Practice Tip: A Fear Free solution to noisy clipboards

Dr. Lyons and her staff used loud clipboards at their clinic. They taped down the clips and quieted the offending clicks.Editor's note: This tip was originally sent to Dr. Karen Overall, MA, PhD, DACVB, CAAB, who, along with Dr. Marty Becker, promotes Fear Free veterinary visits. For more information about the movement, visit dvm360.com/fearfree.

Dr. Overall, Thank you so much for your wonderful work and resources allowing us to pursue Fear Free in our practice. The entire staff is on board and it's amazing the changes we are making! We call any stress-reduction ideas "Flashes" in honor of you and [your dog] Flash.

Our clinic uses clipboards to hold the exam charts for each patient during an exam. The clipboards have a little sliding piece that  can be placed on a hook. One day I was in the exam room with my reactive patient and realized the sliding piece made a click every time I moved my clipboard. (Actually, the patient alerted me to this problem!) So, immediately, all clipboards were scotch taped to eliminate the click. Now that the offending click is gone, the entire staff realized how obtrusive it really had been.

Dr. Shari Lyons and staff

Zionsville Country Veterinary Clinic

Whitestown, Indiana