Veterinary Voices

Veterinarian Dr Helen Beattie on:

• life after Chief Veterinary Officer at the New Zealand Veterinary Association  
• Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa - VAWA
• some of the amazing opportunities Helen experienced as CVO NZVA
• some more of the amazing people Helen worked with as CVO NZVA
• what's next and where to from here

Part 3 of the three part series getting to know Dr Helen Beattie now that she's no longer the Chief Veterinary Officer at the New Zealand Veterinary Association.

Part 1 - episode 069 - some career highs and lows

Part 2 - episode 070 - some conflict, tension and moral distress

Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa 

Helen being interviewed on "Lately"

Helen being interviewed on the Rural Roundup podcast

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Veterinarian Dr Helen Beattie on:

• Conflict, Tension & Moral Distress
• Books Helen's reading and recommends
• Inspiration & aspirational parenting
• + a bit of philosophical discussion

Part 2 of a multi-part series getting to know Dr Helen Beattie before she became known to New Zealand's veterinarians in her role as Chief Veterinary Officer at the New Zealand Veterinary Association.

Part 1 - episode 069 - some career highs and lows

Books Dr Helen Beattie is reading or has just finished reading:

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52741293-shuggie-bain

Roar - How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life by Dr Stacy Sims 

https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/roar-9781623366865

Women Don't Owe You Pretty by Florence Given:  https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/product/women-dont-owe-you-pretty-6548712

Top level topics Helen talks about:

• Some of  “team” & “people” highlights vs things she’s achieved.
• The privilege of having “thinking time” that you don’t get in clinical practice.
• The opportunity to be exposed to amazing minds and people that vets in clinic don’t get.
• What would “Old Helen” say to “Young Helen” – I asked Helen what tips she’d give to herself today as a freshly graduated vet.
• Her personal principles 
• Tension and conflict
• Communication
• Human behaviour change
• Bipolar language
• The power of language 
• Helen talks about how cycling gives her thinking space and time:  her clearinghouse
• Working as a locum in the UK
• The prevalence of specialists just around the corner.
• Her desire for kiwi fur baby parents to invest in pet insurance for comfort and security.
• Moral distress – a lowlight for most vets in their veterinary career.

Julie and Dr Beattie skirt on the fringes around the topic of rape.   If you are sensitive to this you might find this episode a bit sensitive.

Although the topic isn't discussed in any detail whatsoever please be aware the word is raised!

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Dr Helen Beattie grew up on a South Island Central High Country station before going to Massey University.   Her veterinary career started off in a mixed animal clinic in North Otago.

Helen’s OE included working on the UKs foot and mouth response in the UK.  From there she came home to Godzone and bought a companion animal clinic in Dunedin.

From clinic ownership Helen ventured into teaching vet nurses at Otago Polytechnic.   Not standing still on the education front, Helen picked up the books herself to become a warranted animal welfare inspector whilst employed as the Director of Animal Welfare at SPCA Otago.

If you didn’t know who Dr Helen Beattie was at the beginning of the current Covid-19 pandemic, you sure would have heard about her come March/April 2020 because Helen was the NZ Vet Association’s Chief Veterinary Officer – burning the candle at both ends helping kiwi vet clinics navigate the ins and outs of staying open and safe whilst NZ was declared a State of Emergency.   

At the NZVA , her role was one of national level advocacy, leadership and politicking on behalf of the veterinary profession and for animal welfare.

Helen left this position late 2021 and in February 2022 Helen launched an organisation providing a unique new voice for animal welfare - Veterinarians for Animals Welfare Aotearoa. The organisation was the brainchild of several veterinary colleagues, and provides a veterinary-led, science-backed, independent advocacy voice on animal welfare.

Dr Helen Beattie - qualifications
Bachelor of Veterinary Science
Certificate in Animal Welfare Investigations
Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Learning and Teaching
Certificate in Mata ā Ao Māori

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

This week we’re looking at what vet clinics need to do to navigate Phase 2 of Omicron, what payment options you have for employees who get sick and then a lesson I had last week which, as Shania Twain would say – didn’t impress me much!

At 11:59pm on Tuesday 15 February NZ officially moved into Phase 2 of the Omicron Response framework.

In short, this means that positive cases need to self-isolate for 10 days (can self-release after day 10 if no symptoms for 72 hours).

Close contacts need to quarantine for seven days (test on day five)

RAT testing acceptable with PCR follow-up

However, for vet clinics who’re registered as a Critical Service, vaccinated team members can actually continue to work provided they’re asymptomatic.

Hopefully, by now your clinic has registered itself as a critical service.   This is important because it means you can stay open for business should someone on your team be exposed to the virus.    

The registration process is being facilitated by MBIE and you can find it by going to businessconnect.govt.nz.   

To register you need to go to MBIE’s Business Connect Service and select Close Contact Exemption Scheme Register. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.  Like I said you’ll need your REALME login so make sure you know where to find your password and login info before you start.   

The scheme allows vaccinated people working for critical businesses to be exempted from health orders requiring them to isolate due to being close contacts.   

Vaccinated & Non-Vaccinated Employees

Not all clinics have mandated that all employees must be vaccinated.   

If you’re in a clinic where there’s a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated, I believe – life according to Julie – you’ll need to have a different plan to a clinic that’s 100% vaccinated.

Why?

Because the Phase 2 critical worker conditions are applicable only to VACCINATED WORKERS.   

Which means that when an unvaccinated team member is deemed a close contact THEY MUST ISOLATE AT HOME.   

Whereas a vaccinated close contact can still come to work.

Everyone needs to consider how they’re all going to support each other – vaccinated and unvaccinated.  

Paying Employees - or not - who're isolating

There’s a general legal principle that an employer is required to pay an employee if they are “ready, willing and able” to work. 

The same principle will likely apply where a vet clinic requests that an employee stays away from the clinic based on their own risk assessment, as opposed to a government mandated requirement. 

In this instance the clinic would need to continue payment unless otherwise agreed. Further, the clinic cannot direct the employee to take annual leave unless they had complied with the requirement to give 14 days’ notice.

The situation is different where the workplace remains open and the employer can provide work – as in the case of being registered as a critical workplace - but the employee isn’t able to attend due to self-isolation or quarantine requirements. 

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

How  NZ vet clinics and overseas qualified vets are impacted 

In real terms, what difference does this make?   In some cases, it’s going to make a HUGE difference, in others, not-so much.

What was MIQ – which those clinics fortunate enough to have vets enter NZ over the last 18 months or so – had the pleasure – she says, in air quotes, of footing the bill for that – well that’s still going to happen just under a different name and with a different look.

SELF ISOLATION is going to kick in instead of government-provided MANAGED ISOLATION facilities.   This means that if you’re a clinic bringing a new-to-NZ vet into the country – funding isolation will probably still be required as the visa is tied to the employer.   

I’ve heard quite a few stories recently of clinics that’ve had signed employment offers with overseas vets but then our government has changed the rules which has delayed their entry here.   The latest rule change requirement is that all family members must be received booster vaccinations.  

The first stage is opening up to kiwis and people with border exceptions from AUSTRALIA from 23:59 Sunday 27/02/2022.

The second stage - a fortnight later - Step two - from 11:59 pm, Sunday 13 March 2022 

This is probably the most important date for vet clinics – from 23:59 on Sunday 13/03/2022 NZ will open to kiwis and other eligible travellers – including vets who’re eligible to be registered here – earning at least 1.5x the median wage (which equates to $84,240 – or $40.50 ph) for roles longer than six months.

Under this second step of border reopening - the minimum experience criteria has been removed – so new and very recent grads – who’re able to be registered here – can enter.

The other important thing about this date is that it enables the Working Holiday Visa scheme to kick back in – although this is “on a rolling basis (the staging and timing of individual schemes will be confirmed)”.

Step three kicks in the week of Easter - from 11:59 pm, Tuesday 12 April 2022 

The border will then open to current offshore temporary visa holders, who can still meet the relevant visa requirements.   At the same time up to 5000 international students can plan to attend the second semester.   

Further class exceptions for critical workforces that don’t meet the 1.5 times the median wage test will be considered.    It would be nice if that extended to vet nurses and new grads.

Step four - by July 2022 

The border will be open to anyone from Australia and open for visa-waiver travel. 

The Accredited Employer Work Visa will open.   

If you are a clinic bringing international vets into NZ, Employer Accreditation is something you’ll need to put on your to-do calendar.  

Step five - October 2022

The border fully reopens to visitors from anywhere in the world, and all visa categories fully reopen.

All travellers must meet health requirements before travel.

Australasian Veterinary Exam
NZ Border Entry Requirements

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

So far, we’ve looked at the cost of employee turnover – episode 64 – how to lower the cost of churn – employee turnover by starting an Employee Retention Investment Fund at your clinic.

Last week we looked at the 5-P questions – Pride + Place + Possibility + Permanency + Propel  

Today we’re looking at the next series of seven survey questions - in line with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - you can ask your team – or yourself – to check the State of the Nation at your clinic.  

This episode is especially for PM, HR and Regional Managers who want to get a bit of a feel for how aligned your team is to your clinic’s brand, vision and mission … in other words, your clinic’s raison d’être.

If you’re the owner or principal of a vet clinic and similarly want to know how aligned and/or affiliated your team is to your clinic’s brand, vision and mission – your raison d’être – then this is for you as well.

And if you’re a vet or a nurse at a clinic who knows that you’re not quite 100% fully engaged… fully committed to your clinic’s brand, vision and/or mission, then this could help pinpoint what’s missing for you at your clinic and/or what needs to change for you so that you can recommit or quit.

This is the third in the multi-episode series focussed on helping vet clinics recruit and retain top performing vets and vet nurses and then how to attract more vets and vet nurses like them and to help vets and nurses know what to look for when / if they’re making their next professional move so they get to work at an Employer of Choice Vet Clinic.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is used to study how humans intrinsically partake in behavioural motivation. 

Maslow used the terms "physiological", "safety", "belonging and love", "social needs or esteem", and "self-actualisation" to describe the levels through which human motivations generally move.

Maslow's idea was fully expressed in his 1954 book Motivation and Personality.

The five Needs are:

• Physiological 
• Safety
• Love and Belonging
• Esteem
• Self-actualisation

Back in May last year – in episodes 28 and 29 – Dr Francesca Brown of Otago Polytech, talked about her research in having healthy vet professionals which resulted in healthy bottom lines – she referred to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as well.  

Episode 028 - Dr Francesca Brown - is it possible to have healthy staff AND a healthy bottom line in NZ veterinary clinics? - part 1 of 2
 
Episode 029 - Dr Francesca Brown - Healthy Vet Professionals = Healthy Vet Clinic Bottom Lines

Vet Clinic Employee Engagement Questions / statements in line with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

 6. “Are you paid enough to support your basic physiological needs?”
 7. I believe the leaders at my vet clinic keep everyone informed about what’s happening”
 8. “My manager [eg, head vet, head nurse, principal] is a great role model for employees”
 9. “The leaders at [vet clinic name] have communicated a vision that motivates me”
10. “I have access to the things I need to do my job well”
11. “I have access to the learning and development I need to do my job well”
12. “Most of the systems and processes here support us – the team – in getting our work done effectively” 

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Vet Clinic Employee Engagement Index Questions

The second of a multi episode series focussed on helping vet clinics retain the top performing vets and vet nurses in your clinic and then how to attract more vets and vet nurses just like them.

Recent Employment Relations Authority determination around Restraints of Trade

If you’ve been listening to Paws Claws & Wet Noses for a while you’ll have heard me comment quite a few times that Restraint of Trade clauses can stand up in a court of law provided they’re worded correctly… just this week there was a high-profile case with a journalist who made the headlines – Tova O’Brien.   

O’Brien took the dispute to the ERA – the Employment Relations Authority – which involved a three-day hearing - after mediation failed.   

She lost her ERA case with her former workplace - and was ordered to pay $2,000.

O'Brien contested a restraint of trade clause in her contract with Discovery, would prevent her from launching her new breakfast talk radio show at MediaWorks for three months.

She argued to the ERA that her soon-to-be role as a breakfast radio host is not similar to her role as political editor on TV3.

The contractual clause is based on the notion that O'Brien is teaming up with a direct competitor of Discovery's Newshub.

The ERA ordered O'Brien to comply with modified terms of restraint of trade and to pay $2000 for "breaches of her employment agreement".

Employee Engagement Index Questions / Statements

Pride – or proud – your team takes pride in working at your clinic

Place – your clinic – proud to work at their place of employment

Possibility – they’re not considering other possibilities

Permanency – they see themselves a permanent fixture for the next two or so years

Propel – or propulsion - they’re personally propelled – internally motivated - to give their best

1. I'm proud to work at this vet clinic
2. I would recommend this vet clinic as a great place to work
3. I rarely think about looking for another job at another clinic
4. I see myself still working at this vet clinic in two years' time
5. This vet clinic motivates me to go beyond what I would in a similar role elsewhere

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Vet Clinic Employee Turnover Costs & Composition

Today’s show is the first of a multi episode series focussed on helping vet clinics retain the top performing vets and vet nurses in your clinic and then how to attract more vets and vet nurses like them.

Specifically, today, we’re going to be looking at the cost – because it is - of employee turnover.  I think the numbers might surprise you – because we’re going to be talking in real terms. 

When you lose a team member it comes with a very definite measurable COST.  

The only time losing a staff member can be regarded as an investment is when it’s the case of one bad apple contaminating the rest of the barrel;   one team member whose rotten attitude is at risk of causing everyone else on your team to leave.

The following points / questions are answered today:

How would your team answer the  weekend BBQ "what do you do" question?

Vet clinics that pay high and disrespect their staff are bribing them

It takes years to turnaround a bad employer brand reputation

Employee Turnover | Employee Engagement

How to calculate your vet clinic's employee turnover ratio

Replacement Components of Employee Turnover

Departure components of employee turnover

Cost of Departure Gap

Different components of Cost of Employee Turnover

Create Employee Retention Investment Fund 

One resignation leads to more 

Language of Appreciation in the Workplace 

False economy to skimp with onboarding 

Opportunity Cost 

Loss of vet clinic or institutional knowledge

Start developing your Vet Clinic Employer Brand

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Margie's dreams, aspirations and how vet clinics can pay their vet nurses more

This is the second of two episodes where I catch up with Vet Nurse of the Year 2021 Margie Rutherford of The Strand Veterinarian in Auckland’s Parnell.

If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode – number 63 – I highly recommend you go and listen to that show before you listen to this, as it gives context.

Today, Margie shares some of her dreams and aspirations for vet nurses.   

She talks about the changes she’d like to see to help stop the exodus of vet nurses leaving the industry, tangible and real steps that all clinics can put in place to help not only show they appreciate and value nurses more, but how they can pay them more too.

The habits that nurses and clinics need to form around patient care, the differences that show up when nurses are encouraged and supported to develop their professional areas of interest, the CPD courses she’s done and enjoyed and what’s on her horizon as well as what Margie does when she’s not working.

Margie shared plenty of ideas that you can implement in your clinic that’ll make a difference – I’ll quickly recap them for you.

Look at your bills – are you charging for your VNs?   If not, start.  If you are, are you covering all your nurse’s areas of expertise – for example:

• Nurse time
• Nurse consulting services
• Nurse time for hospital patients
• Anaesthetic fees

Do your bills truly and accurately reflect the cost of patient care – for example – have you built in:

• Equipment costs
• Maintenance costs
• Nurses’ time (biggest cost)
• Inpatient care costs

Put in place an in-clinic professional development plan for all of your nurses – encourage them to grow and blossom according to their own unique skills, values, strengths and areas of expertise.

Margie talked about two courses – Fear Free – one that everyone at her clinic has done and the Cooperative Care Certificate that she’s currently studying with her own dog.  

Find your groove and help your VNs find their own groove because you’ll both benefit from it.

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Vet Nurse Margie Rutherford's Visions for Veterinary Nursing in New Zealand

Margie Rutherford, BSC, BVT - Vet Nurse of the Year 2021

Episode 1/2 where Vet Nurse Margie Rutherford and I chat about her visions for veterinary nursing in New Zealand.

Margie was awarded the NZ Vet Nurse of the Year 2021 .   

She was one of 16 nominations for Vet Nurse of the Year.   

According to NZVNA President, Amy Ross, one of the things that really stood out to her in the nominations was the time and care that all of the nominees spent, not just looking after the wellbeing of their patients, but also the wellbeing of their team.

In this episode Margie shares some of her ideas on how to have a sustainable veterinary profession in NZ from a people perspective … how it’s essential to have a distinction between having a professional life and a personal life …

Every year, during the first week of October, the NZVNA celebrates Veterinary Nurse Awareness Week (VNAW), culminating on the awarding of Vet Nurse of the Year, on the Friday of VNAW.  As you’ll hear Margie mention, it’s usually a big celebratory gala evening but the pandemic …. Well, the awards for 2021 were announced via a webinar event.

The NZVNA and Hill's Veterinary Nurse of the Year Award was launched in 2013 to recognise New Zealand veterinary nurses who advocate and significantly contribute to the care of their patients, and who are an integral part of the veterinary health care team.

As you’ll hear, Margie took a somewhat circuitous route to reach her vocation as a veterinary nurse. Margie holds two Bachelor degrees:  a Bachelor of Science plus a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology.  

Today she works as a companion animal vet nurse at The Strand Veterinarian in Auckland’s Parnell.  We jump into the conversation here where I ask Margie when she knew she wanted to be a vet nurse.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Dr Megan Alderson - morning ritual of turning the clinic phone off for 10-15 mins/day
Sophie Kennedy - Vet Clinic sustainability 

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics