So Dr. Zager, I do want to talk about workplace harassment because unfortunately, bottlenecks do happen in our industry. And it is happening to the LGBTQ+ community. So what happens if, say, there's an employee that's feeling like they're being bullied or harassed, and they kind of want to quit, but they don't know what to do? Or who to go to? What does that look like?

I think it's important, first of all, to obviously hear them out. But having in your management structure, the ability for them to find pathways, so if it's their direct manager that they feel uncomfortable with is to make sure that every team member knows alternative paths if they need to. So whether that is HR, whether that's the hospital manager, whether that's just a doctor in the practice, or technician in the practice, or a CSR in their practice, that they feel they can come to help advocate for them, I think is important. I think it's also equally important to make sure that you don't keep around toxic members of the team. They're always in practices that that that team member that might be very, very good at the job, but is toxic to other employees. And it's not worth in the long run, keeping those people around. As far as another important thing is clients as well. So you don't want to be tolerating harassment from clients, to your employees. And I think this is a very common point of feeling bad from our employees, where they feel like the clients can walk all over them, can treat them however they want, can call them slurs and things like that with impunity, and that is absolutely not acceptable. And so having a structure in your hospital to be able to fire clients for inappropriate behavior to your team members. So if they are harassing them for any reason, because they're LGBTQ, because they're a person of color, because they're female and not male, you know, any of those reasons. You do not want to tolerate that it is not worth having that client in your hospital, and you should have a structure in place to fire them to show your own team their support.

I know practices have like zero policy for harassment, too. They actually even haven't posted now on their own websites to clients.

And they should. I want to just add a little something to that I think leadership should be trained on validating people's experiences. There was a there was a survey done by catalyst.org, where 52% of the queer community that they interviewed said that they experience gay or lesbian jokes, from their coworkers in their place of business. And that hurts people whether you know it or not, it hurts people's feelings. And for somebody to come to you and have the trust, like we were talking about earlier to be able to express that. And you're not believing them, are you brushing it off, like it's no big deal. And they didn't mean it that way that causes a lot of damage. So for your leadership to be trained on validating experiences is a huge deal. In my opinion.

I'd like to just bounce off Jennifer and just say like, I feel like when someone gets a new job, they go through onboarding, training and stuff like that. I feel like maybe there should be a course on LGBTQ education. I feel like that would help. Not only the employers, but staff members, everyone there.

I think so where he's going, like, I think policies are just really important. And everybody like in a whether you work in an industry or you work in hospital, like should know, what the policies are. And I think when there's also an issue, like harassment or something else is brought up into the workplace. And, you know, there also needs to be a culture when also retaliation doesn't happen. You know, because I think ultimately individuals are, you know, regardless whether the harassment was real, the complaint was real. However, it ends up needing to be a safe environment in which you can bring your concerns on and also know that you're not going to be retaliated against.

Videos

Discussing harassment in the workplace, not only from employees, but also clients

Workplace bottlenecks in the LGBTQIA+ community

: Well, hello there. My name is Dr Adam Chrisman, chief veterinary officer here at dvm360, and Happy Pride Month. Look at our Pride Month shirts that we're wearing over here, but not Bash. It's quite alright.

: I'm holding up the straight end of the table.

: Well, this is a fun, open, transparent conversation where we're gonna be celebrating Pride Month talking about inclusivity and inclusive workspace in vet med, too. So you're probably asking: Who are these wonderful people that are joining me? Well, I'm gonna go ahead and introduce them. My pronouns are he/him, and we'll kick it right over here.

: Hi, my name is Jennifer Evans, my pronouns are she/her I've been in veterinary medicine for 21 years.

: And I am Bash Halow, and my pronouns are he/him and I'm owner of Halow consulting. And I'm very happy to be a part of this group.

: Hi, I am Dr Omar Farías. My pronouns are he/him. I work for Hill's Pet Nutrition. I'm also the president elect for Pride Veterinary Medical Community.

: I'm Eric Zager, he/him. I'm a critical care specialist and a partner and head of the critical care service at Philadelphia Animal Specialty and Emergency.

: Hi, I'm Michael Lark, I am he/him and I work as a licensed veterinary technician. Thank you so much for having me again, Adam.

: Yeah, we'd love to thank you for being here, my friends. This is wonderful. This is how we advance together and have this great conversation. So, I want to check what you're seeing in front of you, too. We have quite an array, a good cross section of our profession from practice managers, veterinary technicians, industry leaders, to practice owners. And so I think this is a great conversation to chat about inclusivity in the workspace, and Bash, I want to ask you first how hospital teams create a safe and inclusive work experience. Your're a practice manager and in a lot of practices around the country. So, what does that look like to you?

: Well, in very practical terms, it looks like managers and owners stepping back and asking themselves not just what their gay team members may need or any other minority or protected class employee needs at their practice, but what all of their employees need. So, you know, I know that we may look like an exotic group, but all of us thrive on things like feeling our value, making sure that we have a voice that's heard, making sure that we feel like we're part of a team that's loved, making sure that we have access to growing and that we are cultivated to grow, and certainly equal pay. We all want that. And so does everybody else in the practice want that. So I think if you can focus on that, that's a great start to thinking about what needs to happen to make sure that all of your team members are being taken care of. And then the most important thing is how do you figure out whether or not what it is you're doing is working for all of the team members. And, you know, we made a point to distinguish ourselves with pronouns. And I do think, you know, I think that there's a lot of when we were talking about this a little bit earlier...there's a lot of language in today's today's world about people pushing back on the kind of language that we use. Some people think that's extreme, but I do think that it's important. It's an important step forward to acknowledge how other people may be feeling, and to invite them to be more comfortable. So looking at the language that you use for job descriptions, and then how you talking about roles at the practice is important, maybe not a major step like the ones I just talked about. But it's an important step. And also, I would say finding a way to get people to be honest with you about what's really going on in the practice. And I think that that's a tough thing to do. You know, we always lean on things like coaching sessions, or review sessions, but it's more of a lopsided thing where I'm going to tell you what I think you need to hear. And that's, I think, the wrong way. I think those sessions should be about coaching and coaxing the other person out to talk about what they're feeling and seeing in the workplace. That's probably the best way to identify more opportunities for inclusion, which really are important. I mean, it's not just this, I'm gonna shut up after this. You know, it's not just we're not just going here for something that's zeitgeist. You're looking for diversity, you're looking for, finding, you know, we all know, we've all been through a tough couple of years looking for talent. If there's talent and any member, that of your practice that you can extract, we want to make sure that the pipeline is open for that. So we really want to work towards a time when we can have diversity and we can have as many voices and thoughts going into helping us be successful as we can.

: Excellent. Jennifer, what are your thoughts?

: I think all of that is valuable information. I do believe that. Creating a safe space for trust for your colleagues is massive because If they can't trust you, they're not going to tell you what they're experiencing. And if I can't express that to you, you're not going to know. And I'm going to continue to suffer in silence. And I believe that trust is just so valuable with starting that safe space.

: Yeah, absolutely. And, Michael, you're a veterinary technician. How important it is to, you know, be in an environment that you feel safe accepted, you know, part of the conversation for both you and fellow veterinary technicians?

: I feel like just bouncing off what Jennifer was saying, you have to be comfortable with expressing how you feel and who you are. I feel like one of the things that go into is , you have to know that this person is willing to receive that information. So I feel like if practices or employers have like visual postings or emails that like show that they support the LGBT community, it can make me or someone else feel comfortable about sharing who they are.

: Yeah, absolutely. And, Eric, you're a practice owner in Philadelphia. And you know, nowadays, it's about why it's so hard to try to find talent, but how important is it for you, as a practice owner to identify or encourage a safe working environment? You know, a lot of the new graduates are looking for safe environments, inclusive workspaces...what does that look like for you as a practice owner?

: Yeah, so I think a lot of it is trying to make sure that that is demonstrated for any person who's coming into the practice, you know, you don't want to be putting on a show for someone who's coming to interview. You want to be living those values. And so making sure that you have representation, you have a diverse team, you have, you know, even things that can seem minor, like gender neutral bathrooms, people pick up on that. And, you know, it is the type of thing where you want to make sure that anytime you have concerns that are brought up by your team, that you take them seriously. Just because you don't personally have that concern doesn't mean that you shouldn't be valuing that concern and others, similar to you know, people who might not be part of the LGBTQ+ community, you don't need to understand it yourself to be able to respect how other people understand that. And I think we're seeing a lot of that much more with the trans community that they're fighting for this where you don't have to understand it, you have to respect someone else's ability to understand that. And you have to demonstrate that in your workplace as well.

: Absolutely. And both of you are in industry. So Omar, what does representation look like to you in the veterinary industry side of things?

: Yeah. So that's a good question. You know, I think when it comes to representation, first of all, we want to see more LGBTQ voices and faces within the veterinary community. I think it's important to have people like in leadership positions, I think panels like this are important. I think reaching out, doing activities, making sure that we are really supporting the different activities and initiatives excuse me, that, that promote diversity and the visibility of our community. Yeah.

: You know, I heard I read a book one time that said, diversity is about who you're inviting to the party. Inclusivity is about asking them to dance. But equality is about who's planning the party. And for me, I think that's so important because it's vital, not only as a practice owner or practice manager, but who is planning our parties, because they're going to be the ones that are making all of us including the minority groups feel more comfortable more welcome more at home, in our work setting. So I think representation is massive.

What does a safe, inclusive work space look like?

The importance of safety, trust, and equity in the practice

The sand cat triplets (Photo courtesy of North Carolina Zoo).

The North Carolina Zoo has announced the birth of 3 sand cat kittens born on May 11, 2023. The sexes are currently unknown. The mom and triplets are doing well and starting to venture into their surroundings at the Desert Habitat. 

The only cats to live solely in desert environments (native to deserts of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia)

One of the world’s largest feline species, weighing from 4 to 8 lbs

Not often sighted in the wild because they live in remote landscapes, hunt at night, and have secretive behavior, so they are challenging to study with little known about the population size and lifespan in the wild

Great at hearing which they use to detect animals under the sand and use their excellent digging skills to capture their prey

 this is the third birth at the zoo in less than 2 weeks, following the births of a male giraffe calf and female chimpanzee infant. The North Carolina Zoo is going to offer a public naming poll for the kittens with details soon to come on its social media channels and website.

The kittens were born to first-time mother Sahara, 3, and father Cosmo, 9. Cosmo and Sahara were paired as a part of the Sand Cat Species Survival Plan and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Over 50 sand cats live at over 20 AZA institutions.

The North Carolina Zoo emphasizes that sand cats may look cute with big ears, eyes, and petite body, but they are wild, ferocious animals that should never be kept as pets.

Hannah Pet Hospital announces appointment of Dr Jaime Pickett as Chief Executive Officer. News release. Hannah Pet Hospital. June 2, 2023. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hannah-pet-hospital-announces-appointment-of-dr-jaime-pickett-as-chief-executive-officer-301841480.html

Articles

There is little known about these creatures in the wild because of their secretive nature

Sand cat triplets born North Carolina Zoo

Hannah Pet Hospital, a provider of pet healthcare services, has appointed Jaime Pickett DVM, MBA, as chief executive officer. Pickett offers more than 20 years of background in veterinary medicine and leadership to Hannah Pet Hospital.

Jaime Pickett DVM, MBA, new CEO of Hannah Pet Hospital.

 in this new role, Pickett will be responsible for overseeing the growth and expansion of Hannah Pet Hospital's innovative membership-based pet hospital in Portland, Oregon. The model provides a suite of pet healthcare services, for a predictable monthly fee. 

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr Pickett as our new CEO," expressed Scott Campbell, DVM Hannah's founder and chairman of the board, in the release.

 "Her extensive experience in the veterinary industry, combined with her proven leadership skills, make her the ideal choice to lead our company through its next phase of expansion and success."

The current CEO, Fred Wich, will transition to a new role as a board member, offering guidance and support to the company.

Before Hannah Pet Hospital, Pickett worked as chief medical officer at a large veterinary hospital company, where she oversaw the operations of over 50 locations nationwide. She holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from University of Florida, an MBA from St George's University, and a BA from Johns Hopkins University.

"I am honored to join Hannah Pet Hospital as CEO and to be part of such an innovative and forward-thinking company," said Pickett. "I look forward to working with the talented team at Hannah Pet Hospital to continue providing exceptional pet healthcare services to our members, and to drive the growth and expansion of our model in Portland and beyond."

Jaime Pickett, DVM, will support the innovative membership-based pet healthcare model in Portland, OR

Hannah Pet Hospital names new CEO

Humanimal Trust, the charity founded in 2014 in the UK to advance One Medicine, has recently joined animal protection organizations worldwide in becoming an associate member of the World Federation for Animals (WFA).

 the trust joins over 50 national, regional, and international animal protection organizations, including the RSPCA, Cruelty Free International and Compassion for World Farming.

“We are absolutely delighted to join the World Federation for Animals and can’t wait to unite with our fellow members from all parts of the world to ensure that animals are properly considered within global policymaking,” said Joe Bailey, CEO of Humanimal Trust, in the release.

She added, “We exist to drive collaboration between vets, doctors, researchers, nurses and allied professions so that all humans and animals benefit from sustainable and equal medical progress, but not at the expense of an animal’s life. But we can’t expect others to collaborate if we as a charity aren’t prepared to do that ourselves. Collectively, we as members of the WFA, have an incredible opportunity to put the wellbeing of animals firmly on the international stage and finally get them the fairness, recognition and protection they need and deserve.”

“Having had the privilege of witnessing the remarkable work and ambition of Humanimal Trust, I am inspired by their unwavering commitment to utilizing humane science and ethics to truly transform the health and well-being of both humans and animals. We are thrilled to welcome Humanimal Trust as an Associate Member of WFA,” stated James Yeates, CEO of the World Federation for Animals, who made a recent appearance in the Humanimal Trust’s podcast series.

Humanimal Trust joins World Federation for Animals to ensure the wellbeing of animals takes centre stage. News release. Humanimal Trust. May 23, 2023. Accessed June 2, 2023.

With goal to ensure animals are properly considered within global policymaking

Humanimal Trust joins World Federation for Animals 

Юлия Завалишина/stock.adobe.com

readers! Throughout June, we will be posting articles featuring members of the LGBTQIA+ community and social media takeovers. Check in throughout the month to make sure you do not miss anything!

In the meantime, here is what was popular this week on dvm360.com:

Temple Grandin, PhD, MS, world-renowned autism spokesperson and animal behavior expert in the livestock industry, 

 an honorary degree from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Omar Farías, VMD, president-elect of PrideVMC, joins this 

 of dvm360 Live™! to discuss all the important working being done to help ensure that everyone has a safe, inclusive work environment.

 of The Vet Blast Podcast, Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, is joined by Wendy Myers, CVJ, to discuss 4 different ways veterinary clinics can help fight against no-show clients.

 of Veterinary scene Down Under focuses on veterinary thought leaders raising awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Australian veterinary profession, plus progress on title protection and regulation for technicians and nurses.

 to fuzapladib sodium for injection (Panoquell-CA1; Ceva), making it the first drug to receive this approval for treating acute canine pancreatitis.

News wrap-up: This week’s headlines, plus Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine presents Temple Grandin, PhD, MS, with an honorary degree

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