about Fetch

Park Animal Hospital, like many veterinary facilities, had a challenging year. But there was finally light at the end of the tunnel. Dr Hays, the clinic’s owner, was strategizing how to transition her team back to pre-COVID-19 normalcy and decided to perform a detailed assessment of staff performance during the pandemic.

Mistakes were made, innovations were created, and policies were changed, all topics Dr Hays decided to discuss in 3 separate “COVID-19 exit meetings.”

There was no shortage of mistakes presented by the staff to the clinic administration in the “mistakes” meeting. Staff members also expressed their concerns about mandating COVID-19 vaccination. Hospital leadership decided that they would strongly recommend vaccination, but refusal was not grounds for termination.

Staff members also noted that were overwhelmed by the increased client load during the pandemic and suggested that hours be shortened and new clients temporarily suspended to ease the burden.

During the innovations meeting, team members highlighted the benefits of pandemic protocols on their overall health and safety. For example, all team members were assigned a pen for their personal use. Additionally, on-duty staff was given personal cell phones, and social distancing was maintained in the breakroom and lunch area at all times. Anyone with a non-COVID-19 illness was encouraged to self-quarantine.

Curbside innovations were the most dramatic, according to hospital staff. Parking spots were enhanced with signage with specific instructions for client check-in. The team also offered amenities and frequent updates to clients who had to remain in their cars for extended periods. Some euthanasia procedures were performed in larger vehicles such as SUVs and vans so that family members could still be present. The goal of these innovations was to maintain staff safety without compromising compassionate pet owner and pet care.

The final meeting focused on “new normalcy policies.” This new normal would never equate to pre-COVID-19 normal. Although the pandemic would eventually get better, the threat would not fully disappear. That's why Dr Hays and the team created several new normalcy policy practices, all of which would be incorporated into existing practice procedures. They are the following:

CDC guidelines would remain the primary directive for health and safety practices.

Clients would be able to enter the clinic with their pets but be given the option of curbside service upon request.

Even if no longer required by CDC guidelines, staff members could elect to wear a mask while on duty if desired.

Staff cell phones would not be shared and clear partitions between all staff workstations would remain.

Finally, if a staff member became ill for whatever reason, and even if vaccinated, COVID-19 testing would be strongly encouraged.

Dr Hays thought these meetings and decisions were great first steps for navigating the post-pandemic world. She felt that planning and being prepared was the practice’s primary directive. Her hope was to not have to repeat the panic and chaos that occurred when the pandemic first struck the community and the clinic.

Do you agree with conducting COVID-19 “exit meetings” before returning to a new form of normal at your practice? How would you have handled this situation? Let us know your thoughts by emailing dvm360news@mmhgroup.com.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges to the veterinary profession, since we face crises and emergencies every day, we were able to be resilient and continue to provide a high quality of care to our patients. Dr Hays responded like most of her colleagues and became a “wartime“ leader. What I found most impressive was her foresight. She knew that a “peacetime“ was coming, and she wanted her clinic to be prepared. Planning is the best way to prepare for future success. My hat goes off to Dr Hays.

Dr. Rosenberg is director of the Voorhees Veterinary Center in Voorhees, New Jersey. Although many of the scenarios Dr. Rosenberg describes in his column are based on real-life events, the veterinary practices, doctors, and employees described are fictional.

Should you assess your veterinary team’s performance before transitioning into a post-pandemic world?

The dilemma: Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic

Today is the day we've all been waiting for! Our second Fetch dvm360® virtual conference of the year starts today! The dvm360 editorial team will be posting articles covering a wide array of topics from the show as well as informative and engaging interviews and social posts.

In addition to 3 inspiring keynotes, some topics to look out for include updates on feline diarrhea management, the latest cancer research, tips for improving your mental health, diversity, and inclusion, and zoo medicine. Attendees also have the unique opportunity to earn over 200 CE credit hours.

Stay tuned on dvm360.com this week for exclusive conference coverage, and follow us on social media for updates, announcements, and more. Not registered yet? No worries. There's still time! The conference runs from today May 13, 2021, through Saturday, May 15, 2021 with sessions available to attendees on demand until 11:59 pm PST on Saturday, May 29, 2021. Register 

Stay tuned on dvm360.com and on all of our social media channels this week for engaging conference articles, video interviews, announcements, and more.

Our May Fetch Virtual conference starts today

The analogy isn’t perfect, but it’s close. The human medical community intensely encouraged individuals to receive the influenza vaccine before the COVID-19 vaccine became available. Getting sick with COVID-19 could be bad enough, they reasoned, but getting COVID-19 and influenza could be insurmountable.

Similarly, a growing number of veterinarians, including Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, assistant medical director at VCA Blum Animal Hospital in Chicago, endorse the idea of pairing up for protection against both canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC) and canine influenza virus (CIV).

“It’s human nature to think, ‘I’m not seeing it, so it must not be a problem,’ ” says Jenifer Chatfield, DVM, DACZM, DACVPM, a Tampa, Florida, veterinarian, and member of the dvm360® Editorial Advisory Board.

Marks was at ground zero in Chicago for the H3N2 outbreak in dogs in 2015-2016. “Living through that is something I will never forget. Of course, we had no available vaccine. How could we? But we do now,” she says.

The CIV mortality rate is only 2% to 4%, according to Marks, but morbidity is at 98% with a wide array of clinical signs. Also, this is no longer your grandmother’s 

. It is now known as CIRDC, which is far more representative of what
this typically is—a cocktail of respiratory illnesses.

“When it comes to respiratory disease, compounding infections is the enemy,” says Julie Reck, DVM, owner of Veterinary Medical Center of Fort Mill in South Carolina. “This means that infection with specifically 

 or canine influenza is likely self-limiting in most pets. They may be mildly symptomatic and typically recover on their own, with little to no treatment. But this changes drastically if they succumb to multiple infectious agents, and this reality is unfortunately very common in respiratory disease.”

 is an emerging bacterium that is increasingly implicated in CIRDC and most commonly identified in symptomatic dogs.

 The investigators found a significant association between the presence of 

 and the development of moderate clinical signs.

, according to the study, is also on the rise.

The occurrence of traditional CIRDC agents, such as 

 Conjecture is that years of vaccination likely won that war, but there are always new pathogens ready to infect.

According to Marks, testing for respiratory disease is important for several reasons:

, are bacterial
in nature. The correct course of treatment could be missed.

CIV goes unrecognized, although it’s not known how often, because the infection is commonly assumed to be 

 study, the greatest predictor of moderate to severe clinical signs was coinfection.

 Also, young dogs generally have increased susceptibility to CIRDC.

“For any vaccine, it’s lifestyle and potential zoonotic transmission that matter most, right?” Chatfield asks. “Think about the lifestyle concerns and risks that lead you to say, ‘Yes, vaccinating for 

 makes sense.’ Well, it’s the same lifestyle and risks for CIV, so why wouldn’t you vaccinate for both?”

“There is no way to say this nicely, but I’m not letting a boarding facility, one that says dog flu isn’t important, inform my guidance on vaccine decisions,” she adds. We’re learning every day about how prevalent coinfections are and how they can cause more severe diseases. Do you wait for an outbreak or prevent a problem in the first place and be part of the solution?

“Also, I suggest that as we see more parainfluenza and 

—so many pathogens—we may learn that CIRDC is impacting at least some dogs more than we might have suspected,” Chatfield continues. “In any case, I don’t feel this is an innocuous kennel cough.”

“We know respiratory disease can cause a wide range of clinical signs, some of which require hospitalization,” Marks says. “Even when dogs don’t require hospitalization, their quality of life is very obviously affected, and the same is true for pet parents.” With about half of all dogs sharing their owner’s bed,

a coughing dog may keep an entire family awake.

Pairing up for protection is a way to effectively move toward herd immunity, “I know we all learn about herd immunity in veterinary school, and we may have thought it applies only to our large animal colleagues,” Marks says. “It applies to us in small animal medicine equally. We want to further protect our patients, protect the community, and protect ourselves.”

Chatfield notes, “There is now a novel influenza among pigs in China that has the capability to infect people. We also know dogs in China have already been coinfected with multiple strains of flu simultaneously.”

As everyone is experiencing on the human side, viruses will happily mutate, given the chance, and conceivably jump species, as H3N8 did from horses to dogs.

“I don’t even want to imagine a scenario if dog flu were to become transmissible to people,” Chatfield says.

“Our job is preventing disease,” Marks concludes. “If we let them catch disease and then play catch up and treat, that’s not doing our job."

Maboni G, Seguel M, Lorton A, Berghaus R, Sanchez S. Canine infectious respiratory disease: new insights into the etiology and epidemiology of associated pathogens. PLoS One. 2019;14(4):e0215817. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0215817

APPA National Pet Owners Survey, 2019-2020. American Pet Products Association; 2019:92.

Steve Dale, CABC, writes for veterinary professionals and pet owners, hosts 2 national radio programs and has appeared on TV shows including Good Morning America and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He is on the dvm360® Editorial Advisory Board as well as the boards of the Human-Animal Bond Association and EveryCat Foundation. He appears at conferences around the world. Visit stevedale.tv.

A growing number of veterinarians endorse the idea of vaccinating against both canine infectious respiratory disease complex and canine influenza virus. Here’s why.

Respiratory disease: Pair up for protection

A number of articles out there offer overviews of practice information management systems (PIMS) and advice on how to select the right one. But those articles are focused on choosing a PIMS for private practices. Veterinary consolidators have slightly different priorities for this software, including efficient scaling, compatibility with existing systems, remote accessibility, the ability to analyze data across all practices, and the need to respond to existing and future client demands.

Upon acquiring new practices, consolidators are faced with varied operational deficiencies, often including a mishmash of software that is most likely outdated. Implementing a new PIMS across multiple practices needs to be managed effectively through thoughtful change management processes. Mismanagement of the system integration strategy can be a big setback for consolidators. Imagine spending time, money, and effort to implement the system and train the staff and then suddenly realize the system no longer serves your needs or, worse, people are not using it. A veterinarian I spoke with recently estimated that her 3 practices would plan to lose about $75,000 in retraining, missed charges, and mistakes from introducing a new PIMS. So, making the transition better be worth it.

Post-acquisition improvements and increasing practice margins become an even more pressing issue as competition in the consolidation space intensifies. This article focuses on software standardization and integration, including where to start and what to consider for a smooth transition to a system that will remain relevant for years to come.

Although intuitively it may seem that having a unified PIMS across all practices makes sense, it’s worth taking some time to first conduct an initial assessment of the organization’s readiness for change before jumping into a new system selection process. A Consolidator Maturity Model can be used to evaluate the current phase in the consolidator lifecycle and identify areas that need to be integrated, changed, or improved. This gap analysis may reveal that it’s too early to consider changing systems.

A maturity assessment will build a road map for progressing through the consolidator life cycle and devising a strategic filter to be used for all business decisions. It’s important to start with processes and policies. Getting a new system prior to establishing workflows might lead to having a system that’s not being used because there is a lack of understanding of how to set it up or how people are going to use it. Without an organizational strategy, it’s impossible to find software that fits its needs.

It is a good idea to survey employees about their wish list of practice management capabilities and understand their major pain points when using the existing PIMS. Their answers should also be put through the strategic filter. Employees should be heard and validated during the software vetting and purchasing processes.

Scalability is of primary importance when it comes to choosing a PIMS for consolidated practices. The new system should be compatible with the existing hardware and software so it doesn’t create a bottleneck when adding new practices.

Secondly, a good PIMS must take real steps to improve efficiency and truly optimize workflows for employees. It should be capable of streamlining controlled substance logging and state and federal reporting, reduce the amount of paperwork, improve inventory management and procurement, and limit missed charges on invoices. An ideal PIMS should be cloud-based (accessible from anywhere with an internet connection) and adaptable to mobile devices.

Finally, the new system should support the features that are growing in demand among clients and will help improve their loyalty. This includes telemedicine capabilities, support for multiple payment options (including text to pay), integration with pet insurance and wellness plan providers, and marketing automation features to execute an effective loyalty program.

A good PIMS not only helps employees do their work better, faster, and easier but is also a source of valuable data that can help improve business performance. Data requirements for consolidated practices are greater because unification and alignment around the same SKUs become mandatory.

The ability to pull data from all PIMS to analyze performance, compare primary profit centers to primary cost centers, and pinpoint insights and new opportunities is essential for veterinary consolidators.

At the end of the day, any change needs to be implemented very methodically, starting with a maturity assessment to build a clear roadmap and using it as a strategic filter to navigate through the consolidator lifecycle.

Ryan Leech is director of sales at VIS, the first consolidator operating platform. His desire is to help clients use technology to accelerate business performance while preventing employee burnout. Ryan spends his free time with his wife, Marmie, and their 2 golden retrievers, Walter and Rosie.