February 6, 2024 • 39 mins
Veterinary care goes beyond the pets we nurture; it's about cultivating the people who heal them. That's the conviction Alyssa Mages from Empowering Veterinary Teams brings to our discussion, with a career spanning almost two decades dedicated to enriching the veterinary community. Alyssa, a beacon of inspiration, elucidates the multifaceted programs tailored to diverse learning styles, and the pulsating anticipation for MentorVet's next cohort. Her involvement with AHA's technician utilization guidelines showcases a commitment to innovation and excellence in veterinary practice.
The tapestry of a veterinary team is woven from threads of diverse backgrounds, and this episode emphasizes the critical role of DEIB and workflow efficiency. Alyssa and I dissect the journey from technician to entrepreneur, unraveling the empowerment tied to each step. We navigate the nuances of AHA's guidelines, advocating for a collaborative spirit that elevates patient care and unifies team efforts. Through Alyssa's expertise, learn the significance of well-structured organizational systems and legal comprehension, forming the backbone of superior patient treatment and seamless team operations.
As we close, the focus shifts to the blueprint of veterinary education and career advancement. We address the urgent call for standardized training, credentialing, and well-defined career paths, essential for ensuring exceptional care and professional satisfaction. The episode not only champions the importance of scientific understanding over rote learning but also adapts training to resonate with a digital generation. Alyssa and I share insights on cultivating leadership within teams and how external support systems can bolster practices in integrating new talent. Elevate your practice with this episode's enlightening perspectives on nurturing a thriving veterinary team.
Guest Info:
Alyssa Mages BS, CVT
Empowering Veterinary Teams
linkedin.com/in/acmcvt2019evt
ealyssa@empvet.team
mpoweringveterinaryteams.com
Host Information
Bill Butler – Contact Information
Direct – 952-208-7220
https://butlervetinsurance.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/billbutler-cic/
Schedule a Strategy Session with Bill – Strategy Session
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you don't have to start from scratch, you don't
have to reinvent the wheel.
Here's a framework to afoundation to build upon.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to the Veterinary Blueprint podcast
brought to you by Butler VetInsurance.
Hosted by Bill Butler, theVeterinary Blueprint podcast is
for veterinarians and practicemanagers who are looking to
learn about working on theirpractice instead of in their
practice.
Each episode we will bring yousuccessful, proven blueprints
from others, both inside andoutside the veterinary industry.
(00:35):
Welcome to today's episode.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Welcome to this episode of the Veterinary
Blueprint podcast.
I'm your host, bill Butler, andtoday we are joined by Alyssa
Mages from Empowering VeterinaryTeams.
Alyssa combines 19 years ofexperience in multiple
disciplines of veterinarymedicine coaching, teaching and
she does all this to injectcreativity and positive energy
(01:00):
into the veterinary industry.
She's a public speaker, she's acontent creator, collaborative
coach and focus.
Her main focus is growth anddevelopment of teams within the
veterinary medical field, andwhat just really impressed me
most recently is she wasinvolved with AHA's guidelines.
She was a guidelinescontributor for AHA's technician
(01:22):
utilization guide, which cameout October of 23.
So I went through a lot of thatstuff and I'm super impressed
and excited to have you on thepodcast today.
So welcome, alyssa.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Well, thanks so much, bill.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
It's great to be here , I appreciate it All right, so
we're going to dive right in,but you are involved, as we were
chatting right before we hoppedon.
You are involved in a number ofinitiatives, so Empowering
Veterinary is your main gig, butyou're involved in MentorVet
and a whole bunch of otherthings.
So just a little bit about youand your 19 years of experience,
(01:55):
because you've done everything.
Oh no, that's why I'm still here, that's why you're still here,
ok, so why don't you bring ourlisteners up to speed on Alyssa
and what she's doing now?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yeah, I appreciate it .
So Empowering Veterinary teams,like you said, were focused on
growth and development for allmembers of the veterinary team,
but primarily focused on thesupport team members.
So your receptionist, yourassistants and your veterinary
technicians, we're really,really pumped that this upcoming
year we're going to belaunching a lot of more
(02:28):
interactive and accessibleprograms, so not just live boots
on the ground training but ondemand through our website and
really excited what that's goingto look like, some keen
strategic partnerships coming upto for some training materials.
So really, really passionateabout that piece, especially
(02:48):
because there's so manydifferent learning styles and
communication styles.
We really want to weave that in.
I'm also going to be launchinganother company called Nurture
with my current business partnerand two other founding members.
That will be coming early Q1.
And it's focused solely oncommunications training with the
Gimma Fine avatar which is it'sjust.
(03:08):
I get all like goosebumpilybecause it makes me really happy
that we're focusing on that keyskill that so many of us don't
get the training on inveterinary technician programs
or veterinary medical schools.
So that's the other big project.
And then I am so proud to workwith the mentor that team as the
director of mentor that tech.
(03:29):
We have our.
We're halfway through our firstofficial cohort.
The pilot was incrediblysuccessful over the summer and
the second cohort is going tolaunch here in January.
So it's just rolling rightalong and then you know, just
for fun.
But the other things I love toget involved with and are super
important, especially becauseour profession is the whitest
(03:51):
one in the United States is therealms of DEIB, diversity,
equity, inclusion and belonging.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
We have an issue in the insurance industry as well.
It's a lot of lack of diversityin the insurance industry as
well.
So I think we're we'recompeting with each other about
who can be?
Most diverse and trying to getdiversity rolled in, so that's
awesome.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
It's.
It's.
It's something that you know, Ithose of you that may know who
I am, I don't look like yourcookie cutter white chick, but
there's definitely too many ofus and it's beyond that right.
The diversity piece isn'tsimply melon and concentration,
right.
It's ability, status andsocioeconomic standing and
veteran status and religion andall those things.
(04:32):
So it you need to take that thewhole person into account and
how we can make everyone feel apart of it, and they want to be
there.
So the work with plausibilitiesand blend, that is a huge part
of the work that we're all proudto be a part of.
So never a dull moment.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
So it sounds like not only do you have an extensive
background as a, as a CVT, andyou're based in Pennsylvania, so
like each state has its ownlicensing requirements and I
will screw this stuff up, butbecause it's OK, but from so you
have an extensive background inthe, in the technician support
world, and but you're also aserial entrepreneur.
(05:12):
It sounds like in some way, youknow that's so funny.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
I definitely did not think I would ever be that, and
that's, I think, the other thingI loved to when I'm working
with, with practices andindividuals is, you know you're
not pigeonholed.
No one's just anything.
So if there's something thatyou're really keen to learn
about and to do more of here,you know, and that's that's why
we we named the companyEmpowering Veterinary Teams.
(05:38):
I can't empower anybody, but Igive them the tools, the
resources and the support forthem to empower themselves, and
that's the ultimate goal is sothat you know we come in and
wean ourselves off so thatyou're stronger and better with
us, and then you can do it onyour own.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Well, I'd like to start with the end in mind.
We we chatted about some thingsthat we wanted to make sure
that we would cover today andand I took a little bit of a
deep dive into the the AHAguidelines that you helped as a
contributor on, and you knowappropriate integration of
workflows.
I mean, everything can besystematized to a point, but
(06:19):
when we were talking aboutbringing you on the podcast, you
had talked aboutunderutilization and, I think,
talking about retention in theindustry.
Yet recruiting is important,but retention it's easier to
keep the employees you have thanit is to go out and find a new
one, right.
So why don't you walk throughthe evolution of the utilization
(06:40):
guide and why that's soimportant, with workflow
efficiencies and how tointegrate that into a practice?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
I will do my best.
There's a lot to digest there,as you so eloquently stated, and
I was one of many.
It was an entirely yeah it waslike a dozen.
Yeah, it was a big group effort,which is no small feat
considering we're all throughoutNorth America.
We had a Canadian RVT in thereas well and a couple of
veterinarians to make sure thatwe had the full perspective and
(07:14):
we all come from differentbackgrounds, experientially, and
belief structures in such thatsome are proponents for the
nursing title, some are not,some believe in this those kinds
of belief structures, just tobe clear on that word.
So just for reviews, but wewere really.
We had an excellent facilitator, dr Meena Carey, and the whole
(07:36):
AHA team was just reallyincredibly inclusive and
supportive.
So it was really making surethat we could take it into
sections.
That makes it understandable,approachable and applicable.
That's the big thing, right,it's not just.
Here's this great idea.
Enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, how do you implement it right?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Right.
So here's all of thisinformation, here's some case
studies.
Let's show you what it lookslike when you actively utilize
your team members effectively.
And I kind of go back and forthon liking that word or not.
I'm not a tool, right, I don'twant to be utilized.
But so I think Integrate is areally good way in power, which
has been it's a buzzword lately,but really I think Activate is
(08:18):
another good one too.
Just like how do you firepeople up?
So making sure that there's areal clear organizational
structure, not hierarchical, butfrom a team base.
So you take that hierarchicaloriginal chart and lay it down,
and you put the medical directorand everyone in the middle, and
(08:38):
then your veterinarians andyour credential technicians and
your associates and everyone,and you all work together.
So it's not a upwards and adownwards, it's an all around
together Collaborative yeah.
Exactly, and so, if you look atit from that regard, it's all
intertwined.
And then, what do yourassistants do?
What do your receptionists do?
What do your credentialtechnicians do?
(09:00):
What do your veterinarians do?
Okay, now, it's not that youstay in your lane and you can't
leave.
That's not what we're saying.
It's simply this is what youare legally allowed to do, this
is what you're really good atdoing, and this is how we can
all do our perspectiverespective jobs together in a
way that it totally emphasizes amore clear cut and efficient
(09:22):
workflow and ultimately providesthe better standards of patient
care.
So you can have one doctor andone credential technician and
two assistants.
You know the ideal ratio is oneto three.
How are you training them?
Right on the job training it'snot the best.
It's necessary.
You absolutely have tosometimes learn as you go, but
(09:45):
you really have to make surethat you have a structure in
place, and that's what theseguidelines are for.
It's here's how you canestablish a competency based
framework to assess your teamand make sure that they're in
the correct roles, because untilwe have a universal title for
all of us you know, I'm a CVT, acertified veterinary technician
there's registered veterinarytechnicians.
(10:07):
There's licensed veterinarytechnicians.
There's licensed veterinarymedical technicians that's in
Tennessee, they're the only ones, they're super special.
And then there's registeredveterinary technologists, those
that have gone to a four yearprogram.
We, you know so okay, that'swhy we, if you're reading
through that and you see theacronym uppercase C, lowercase
(10:27):
RVT, it's for credential vettech, so it encompasses all of
those and it's really so muchfun to take a look at now, at
the completed work, to see likethe flow charts and the
infographics and the the actualthings all come together.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
I was like, how do I take this?
I was actually so I'm involvedin some coaching programs in my
industry and I was actuallymeeting with one of my coaches
and I said, hey, you know, I'mgoing to have this guest on my
podcast next week and she helpeddevelop this, this guideline,
and I showed it to him and hegoes send me a link to that.
Because, like I think you know,while we think of an industry
(11:05):
in its own silo every business,whether it's insurance we have
account managers doing customerservice work, and how do you
best utilize their gifts,talents and attributes so that
they can maximize theirperformance and feel that
they're being utilized, to usethe utilization term and getting
(11:28):
fulfillment out of their job,versus just saying I'm filling
the role of button pusher,whatever that might be and
whatever role you are in theindustry, and so increasing
efficiencies and improvingproductivity.
Well, that really boils down totraining your team to be
optimally trained to bestutilize them so they're
operating a maximum ofefficiency, because if they
(11:50):
don't know how to do somethingconfused, people don't act.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Right.
And then I mean we already haveorganized chaos in the ER.
We don't need to add to that.
But I love how you put that,how we silo it and that's it's
so true.
I think it doesn't matter whatindustry anyone is in.
We tend to see our problems asour problems, when it's really a
universal concern of you.
Know who's gonna do what?
(12:15):
How are we gonna get them tothe next level?
How are we gonna increase thebottom line?
What's our ROI on this and itreally comes down to a very
simple truth is identifying thestrengths in your existing team
and playing to those skillsright?
So in veterinary medicine,especially in a small animal
practice which is thepredominant one cats and dogs
(12:38):
there's no offense to any otherferds, scaled or winged creature
.
I love them all, but that isthe primary general practice and
specialty centers throughoutthe US and North America.
Really, you have your catpeople and your dog people and I
am a spicy perrito lady all theway I can.
I love the feisty lines, but anaggressive dog, I have to
(13:02):
really, okay, buck myself up anddo it.
I'm not your go-to person forthat Fulvotomy absolutely anal
glands, I'm out, you know.
So it's really finding out whoon your team is good at what and
making sure that they'releading the charge right.
It doesn't necessarily requirea management title or a
different set of letters afteryou're named to be a leader.
(13:23):
It really just matters on howgood you are and how passionate
you are and how approachable youare and how you can convey that
to the rest of the team.
So, setting that up from yourday perspective, if you have a
slew of appointments and it'sall cats, have your cat team
ready to go right and figure itout how it's gonna work for your
(13:45):
practice, right.
But if you don't have to startfrom scratch, you don't have to
reinvent the wheel.
Here's a framework, afoundation to build upon and
then you can customize it andbuild it from there.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Another podcast guest , a mutual friend of ours,
acquaintance Josh Weisman, tellsa great story about and this is
a veterinarian, but just teamswhere there was an associate who
was not.
I'm stealing his story, but hetold it on the podcast in an
earlier episode.
I think he'll be fine with it.
But he tells the story of aveterinarian who was just not
good at surgery, didn't likesurgery, didn't wanna do surgery
(14:19):
, but in the exam room they soldproduct, they were personable,
they just.
But they were getting judged onand I'm butchering Josh's story
, but they were gettingbutchered.
They were getting judged onmetrics, with how many surgeries
and how much they were doing,and they left that practice,
went to another one and theyspent 98% of their time in the
(14:39):
exam room with patients anddoing exams and they were one of
the top producers.
So it's business principles.
It's where are your team's bestattributes?
In the right seats in the bus.
You might you know dog or catpeople.
You might have somebody who'sterrible at customer service but
they're really good ataccounting and being counting.
Okay, well, don't not put themat the reception desk, we're
(15:00):
gonna have them countinginventory.
And so it's that utilizationwithin the team.
I think you have to understandeveryone's strengths and
weaknesses and not just thinkthat everyone fits in the same
like oh, you wanna be a vet techor an assistant, you're gonna
fit in this box, no matter whatit is, because you love all
animals.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Exactly, yeah, and I think you know to your point.
There too, it's the humanskills we tend to forget about
right communication andemotional intelligence and
de-escalation and networking andcollaboration, not competition.
So, again, those aren't skillsthat are addressed in our
program.
So it's something that you dohave to learn, and once you
(15:41):
apply those principles alongsideof your clinical skills, it's
amazing what happens.
But I do not belong onovernight shifts and I did that
for several years and it messedme up.
But there's some incrediblehumans that have been doing that
for 20 years and they can justget everything done and never
fall to it.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Yeah, it turns them on.
That's what they wanna do.
They light up to do it.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Exactly so.
When you're doing, you'reonboarding and then, as you're
going through, you know, pastthe first 90 days, what makes
them tick, what makes themexcited and instead of saying
that's great, good to know, anddoing nothing with it, actually
putting it into practice andsaying, okay, well then, let's
put you here and I really didn'tlike this, and taking the
feedback both ways.
(16:22):
So really actually saying youhave two-way communication and
an open-door policy andfollowing through on it is
pretty key.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah, one of the things that I get coached on all
the time is that we have two ofthese and one of these and we
need to use them in thatproportion, and a lot of times
we wanna just tell stuff that'shappening versus asking a really
good.
The better the question, thebetter the answer, and so if
you're asking good questions ofyour team of where can we
(16:54):
improve and using you know, likeI said, the utilization
guidelines are really amazing,and so for any you don't have to
be an AHA member.
Believe me, I'm not an outsidevendor, but the resources that
are out there for the industryare really quite amazing just to
be able to say, hey, these aresome guys, you know you don't
have to put everything in place,but maybe just use those as,
(17:17):
again, guidelines for what youcan integrate into your practice
.
And it kinda goes to the nexttopic I wanna touch on is
universal standardization, notjust of competency-based
training, but utilization ofteams, and so why don't we kind
(17:37):
of transition into how you thinksome universal standardization
would really help the industryoverall as far as foundational
approach and competency-basedtraining?
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Absolutely, and I love that question and how you
phrase it because it's when youlook at it from an educational
perspective.
Every veterinarian in everyschool has to sit for the NADLE
right.
Every veterinary technician inevery veterinary technician
program in North America has tosit for the VTNE National
(18:14):
Standards accrediting exams.
We have to go to a universitythat's accredited by the AVMA
standards guidelines, benchmarks.
We have to take those things inorder to achieve our
credentials.
So it's taking that similarprinciple and putting it into
place for these trainingprograms, for skills assessment,
(18:37):
for how we advance progress ineach position.
And, again, it's not cookiecutter, but you have to start
somewhere, based upon what thegoverning bodies say, which
would be AVMA and NAVTA, as wellas AHAS guidelines, forming
that structure and then buildingit from there.
It's like, no, we can't saythat you can do this or that,
(18:58):
because this is what anassistant does, this is what a
receptionist does and this iswhat a veterinary technician
does.
It gets a little fuzzy, though,because in over 30 states there
isn't a clear definition andprotected title for veterinary
technicians, even where I'm inPennsylvania.
So anyone that is working in apractice can call themselves a
(19:21):
vet tech without the appropriatecredentialing and education,
and that is a concern for me andseveral other of my colleagues
for many reasons, butparticularly for our community,
because they don't know, whenyou say that you're a vet tech,
it automatically has a negativeconnotation, for whatever reason
.
(19:41):
We haven't educated them or therest of our profession very
clearly on what a vet tech isand what we do, and so they just
assume that you're gonna do thebest by their pet.
And it's not that someone whoisn't credentialed wouldn't.
Of course they would.
That's why they're in thisprofession.
And it's not that they don'thave the skills.
They know what to do and a lotof them are really good at it,
(20:03):
but they don't necessarily knowthe why.
So if you're administering amedication and you know what
medication to give and at whattime and what it's going to do
in that instance, that's great.
But do you understand thepharma kinetics of it and do you
understand the mechanism ofaction and do you recognize what
that's going to mean?
If you need to give anothermedication, do you understand it
(20:26):
at a cellular level, right?
Those of us that went to schoola long time ago, oh, still have
to look that up.
But we have it there and I amnot taking away from the on the
job portion of it.
You have to.
That's why you have externships, practicums and all of those
things, your clinical years forveterinarians.
You have to get your handsdirty, literally.
(20:46):
It is a very kinesthetic way tolearn.
Especially, you can't feel abouncing vein through a computer
screen.
It just doesn't work.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
There's no substitute for the live, the real-life
action.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
But you do need to have a lot of the book learning
to back that up.
So what I would love to see,and a lot of the work that I'm
pushing through with my team atEVT, is here's a program that
starts you from beginning andtakes you onwards right.
So it's not simply here's yourwelcome packet, go have a great
(21:23):
day.
It's ease them into the team.
These are the skills that youfocus on for the first week, the
first three weeks, the firstmonth.
This is how you advance andthis is the modalities that
they're presented to you.
We're working with generationsthat are digital natives.
I remember when the internetcame on right, so it's like that
.
They've never not had it.
I know I totally dated myself.
(21:45):
It's fine.
Level four is great guys.
So you have to meet peoplewhere they are with what they
need.
So is there an app for that?
Yeah, there's an app for thatand for those of us that like to
write things down, because evenin these younger generations,
some of them like to write notes.
My daughter is gonna be 16 nextweek.
You should see her notebook forher courses.
(22:06):
They're all color coded andindexed.
It's why she's an A student andI was not.
So it's, but it's really andI'm definitely rambling on this,
I apologize, but it'sdefinitely something that to
start with, because if you don'thave something that is
standardized to start, you don'tknow where you're gonna end up
(22:27):
and it's gonna be the mess we'rein right now.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
So, and also I think from a team member's perspective
, it also gives them a roadmapright.
So I just spent a couple ofyears in school.
I just got certified, I passedmy national certification.
Woohoo, I'm now gonna go workat a vet practice and they give
you the welcome to the practice.
(22:50):
Here's your HR packet.
You're in exam room three andthat's your career and that's
your career.
You know deer and headlights.
Okay, I guess, I guess I'm on.
And you know, one thing thatI've integrated for for my
business is here's what 30 dayslooks like zero to 30 days.
Here's 30 to 90 days and 90days to one year and the
(23:11):
expectations of what it'sbenchmarks for success.
Right, it's, you're expected to.
At the end of 30 days, youshould know how to do this, this
, this, this and this here at myinsurance agency.
Now you might have to do allthose same things at a different
insurance agency, but at leastyou see written down what the,
(23:31):
what the standardized, you knowlevels of what.
You know what is success looklike.
And then from from day 60 to 90.
And at the end of a year, thisis what you rounded out.
And then from there it's okay.
Here's, here is how youprogress up the food chain in
the expertise and experiencewithin the industry, and I think
(23:52):
that kind of encompasseseverything right, where it's the
training and education, butalso utilization and says, okay,
and now I see a career pathversus just doing full body me
every day for the rest of mylife is here's, here's the
career path and progression thatI can be on, because there's
some things written downAbsolutely.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
It gives roadmap.
That's the best way you can sayit.
And for me, to the other thing,to, because we all want to do
the fun stuff.
You know, I want to book theveins, I want to, I want to do
in a stage, I want to do thecool things, yeah, but these are
living creatures and if you doit wrong, they might not be
living.
So you need to take it moreseriously.
(24:29):
I mean, I can't tell you howmany conversations I've had
where they asked me you knowwhat?
What do you do?
I want my veterinary technician.
Oh, I used to be one of those.
Where'd you go to school?
You know what did you do?
And so, to really make surethat there is a sense of Well, I
was assistant.
Right.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Exactly so and it's again, I'm not putting those
those I was an assistant, I wasa cocky assistant because I had
a bachelor's degree.
So, like I'm, I'm so much more,I was so much less, and you
know it's hindsight is 2020 andall of those things, but really,
you know taking pride in whereyou're at in your career and
recognizing where you can go andhow vital you are in every
(25:10):
single role.
You know, as a technician, Ican't hold the patient and
intubate.
Well, I can.
I shouldn't, right, and I can'tanswer the phones and do all
those things that the people onat the front desk and in the
business offices on the phonesare the reason we have jobs.
It's hard, people are not niceand you know the.
When we're highly skilled andwell trained and integrated and
(25:32):
utilized, the doctors can dowhat they can do that we can't
do, right.
We all need to have thatsymbiotic relationship so
everything works and ourpatients get the care that they
deserve.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
So you know, for me as a lay person in the
veterinary world, you know I'minvolved ancillary but you know
from the from a client facingperspective.
I walk into a practice, there'sveterinarians and then there's
everybody else and you knowwhether you're an assistant or a
(26:03):
technician or a certified vettechnician or a certified nurse
and all the different labels andwhat you know the the
perception for the consumer ofthe vet practices.
Everyone's a technician or vettech.
They don't understand thedifferent layering within that
and they just assume everyonecan do everything.
(26:24):
They're not the veterinarian.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
And that's where we have to do better.
And there is a really greatgraphic in the guidelines and
elsewhere.
Actually, navc and NAVTA justput together something called
trust your vet tech.
So it's a poster thatdelineates who does what and why
a veterinary technician is sovital and so important.
So, and it's something topractice, that vernacular Right.
(26:50):
If you're not credentialed,you're not a vet tech, you're an
assistant.
So those are the three mainroles other than a veterinarian
is the customer servicerepresentative, the CSR or the
receptionist, the veterinaryassistant and the veterinary
technician.
So if you're, you know, want tocorrelate it and we try not to
make too many parallels withhuman med, but it's our closest
(27:12):
you know, cousin in theprofessions, it's akin to you
know, a veterinary technician isan RN, bsn, right, and a
veterinary assistant is likeyour radiology tech or your ER
tech, things like that, and thegals and guys and all the other
incredible humans that are atthe front desks have a similar
(27:33):
role.
And then you have your practicemanagers, right.
So those are like your you know, and then you have, if you have
a huge hospital, you have anadministrator, right.
But those are the three mainroles.
So CSR, va, bt.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
So, now that we've got all these people working at
our practice, alicia, how do weteam, how do we train them using
a team centric approach,because I know that's that's a
big thing for you and and yourorganizations that you work in
and that you work with onpractices.
So how is that training andteam centric leadership more
beneficial to veterinarymedicine versus just, you know,
(28:06):
individual training and teamleading?
Speaker 1 (28:10):
It's a good point and I'm glad to talk about it.
So, whether you're an athleteor not, it is a team sport,
right.
When you're doing CPR,especially on a tiny little dog,
you are.
It's contact right.
There is no way you can't.
You have to work together.
You have to understand who'sdoing what, where, when, why and
how, and so when you arecreating a training program, you
(28:32):
have to take that intoconsideration and thinking about
all the skills you have to doat any given time on any given
day throughout a crazy week.
There's no downtime lately,right.
So having your lead technicianbe in charge of training, not a
bad idea, but when do they havetime to do it?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Right and do the things that you need them to do.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
if you're the practice owner, so how are you,
how are you facilitating that asthe leader in the organization
saying okay, you're, you're in.
Hey, bill, you're in charge ofthis training.
Figure it out to train CPR forthe rest of the team.
I don't know what I'm, I knowhow to teach it.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
I know how to do it.
I know how to do it.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
But how do I train my , my counterparts and my peers
in a training session to do that?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Right, and so what it it needs to do is kind of like
what we were talking aboutbefore, is kind of taking a step
back and, you know, flippingthat org structure on its side
and finding who's good at what,making sure that you do have
someone within each track,within the practice.
So you have a lead CSR, youhave a lead, an elite assistant
(29:37):
and a lead bet tech, and theywork together to formulate these
plans.
Now can you do it internally100%, and I'm not saying you
shouldn't, might not have thetime or the resources to do it,
and so that's where we come inwith what do you need?
Well, we have a team in place.
Okay, do you have the templates?
Do you have the software team.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
You have a team lead for the team.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
What's that you?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
have a team lead for that team.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Exactly Right, and that's not going to be feasible
for, say like, a four doctorpractice, right, with a total of
24 team members.
You're not necessarily going tohave all of those leads or the,
the, the people power to have atraining team within that, and
that's okay.
You have to simply take a lookat who's really good at doing
what.
How can we structure theirschedule On this day, their
(30:24):
training?
This is what onboarding lookslike.
This is what growth anddevelopment looks like for us,
and it is a lot of work.
So if you are going to sit downand do that, you're going to
have to dedicate a couple ofmonths to developing this.
Or you can give us a call wherewe can walk you through it.
Right, we come in and take alook at your workflow.
We sit down with you andformulate your org structure.
(30:45):
We make sure that every memberof the team gets a one on one.
So this is where they're atclinically skills.
This is where they're at humanskills.
This is their designated levelor progression from our
evaluation standpoint, and thisis where they need some work.
And then here is your skill setto work on.
Here's how we're going to do itand here's your one on one time
(31:09):
.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
And you know, one of the things that that I think
shouldn't be missed in that iswhen you're onboarding a team
member, you say look, welcome tothe team, welcome to Butler
veterinary practice.
And here's here's the roadmapfor you know, not only just
utilization and training, but wehave team leads here at the
practice and if you want to workyour way up to a team lead,
(31:31):
here are all the things you needto do along the way and it
helps build that careerprogression versus just you want
to have a little bit of careerprogression potentially within
the industry Instead of justflattening everyone.
Say everyone here is equal, allassistance are equal, all
technicians are equal.
No, we actually have a coupleof people that are elevated and
you have the opportunity to workyour way in that and it does
(31:52):
everything within the practiceof saying not only are we doing
training and education and teamcentric approach, but we also
have some career progression andnot everyone's just a
technician or not everyone hereis just an assistant.
We do have some elevatedpositions and that helps you as
the overall.
You know I'm putting on myentrepreneur, I own the business
hat of not everyone's alwaysequal.
(32:12):
You do have those better teammembers and how do you reward
them and show them that careerprogression within the practice
and laying that out day one,versus saying, all right, six
years in you're threatening toleave.
Why don't we make you a teamlead?
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Exactly, and it's definitely something to say for
incentivization as well.
Absolutely the parties only goso far.
The other part that goes alongwith all this is when you're
getting them on is you know,spend a couple days, get them
through all their paperworkright and then ease them into it
like, have them shadow peopleand don't let them jump right in
(32:46):
right away Like the deer in theheadlights.
I did that right.
I started at a 50, like 40doctor practice on my first ER
shift, like, oh, I'm so gladyou're here.
We have a bulldog that you knowwe need to sleep for the next
12 hours.
That's you.
You know we're going to do atwo bag and for 12 hours, right,
can?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
I you said I can I must be able to.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
There's some people that thrive on that type of
energy.
I was one of them, but thatdoesn't work for everyone.
So it's also when you'reonboarding people and I hate
that that interview questionwhat are your?
You know strengths andweaknesses.
Switch that up as theinterviewer like in what areas
are you really passionate about,and on what areas Do you feel
(33:30):
you would like to grow?
Because for me, you know, goingfrom GP into the emergency and
specialty medicine, that's a bigjump For someone and there's a
lot more practices.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I mean, I'm working with some practices now they're
opening up saying I'm gonna dourgent care only.
No scheduled appointments,normal business hours, but
urgent care, and so you knowit's a.
It's a different model that itused to be in the in the
veterinary world, where you haveveterinarians going.
I'm there's, there's a gap inthe market that I think I can
fill, but now you've got to findthe team members who thrive on
(34:03):
that type of environment.
Versus the, you know, I'd saymore standardized scheduled yeah
, we're booked out three weeksand this is the appointments for
today versus I don't knowwhat's gonna walk through the
door in the next 20 minutes.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Right and it's.
And that's where you have toreally kind of filter out, not
only from a you know, a businessowner standpoint, but from a
team member as you're going inthere.
Is this what you want?
You know, and taking a look athow the the industry is evolving
, is there someone that's beenat your practice for 20 years
and they're so good, but ourknees and our backs after 20, 30
(34:38):
years of throwing big dogsaround, we don't throw them.
I promise we don't throw them.
We're very kind but it takesits toll.
So how can you take them out ofthe main workflow?
Hey, there's your lead trainerright there.
There's someone that can get onthe phone and, do you know, get
the training.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Institutional experience.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Right, let's have them do all the lab callbacks.
Let's have them do all of thescheduling.
Let's have them do this.
Let's have them take care ofthis.
What can they do to still be afunctional and happy Member of
the team, right?
Not talking about thepositivity like good vibes only?
I don't like that.
I do not subscribe to that.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
There's not like in all transparency.
No matter what business you'rein, nothing is all happy times
and and puppy dogs and unicorns,and so yeah, but there's ways
that you can get there to a moresteady state, right.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
So it's it's taking a look at what you've got.
How can you utilize what youalready have?
Identify those existing youknow leaders within your team.
Do you have some structurealready?
Great, here's how you can makeit better.
Oh, by the way, this is goingto adhere to the recommended
guidelines from the, theindustry standards, and you can
(35:55):
move forward Together as a team.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Yeah Well, if somebody wants to move forward
together as a team withempowering, empowering
Veterinary teams, ebt, where canpeople find you and the rest of
your universe of excellence outthere in Utilization and team
training and and everything thatyou have good going on out
(36:17):
there?
Speaker 1 (36:18):
We're on all major social platforms, so you can
find us on Instagram atempathetic EMP that team, or
Facebook and LinkedIn.
Our website is our company nameempowering veterinary teams,
calm and there's a bunch ofstuff on there.
So if you need, you knowtemplates just to download we
have digital downloads andthings like that and the first
(36:39):
consultation to meet with Me orone of our lead trainers the
first 30 minutes is free.
We want to make sure that wecan figure out what you need
well, I would.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
I would recommend anyone out there listening who
says I want to better utilize myteam, to reach out to you and
empowering vet teams becauseYou're just super passionate
about it.
I can tell the training,training, you know, I have a
background in the military andif you, if you're we always said
train like you, fight in themilitary, because that's really
(37:09):
what it boils down to and ifyou're not training your team
and you're not utilizing them totheir fullest extent, you've
got blind spots that you don'teven realize as a business owner
, as a practice owner out thereand as a practice manager.
So that's why I really wantedto have you on and We'll have
all your contact info out there.
You and I connected on LinkedIn, but we'll make sure to have
(37:30):
that out there.
So what is the one thing thatyou wish everyone would do out
there that you work with, onyour, on your practices, that
you collaborate with?
I?
Speaker 1 (37:40):
Want everyone to remember that no one is just in
air quotes anything.
Yep own the awesome that youare.
Get out there and do it 100%Well.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Thanks for joining us in this episode of the
veterinary blueprints podcast.
As, as always, remember to like, subscribe and review the
podcast.
And Thanks so much to Alyssafor joining us today and
empowering vet teams and everyeverything awesome she's got
going out there.
Thanks everybody for tuning in.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Have a great day, thank you.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
Thanks for tuning in to veterinary blueprints.
If you have any thoughts,questions or suggestions for an
episode, I would love to hearfrom you.
Email me at Bill at butler vetinsurance.
Calm, don't forget to subscribeso you never miss an episode,
and if you could do me a hugefavor you know it helps with the
algorithm.
If you can like, share orcomment on the post, leave a
(38:35):
review, I would love it.
Thanks for tuning in and untilnext time you
If you don't have to start from scratch, you don't
have to reinvent the wheel.
Here's a framework to afoundation to build upon.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to the Veterinary Blueprint podcast
brought to you by Butler VetInsurance.
Hosted by Bill Butler, theVeterinary Blueprint podcast is
for veterinarians and practicemanagers who are looking to
learn about working on theirpractice instead of in their
practice.
Each episode we will bring yousuccessful, proven blueprints
from others, both inside andoutside the veterinary industry.
(00:35):
Welcome to today's episode.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Welcome to this episode of the Veterinary
Blueprint podcast.
I'm your host, bill Butler, andtoday we are joined by Alyssa
Mages from Empowering VeterinaryTeams.
Alyssa combines 19 years ofexperience in multiple
disciplines of veterinarymedicine coaching, teaching and
she does all this to injectcreativity and positive energy
(01:00):
into the veterinary industry.
She's a public speaker, she's acontent creator, collaborative
coach and focus.
Her main focus is growth anddevelopment of teams within the
veterinary medical field, andwhat just really impressed me
most recently is she wasinvolved with AHA's guidelines.
She was a guidelinescontributor for AHA's technician
(01:22):
utilization guide, which cameout October of 23.
So I went through a lot of thatstuff and I'm super impressed
and excited to have you on thepodcast today.
So welcome, alyssa.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Well, thanks so much, bill.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
It's great to be here , I appreciate it All right, so
we're going to dive right in,but you are involved, as we were
chatting right before we hoppedon.
You are involved in a number ofinitiatives, so Empowering
Veterinary is your main gig, butyou're involved in MentorVet
and a whole bunch of otherthings.
So just a little bit about youand your 19 years of experience,
(01:55):
because you've done everything.
Oh no, that's why I'm still here, that's why you're still here,
ok, so why don't you bring ourlisteners up to speed on Alyssa
and what she's doing now?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yeah, I appreciate it .
So Empowering Veterinary teams,like you said, were focused on
growth and development for allmembers of the veterinary team,
but primarily focused on thesupport team members.
So your receptionist, yourassistants and your veterinary
technicians, we're really,really pumped that this upcoming
year we're going to belaunching a lot of more
(02:28):
interactive and accessibleprograms, so not just live boots
on the ground training but ondemand through our website and
really excited what that's goingto look like, some keen
strategic partnerships coming upto for some training materials.
So really, really passionateabout that piece, especially
(02:48):
because there's so manydifferent learning styles and
communication styles.
We really want to weave that in.
I'm also going to be launchinganother company called Nurture
with my current business partnerand two other founding members.
That will be coming early Q1.
And it's focused solely oncommunications training with the
Gimma Fine avatar which is it'sjust.
(03:08):
I get all like goosebumpilybecause it makes me really happy
that we're focusing on that keyskill that so many of us don't
get the training on inveterinary technician programs
or veterinary medical schools.
So that's the other big project.
And then I am so proud to workwith the mentor that team as the
director of mentor that tech.
(03:29):
We have our.
We're halfway through our firstofficial cohort.
The pilot was incrediblysuccessful over the summer and
the second cohort is going tolaunch here in January.
So it's just rolling rightalong and then you know, just
for fun.
But the other things I love toget involved with and are super
important, especially becauseour profession is the whitest
(03:51):
one in the United States is therealms of DEIB, diversity,
equity, inclusion and belonging.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
We have an issue in the insurance industry as well.
It's a lot of lack of diversityin the insurance industry as
well.
So I think we're we'recompeting with each other about
who can be?
Most diverse and trying to getdiversity rolled in, so that's
awesome.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
It's.
It's.
It's something that you know, Ithose of you that may know who
I am, I don't look like yourcookie cutter white chick, but
there's definitely too many ofus and it's beyond that right.
The diversity piece isn'tsimply melon and concentration,
right.
It's ability, status andsocioeconomic standing and
veteran status and religion andall those things.
(04:32):
So it you need to take that thewhole person into account and
how we can make everyone feel apart of it, and they want to be
there.
So the work with plausibilitiesand blend, that is a huge part
of the work that we're all proudto be a part of.
So never a dull moment.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
So it sounds like not only do you have an extensive
background as a, as a CVT, andyou're based in Pennsylvania, so
like each state has its ownlicensing requirements and I
will screw this stuff up, butbecause it's OK, but from so you
have an extensive background inthe, in the technician support
world, and but you're also aserial entrepreneur.
(05:12):
It sounds like in some way, youknow that's so funny.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
I definitely did not think I would ever be that, and
that's, I think, the other thingI loved to when I'm working
with, with practices andindividuals is, you know you're
not pigeonholed.
No one's just anything.
So if there's something thatyou're really keen to learn
about and to do more of here,you know, and that's that's why
we we named the companyEmpowering Veterinary Teams.
(05:38):
I can't empower anybody, but Igive them the tools, the
resources and the support forthem to empower themselves, and
that's the ultimate goal is sothat you know we come in and
wean ourselves off so thatyou're stronger and better with
us, and then you can do it onyour own.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Well, I'd like to start with the end in mind.
We we chatted about some thingsthat we wanted to make sure
that we would cover today andand I took a little bit of a
deep dive into the the AHAguidelines that you helped as a
contributor on, and you knowappropriate integration of
workflows.
I mean, everything can besystematized to a point, but
(06:19):
when we were talking aboutbringing you on the podcast, you
had talked aboutunderutilization and, I think,
talking about retention in theindustry.
Yet recruiting is important,but retention it's easier to
keep the employees you have thanit is to go out and find a new
one, right.
So why don't you walk throughthe evolution of the utilization
(06:40):
guide and why that's soimportant, with workflow
efficiencies and how tointegrate that into a practice?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
I will do my best.
There's a lot to digest there,as you so eloquently stated, and
I was one of many.
It was an entirely yeah it waslike a dozen.
Yeah, it was a big group effort,which is no small feat
considering we're all throughoutNorth America.
We had a Canadian RVT in thereas well and a couple of
veterinarians to make sure thatwe had the full perspective and
(07:14):
we all come from differentbackgrounds, experientially, and
belief structures in such thatsome are proponents for the
nursing title, some are not,some believe in this those kinds
of belief structures, just tobe clear on that word.
So just for reviews, but wewere really.
We had an excellent facilitator, dr Meena Carey, and the whole
(07:36):
AHA team was just reallyincredibly inclusive and
supportive.
So it was really making surethat we could take it into
sections.
That makes it understandable,approachable and applicable.
That's the big thing, right,it's not just.
Here's this great idea.
Enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, how do you implement it right?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Right.
So here's all of thisinformation, here's some case
studies.
Let's show you what it lookslike when you actively utilize
your team members effectively.
And I kind of go back and forthon liking that word or not.
I'm not a tool, right, I don'twant to be utilized.
But so I think Integrate is areally good way in power, which
has been it's a buzzword lately,but really I think Activate is
(08:18):
another good one too.
Just like how do you firepeople up?
So making sure that there's areal clear organizational
structure, not hierarchical, butfrom a team base.
So you take that hierarchicaloriginal chart and lay it down,
and you put the medical directorand everyone in the middle, and
(08:38):
then your veterinarians andyour credential technicians and
your associates and everyone,and you all work together.
So it's not a upwards and adownwards, it's an all around
together Collaborative yeah.
Exactly, and so, if you look atit from that regard, it's all
intertwined.
And then, what do yourassistants do?
What do your receptionists do?
What do your credentialtechnicians do?
(09:00):
What do your veterinarians do?
Okay, now, it's not that youstay in your lane and you can't
leave.
That's not what we're saying.
It's simply this is what youare legally allowed to do, this
is what you're really good atdoing, and this is how we can
all do our perspectiverespective jobs together in a
way that it totally emphasizes amore clear cut and efficient
(09:22):
workflow and ultimately providesthe better standards of patient
care.
So you can have one doctor andone credential technician and
two assistants.
You know the ideal ratio is oneto three.
How are you training them?
Right on the job training it'snot the best.
It's necessary.
You absolutely have tosometimes learn as you go, but
(09:45):
you really have to make surethat you have a structure in
place, and that's what theseguidelines are for.
It's here's how you canestablish a competency based
framework to assess your teamand make sure that they're in
the correct roles, because untilwe have a universal title for
all of us you know, I'm a CVT, acertified veterinary technician
there's registered veterinarytechnicians.
(10:07):
There's licensed veterinarytechnicians.
There's licensed veterinarymedical technicians that's in
Tennessee, they're the only ones, they're super special.
And then there's registeredveterinary technologists, those
that have gone to a four yearprogram.
We, you know so okay, that'swhy we, if you're reading
through that and you see theacronym uppercase C, lowercase
(10:27):
RVT, it's for credential vettech, so it encompasses all of
those and it's really so muchfun to take a look at now, at
the completed work, to see likethe flow charts and the
infographics and the the actualthings all come together.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
I was like, how do I take this?
I was actually so I'm involvedin some coaching programs in my
industry and I was actuallymeeting with one of my coaches
and I said, hey, you know, I'mgoing to have this guest on my
podcast next week and she helpeddevelop this, this guideline,
and I showed it to him and hegoes send me a link to that.
Because, like I think you know,while we think of an industry
(11:05):
in its own silo every business,whether it's insurance we have
account managers doing customerservice work, and how do you
best utilize their gifts,talents and attributes so that
they can maximize theirperformance and feel that
they're being utilized, to usethe utilization term and getting
(11:28):
fulfillment out of their job,versus just saying I'm filling
the role of button pusher,whatever that might be and
whatever role you are in theindustry, and so increasing
efficiencies and improvingproductivity.
Well, that really boils down totraining your team to be
optimally trained to bestutilize them so they're
operating a maximum ofefficiency, because if they
(11:50):
don't know how to do somethingconfused, people don't act.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Right.
And then I mean we already haveorganized chaos in the ER.
We don't need to add to that.
But I love how you put that,how we silo it and that's it's
so true.
I think it doesn't matter whatindustry anyone is in.
We tend to see our problems asour problems, when it's really a
universal concern of you.
Know who's gonna do what?
(12:15):
How are we gonna get them tothe next level?
How are we gonna increase thebottom line?
What's our ROI on this and itreally comes down to a very
simple truth is identifying thestrengths in your existing team
and playing to those skillsright?
So in veterinary medicine,especially in a small animal
practice which is thepredominant one cats and dogs
(12:38):
there's no offense to any otherferds, scaled or winged creature
.
I love them all, but that isthe primary general practice and
specialty centers throughoutthe US and North America.
Really, you have your catpeople and your dog people and I
am a spicy perrito lady all theway I can.
I love the feisty lines, but anaggressive dog, I have to
(13:02):
really, okay, buck myself up anddo it.
I'm not your go-to person forthat Fulvotomy absolutely anal
glands, I'm out, you know.
So it's really finding out whoon your team is good at what and
making sure that they'releading the charge right.
It doesn't necessarily requirea management title or a
different set of letters afteryou're named to be a leader.
(13:23):
It really just matters on howgood you are and how passionate
you are and how approachable youare and how you can convey that
to the rest of the team.
So, setting that up from yourday perspective, if you have a
slew of appointments and it'sall cats, have your cat team
ready to go right and figure itout how it's gonna work for your
(13:45):
practice, right.
But if you don't have to startfrom scratch, you don't have to
reinvent the wheel.
Here's a framework, afoundation to build upon and
then you can customize it andbuild it from there.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Another podcast guest , a mutual friend of ours,
acquaintance Josh Weisman, tellsa great story about and this is
a veterinarian, but just teamswhere there was an associate who
was not.
I'm stealing his story, but hetold it on the podcast in an
earlier episode.
I think he'll be fine with it.
But he tells the story of aveterinarian who was just not
good at surgery, didn't likesurgery, didn't wanna do surgery
(14:19):
, but in the exam room they soldproduct, they were personable,
they just.
But they were getting judged onand I'm butchering Josh's story
, but they were gettingbutchered.
They were getting judged onmetrics, with how many surgeries
and how much they were doing,and they left that practice,
went to another one and theyspent 98% of their time in the
(14:39):
exam room with patients anddoing exams and they were one of
the top producers.
So it's business principles.
It's where are your team's bestattributes?
In the right seats in the bus.
You might you know dog or catpeople.
You might have somebody who'sterrible at customer service but
they're really good ataccounting and being counting.
Okay, well, don't not put themat the reception desk, we're
(15:00):
gonna have them countinginventory.
And so it's that utilizationwithin the team.
I think you have to understandeveryone's strengths and
weaknesses and not just thinkthat everyone fits in the same
like oh, you wanna be a vet techor an assistant, you're gonna
fit in this box, no matter whatit is, because you love all
animals.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Exactly, yeah, and I think you know to your point.
There too, it's the humanskills we tend to forget about
right communication andemotional intelligence and
de-escalation and networking andcollaboration, not competition.
So, again, those aren't skillsthat are addressed in our
program.
So it's something that you dohave to learn, and once you
(15:41):
apply those principles alongsideof your clinical skills, it's
amazing what happens.
But I do not belong onovernight shifts and I did that
for several years and it messedme up.
But there's some incrediblehumans that have been doing that
for 20 years and they can justget everything done and never
fall to it.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Yeah, it turns them on.
That's what they wanna do.
They light up to do it.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Exactly so.
When you're doing, you'reonboarding and then, as you're
going through, you know, pastthe first 90 days, what makes
them tick, what makes themexcited and instead of saying
that's great, good to know, anddoing nothing with it, actually
putting it into practice andsaying, okay, well then, let's
put you here and I really didn'tlike this, and taking the
feedback both ways.
(16:22):
So really actually saying youhave two-way communication and
an open-door policy andfollowing through on it is
pretty key.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah, one of the things that I get coached on all
the time is that we have two ofthese and one of these and we
need to use them in thatproportion, and a lot of times
we wanna just tell stuff that'shappening versus asking a really
good.
The better the question, thebetter the answer, and so if
you're asking good questions ofyour team of where can we
(16:54):
improve and using you know, likeI said, the utilization
guidelines are really amazing,and so for any you don't have to
be an AHA member.
Believe me, I'm not an outsidevendor, but the resources that
are out there for the industryare really quite amazing just to
be able to say, hey, these aresome guys, you know you don't
have to put everything in place,but maybe just use those as,
(17:17):
again, guidelines for what youcan integrate into your practice
.
And it kinda goes to the nexttopic I wanna touch on is
universal standardization, notjust of competency-based
training, but utilization ofteams, and so why don't we kind
(17:37):
of transition into how you thinksome universal standardization
would really help the industryoverall as far as foundational
approach and competency-basedtraining?
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Absolutely, and I love that question and how you
phrase it because it's when youlook at it from an educational
perspective.
Every veterinarian in everyschool has to sit for the NADLE
right.
Every veterinary technician inevery veterinary technician
program in North America has tosit for the VTNE National
(18:14):
Standards accrediting exams.
We have to go to a universitythat's accredited by the AVMA
standards guidelines, benchmarks.
We have to take those things inorder to achieve our
credentials.
So it's taking that similarprinciple and putting it into
place for these trainingprograms, for skills assessment,
(18:37):
for how we advance progress ineach position.
And, again, it's not cookiecutter, but you have to start
somewhere, based upon what thegoverning bodies say, which
would be AVMA and NAVTA, as wellas AHAS guidelines, forming
that structure and then buildingit from there.
It's like, no, we can't saythat you can do this or that,
(18:58):
because this is what anassistant does, this is what a
receptionist does and this iswhat a veterinary technician
does.
It gets a little fuzzy, though,because in over 30 states there
isn't a clear definition andprotected title for veterinary
technicians, even where I'm inPennsylvania.
So anyone that is working in apractice can call themselves a
(19:21):
vet tech without the appropriatecredentialing and education,
and that is a concern for me andseveral other of my colleagues
for many reasons, butparticularly for our community,
because they don't know, whenyou say that you're a vet tech,
it automatically has a negativeconnotation, for whatever reason
.
(19:41):
We haven't educated them or therest of our profession very
clearly on what a vet tech isand what we do, and so they just
assume that you're gonna do thebest by their pet.
And it's not that someone whoisn't credentialed wouldn't.
Of course they would.
That's why they're in thisprofession.
And it's not that they don'thave the skills.
They know what to do and a lotof them are really good at it,
(20:03):
but they don't necessarily knowthe why.
So if you're administering amedication and you know what
medication to give and at whattime and what it's going to do
in that instance, that's great.
But do you understand thepharma kinetics of it and do you
understand the mechanism ofaction and do you recognize what
that's going to mean?
If you need to give anothermedication, do you understand it
(20:26):
at a cellular level, right?
Those of us that went to schoola long time ago, oh, still have
to look that up.
But we have it there and I amnot taking away from the on the
job portion of it.
You have to.
That's why you have externships, practicums and all of those
things, your clinical years forveterinarians.
You have to get your handsdirty, literally.
(20:46):
It is a very kinesthetic way tolearn.
Especially, you can't feel abouncing vein through a computer
screen.
It just doesn't work.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
There's no substitute for the live, the real-life
action.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
But you do need to have a lot of the book learning
to back that up.
So what I would love to see,and a lot of the work that I'm
pushing through with my team atEVT, is here's a program that
starts you from beginning andtakes you onwards right.
So it's not simply here's yourwelcome packet, go have a great
(21:23):
day.
It's ease them into the team.
These are the skills that youfocus on for the first week, the
first three weeks, the firstmonth.
This is how you advance andthis is the modalities that
they're presented to you.
We're working with generationsthat are digital natives.
I remember when the internetcame on right, so it's like that
.
They've never not had it.
I know I totally dated myself.
(21:45):
It's fine.
Level four is great guys.
So you have to meet peoplewhere they are with what they
need.
So is there an app for that?
Yeah, there's an app for thatand for those of us that like to
write things down, because evenin these younger generations,
some of them like to write notes.
My daughter is gonna be 16 nextweek.
You should see her notebook forher courses.
(22:06):
They're all color coded andindexed.
It's why she's an A student andI was not.
So it's, but it's really andI'm definitely rambling on this,
I apologize, but it'sdefinitely something that to
start with, because if you don'thave something that is
standardized to start, you don'tknow where you're gonna end up
(22:27):
and it's gonna be the mess we'rein right now.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
So, and also I think from a team member's perspective
, it also gives them a roadmapright.
So I just spent a couple ofyears in school.
I just got certified, I passedmy national certification.
Woohoo, I'm now gonna go workat a vet practice and they give
you the welcome to the practice.
(22:50):
Here's your HR packet.
You're in exam room three andthat's your career and that's
your career.
You know deer and headlights.
Okay, I guess, I guess I'm on.
And you know, one thing thatI've integrated for for my
business is here's what 30 dayslooks like zero to 30 days.
Here's 30 to 90 days and 90days to one year and the
(23:11):
expectations of what it'sbenchmarks for success.
Right, it's, you're expected to.
At the end of 30 days, youshould know how to do this, this
, this, this and this here at myinsurance agency.
Now you might have to do allthose same things at a different
insurance agency, but at leastyou see written down what the,
(23:31):
what the standardized, you knowlevels of what.
You know what is success looklike.
And then from from day 60 to 90.
And at the end of a year, thisis what you rounded out.
And then from there it's okay.
Here's, here is how youprogress up the food chain in
the expertise and experiencewithin the industry, and I think
(23:52):
that kind of encompasseseverything right, where it's the
training and education, butalso utilization and says, okay,
and now I see a career pathversus just doing full body me
every day for the rest of mylife is here's, here's the
career path and progression thatI can be on, because there's
some things written downAbsolutely.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
It gives roadmap.
That's the best way you can sayit.
And for me, to the other thing,to, because we all want to do
the fun stuff.
You know, I want to book theveins, I want to, I want to do
in a stage, I want to do thecool things, yeah, but these are
living creatures and if you doit wrong, they might not be
living.
So you need to take it moreseriously.
(24:29):
I mean, I can't tell you howmany conversations I've had
where they asked me you knowwhat?
What do you do?
I want my veterinary technician.
Oh, I used to be one of those.
Where'd you go to school?
You know what did you do?
And so, to really make surethat there is a sense of Well, I
was assistant.
Right.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Exactly so and it's again, I'm not putting those
those I was an assistant, I wasa cocky assistant because I had
a bachelor's degree.
So, like I'm, I'm so much more,I was so much less, and you
know it's hindsight is 2020 andall of those things, but really,
you know taking pride in whereyou're at in your career and
recognizing where you can go andhow vital you are in every
(25:10):
single role.
You know, as a technician, Ican't hold the patient and
intubate.
Well, I can.
I shouldn't, right, and I can'tanswer the phones and do all
those things that the people onat the front desk and in the
business offices on the phonesare the reason we have jobs.
It's hard, people are not niceand you know the.
When we're highly skilled andwell trained and integrated and
(25:32):
utilized, the doctors can dowhat they can do that we can't
do, right.
We all need to have thatsymbiotic relationship so
everything works and ourpatients get the care that they
deserve.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
So you know, for me as a lay person in the
veterinary world, you know I'minvolved ancillary but you know
from the from a client facingperspective.
I walk into a practice, there'sveterinarians and then there's
everybody else and you knowwhether you're an assistant or a
(26:03):
technician or a certified vettechnician or a certified nurse
and all the different labels andwhat you know the the
perception for the consumer ofthe vet practices.
Everyone's a technician or vettech.
They don't understand thedifferent layering within that
and they just assume everyonecan do everything.
(26:24):
They're not the veterinarian.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
And that's where we have to do better.
And there is a really greatgraphic in the guidelines and
elsewhere.
Actually, navc and NAVTA justput together something called
trust your vet tech.
So it's a poster thatdelineates who does what and why
a veterinary technician is sovital and so important.
So, and it's something topractice, that vernacular Right.
(26:50):
If you're not credentialed,you're not a vet tech, you're an
assistant.
So those are the three mainroles other than a veterinarian
is the customer servicerepresentative, the CSR or the
receptionist, the veterinaryassistant and the veterinary
technician.
So if you're, you know, want tocorrelate it and we try not to
make too many parallels withhuman med, but it's our closest
(27:12):
you know, cousin in theprofessions, it's akin to you
know, a veterinary technician isan RN, bsn, right, and a
veterinary assistant is likeyour radiology tech or your ER
tech, things like that, and thegals and guys and all the other
incredible humans that are atthe front desks have a similar
(27:33):
role.
And then you have your practicemanagers, right.
So those are like your you know, and then you have, if you have
a huge hospital, you have anadministrator, right.
But those are the three mainroles.
So CSR, va, bt.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
So, now that we've got all these people working at
our practice, alicia, how do weteam, how do we train them using
a team centric approach,because I know that's that's a
big thing for you and and yourorganizations that you work in
and that you work with onpractices.
So how is that training andteam centric leadership more
beneficial to veterinarymedicine versus just, you know,
(28:06):
individual training and teamleading?
Speaker 1 (28:10):
It's a good point and I'm glad to talk about it.
So, whether you're an athleteor not, it is a team sport,
right.
When you're doing CPR,especially on a tiny little dog,
you are.
It's contact right.
There is no way you can't.
You have to work together.
You have to understand who'sdoing what, where, when, why and
how, and so when you arecreating a training program, you
(28:32):
have to take that intoconsideration and thinking about
all the skills you have to doat any given time on any given
day throughout a crazy week.
There's no downtime lately,right.
So having your lead technicianbe in charge of training, not a
bad idea, but when do they havetime to do it?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Right and do the things that you need them to do.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
if you're the practice owner, so how are you,
how are you facilitating that asthe leader in the organization
saying okay, you're, you're in.
Hey, bill, you're in charge ofthis training.
Figure it out to train CPR forthe rest of the team.
I don't know what I'm, I knowhow to teach it.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
I know how to do it.
I know how to do it.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
But how do I train my , my counterparts and my peers
in a training session to do that?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Right, and so what it it needs to do is kind of like
what we were talking aboutbefore, is kind of taking a step
back and, you know, flippingthat org structure on its side
and finding who's good at what,making sure that you do have
someone within each track,within the practice.
So you have a lead CSR, youhave a lead, an elite assistant
(29:37):
and a lead bet tech, and theywork together to formulate these
plans.
Now can you do it internally100%, and I'm not saying you
shouldn't, might not have thetime or the resources to do it,
and so that's where we come inwith what do you need?
Well, we have a team in place.
Okay, do you have the templates?
Do you have the software team.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
You have a team lead for the team.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
What's that you?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
have a team lead for that team.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Exactly Right, and that's not going to be feasible
for, say like, a four doctorpractice, right, with a total of
24 team members.
You're not necessarily going tohave all of those leads or the,
the, the people power to have atraining team within that, and
that's okay.
You have to simply take a lookat who's really good at doing
what.
How can we structure theirschedule On this day, their
(30:24):
training?
This is what onboarding lookslike.
This is what growth anddevelopment looks like for us,
and it is a lot of work.
So if you are going to sit downand do that, you're going to
have to dedicate a couple ofmonths to developing this.
Or you can give us a call wherewe can walk you through it.
Right, we come in and take alook at your workflow.
We sit down with you andformulate your org structure.
(30:45):
We make sure that every memberof the team gets a one on one.
So this is where they're atclinically skills.
This is where they're at humanskills.
This is their designated levelor progression from our
evaluation standpoint, and thisis where they need some work.
And then here is your skill setto work on.
Here's how we're going to do itand here's your one on one time
(31:09):
.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
And you know, one of the things that that I think
shouldn't be missed in that iswhen you're onboarding a team
member, you say look, welcome tothe team, welcome to Butler
veterinary practice.
And here's here's the roadmapfor you know, not only just
utilization and training, but wehave team leads here at the
practice and if you want to workyour way up to a team lead,
(31:31):
here are all the things you needto do along the way and it
helps build that careerprogression versus just you want
to have a little bit of careerprogression potentially within
the industry Instead of justflattening everyone.
Say everyone here is equal, allassistance are equal, all
technicians are equal.
No, we actually have a coupleof people that are elevated and
you have the opportunity to workyour way in that and it does
(31:52):
everything within the practiceof saying not only are we doing
training and education and teamcentric approach, but we also
have some career progression andnot everyone's just a
technician or not everyone hereis just an assistant.
We do have some elevatedpositions and that helps you as
the overall.
You know I'm putting on myentrepreneur, I own the business
hat of not everyone's alwaysequal.
(32:12):
You do have those better teammembers and how do you reward
them and show them that careerprogression within the practice
and laying that out day one,versus saying, all right, six
years in you're threatening toleave.
Why don't we make you a teamlead?
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Exactly, and it's definitely something to say for
incentivization as well.
Absolutely the parties only goso far.
The other part that goes alongwith all this is when you're
getting them on is you know,spend a couple days, get them
through all their paperworkright and then ease them into it
like, have them shadow peopleand don't let them jump right in
(32:46):
right away Like the deer in theheadlights.
I did that right.
I started at a 50, like 40doctor practice on my first ER
shift, like, oh, I'm so gladyou're here.
We have a bulldog that you knowwe need to sleep for the next
12 hours.
That's you.
You know we're going to do atwo bag and for 12 hours, right,
can?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
I you said I can I must be able to.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
There's some people that thrive on that type of
energy.
I was one of them, but thatdoesn't work for everyone.
So it's also when you'reonboarding people and I hate
that that interview questionwhat are your?
You know strengths andweaknesses.
Switch that up as theinterviewer like in what areas
are you really passionate about,and on what areas Do you feel
(33:30):
you would like to grow?
Because for me, you know, goingfrom GP into the emergency and
specialty medicine, that's a bigjump For someone and there's a
lot more practices.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I mean, I'm working with some practices now they're
opening up saying I'm gonna dourgent care only.
No scheduled appointments,normal business hours, but
urgent care, and so you knowit's a.
It's a different model that itused to be in the in the
veterinary world, where you haveveterinarians going.
I'm there's, there's a gap inthe market that I think I can
fill, but now you've got to findthe team members who thrive on
(34:03):
that type of environment.
Versus the, you know, I'd saymore standardized scheduled yeah
, we're booked out three weeksand this is the appointments for
today versus I don't knowwhat's gonna walk through the
door in the next 20 minutes.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Right and it's.
And that's where you have toreally kind of filter out, not
only from a you know, a businessowner standpoint, but from a
team member as you're going inthere.
Is this what you want?
You know, and taking a look athow the the industry is evolving
, is there someone that's beenat your practice for 20 years
and they're so good, but ourknees and our backs after 20, 30
(34:38):
years of throwing big dogsaround, we don't throw them.
I promise we don't throw them.
We're very kind but it takesits toll.
So how can you take them out ofthe main workflow?
Hey, there's your lead trainerright there.
There's someone that can get onthe phone and, do you know, get
the training.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Institutional experience.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Right, let's have them do all the lab callbacks.
Let's have them do all of thescheduling.
Let's have them do this.
Let's have them take care ofthis.
What can they do to still be afunctional and happy Member of
the team, right?
Not talking about thepositivity like good vibes only?
I don't like that.
I do not subscribe to that.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
There's not like in all transparency.
No matter what business you'rein, nothing is all happy times
and and puppy dogs and unicorns,and so yeah, but there's ways
that you can get there to a moresteady state, right.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
So it's it's taking a look at what you've got.
How can you utilize what youalready have?
Identify those existing youknow leaders within your team.
Do you have some structurealready?
Great, here's how you can makeit better.
Oh, by the way, this is goingto adhere to the recommended
guidelines from the, theindustry standards, and you can
(35:55):
move forward Together as a team.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Yeah Well, if somebody wants to move forward
together as a team withempowering, empowering
Veterinary teams, ebt, where canpeople find you and the rest of
your universe of excellence outthere in Utilization and team
training and and everything thatyou have good going on out
(36:17):
there?
Speaker 1 (36:18):
We're on all major social platforms, so you can
find us on Instagram atempathetic EMP that team, or
Facebook and LinkedIn.
Our website is our company nameempowering veterinary teams,
calm and there's a bunch ofstuff on there.
So if you need, you knowtemplates just to download we
have digital downloads andthings like that and the first
(36:39):
consultation to meet with Me orone of our lead trainers the
first 30 minutes is free.
We want to make sure that wecan figure out what you need
well, I would.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
I would recommend anyone out there listening who
says I want to better utilize myteam, to reach out to you and
empowering vet teams becauseYou're just super passionate
about it.
I can tell the training,training, you know, I have a
background in the military andif you, if you're we always said
train like you, fight in themilitary, because that's really
(37:09):
what it boils down to and ifyou're not training your team
and you're not utilizing them totheir fullest extent, you've
got blind spots that you don'teven realize as a business owner
, as a practice owner out thereand as a practice manager.
So that's why I really wantedto have you on and We'll have
all your contact info out there.
You and I connected on LinkedIn, but we'll make sure to have
(37:30):
that out there.
So what is the one thing thatyou wish everyone would do out
there that you work with, onyour, on your practices, that
you collaborate with?
I?
Speaker 1 (37:40):
Want everyone to remember that no one is just in
air quotes anything.
Yep own the awesome that youare.
Get out there and do it 100%Well.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Thanks for joining us in this episode of the
veterinary blueprints podcast.
As, as always, remember to like, subscribe and review the
podcast.
And Thanks so much to Alyssafor joining us today and
empowering vet teams and everyeverything awesome she's got
going out there.
Thanks everybody for tuning in.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Have a great day, thank you.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
Thanks for tuning in to veterinary blueprints.
If you have any thoughts,questions or suggestions for an
episode, I would love to hearfrom you.
Email me at Bill at butler vetinsurance.
Calm, don't forget to subscribeso you never miss an episode,
and if you could do me a hugefavor you know it helps with the
algorithm.
If you can like, share orcomment on the post, leave a
(38:35):
review, I would love it.
Thanks for tuning in and untilnext time you
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