You Might Ask: Why Do I Need to Hire a Trainer?

Why do you need to hire a trainer?  Maybe the truth is; you don't! And if that is the case...I want to take this time to congratulate you.  The ability to practice medicine; whether as a veterinarian or a technician, or to manage a veterinary practice AND to stay abreast of new ideas and best practices while maintaining any semblance of a life is a challenge.  

My experience, even in my clinical practice is that we decide we are going to add a service, how we are going to communicate that service, what we are going to charge for it, and who is responsible for it.  We commence to provide that new service and we adjust everything we originally thought or decided, based on feedback.  Trail and error.  Then once we work it out to the point that we no longer have any problems with it and everyone is comfortable, we will do it every day, the same way and we will never question it again until we are forced to.

I will give you an example. For years, feline patients would come into the practice, be admitted for a procedure and be gently and lovingly placed in a cage with a blanket, a kitty litter pan and a catnip pillow.  A few hours later, it would be time to work with some of these cats and it would seem as though "Lovey" was having an allergic reaction to stainless steel.  Some of these cats would go from a lovely little purr bucket to a whirling dervish of teeth and nails.

We would mutter a curse word, don a pair of welders gloves, lock the doors, grab the biggest quilt we could find, call the employee that has earned the title "cat wrangler" and add a little more sedative to the injection or a cancel the procedure due to it no longer being a safe or atraumatic experience. 

Result:  More curse words, one escapee cat, four employees running wildly trying to apprehend the patient and eventually, one very injured employee, a trip to the ER, one completed worker's comp form and a cat that doesn't sedate well due to an extreme catacholamine flood.

Then an outsider came in and witnessed said experience.  She had experienced many of the same type problems before and she realized that the same cat was a doll baby in the exam room for her vaccines.  She suggested that we identify and schedule these patients as a "Do First" experience and sedate them, on the baby scale in the room with the owner.  A no-brainer some may think...but it took an outsider to show us the way out of our rut.  And, the clients love it.  They feel we are taking special care of their baby...and we are!

So, what ruts do you find yourself in?  Are dentistries the bane of everyone's existence?  Are your client service representatives getting yelled at because the client doesn't understand the bill?  Is the surgeon frustrated because they have to fit in carnasseal tooth extractions between surgeries?  Is it frustrating to do be expected to clean teeth and perform anesthesia at the same time?    if so, please know you are not alone.  

You might ask then ,what does the typical in-house dentistry training look like?  For larger practices, we divide the staff in half.  One half of the vets and techs work in a 3 hour wet lab concentrating on proper cleaning, charting, and honing their radiographic skills so that they can offer a full mouth series efficiently.  The other half of the professional staff is running appointments so that the day is not a total loss.

During lunch, we do a communication lecture.  There is no sense learning how to do a skill if you can't get the client to understand its importance enough to comply with your recommendations.  

Then the staff switches roles and the half that ran appointments, now gets to experience the wet lab. 

By the time the day is complete, we also have created a wish list.  This is a list of equipment that will help you provide this new or upgraded service efficiently.  Change also can seem overwhelming and the trainers can set expected timelines for change and equipment purchases.

The anesthesia training day looks slightly different.  The first half of the day is the trainer will observe anesthetic cases to see where the staff strengths are.  She will then provide a lecture over lunch and in the afternoon, a wet lab tailored specifically for your practice based on her observations and a PetED pre-visit survey the practice provides returns to her.

In closing, a trainer provides great opportunities for the staff:

• to think and troubleshoot with "outside-of-the-rut" thinking
• to be able to tweak protocols and procedures to fit within your practice
• to work with your own equipment and environment
• for the entire staff to get the same education at the same time instead of relying on one staff member to return and share all of the information to which they were exposed 
• to provide RACE CE credits* to all staff members simultaneously without the travel, lodging and registration fees for each staff member.
• PetED also has a Willow Grove, PA site where wet labs can be scheduled for small groups.  This enables practices to send employees for training without the need to amend appointments or their surgery schedules.

If you think that your practice could benefit from a  PetED Veterinary Education and Training Resource experience, contact us through the website at www.PetEDVeterinaryTraining.com or we can schedule a free Skype consultation (Skype name: Vickie.Byard). 

*RACE CE credits have only been submitted and approved for the dentistry experiences.  Anesthesia is pending approval.

I Can't Believe I am Admitting This!!!!!

True Story! I had already shared this on my Facebook page, but I thought it made a good story for a blog and a chance for you all to get to know me better!

Last week, I had the opportunity to lead an all day dentistry CE event for the Northern San Joaquin Veterinary Medical Association at the Modesto Junior College.  Thank you, Tim McDaniel, CVT and Dr Frankie Bonifacio for inviting me and providing such incredible hospitality.  But, travelling always carries its own challenges and this time was no different.

I landed after a nice, long flight to San Francisco. I fetched my luggage and made my way to the airbus that took me to the rental cars. I signed in and I was led to a lovely, young lady with a clip board. She informed me that all of the compact cars were taken but that she would upgrade me at no further charge to a larger car. No biggie! OK. 

So, we were wandering through the garage and I was in a bit of a hurry. She started naming off the available cars and in my head I think; "Sweetheart...I could care less which car." So, I saw this lovely blue car and blue is my favorite color...done (that's how smart people make decisions). So she took me over to the blue Kia Optima. We inspected the car for damage, I signed and she left me with the perky statement..."The keys should already be in the car".

Well, there were these two "key like" looking things in the console. They had buttons that looked like open lock, lock lock, open trunk and blare horn. But there is no metal key thing sticking out.

I sat there for what seemed like 30 minutes looking at this "key thing" thinking...how do I make the key pop out. Something has to go in the ignition. I looked for other keys. Nothing except a good tour of the car. Do I look like an idiot and ask that sweet 20 some year old blonde girl that has already engaged 3 other customers who have happily crossed over the grated speed bump to their happy California adventures? Are you kidding! No way! Any unexpressed "Y" chromosomes wandering though me, completely forbid my asking this kid that could be a child of mine (except for the rockin' body and blonde hair). 

So, I deduce "Maybe it's Bluetooth".  So, I confidently waved this "key thing" in the vicinity of the dash board....nothing. I pushed all the buttons...doors locked and unlocked, trunk popped open and I scared the bejeezus out of a 90 year old man walking in front of this blue piece of brilliant metal when I pushed the horn button. Still nothing.

Finally, I needed to check out the ignition. Wait..let me find my glasses. There...wait! A button says "ENGINE START STOP". 

It looks like a button. I push it. All of the lights go on but no engine sounds. "Push it again!", the left side of my brain says. Now the car gleefully bids me fair well. I pushed it again...lights went on and it showed me a lovely branch of a blossoming cherry tree and all the gauges move...but no engine sounds. I pushed it again..."Good bye". 

Five cars were inspected and are on their way and now that blonde chick keeps checking me out in the car...to which I smile and act as though I am completely under control, taking a call on my cell before I am on my merry way. Reality...I am embarrassed and warning: Do not come anywhere near me right now or you may be the next thing planted in the San Joaquin Valley.

Finally....through the completely dysfunctional self talk:
Vickie...you make a decision about which car to drive based on the color BLUE!
Vickie...you idiot.
Vickie... if you ask that child for help, she is going to tell all her friends about the 50 some year old moron and it will be on Facebook and that will get 1 million "likes" and someone you know will share it on PetED's wall! You will be found out and everyone will know you are a knucklehead.

Then...by Grace....a piece of random information I hadn't really assimilated when inspecting the car floated from the lovely right side of my brain into a folder in the left side of my brain and in my mind I saw an image from the back of the car saying........
Hybrid. 

I push that ignition button one more time...the car goes through its happy salutations and I hear nothing....nothing. But, I put the car in gear and it moves effortlessly forward. An electric car. OMG! What a simpleton! But, I smile to myself and think...my friends are going to love this. 

You know, dear readers....I shake my head when the "kids" at work don't know who Harvey Korman and Tim Conway are....but at least they would have been on the highway 40 spectacular, sunny minutes before me!

Are We REALLY Educating our Clients?

After decades of client interactions with those that have provided expensive dentistry for their pets, I began to notice a pattern in statements made by these clients.  When they came in for their post extraction rechecks, they were asking the same thing; "How did this happen?  How did Diogee's mouth get so bad that he required 12 extractions?" I would then explain periodontal disease and the care necessary to keep oral health in check, and their eyes often glaze over.  That look says it all; "I can't brush my pet's teeth and it is so expensive."  Frustration ensues!

A light went on for me and I realized they do not know how to train their pets to have their teeth brushed and they do not know what products to purchase.  I have also come to know that our clients do not know how to properly choose a chew toy, how often dentistry is required, the importance of dentistry, what a dental diet is and most have no idea that animals do not overtly demonstrate pain unless it is acute, but that they experience it the same as we do none-the-less.  

That made me ask, what else do they not know?  Do they know that halitosis is NOT normal?  Do they know that often a fractured tooth is painful even if they are wagging their tails or purring?  Do they know what steps the practice takes to safe guard their pet during anesthesia?  Do they know that we will only continue the procedure if the anesthetist feels it is safe?

I then understood why the clients are all saying the same thing.  They have not been educated and they feel like it is all out of their control.  It is sort of how I feel when I pick my car up from the service station.  I write a big check.  I don't really understand what was done and I thought by changing my oil and getting my transmission checked, I had done what I was supposed to do to make sure my transportation is reliable. Frustration ensues!  And, does that experience make me apt to swing by for wiper blades or will I stop by Walmart for them?  Walmart!  And, if a friend shared that they got service elsewhere cheaper, am I apt to switch?  Unfortunately, YES! And, aren't these experiences similar?

What are you doing in practice to make sure all of these questions are addressed? Are you using brochures? Do you actually hand them out?  Have you developed your website enough?  And, if you have, have you tracked the success or does it just cost money and make you feel better?  Do you brush your own pet's teeth everyday and if not, how can you teach a client how to do so?

Very commonly, practices today use the word wellness on their websites, but are we providing wellness if we are not educating our clients?  Is it even possible to provide all of that information within the confines of a 20 minute appointment?  I have found that it is not, especially since most clients do not bring their pets in specifically for oral assessments.  Dentistry needs are most commonly discovered during the examination for some unrelated problem that needs to be addressed first!

So, a challenge for you all out there:  If you believe your clients deserve oral health education, maybe it is time for you or one of your staff members step up and create an educational experience for your clients.  This is something that I have done at the practice at which I work clinically.  Once a month, I stay to provide a FREE dentistry seminar for our client base.  The clients are invited by staff members for a variety of reasons; new puppy or kitten owners, owners that are reticent to provide recommended care, or owners that presented to the practice for an unrelated issue but dentistry needs were identified.

Has this been successful?  Absolutely.  For me, this experience takes about an hour and a half.  I schedule the event at 7 pm on varying weeknights.  My initial expectation was as I am sure yours is; they would be antsy and eager to get out the door.  But, that is not my experience.  With questions, the clients keep me an additional hour.  They are thirsty for this knowledge and any animal knowledge. It is no coincidence that the Animal Planet is one of the most popular cable stations available.

I have found it helps your attendance to provide a 10% off discount for attending. The discount is the initial motivator!  And, make no mistake, I do understand that there is NOT a wide profit margin on dental services.  But, what the practice gets in return is an educated owner.  That owner understands the wisdom of providing home care and the financial and medical benefit of frequent professional care and shorter, safer anesthetic experiences.  That discount is recouped many times over by the increased care that the owner now provides.  

There are so many benefits to this program:

• owners get the "tools" to maintain health and comfort for their pets
• owners provide more frequent care
• actual prophys are added to the dentistry schedule more frequently
• the increased numbers of prophys means less stressful dental/anesthetic experiences for the staff
• it gives the client a "behind the scenes" understanding of the support provided by the dentistry/anesthetic staff
• it bonds the client to the practice in a huge way

Finally, for me personally, I know that the practice has provided a system of education and ultimately we supported wellness when it comes to dentistry.

Is this tried and true?  I have provided this seminar once a month for over 5 years.  I also have been subcontracted to provide this seminar for another practice monthly for about 3 years now.  I have had attendance numbers ranking anywhere from 12-40 clients per month.

For me this program is a win-win.  The practice wins in many ways; a booked dentistry schedule, less stressful cases, better practice health and ultimately we rest knowing we are providing wellness services for our patients.

The client wins by understanding their pet's needs, their dentistry bills are more manageable and the pet wins by having better overall health and comfort.   Isn't that what we all went into this profession anyway, to help  pets because they can not help themselves.  This is an awesome opportunity to fulfill that mission!

If you would like to create an experience like this for your practice, feel free to email me (Gr8vettek@aol.com) for an outline of topics you can use.  All you have to add is your own energy, passion and love.