December 5, 2025 • 17 mins
What if the “gold standard” isn’t the only standard that delivers real results? We sit down with guest editor Dr. Emma Read to explore Spectrum of Care, the evidence-based approach that empowers veterinarians to present a range of medically sound options tailored to each client’s budget, lifestyle, and ability to follow through. Instead of treating alternatives as compromises, we show how tiered choices reduce moral distress, expand access to care, and still protect outcomes for pets.
Emma takes us inside the new JAVMA supplemental issue, where educators and clinicians map out how to teach Spectrum of Care so graduates don’t have to learn it the hard way. We dig into student takeaways, from recognizing privilege to practicing clear, empathetic conversations that align treatment with client goals. We also spotlight practical tools like communication frameworks and a Spectrum of Care video toolkit that make it easier to identify options, set expectations, and document decisions without shame or confusion.
Research is the next frontier. Many effective, lower-cost protocols live only in clinics and memories. We talk about turning those real-world methods into published evidence, partnering with veterinary schools to design studies, and building a shared knowledge base that separates tradition from what truly works. Along the way, we touch on business models that support tiered care, strategies to track outcomes, and the mindset shift that helps teams feel capable rather than constrained.
Curious how to bring Spectrum of Care into your practice or your classroom? Press play, then subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more veterinarians find these tools and stories.
JAVMA editorial: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.263.s3.s4
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
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SPEAKER_01 (00:35):
This is Veterinary Vertex, a podcast of the AB May
Journal.
This episode we chat about theJapan Spectrum of Care
Supplemental Issue with ourguest, Emma Reed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:48):
Welcome everyone.
I'm editor-in-chief LisaFordier, and I'm with co-host,
associate editor Sarah Wright.
Emma, I know this is a supercrazy time of busy time of year
with the students coming back,so thank you so much for taking
time out of this hectic time tobe with us here today.
Thank you very much for havingme.
SPEAKER_01 (01:06):
So, Emma, you're our guest editor for the Javma
Spectrum of Care supplementalissue.
What can our readers expect totake away from these articles?
SPEAKER_02 (01:15):
Uh so I think first and foremost is understanding
what spectrum of care actuallyis.
And a lot of people say, well,spectrum of care is nothing new.
It's something I've beenpracticing forever.
And they're right.
I think what is new aboutspectrum of care is the emphasis
(01:36):
that we're placing on it andsome of the solutions that we're
looking for to be able toprovide it and how best to use
it, and also how best to teachit.
And also some of these articlesexplore what are things that are
good about spectrum of care forthe profession.
(01:57):
Um, and I think that's somethingthat we have never considered
before is are there things aboutspectrum of care that are good
for us, not just good for ourclients or the pets that we look
after.
SPEAKER_03 (02:10):
I think that's a really good point.
And thank you for defining whatit is uh to start with.
And you know, certainly some ofthe maybe more the rural
practitioners knew how topractice it more than uh Ivy
League.
Um, and really it's hard toteach it in academia because
people come to us once they havegotten past spectrum of care,
spectrum of care, spectrum ofcare.
(02:31):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (02:33):
And I think uh for those that are sitting there
thinking, I'm in the dark aboutwhat the spectrum of care thing
is, the idea is behind providingthe broadest range of possible
diagnostic and treatment optionsavailable, obviously, that are
evidence-based or good medicinefor a particular pet and for a
(02:55):
particular client.
So not every client is going tohave the same resources, the
same lifestyle, the same abilityuh to manage their patient.
And so it's really sort oftrying to tailor make or
personalize that care for boththat client and the pet.
And that requires some uhinnovation.
(03:17):
It requires some very uhthoughtful planning sometimes
and uh broad knowledge, but italso requires the ability to
really listen to that client andunderstand what's important to
them and what it is they need.
SPEAKER_03 (03:32):
Can you expand a little bit?
I really like what you saidearlier about how rewarding it
can be to us as the veterinarianto learn how to practice
spectrum of care.
SPEAKER_02 (03:43):
So there's some work, and that comes out in in
some of these articles, justtalking about how morally
distressing it is sometimes forveterinarians when you're you're
faced with an animal that youknow you could do something for,
um, but the client can't affordit or can't provide the care uh
(04:05):
that you would believe to be,and we always use that term gold
standard.
You know, sometimes we used toemphasize really teaching
students this is the best way tomanage this.
And then people leave and go outand practice, and they have in
their head there's sort of onebest way to manage this.
And if I don't do that, I'mproviding substandard care.
(04:27):
And the idea behind spectrum ofcare, then you have a range of
options that are good medicine,and so it's not one option or
nothing, it's a range of thingsthat you can provide.
So you can work with the clientto do something good for the
patient, and that tends to easea lot of that distress that we
(04:48):
feel as veterinarians.
Like I have this patient infront of me, I know I can fix
it, but yet I can't.
And in this case, it's like Iknow I can't do the gold
standard, but I still can dosomething that is good for that
patient and for that client.
SPEAKER_03 (05:04):
And I love too how the idea of teaching this in
veterinary schools, so itdoesn't take decades for a
veterinarian to acquire thatinformation.
SPEAKER_02 (05:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think um there are thereare also a couple articles in
this edition that really addresshow we teach it.
Uh, so what are the elements orcomponents that go into teaching
it?
And what um what does it do forstudents when we teach it?
(05:34):
And uh there's a particularlynice article that uh Lydia
Alvarez and her group atWisconsin did that looks at sort
of the outcomes for students andwhat what they get out of it.
Um so they learn things like,wow, I'm in a real position of
privilege.
You know, I I had a veryprivileged life.
(05:54):
Um, I've maybe not thought aboutveterinary medicine or caring
for my pet from a differentperspective.
What if I didn't have theresources?
What if I didn't have that kindof housing or that kind of money
or all those things?
And so it it's creating um adifferent kind of practitioner
(06:15):
when they get out of there.
And as you said, Lisa, thatmeans they don't have to go
through the school of hardknocks to uh to figure it out
like most of us did.
SPEAKER_03 (06:24):
Sure did.
You've said a couple of timesthe work, the evidence.
I think some listeners might besurprised to know that this is a
research topic.
Uh the what what sparked yourresearch interest in spectrum of
care?
SPEAKER_02 (06:37):
Yeah, so for me, I've been uh dabbling in
educational research or kind ofsocial research for um a long
time now.
And all kind of along the samevein for me is trying to create
more confident, competentpractitioners uh when they would
leave, whether that's clinicalskills or professional skills or
(07:01):
in this case, spectrum of care.
But we not only should be doingthis the teaching in veterinary
school, but then we should beresearching it to see if what
we're teaching and how we'reteaching it actually makes a
difference.
Do they leave us more confident?
Do they leave us more capable ofdoing the skills?
(07:22):
Um, do they feel differentlyabout themselves and about their
ability when they get out intopractice?
Um, and I think in the past wejust stood there and and taught
them and felt like, well, Itaught them, therefore they
should know it.
And now I think the emphasisreally needs to be on I taught
(07:42):
them and I taught them in thisway, and did that make them
better?
And if not, could I change theway I'm teaching it to do it
differently or better?
SPEAKER_03 (07:51):
Yeah, fantastic.
As guest editor, uh, yousuggested the topics, but you
don't know exactly what they'regoing to write about.
Uh, were there any surprisingfindings from the supplemental
issue to you?
SPEAKER_02 (08:05):
I I think honestly, I really like all the papers.
And I think what's surprising tome is that the collective of all
of them really works.
When you read them all back toback to back, one after another,
I'm like, it it really tells agreat story and shows the
breadth of the the challengesand the things to think about
(08:28):
around spectrum of care.
And I think as a whole, theyreally work, although it wasn't
deliberately planned out so.
Um, and the one thing I alsoreally appreciate is the
spotlight articles that are inthere about the different kinds
of practice and how spectrum ofcare is practiced in that
(08:51):
context, in that um practicesituation.
And the practitioners that wrotethose, I think, did a wonderful
job of highlighting how they usespectrum of care in their
practice every day.
And that really shows why it'simportant for us to be teaching
it.
SPEAKER_03 (09:08):
Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing, and it just
brought it all home.
It really put the bow on thewhole issue.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:16):
And I think that was your idea, actually, Dr.
Fortier.
So I can't take credit for that.
SPEAKER_01 (09:21):
I think it was our idea in my I think to me, one of
the things that really stood outfrom this supplement is one of
the videos actually is in it,that spectrum of care toolkit
where identifying communicatingevidence-based options to
clients.
I think that's a really novelway to showcase some of these
techniques.
I'm five years out of veterinaryschool and I can say I was not
(09:42):
taught spectrum of care options.
I went to the school of hardknocks of my internship, went
from academia to privatepractice.
We were located in a halfaffluent area, half impoverished
area, and just seeing thediverse clientele really learned
how to communicate properly theoptions to the people depending
on what you're dealing with.
Yeah.
Yeah, you had to, right?
(10:03):
Exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah.
And for those of you justjoining us, we're discussing the
JAVMA spectrum of caresupplemental issue with our
guest Emma.
So, Emma, what are the nextsteps for research in Spectrum
of Care?
SPEAKER_02 (10:14):
Good question.
I I think one of the things thatwe um are lacking in in a big
way in spectrum of care isreally building up that evidence
for things that uh people havebeen doing to offer spectrum of
care options for a long periodof time that people have been
(10:36):
doing out in practice, but wereally don't have the
accumulated evidence yet to showthat they work.
So, for example, practitionerswill say, Oh, you don't need to
do it that way, you can do itlike this.
And they'll have a shortcut orthey'll have a way of doing it
that does provide a really goodoption and seems to have a good
(10:57):
outcome.
And they've been doing itbecause they've used it and they
know it works, but there'snothing published about it.
And if they would um help bepart of the literature and help
publish some of those things, Ithink that would be a really
great way to introduce that toothers who would think, gee, I
never thought of that.
(11:18):
And for us to then be able toshowcase those things and teach
them to students, and so that wewould have ways of doing things
or ways of practicing that dohave some evidence behind them.
And sometimes we have taughtgenerations that this is the way
to do it, this is the only wayto do it.
(11:39):
And sometimes that's because wedon't have evidence to the
contrary.
And when we actually look at it,and some of these articles speak
to that, when we actually lookat it, we find out, oh, that's
not actually the only way to doit.
And in fact, the outcome can bejust the same, or maybe
sometimes even better if we doit a slightly different way.
SPEAKER_03 (12:03):
How would you advise those veterinarians who are
interested in spectrum of care?
How do they reach out to you?
They could reach out to me andSarah and I can direct them into
how to make one of these videos.
How do they reach out to someonein academia to say, how can I
help in spectrum of care?
SPEAKER_02 (12:19):
Yeah, so I know in um in our uh institution,
obviously, we've had a fair umemphasis on spectrum of care.
And so we do work with a numberof practitioners, and we've had
some of them on an advisory uhcommittee that work with our um
spectrum of care clinic.
(12:41):
But I think reaching out to yourlocal veterinary school and
saying, hey, I have this idea, Iwould like to get involved, um,
and finding out if you comparewith someone, because sometimes
you're like, I'm in practice,I'm doing these things, but I
don't have the time to write itup, or I don't have the know-how
(13:01):
to put together a case series.
And I think there are people atvet schools who would be
interested in working with youand helping you.
And but someone has to reach outfirst and get that partnership
started.
SPEAKER_01 (13:14):
Very good.
So we've shared why peopleshould care about spectrum of
care and why it's important, butwhat is one piece of information
the veterinarian should knowabout the Java Spectrum of Care
supplemental issue?
What's that one big take-homemessage for them?
SPEAKER_02 (13:28):
Uh well, I sort of said it in my uh opening
commentary that no matter whatyou call it, um, we all need it.
So spectrum of care is going toimpact different people
differently depending on wherethey work in the profession.
And I think I think we need tobe open to the idea that all of
(13:51):
us should and could practicespectrum of care.
And that no matter what speciesyou work on, and no matter what
part of the industry you workin, um, spectrum of care is a
really important concept that Idon't think is going away and is
one that we really need to workhard to embrace and teach in our
(14:13):
students and help mentor youngpeople to go into practice
knowing how to do spectrum ofcare.
And so I think no matter whatyou call it, and if you read
that article, you realizethere's all kinds of buzzwords
that mean the same thing.
No matter what you call it, wedefinitely need that.
SPEAKER_01 (14:32):
Now, on the other side of the relationship, what's
one thing that clients shouldknow about spectrum of care?
SPEAKER_02 (14:37):
Uh, well, definitely I think they need to know that
there's not one single goldstandard in many cases.
And they also, I think someclients would feel better just
for knowing that there are otherclients out there who also
cannot afford one single uh goldstandard, if you will, and that
(14:58):
a range of options is somethingthat we should provide and is
something reasonable many peopleneed.
And I think the other thing isthey should know that there are
a lot of people in theveterinary profession that care
about trying to find and createa broader range, and also trying
to find creative ways to helppeople access care.
(15:20):
And so some of the articles inhere actually even relate to the
business side of spectrum ofcare and talk about we should be
looking for different ways tohelp clients afford that care
and and uh different models ofdoing business.
And I think that clients wouldmaybe appreciate that there are
(15:43):
veterinarians and people in theindustry that are very engaged
and looking for new ways to dothings.
SPEAKER_03 (15:48):
Very cool.
As you wind down now, Emma, uh,we love to ask this question.
I can see you're in your office,so we're looking for a good one
here.
What's the oldest or the mostinteresting item on your desk or
in your desk drawer?
How long have you been at thatdesk?
Uh well, seven years here as anassociate dean.
SPEAKER_02 (16:08):
However, I do have an old item here.
If you know what this is, sothis is no see no yeah, an
enterlith uh taken out of thelarge intestine of a horse,
small colon, actually.
So first first one I ever tookout as a surgery resident a long
(16:28):
time ago, and uh of course itwas the first one, so I was
quite attached to it, and theintern wanted it, and I said no,
because it was my first one, andthen afterwards I thought, you
know, I really need to sharethis.
So I took it to a professionalrock cutter, they cut it, they
finished it, and I gave theintern her half for Christmas.
(16:52):
I kept it, it's a paperweight onmy desk.
SPEAKER_03 (16:55):
It's beautiful.
What do you reckon that is?
Seven inches in diameter?
Uh yeah, yeah.
That's a small colon.
Wow.
Yeah, yeah.
How'd the horse do?
Uh right, did fine, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (17:11):
Did okay.
From what I remember, that's awhile ago.
SPEAKER_01 (17:15):
That's cool.
SPEAKER_02 (17:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (17:18):
To our listeners that want to see Emma's cool
entrelith, you can watch thisepisode on YouTube or on our
website.
Well, thank you so much, Emma.
We appreciate you being herewith us today, and we're super
excited too to have you as theguest editor for this really
interesting supplemental issuefor Javma.
SPEAKER_02 (17:33):
Thanks very much, you guys, for having me.
And uh hope the readers outthere really enjoy this issue
and learn lots from it.
SPEAKER_01 (17:42):
We hope so too.
And to our listeners, you canread the Spectrum of Care
supplemental issue in JAFMA.
I'm Sarah with Lisa Fortier.
Be on the lookout for nextweek's episode, and don't forget
to leave us a rating and reviewon Apple Podcasts or whatever
platform you listen to.
From the makers of FET recommended Green East
(00:02):
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nutrition with science-backedrecipes.
Green East Supplements,developed by a team of PhD
animal nutritionists, offersoptions to help support healthy
joints, digestion, and more.
(00:24):
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helps you care for your dog fromthe inside out.
Learn more at greenies.com.
SPEAKER_01 (00:35):
This is Veterinary Vertex, a podcast of the AB May
Journal.
This episode we chat about theJapan Spectrum of Care
Supplemental Issue with ourguest, Emma Reed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:48):
Welcome everyone.
I'm editor-in-chief LisaFordier, and I'm with co-host,
associate editor Sarah Wright.
Emma, I know this is a supercrazy time of busy time of year
with the students coming back,so thank you so much for taking
time out of this hectic time tobe with us here today.
Thank you very much for havingme.
SPEAKER_01 (01:06):
So, Emma, you're our guest editor for the Javma
Spectrum of Care supplementalissue.
What can our readers expect totake away from these articles?
SPEAKER_02 (01:15):
Uh so I think first and foremost is understanding
what spectrum of care actuallyis.
And a lot of people say, well,spectrum of care is nothing new.
It's something I've beenpracticing forever.
And they're right.
I think what is new aboutspectrum of care is the emphasis
(01:36):
that we're placing on it andsome of the solutions that we're
looking for to be able toprovide it and how best to use
it, and also how best to teachit.
And also some of these articlesexplore what are things that are
good about spectrum of care forthe profession.
(01:57):
Um, and I think that's somethingthat we have never considered
before is are there things aboutspectrum of care that are good
for us, not just good for ourclients or the pets that we look
after.
SPEAKER_03 (02:10):
I think that's a really good point.
And thank you for defining whatit is uh to start with.
And you know, certainly some ofthe maybe more the rural
practitioners knew how topractice it more than uh Ivy
League.
Um, and really it's hard toteach it in academia because
people come to us once they havegotten past spectrum of care,
spectrum of care, spectrum ofcare.
(02:31):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (02:33):
And I think uh for those that are sitting there
thinking, I'm in the dark aboutwhat the spectrum of care thing
is, the idea is behind providingthe broadest range of possible
diagnostic and treatment optionsavailable, obviously, that are
evidence-based or good medicinefor a particular pet and for a
(02:55):
particular client.
So not every client is going tohave the same resources, the
same lifestyle, the same abilityuh to manage their patient.
And so it's really sort oftrying to tailor make or
personalize that care for boththat client and the pet.
And that requires some uhinnovation.
(03:17):
It requires some very uhthoughtful planning sometimes
and uh broad knowledge, but italso requires the ability to
really listen to that client andunderstand what's important to
them and what it is they need.
SPEAKER_03 (03:32):
Can you expand a little bit?
I really like what you saidearlier about how rewarding it
can be to us as the veterinarianto learn how to practice
spectrum of care.
SPEAKER_02 (03:43):
So there's some work, and that comes out in in
some of these articles, justtalking about how morally
distressing it is sometimes forveterinarians when you're you're
faced with an animal that youknow you could do something for,
um, but the client can't affordit or can't provide the care uh
(04:05):
that you would believe to be,and we always use that term gold
standard.
You know, sometimes we used toemphasize really teaching
students this is the best way tomanage this.
And then people leave and go outand practice, and they have in
their head there's sort of onebest way to manage this.
And if I don't do that, I'mproviding substandard care.
(04:27):
And the idea behind spectrum ofcare, then you have a range of
options that are good medicine,and so it's not one option or
nothing, it's a range of thingsthat you can provide.
So you can work with the clientto do something good for the
patient, and that tends to easea lot of that distress that we
(04:48):
feel as veterinarians.
Like I have this patient infront of me, I know I can fix
it, but yet I can't.
And in this case, it's like Iknow I can't do the gold
standard, but I still can dosomething that is good for that
patient and for that client.
SPEAKER_03 (05:04):
And I love too how the idea of teaching this in
veterinary schools, so itdoesn't take decades for a
veterinarian to acquire thatinformation.
SPEAKER_02 (05:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think um there are thereare also a couple articles in
this edition that really addresshow we teach it.
Uh, so what are the elements orcomponents that go into teaching
it?
And what um what does it do forstudents when we teach it?
(05:34):
And uh there's a particularlynice article that uh Lydia
Alvarez and her group atWisconsin did that looks at sort
of the outcomes for students andwhat what they get out of it.
Um so they learn things like,wow, I'm in a real position of
privilege.
You know, I I had a veryprivileged life.
(05:54):
Um, I've maybe not thought aboutveterinary medicine or caring
for my pet from a differentperspective.
What if I didn't have theresources?
What if I didn't have that kindof housing or that kind of money
or all those things?
And so it it's creating um adifferent kind of practitioner
(06:15):
when they get out of there.
And as you said, Lisa, thatmeans they don't have to go
through the school of hardknocks to uh to figure it out
like most of us did.
SPEAKER_03 (06:24):
Sure did.
You've said a couple of timesthe work, the evidence.
I think some listeners might besurprised to know that this is a
research topic.
Uh the what what sparked yourresearch interest in spectrum of
care?
SPEAKER_02 (06:37):
Yeah, so for me, I've been uh dabbling in
educational research or kind ofsocial research for um a long
time now.
And all kind of along the samevein for me is trying to create
more confident, competentpractitioners uh when they would
leave, whether that's clinicalskills or professional skills or
(07:01):
in this case, spectrum of care.
But we not only should be doingthis the teaching in veterinary
school, but then we should beresearching it to see if what
we're teaching and how we'reteaching it actually makes a
difference.
Do they leave us more confident?
Do they leave us more capable ofdoing the skills?
(07:22):
Um, do they feel differentlyabout themselves and about their
ability when they get out intopractice?
Um, and I think in the past wejust stood there and and taught
them and felt like, well, Itaught them, therefore they
should know it.
And now I think the emphasisreally needs to be on I taught
(07:42):
them and I taught them in thisway, and did that make them
better?
And if not, could I change theway I'm teaching it to do it
differently or better?
SPEAKER_03 (07:51):
Yeah, fantastic.
As guest editor, uh, yousuggested the topics, but you
don't know exactly what they'regoing to write about.
Uh, were there any surprisingfindings from the supplemental
issue to you?
SPEAKER_02 (08:05):
I I think honestly, I really like all the papers.
And I think what's surprising tome is that the collective of all
of them really works.
When you read them all back toback to back, one after another,
I'm like, it it really tells agreat story and shows the
breadth of the the challengesand the things to think about
(08:28):
around spectrum of care.
And I think as a whole, theyreally work, although it wasn't
deliberately planned out so.
Um, and the one thing I alsoreally appreciate is the
spotlight articles that are inthere about the different kinds
of practice and how spectrum ofcare is practiced in that
(08:51):
context, in that um practicesituation.
And the practitioners that wrotethose, I think, did a wonderful
job of highlighting how they usespectrum of care in their
practice every day.
And that really shows why it'simportant for us to be teaching
it.
SPEAKER_03 (09:08):
Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing, and it just
brought it all home.
It really put the bow on thewhole issue.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:16):
And I think that was your idea, actually, Dr.
Fortier.
So I can't take credit for that.
SPEAKER_01 (09:21):
I think it was our idea in my I think to me, one of
the things that really stood outfrom this supplement is one of
the videos actually is in it,that spectrum of care toolkit
where identifying communicatingevidence-based options to
clients.
I think that's a really novelway to showcase some of these
techniques.
I'm five years out of veterinaryschool and I can say I was not
(09:42):
taught spectrum of care options.
I went to the school of hardknocks of my internship, went
from academia to privatepractice.
We were located in a halfaffluent area, half impoverished
area, and just seeing thediverse clientele really learned
how to communicate properly theoptions to the people depending
on what you're dealing with.
Yeah.
Yeah, you had to, right?
(10:03):
Exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah.
And for those of you justjoining us, we're discussing the
JAVMA spectrum of caresupplemental issue with our
guest Emma.
So, Emma, what are the nextsteps for research in Spectrum
of Care?
SPEAKER_02 (10:14):
Good question.
I I think one of the things thatwe um are lacking in in a big
way in spectrum of care isreally building up that evidence
for things that uh people havebeen doing to offer spectrum of
care options for a long periodof time that people have been
(10:36):
doing out in practice, but wereally don't have the
accumulated evidence yet to showthat they work.
So, for example, practitionerswill say, Oh, you don't need to
do it that way, you can do itlike this.
And they'll have a shortcut orthey'll have a way of doing it
that does provide a really goodoption and seems to have a good
(10:57):
outcome.
And they've been doing itbecause they've used it and they
know it works, but there'snothing published about it.
And if they would um help bepart of the literature and help
publish some of those things, Ithink that would be a really
great way to introduce that toothers who would think, gee, I
never thought of that.
(11:18):
And for us to then be able toshowcase those things and teach
them to students, and so that wewould have ways of doing things
or ways of practicing that dohave some evidence behind them.
And sometimes we have taughtgenerations that this is the way
to do it, this is the only wayto do it.
(11:39):
And sometimes that's because wedon't have evidence to the
contrary.
And when we actually look at it,and some of these articles speak
to that, when we actually lookat it, we find out, oh, that's
not actually the only way to doit.
And in fact, the outcome can bejust the same, or maybe
sometimes even better if we doit a slightly different way.
SPEAKER_03 (12:03):
How would you advise those veterinarians who are
interested in spectrum of care?
How do they reach out to you?
They could reach out to me andSarah and I can direct them into
how to make one of these videos.
How do they reach out to someonein academia to say, how can I
help in spectrum of care?
SPEAKER_02 (12:19):
Yeah, so I know in um in our uh institution,
obviously, we've had a fair umemphasis on spectrum of care.
And so we do work with a numberof practitioners, and we've had
some of them on an advisory uhcommittee that work with our um
spectrum of care clinic.
(12:41):
But I think reaching out to yourlocal veterinary school and
saying, hey, I have this idea, Iwould like to get involved, um,
and finding out if you comparewith someone, because sometimes
you're like, I'm in practice,I'm doing these things, but I
don't have the time to write itup, or I don't have the know-how
(13:01):
to put together a case series.
And I think there are people atvet schools who would be
interested in working with youand helping you.
And but someone has to reach outfirst and get that partnership
started.
SPEAKER_01 (13:14):
Very good.
So we've shared why peopleshould care about spectrum of
care and why it's important, butwhat is one piece of information
the veterinarian should knowabout the Java Spectrum of Care
supplemental issue?
What's that one big take-homemessage for them?
SPEAKER_02 (13:28):
Uh well, I sort of said it in my uh opening
commentary that no matter whatyou call it, um, we all need it.
So spectrum of care is going toimpact different people
differently depending on wherethey work in the profession.
And I think I think we need tobe open to the idea that all of
(13:51):
us should and could practicespectrum of care.
And that no matter what speciesyou work on, and no matter what
part of the industry you workin, um, spectrum of care is a
really important concept that Idon't think is going away and is
one that we really need to workhard to embrace and teach in our
(14:13):
students and help mentor youngpeople to go into practice
knowing how to do spectrum ofcare.
And so I think no matter whatyou call it, and if you read
that article, you realizethere's all kinds of buzzwords
that mean the same thing.
No matter what you call it, wedefinitely need that.
SPEAKER_01 (14:32):
Now, on the other side of the relationship, what's
one thing that clients shouldknow about spectrum of care?
SPEAKER_02 (14:37):
Uh, well, definitely I think they need to know that
there's not one single goldstandard in many cases.
And they also, I think someclients would feel better just
for knowing that there are otherclients out there who also
cannot afford one single uh goldstandard, if you will, and that
(14:58):
a range of options is somethingthat we should provide and is
something reasonable many peopleneed.
And I think the other thing isthey should know that there are
a lot of people in theveterinary profession that care
about trying to find and createa broader range, and also trying
to find creative ways to helppeople access care.
(15:20):
And so some of the articles inhere actually even relate to the
business side of spectrum ofcare and talk about we should be
looking for different ways tohelp clients afford that care
and and uh different models ofdoing business.
And I think that clients wouldmaybe appreciate that there are
(15:43):
veterinarians and people in theindustry that are very engaged
and looking for new ways to dothings.
SPEAKER_03 (15:48):
Very cool.
As you wind down now, Emma, uh,we love to ask this question.
I can see you're in your office,so we're looking for a good one
here.
What's the oldest or the mostinteresting item on your desk or
in your desk drawer?
How long have you been at thatdesk?
Uh well, seven years here as anassociate dean.
SPEAKER_02 (16:08):
However, I do have an old item here.
If you know what this is, sothis is no see no yeah, an
enterlith uh taken out of thelarge intestine of a horse,
small colon, actually.
So first first one I ever tookout as a surgery resident a long
(16:28):
time ago, and uh of course itwas the first one, so I was
quite attached to it, and theintern wanted it, and I said no,
because it was my first one, andthen afterwards I thought, you
know, I really need to sharethis.
So I took it to a professionalrock cutter, they cut it, they
finished it, and I gave theintern her half for Christmas.
(16:52):
I kept it, it's a paperweight onmy desk.
SPEAKER_03 (16:55):
It's beautiful.
What do you reckon that is?
Seven inches in diameter?
Uh yeah, yeah.
That's a small colon.
Wow.
Yeah, yeah.
How'd the horse do?
Uh right, did fine, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (17:11):
Did okay.
From what I remember, that's awhile ago.
SPEAKER_01 (17:15):
That's cool.
SPEAKER_02 (17:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (17:18):
To our listeners that want to see Emma's cool
entrelith, you can watch thisepisode on YouTube or on our
website.
Well, thank you so much, Emma.
We appreciate you being herewith us today, and we're super
excited too to have you as theguest editor for this really
interesting supplemental issuefor Javma.
SPEAKER_02 (17:33):
Thanks very much, you guys, for having me.
And uh hope the readers outthere really enjoy this issue
and learn lots from it.
SPEAKER_01 (17:42):
We hope so too.
And to our listeners, you canread the Spectrum of Care
supplemental issue in JAFMA.
I'm Sarah with Lisa Fortier.
Be on the lookout for nextweek's episode, and don't forget
to leave us a rating and reviewon Apple Podcasts or whatever
platform you listen to.
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