Fully Vetted

As part of their official duties, members of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board review a wide variety of complaints from pet owners and concerned citizens. Most are minor, some egregious, still others outside their jurisdiction—and don't forget the occasional absurd complaint. But if a veterinarian or technician is the subject of a complaint, no matter how big or small the grievance is, the situation is stressful. 

In this episode, OVMLB executive director Theresa Stir and board member Dr. Nancy O'Connor join us to explain what the most common violations are, how to respond to a notification from the board, and what the investigation process looks like. They also share some of the most outrageous complaints they've received during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In part two, we resume our "Meet the Board" series with OVMA Student Representative, Hailey Bryan. 

For show notes and more information on today's guests, please visit https://www.fullyvettedpodcast.com/episodes/30.html. 

VETERINARY WELLBEING, PART II: PREVENTING & HANDLING CRISES

Listen to the first installment in this series » 28. Wellness in the Veterinary Profession: The Perfect Storm?

As we well know by now, myriad variables impact a person's mental health, and when mental health decreases, so too does physical health and overall wellbeing. Further, if someone doesn't have a support system or know how to deal with these variables, their problems can spiral out of control and affect all facets of life.

And it doesn't just affect individuals: Companies are also hit hard by mental health issues in the form of lower productivity, poor staff morale, and increased absenteeism—not to mention a financial cost (to the tune of tens of billions of dollars annually, according to the CDC). On the flip side, healthy employees are happier, more productive and focused, and miss less work.

If everyone pays a high price for poor wellbeing, the logical solution is, first, to prevent the problem from compounding, and second, to have a failsafe in place just in case it does. After all, we offer wellness plans and preventive care for our patients. Why not for ourselves and our colleagues as well?

In this episode, we pick up where we left off with our Veterinary Wellbeing Series. Our panelists return to talk about inexpensive but effective ways employers can support their staff before a crisis arises. We also discuss what to do if the stress of the profession becomes toxic and how to know when it's time to move on.

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

The Cost of Happiness: Boosting staff wellbeing affordable with an EAP (OVMA Observer article by Dr. Ken Brunson)

Not One More Vet / Not One More Support Staff

Uncharted Veterinary Community

AVMA webinar: Suicide prevention and mental health

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EPISODE GUESTS

What do you get when you put empathic caregivers known to neglect their own health into a high-stress, demanding profession? The perfect storm.

At this point, we all know wellness is a big issue in the veterinary community. Compassion fatigue, burnout, and suicide are being discussed with increasing frequency, as are their causes: Working long hours, crippling loan debt, and demanding clients, just to name a few. But threats to mental health and overall wellbeing are much more nuanced than we may realize, and so too are their solutions.

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, Mia and Krysten kick off a new series tackling mental health in the veterinary profession. In this episode, our wellness advocates discuss factors that make this field so risky for highly empathic people, why common advice and coping strategies don't always work, and what unique threats they faced in their own professional lives.

More information and show notes available at www.fullyvettedpodcast.com.

Earlier this month, Ohio veterinarians became mandatory reporters of animal abuse—but what does that mean, exactly? In this episode, we discuss specific provisions of the new law and tackle some of your burning questions.

For links to relevant sections of Ohio law and other animal abuse resources, please see the show notes at www.fullyvettedpodcast.com.

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ARE YOU A NATURAL-BORN LEADER? OVMA's Power of 10 program can help you develop your innate leadership skills! More information and application online at www.ohiovma.org/powerof10.

Ohio's new law requiring veterinarians to report suspected companion animal abuse is about to go into effect. Sounds simple, but there are many shades of gray that can make reporting a complicated matter. In today's episode, Dr. Allison Lash of the Cleveland APL explains the process of reporting and what comes after, and shares examples of real-life cruelty cases she encountered during her career.

To view photos of the cases referenced in this episode and access other resources, please see the show notes at www.fullyvettedpodcast.com.

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ARE YOU A NATURAL-BORN LEADER? OVMA's Power of 10 program can help you develop your innate leadership skills! More information and application online at www.ohiovma.org/powerof10.

In this episode, OVMA Government Relations Director Michael Guastella joins Mia to discuss three major bills that were recently signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine.

More information and show notes available at www.fullyvettedpodcast.com.

For decades, the annual Midwest Veterinary Conference has offered an unparalleled experience for thousands of veterinary and animal care professionals from across the country and beyond: Hundreds of hours of cutting-edge education in a wide range of practice areas, the chance to learn from and connect with world-renowned experts, social and networking opportunities galore, and plenty of innovative new products in the Exhibit Hall. But in today's world, bringing together that many people in one place is not only unthinkable, it's a violation of state health orders.

Enter the 2021 Virtual MVC. 

In this episode, host Mia Cunningham chats with OVMA Executive Director Jack Advent and Communications & Technology Director Krysten Bennett about the OVMA's annual conference, which for the first time ever, is going online in February 2021. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!

More information and show notes available at www.fullyvettedpodcast.com.

Animal cruelty: It's something no veterinarian wants to see but inevitably will at some point. That's why it's so important to learn how to recognize an abused animal and how to handle such a case before it shows up at your clinic. In this episode, Dr. Allison Lash shares some common red flags of abuse, how to report abuse, and why it's so important to speak up even if you're not 100% sure.

More information and show notes available at www.fullyvettedpodcast.com.

Though OVMA's decision to pivot its annual Midwest Veterinary Conference to a web-based platform was unlikely to surprise anyone, there are still many unknowns about the 2021 convention. In this episode, get a preview of what to expect at the first-ever virtual MVC as OVMA Executive Director Jack Advent and Mia discuss plans so far. 

In part two, Krysten introduces FVP listeners to OVMA's new Government Relations Director, Michael Guastella.

More information and show notes available at www.fullyvettedpodcast.com.

As the old adage goes, you should never talk about politics at the dinner table—or should you? In this final installment to our DEI series, we discuss the sticky subject of dealing with racism from friends and family members. This is a must-listen episode for anyone who wants to learn how to better handle difficult conversations. Though the conversation centers around race, Dr. Cary’s techniques can be applied to other personal and professional situations.

More information, show notes, and links to all resources mentioned in this episode are available at http://www.fullyvettedpodcast.com/episodes/.