CVMA VOICE

Today’s Voice, Tomorrow’s Vision

2019, ISSUE #4

The Technician Issue

Also featuring . . .

• Updates to VOICE and CVMA Programs

• CVMA Strategic Plan 2019–2022

• Renew Your 2020 Membership

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CVMA VOICE

Events & Deadlines

January 26–29SkiCE: OncologyVailcolovma.org/skice

January 31Membership renewal deadline!colovma.org/membership

January 31Connect for Care early bird pricing ends! (Chapter 6 only)colovma.org/connect-for-care

February 3 Agricultural Animal: Field NecropsyWigginscolovma.org/agricultural-animal

March, April, October, NovemberProfessional Development SeriesDenvercolovma.org/professional-development-series

May–AugustChapter visits

May 1Convention registration opens—get early bird pricing!colovma.org/convention

June 5–7CVMA WestPalisadecolovma.org/cvma-west

September 10–13ConventionKeystonecolovma.org/convention

20

InsidePresident’s Post . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Briefings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Of Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6A Message From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The 2019–2022 CVMA Strategic Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Men in Black and CVIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Preventing Pentobarbital Residues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Updates from the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Banfield Introduces CVT Appointments . . . . . . . . . . 16

Government Affairs . . . . . . . . 19Substance Use Disorder Prevention CE Now Required for Veterinarians to Renew Licenses in 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

In Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Burnout in Veterinary Technicians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Technician Shortage? What Do the Numbers Say? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Connect with Your Audience by Incorporating Storytelling into Your Marketing Efforts . . . . . . . . . 25

Want Staff Wellbeing? Got Technician Utilization? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Leadership Lessons Learned on the Inca Trail . . . . 28

CVMA News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Chapter Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Keep Your Technicians, Save Your Practice From Costly Turnover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Class of 2019 Power of 10 Leadership Academy Participants Receive Recognition at Convention . . . 32

CVMA Service Awards 2020: Nominations Now Open! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Membership Renewal Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Science Update . . . . . . . . . . .  38CSU Team Uncovers Potential for Rift Valley Fever Virus Transmission in Colorado Livestock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Technician Shortage? What Do the

Numbers Say?

The 2019–2022 CVMA Strategic Plan

Burnout in Veterinary Technicians

Want Staff Wellbeing? Got Technician

Utilization?

22

26

7

Our MissionTo enhance animal and human health and welfare, and

advance the knowledge and wellbeing of

Colorado veterinarians.

2019, Issue #4

Colorado Veterinary Medical Association191 Yuma StreetDenver, Colorado 80223

303 .318 .0447

Fax 303 .318 .0450

info@colovma .org

colovma.org

MANAGING EDITOR Katherine Wessels

PUBLISHER Diane Matt

The CVMA VOICE is published annually and mailed to members free of charge .

Information and advice pre-sented in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of CVMA .

Think Big. Start Small. Learn Fast.In 2016, I quit my vet job after 20 years in the pro-

fession to start a technology company building mobile apps for veterinarians after I was inspired by the impact it had on my practice in Durango, Colorado. Now I spend my days tackling vet prob-lems with technology solutions. It’s fun and rewarding in a whole new way. Plus I enjoy the fact that nothing dies when you are building apps!

I have learned many things moving into technology but the most important one is to think big, start small, and learn fast. The death of most things is perfec-tionism. If you wait for things to be per-fect (either it be your software or your suture line), there is a cost to be paid for getting to market (or recovery). It is with this mindset that CVMA continuing to be one of the most forward-thinking veteri-nary associations, especially in the area of technology.

Just a few weeks ago, one of our col-leagues CVMA member Dr. Karen Chand ler of Cattleman’s Resource, Inc in Brush, Colorado, CVMA member and Power of 10 Leadership Academy gradu-ate, emailed me for advice on her idea of recording her physical exams so that one of the other members of her team could SOAP her cases for her. This is such a brilliant way to use technology. One op-tion is to rush out and purchase software like Talkatoo or Dragon, but the first step is to dip your toe in the water and test out your theory by just recording your SOAP notes into your voice memo app on your smartphone then email it to your front desk. If it works for Dr. Karen, she can start building on it and may even be able to validate the purchase of the premium software for her practice. If it doesn’t work? Well, she’s not out much and can keep trying out solutions to re-solve her problem.

CVMA is trying something new for you and dipping our toe in the water. We are calling this the last print publication of VOICE. With the cost of print high and the likelihood that this ends up in your wastebasket eventually, we are going 100% digital for you with the eVoice. If you miss the print edition, let us know! If you don’t say anything, we will know it’s the right move for all of us.

We know some of you still prefer to read printed information, so we still plan to mail one printed member publication per year in the third quarter—though it may look different from what you currently know as VOICE!

As always, feel free to reach out to me anytime. I love hearing from you. Also, don’t forget to enjoy the holidays with your friends and fam, especially the furry ones!

Sincerely,Stacee Santi, DVMCVMA President

Share your thoughts by emailing me at stacee@vet2pet.com. n

Stacee Santi, DVM President, CVMA

PRESIDENT’S POST

PAGE 4 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

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Join the CVMA members-only Facebook group: facebook .com /groups/colovma

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CVMA VOICE

Board of Directors

Dr . Stacee SantiPresident

Dr . Jackie ChristakosPresident-elect

Dr . Ashley AckleySecretary/Treasurer

Dr . Steven DickSecretary/Treasurer-elect

Dr . Will FrenchImmediate Past President

Dr . Rebecca Ruch-GallieAVMA Delegate

Dr . Curtis CrawfordAVMA Alternate Delegate

Ms . Diane Matt, CAECEO*

Chapter Representatives 1 – Dr . Karen Nann 2 – Dr . Teva Stone and

Dr . Brooke James 3 – Dr . Hannah Klein 4 – Dr . Adam Tempel 5 – Dr . Colleen Carnes and

Dr . Allison Kean 6 – Dr . Michelle Larsen 7 – Dr . Steve Graff 8 – Dr . Dale Davis 9 – Dr . Kayla Henderson 10 – Dr . Marguerite Flett 12 – Dr . Randal Hays 13 – Dr . Renee Rumrill 14 – Dr . Matt Braunschmidt 15 – Dr . Mark Ryan 16 – Dr . Caroline Cervelli 17 – Dr . Leon Anderson

Student Chapter RepresentativesClass of 2020 – Laurel Krause

Class of 2021 – Sienna Drizin

Class of 2022 – Stephanie Cruz Castro

Class of 2023 – Katya Spitznagel

* Ex-officio, non-voting

At the Heart of Things: CVMA’s Three-Year Path 2019 to 2022

At the heart of things, CVMA’s job is to advance the professional, practice, and personal wellbeing of Colorado veterinar-ians so that veterinarians in our state can focus on what they do best: Creat-ing a world in which animals receive the high quality care they deserve.

Of course, there are infinite possibili-ties of working toward such a vision, and the most important job of the CVMA Board of Directors is to accept the cre-ative responsibility of moving the profes-sion forward in those directions.

So, with enthusiasm and a sense of duty, CVMA’s Board of Directors decided just a year ago to update the CVMA Stra-tegic Plan in 2019. CVMA first engaged expert facilitator Doug Raven, who is also the CEO of the Ontario, Canada Veterinary Medical Association. His deep knowledge of the veterinary profession contributed greatly to the effort. The next step was a membership survey, conducted in May 2019 and reported in the most recent issue of VOICE 2019:3. In July 2019, CVMA’s smart and commit-ted Board of Directors came together for a day and a half to create a strategic plan for 2019 through 2022.

Guided by an expert facilitator, and informed by their own knowledge and experience, and results of the member survey, CVMA’s leadership team worked together for 12 hours. Their job was to build a three-year plan that addressed this central question:

“Given what we know about the en-vironment CVMA members operate within, the wants, needs, preferences, and opinions of members, what the future may hold for the profession, and CVMA’s staff capacity and resources, how can CVMA best serve its members and make veterinarians’ lives better?”

Along the way, several big, “landscape level” issues and trends have emerged, and CVMA has shaped its 2020 program offering in response. So what’s different and what does it mean for CVMA members?

Advocacy is job #1Advocacy was identified as one of the top two member benefits by members in the survey, along with education. Advocating on behalf of the profession is more powerful when it is handled in concert with others because legislators and regulators want the policies they establish serve many people well. While responding to various issues is important each year, the critical 2020 advocacy initiative will be preparing for the 2021 sunset review of the Veterinary Practice Act. Overall, advocacy needs more staff time and communication support behind it. Beginning in 2020, more staff time and resources will be applied to advo-cacy to increase effort, visibility, and digital communications. Additional effort will be applied to support Political Action Committee (PAC) fundraising campaigns and activities—also identified as a prior-ity during the strategic planning work.

Great continuing education is everywhere!The landscape for veterinary CE has shifted and changed in many ways, and today there is more CE available than ever before. The quality is high, the sup-ply is plentiful, there are large gatherings in stunning resort locations, and you can also find high quality, personally delivered close-to-home learning oppor-tunities. There are incredible, often free, offerings from suppliers.

Following the board’s strategic plan-ning work, CVMA staff benchmarked CVMA’s CE offerings against other similar VMAs and learned that CVMA is stretched—we offer far more CE than other VMAs, and that we need to be more strategic in our offerings. As a result, CVMA’s board has reviewed

Diane Matt, CAE CEO, CVMA

BRIEFINGS

CVMA VOICE 2019:4 | PAGE 5

Briefings continued on page 18

2019, Issue #4

PAGE 6 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

A Message From the Editor: We’re Going Digital!Katherine Wessels Director of Communications and Marketing

You may recall taking our

CVMA Membership Survey

back in May 2019 . One of the

biggest takeaways of that

survey was the fact that many

of our members prefer to

receive information from us

digitally . Given the amount of

junk mail that so many of us toss in the trash with-

out even opening, I’m sure this doesn’t come as a

surprise to many of you!

As a result of what members told us in that sur-

vey, we’ve been working hard at the CVMA office to

evaluate all of our programs and services through

a critical lens to ensure our offerings hit the mark

when it comes to your wants, needs, and priorities .

As you’ve read from our board president and CEO

in this issue, we’re realigning some of CVMA’s pro-

grams and services to ensure we are meeting mem-

ber needs—while also making sure we are being

smart with your membership dues .

One of those changes will impact VOICE: This will

be our last quarterly printed issue of VOICE .

VOICE is shifting to an annual publication that will

be printed and mailed to you once per year, likely

in the third quarter . This printed publication may

not look exactly the same as VOICE does now, but

it will still include the same great information and

updates you know and love, as well as an annual

report from CVMA .

This is a direct response to survey feedback from

members asking for more real-time, digital com-

munication; shifting VOICE to an annual publication

will enable us to focus our energy on providing more

in-the-moment updates and information for you on

the CVMA blog on our website (colovma.org/news)

and in the eVOICE enewsletter (which lands in the

inbox of every CVMA member each Friday after-

noon) . As a print publication, the information in

VOICE is currently three months old by the time

it hits your mailbox . With advocacy identified as a

priority in the association’s 2019–2022 Strategic Plan,

we will need to focus our communications on digital,

real-time platforms that can give you information as

it’s happening in the moment rather than being late

to the game three months after the fact .

Looking for another way to stay connected and

in-the-know? Join the CVMA Members Facebook

group: facebook .com/groups/colovma .

Thank you, as always, for your membership, and

thank you for sharing your honest feedback with

us on the 2019 Membership Survey . We’re looking

forward to communicating with you in fresh and

different ways! See ya online . n

CVMA VOICE

CVMA VOICE 2019:4 | PAGE 7

The 2019–2022 CVMA Strategic Plan: Charting a Bright Course for Veterinary Medicine in Colorado

Every three years, CVMA undertakes a strategic

planning process designed to chart the asso-

ciation’s course . In June 2019, the CVMA Board

of Directors and senior staff met to review the

2015 CVMA Strategic Plan and develop a strate-

gic plan to guide the association’s activities for

the next three years . As part of that process, a

comprehensive member survey was conducted

(survey highlights were published in CVMA

VOICE 2019: 3) .

Key member concerns reported in the survey

included:

•Work/life balance/wellbeing

•Financial concerns

•Staffing issues

•Student debt

•Dealing with clients

Members ranked the following benefits as “impor-

tant” or “very important”:

•Advocacy

•Career Center

•Political Action Committee (PAC)

• eVOICE enewsletter

• 24/7 Peer Assistance Support

•Veterinarian directory

Armed with this information, the CVMA Board of

Directors focused on how to best address member

concerns while also working to further enhance

highly rated member benefits and evaluate lower

ranking member benefits for overall effectiveness .

The result is the 2019–2022 CVMA Strategic

Plan, which identifies four priority “pillars” for

the association to focus efforts .

The key pillars identified are advocacy, member wellbeing, education, and organizational health. Each of the four pillars is supported by objectives

and activities intended to achieve those objectives

over the next three years . Below are some objectives

and activities identified by the Board of Directors for

CVMA to pursue from 2019 through 2022 .

The board also selected the most urgent priorities

to be tackled first . The strategic activities deter-

mined to be the most urgent were:

1) Conduct budgetary review to identify net

annual expenditure savings

2) Identify significant potential non-dues revenue

streams

3) Explore options for enhancing wellbeing

services

4) Review current CE offerings to develop

overall strategy and determine which events

are meeting member needs, which should be

reformatted or consolidated, and which should

be discontinued

5) Explore possible partnership opportunities

with other education providers

6) Prepare for review of practice act

Work has already begun and some work has

already been completed regarding these priorities

(see “Briefings” on page 5) . As each of these

activities are completed, CVMA can then begin

working on the next priorities .

The CVMA Board of Directors and staff will

regularly reexamine the remaining activities set

out in the CVMA Strategic Plan to determine which

activities to undertake next .

CVMA will keep members informed about the

progress made toward achieving the objectives in

the plan over the next three years .

Interested in getting involved in helping achieve

these objectives? Email info@colovma.org to see

how you can help! n

PAGE 8 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

OF NOTE2019, Issue #4

Men in Black and CVIsCurtis Crawford, DVM AVMA Alternate Delegate, CVMA

There is kind of a “love/hate” rela-tionship between a rural veterinar-ian and regulatory medicine. Some of the bread and butter services we offer involve being accredited by the USDA and State Veterinar-ian’s office to do regulatory work like testing (TB, Bangs, Coggins, Trich) or Bangs vaccinating. It is a welcome break to get out of the office and generally doesn’t

require a tremendous amount of mental gymnastics. On the other hand, writing health certificates (Certificates of Veterinary Inspection, or CVIs) can be a real pain in the—well, you pick your favorite part of the anatomy. You would think filling out a standardized government form would be straightforward and simple . . . yeah, alright, if you’ve ever done your own taxes, I guess you know that’s not re-ally how it works. But in this case, it isn’t so much the form but the rules and regulations that each state requires to get livestock across those imaginary lines drawn on a map. (Or if you really want to pull your hair out, try getting farm ani-mals into a foreign country.)

There sometimes seems to be a competition between state livestock boards to see who can make it the hardest to get an animal into their jurisdiction. Half the numbers stored on my cell phone are for state livestock officials so I can access the latest requirements directly from the horse’s mouth so to speak. Even so, I may have made some errors at one time or another. Accordingly, there is a little file folder in the bottom right hand drawer of my desk filled with letters from various state veterinary officials chastis-ing me for mistakes on health certificates. Some are simple and relatively respectful. Others are rather verbose with red ink and yellow highlights slashing across a copy of the offending document. An occasional one is downright threatening.

One old timer I knew received one of the less than flat-tering versions of these notes. This was when the PRCA National Finals Rodeo was held in a different city than Las Vegas. That particular state was known for being rather picky and uptight about the health certificates submitted to them. He had written one for some high-powered buck-ing horses chosen to perform at the NFR. The nasty-gram referenced a particular state requirement that each horse needed to have a rectal temperature recorded on the health certificate for entry into that state. Did you catch that these were bucking horses? The old codger went out to his truck and retrieved a rather unsterile, mercury, rec-tal thermometer and dropped it into an envelope with the following message scribbled on the bottom of his rejected

CVI: “If you want temps on those wild SOBs, go take them yourself. I rather like my head in its current condition and anatomic location.” I don’t know if this was one of the rea-sons, but just a few years later the NFR moved to Nevada, a state a bit more lenient on livestock entry requirements.

My most memorable note was hand delivered. One day, in a previous century, I came back to the office after lunch to see a rather well-dressed man sitting patiently in our waiting room. Our receptionist had a distressed look on her face that made me think she’d eaten a bad burrito. As she motioned to the serious-looking gentleman, she said, “This man needs to speak with you and I have cleared your next 60 minutes of appointments.” Now my lunch was churning in my stomach as I turned to greet him. He introduced him-self and flashed his credentials identifying him as an inves-tigator for USDA Regulatory Enforcement (no, I didn’t know there was such a thing either). In his dark suit and tie and an almost scowl on his face, I imagined all he needed were the dark sunglasses and he’d look like the Tommy Lee Jones character from Men in Black. He pulled one of my recent health certificates out of his briefcase and got straight to the points (oh yeah, there were more than one of ’em): No entry permit. No confirmatory testing paperwork submitted with the health certificate. No individual ID. I don’t think I could have screwed this one up any worse if’n I’d tried, and he wholeheartedly agreed. About the only thing I did right was fill out my name and address legibly enough for them to track me down. Thank goodness the testing had been done and the info that I neglected to submit was readily available in the client record. You can bet your sweet bippy that a half hour of filling out an affidavit (in quadruplicate) admitting to my mistakes while he impatiently tapped his fingers on my desk convinced me of the error of my ways. So now I call each state vet’s office for their requirements prior to signing each certificate I write and diligently staple test charts to the CVIs before mailing them.

And sometimes, we accredited vets get stuck between a client and the law. It’s hard to tell someone that their animal and herd has been quarantined because of a posi-tive test and to expect a visit from a state or federal vet. A couple of years ago, I had been working up an abortion issue in a dairy goat herd. Amy, my tech, and I had per-formed some investigative work including necropsying some of the fetuses and stillborns. The lab called with some bad news—they had found evidence of Q-Fever in some of the tissue samples. The state vet placed a hold status on the operation for animal and milk movement until they could get down there to evaluate the operation. Q-Fever ain’t the easiest disease to understand and explain. Being a zoonotic disease, it has public health ramifications with multiple ways of potentially being spread to humans from reproductive fluids to milk to feces. We can get it through cuts, ingestion, and inhalation (and sex. This will become relevant in a minute—not sex with the goat!)

Continued on next page

CVMA VOICE

CVMA VOICE 2019:4 | PAGE 9

OF NOTE

After reading up on Q-Fever in the Merck Veterinary Manual and on the CDC website, I called the owner and informed them of the diagnosis and immediate quarantine that would soon be officially mailed to them. I warned them of the zoonotic potential and to be aware of illness re-sembling the flu (why is it almost all zoonotic diseases look like the flu in people?) Then I had to tell my tech Amy since she had helped with the necropsies. We had used gloves and standard cleanliness protocols, but still you just never know. Now Amy had just started a two-week vacation. To get married the next day. And her honeymoon was to be in New Zealand (the bug responsible for Q-Fever is pretty much ubiquitous in the world except guess where . . . New Zealand). How do you tell someone that she has been pos-sibly exposed to a zoonotic disease that could potentially be spread to other people? By sex (told you it was relevant). And just before her honeymoon (even more relevant and more than a bit ironic). And that New Zealand probably would not appreciate her exposing their massive sheep in-dustry to it. To be fair, a lot of people that contract Q-Fever don’t even get ill. Many of us in agriculture already carry titers to it. Serious consequences are the exception, but they are still possible. And Q-Fever ain’t really all that con-tagious between people. I also have never heard of people giving it to animals, but I didn’t want to be the start of an international health scandal. I figured that would garner more than just a visit and wrist slap from a USDA Regula-tory Enforcement Investigator in a sharp suit.

I called Amy and explained the test results. She didn’t understand why I felt the need to tell her this when she had a wedding to finish preparing for. “Uh, you could pos-sibly get sick with it in a country that does not know what the disease is, so just let the doctors know that you may have Q-Fever and not the flu so antibiotics would be justi-fied.” I hesitated to go on. I knew Amy fairly well, but you just don’t go talking with coworkers of the opposite sex about intimate relations without treading pretty lightly. So I stalled. And maybe even stammered a little. “And stay away from any livestock over there, especially sheep and goats . . . and cattle . . . just to be safe.”

That was no problem she replied. I was glad she couldn’t see the growing crimson blush on my face that rivaled any sunburn I had ever had. “Uh, there is also a slight chance that you could pass this on to your groom if you get sick . . .” My voice shrank to a whisper as I fumbled on, “. . . by sex.”

“By what? What did you say?” Amy queried, anxious to be back to the upcoming nuptial plans.

“Sex,” I squeaked out, but now that the line had been crossed, I couldn’t stop. “Intercourse. Coitus. Copulation. Making love,” I blurted out like she didn’t know what sex

was as my mind’s eye recalled the Sexual Harassment Poster hanging on the back wall of the clinic.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Then, “Not funny Crawford,” came the droll reply. Oh why hadn’t I let the state vet’s office make this call?

“Couldn’t find a Hallmark wedding card at Walmart that covered this one, Amy.” I explained that chances were pretty slim she would get it, even slimmer she would get sick, and that her rancher groom had probably already been exposed in the past. But at least I had done my due diligence in letting them know so they were prepared for any eventuality. “Happy honeymoon!” I still haven’t asked her how much of a wet blanket that news was.

In spite of my faux paus and angst over coming into contact with our regulatory veterinarians, I have come to deeply appreciate them. Over the years, I have watched some amazing people from the Colorado State Veterinar-ian’s Office and USDA handle some pretty volatile situa-tions. I have observed CVMA member Dr. Keith Roehr talk some PRCA cowboys down when they were thoroughly ticked off about needing a health certificate to bring their horses into the State Fair Rodeo. I have stood beside CVMA member Dr. Richanne Lomkin as she compassionately turned away a little 4-H member with her sick animal from the State Fair. I’ve been present when Dr. Alex Turner han-dled the Q-Fever issue in a way protective of both the pub-lic and the producer. I’ve listened to Dr. Carl Heckendorf gently walk a lady through the requirements of handling a Coggins-positive barrel horse. CVMA member Dr. Maggie Baldwin has answered the phone in the middle of a week-end when I was screwing up another health certificate on a truck of calves already loaded and ready to go.

This year, the veterinarians from the State Veterinarian’s Office took time to come to each of our chapter meetings to visit with all of you about issues and regulations. USDA and state veterinary staff are at every convention support-ing the CVMA in classes and in the exhibit hall. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with most all of them (and being straightened out by a few of them). You’ll not find an easier group of people to consult and work with. Success for them is helping us keep the animals and public of this fine state and nation healthy and moving with a minimum of rigmarole.

So, a big tip of the CVMA hat to the Colorado State Veteri-narian’s Office and the regional USDA-APHIS-VS veterinar-ians and staff. Thank you for standing in the gap between a robust agricultural economy and disaster. We appreciate your understanding of what it is like to be in practice with the difficulty of protecting the state livestock population in general while being sympathetic to the needs of the indi-vidual producer. Glad that you are a part of the herd.

CVMA. Welcome to the herd. n

Continued from previous page

PAGE 10 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

OF NOTE2019, Issue #4

Preventing Pentobarbital Residues: A Letter to Veterinarians from the National Renderer’s Association

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that:

• Pentobarbital is a hazard in ingredients fed to pets and other animals.

• Animals euthanized with pentobarbital cannot be used to make animal food.

Because the FDA has not established a tolerance for pentobarbital, animal proteins (such as meat and bone meal) and animal fats tested and found to have detectable levels of pentobarbital present cannot be used in food for any animal. This means that animals euthanized with pentobarbital cannot be rendered.

Non-chemical forms of euthanasia must be used if animals are to be rendered. Renderers request your assistance to en-sure that rendering remains a viable disposal option for ani-mal mortalities, including livestock that must be euthanized.

What can you do?Using pentobarbital for animal euthanasia is a problem because renderers cannot distinguish animals that died by chemical euthanasia from those that died from other causes. We ask that you use other means to eutha-nize livestock, such as captive bolt or gunshot.

In some cases, it may be necessary to use pentobarbital. In such cases:

• Please clearly communicate, preferably in writing, that rendering is not an option to dispose of the carcass with your client.

• Calling the rendering plant that services the client’s farm or operation to notify the dispatcher of the farm and type of animal euthanized with pentobarbital would also be helpful.

• Most important, an established method for per-manently marking animals euthanized with pen-tobarbital will provide a means for renderers to identify animal remains that cannot be rendered from those that can and should be. Any such identifica-tion method must stay with the carcass, not easily removed or lost, consistently applied within a state or region and the use and meaning of the marking com-municated to all renderers operating in the area.

Ear tags can be easily removed or lost which makes them unacceptable for identifying animals given pento-barbital. Therefore, the preferred method for identifying pentobarbital-euthanized livestock and other large animals is by prominently marking the head with a large “P” using fluorescent orange colored “All-Weather Paintstik.”

A solvent based fluorescent orange spray paint, such as Krylon Contractor Marking Paint, may be an acceptable alternative to using Paintstik, so long as the paint will stay on the hide and is not easily washed off or removed.

Why is rendering animals euthanized with pentobarbital an issue now?Historically, horses and other livestock euthanized with pentobarbital or other barbiturates were rendered. This practice was allowed because FDA data indicated ani-mal proteins and fats derived from rendering euthanized animals mixed with other animal byproducts were safe to use in animal food. However, the FDA changed its thinking about pentobarbital because canned pet foods made with meat harvested from euthanized livestock was thought to be the cause of death for several dogs. The tainted pet food contained meat/organs harvested from 3-D/4-D cattle that had not been rendered. Even though no rendered products were implicated in the death of these pets, the FDA banned any detectable amount of pentobar-bital in any food for pets and other animals. The scope of this ban means that animals euthanized with pentobarbi-tal can no longer be rendered. The detection limit of the method FDA uses to test for pentobarbital is so low (10 ppb) that rendering one euthanized cow or horse of aver-age size could contaminate an entire day’s production of finished animal fat and proteins with detectable levels of the drug.

Why are we concerned?Rendered products, such as meat and bone meal and tallow, are frequently used as ingredients in nutritionally balanced foods manufactured for livestock, poultry and companion animals to consume. The rendering industry is dedicated to food safety and is subject to regulations enforced by the FDA, including regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act (21 CFR Part 507).

Why is it important to permanently identify animals euthanized with pentobarbital or use other methods for euthanasia?The rendering process does not inactivate or destroy some chemical hazards, including pentobarbital. Renderers must either prevent such hazards from entering a render-ing plant or test for chemical hazards and make sure con-taminated product is sold for non-feed uses. Such test and positive release programs work for rendered fats but are not feasible for animal proteins because of lack of storage space. Therefore, renderers must exclude materials likely to contain the chemical hazard. Horses are considered a high risk for pentobarbital because they are often consid-ered pets and it is difficult to determine if a horse was eu-thanized with pentobarbital or died from other causes. As a result, most renderers have stopped processing horses. The remaining challenge then is to avoid rendering other

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OF NOTE

sources of pentobarbital, including some dairy cattle and livestock from “hobby” farms.

If the rendering industry is not able to establish ade-quate procedures and safeguards to prevent pentobarbital residues in finished rendered products, we may have to make further changes or curtail animal mortality collec-tion to comply with FDA guidance and regulations.

Why is it important to render animal mortalities?Rendering is the preferred method for handling animal by-products and mortalities. The cooking process used to evaporate water and facilitate separation of the fat and protein rich solids is validated to kill conventional patho-gens, such as bacteria and viruses. The finished products are stable, microbiologically safe animal food and can be stored. Rendered fats have many uses, including to provide energy in animal food and non-feed uses such as feedstock to make biofuels. Rendered proteins, however, are used pri-marily as sources of protein and other nutrients in animal foods or as organic fertilizers for food crops. The rendering industry contributes to sustainability by recycling water and essential nutrients, capturing carbon to reduce green-house gas emissions, and helps to protect the environment and the health of humans and animals.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published the FWS Fact Sheet Secondary Pentobarbital Poisoning of Wildlife (https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/poison .pdf) which discussed reports from 16 states where bald and golden eagles, other wildlife and domestic dogs died after scavenging pentobarbital- euthanized animals. FWS concluded that pentobarbital-euthanized carcasses should not be rendered, nor should they be disposed of where wild and other animals can access the carcass. To prevent in-stances of secondary poisoning, only deep burial, incinera-tion or landfills able to quickly cover carcasses should be considered. Most composting options and certainly aban-donment should not be viable options. In some cases, live-stock owners and veterinarians causing such unintentional poisonings may be held liable and subject to fines and/or criminal prosecution under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act or The Endangered Species Act.

The rendering industry believes its role in collecting and processing animal mortalities is an important biosecurity function and appreciates your assistance in helping address this complex issue so that we can continue providing live-stock mortality collection services.

For more information, contact Dr. David L. Meeker at dmeeker@nationalrenderers.com n

Continued from previous page

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PAGE 12 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

OF NOTE2019, Issue #4

Updates From the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical SciencesDr. Ray Whalen: See one, do one, teach oneSarah Ryan CVMBS Communications

Since CVMA member Dr. Lawrence (Ray) Whalen joined CSU’s veterinary faculty in 1982, his unconventional ap-proach to teaching and learning has improved anatomy education and animal welfare in veterinary schools world-wide. On Sept. 14, 2019, CVMA presented Whalen with its Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his enduring commitment to students and animals.

“I’m a dyslexic. When I was young, they didn’t have a word for dyslexia or an approach for handling it so I got through school by brute force,” Whalen says. “Words and memorization are difficult for me. I am very visual and object-oriented. Things that I could see and touch and manipulate were easy.”

Whalen turned adversity into the foundation of a new style of anatomy instruction. He earned his DVM and a Ph.D. in Comparative Pathology from the University of California, Davis. By the time he arrived at CSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, he believed that case-based learning was the best way to teach neuro-biology to veterinary students.

He began recording neurology cases at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital with 16-millimeter film. Whalen now has more than 1,000 recorded case videos. He uses about 100 cases to teach neuroanatomy to first-year veterinary students. Every week, his students work through multiple cases, including videos, images, and notes, with the goal of teaching clinical reasoning.

“I always have in my heart and mind what I want them to do as clinicians,” Whalen says. “How do you take these data from your patients and put them together in a way that lets you pinpoint the source of the problem? They have to be able to reason through the process and provide me with an explanation of how they got there.”

Veterinary student Kelsey Dobesh nominated Whalen for the CVMA Distinguished Service Award because his

teaching style was a transformative experience during the first year of veterinary school.

“We all breathed a sigh of relief when we waked into Dr. Whalen’s class because we knew our day was going to get better,” Dobesh says. “Learning was going to be fun and effortless. He’s engaging. He walks up and down the aisles. He looks you in the eye. He’s just the best of the best.”

Anatomy goes virtual

Whalen spent his summers on his aunt’s farm in Northern California near a Buddhist commune. He tries to live by the Buddhist principle of Ahimsa, or kindness and non-violence towards all living things, but his profession challenged his ethical beliefs.

“When I came to CSU, we were getting canine cadavers from the greyhound racing industry,” Whalen recalls. “I said we can’t participate in a process that kills so many ani-mals. We have a moral obligation to our students.”

Whalen, with the assistance of Dr. Bernard Rollin, helped the veterinary school make a profound institutional change from using purpose-euthanized animals to only using ani-mals that have been euthanized by the humane society because of untreatable medical or behavioral problems. However, the practice of breeding and euthanizing animals for anatomy was still widespread around the world, par-ticularly in countries with limited access to refrigeration.

“That was not an adequate life for those animals,” Wha-len says. “Cadaver dissection is an essential part of vet-erinary education, but we can provide as much care and respect as possible to the animals we use and get the full measure from their loss of life.”

In 1999, Whalen began the Virtual Canine Anatomy pro-gram with the goal of reducing animal euthanasia world-wide while improving anatomy instruction. Whalen teamed up with Dr. Trent Gall and other veterinary students to cre-ate an interactive canine anatomy software program. With generous funding from CVMBS, the DVM Class of 2021, Alternatives Research and Development Foundation, and the CVBMS College Research Council USDA Experiment Station grant program, Whalen’s team expanded the Vir-tual Animal Anatomy suite to include equine, feline, and bovine modules. Support from ARDF also allowed the VCA to be available online without fees from 2013 to 2018. Dur-ing that time, the site was visited more than 1 million times by users from 195 countries.

Now that Dr. Whalen has entered transitional retirement, CVMA member Dr. Christianne Magee leads the Virtual Veterinary Educational Tools team. In 2019, Virtual Animal Anatomy became commercially available as a subscription service to other anatomy programs. Dr. Magee says virtual veterinary tools make anatomy education more humane, more ethical, and more effective.

“To teach professional veterinary medicine we have to use cadavers at some point in our program because eventu-ally our students are going to be working on live animals,”

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OF NOTE

Magee says. “We have to teach them about anatomical vari-ation and working with a real specimen, but the more we can do virtually the more we can supplement that cadaver-based learning. They can see one, do one, teach one.”

Whalen attributes the ongoing success of the anatomy program to three things: a willingness to embrace change; outstanding colleagues; and the students. “The most im-portant thing about my job here is the students. We select for the very best, so they’ve wanted to do this most of their lives, they’ve worked hard to get here, and they’re intellec-tually curious,” Whalen says. “Before every lecture, I have to sit and remember why I teach, what’s expected of me, and what a privilege it is to stand in front of these students who have worked their whole lives to be here. A privilege and a responsibility.”

Building for the futureCVMBS Communications

Western Slope Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory: The CSU Western Campus celebrated its grand opening on August 29. The campus provides administrative oversight and intellec-tual leadership for CSU’s Agricultural Experiment Stations in Western Colorado—Fruita, Orchard Mesa, and Rogers Mesa.

Orchard Mesa also houses CSU Extension’s Western Re-gional Office, the Western Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and the Colorado State Forest Service regional office.

The new campus includes a 14,095-square-foot com-bined office and classroom building with a teaching kitchen, a 7,717-square-foot state-of-the-art veterinary diagnostic laboratory, a 100-person capacity classroom and multiple meeting areas, and a three-bay shared shop with equipment and a fruit storage building.

CSU continued on page 14

Continued from previous page

A partnership with you to provide the best care for them.

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PAGE 14 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

OF NOTE2019, Issue #4

Western Slope Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, 3164 B 1/2 Road, Grand Junction, CO 81503: vdl_western_slope@colostate.edu

Rocky Ford Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory: The Rocky Ford Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is located on the Ar-kansas Valley Campus, which celebrated its grand opening on September 25. The lab provides a wide variety of test-ing services locally and handling of samples for all testing available through the CSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory system. This laboratory is staffed by a board-certified vet-erinary toxicologist, and provides full necropsy capabilities for large and small animals, histopathologic examination of surgical biopsies, and consultation with fellow pathologists at the main laboratory on difficult or problematic cases. The RFVDL is also a member of the Food Emergency Response Network, which ensures inter-agency coordination of poten-tial food contamination emergencies.

“Agriculture is critical to the Colorado economy and the southeastern Colorado region, and Colorado State University is proud to support the Arkansas Valley with research and outreach that helps strengthen crop production as well as water management,” said CSU President Joyce McConnell.

Rocky Ford Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, 27847 Road 21, Rocky Ford, Colorado 81067; cvmbs-vdl_rockyford@colostate.edu

Johnson Family Equine Hospital: Construction will begin in 2020 on the new equine hospital just north of the teaching hospital in Fort Collins. The Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation donated $10 million toward Phase 1 of the $34.6 million project, which is slated to open in 2021. The new building will offer enhanced labo-ratory, clinical, and classroom learning opportunities for students, clients, and 30 clinicians, including:

• Bench-to-bedside research facilities with immediate benefits for diagnosis and treatment

• Observation areas in critical care to provide improved teaching and learning opportunities for veterinary students along with the latest in bio-security and care of critical patients

• The latest diagnostic capabilities• The largest research program in the world for equine

sports medicine, orthopedic treatment, imaging, and neurology

Incoming class stats

• 2,455 applied for the 2020 cycle, a 7% increase from last year, keeping pace with national growth of 6%

• Average applicant GPA is 3.46• First-generation and underrepresented minority

applicants represent 28% of the pool, similar to the previous year

• International applications are increasing

Fall 2019 matriculating class

• 138 students, plus 11 University of Alaska Fairbanks students

• 42% from rural backgrounds • 19% first-generation• 22% from an underrepresented ethnic minority group• 16% male-identifying

We need your help!Whether you already have a relationship with CSU, or simply want to get more involved, there are lots of areas where we could use your help!

Alumni survey: Help us maintain an educational program of excellence by completing a 10-minute survey reflecting your experience and satisfaction with our program, your preparedness for day 1, and your perceptions regarding your professional viability. Participation is entirely voluntary, and any information you provide is strictly confidential. Your perspectives are highly valuable to us; your feedback plays an important role in optimizing the quality of our pro-gram and, ultimately, the success of our graduates. Thank you for your time and consideration. Share your opinion: advancing.colostate.edu/CVMBS/ALUMNISURVEY2019

Employer survey: Have you hired a CSU DVM within the last three years? If so, we want to hear from you! This survey is a vital component of our continuous program improvement. Your feedback is important in helping us to learn of your satisfaction with our preparation of graduates. Completion of this survey is voluntary, and the information you provide is confidential. Take the employer survey here: surveymonkey.com/r/dvmemployersurvey

Mentor a student: The DVM program is seeking to expand our mentorship database for our first-year and second-year DVM students. We are looking for professionals in all fields who can commit to four hours per semester, enjoy working with students, and are ready to provide meaningful learning experiences outside the classroom including opportuni-ties for experiential learning, professional development, networking, and fostering an exchange of ideas. Contact: Krysta Chapin, Krysta.chapin@colostate.edu.

Apply to be a mentor at vetmedbiosci.colostate.edu/dvm/mentor-a-d-v-m-student/

Interview DVM candidates: Meet the future of veterinary medicine by volunteering to conduct multiple mini inter-views of perspective DVM students. Current volunteers include veterinary technicians, veterinarians, researchers, educators, and industry professionals. For more informa-tion about the 3-day event January 17-19, please contact Gretchen Delcambre, director of DVM admissions, Gretchen.Delcambre@colostate.edu n

CSU continued from page 13

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CVMA VOICE 2019:4 | PAGE 15

OF NOTECACVT Works to Lessen the Effects of Technician ShortageErin Henninger, BA, CVT, VTS (ECC) Executive Director, CACVT

CACVT is celebrating and reflecting on a year filled with transitions. We are looking forward to the future as we renegotiate our mission and vision of supporting certified veterinary technicians and the veterinary industry in Colo-rado. Anyone working in the veterinary industry can attest to the value of a credentialed veterinary technician, espe-cially in a time of shortage. In Colorado, the average ca-reer span of a CVT is 7 years. This is a disheartening fact for a profession with rigorous educational standards and credentialing requirements, not to mention the heart and dedication of the people who choose to become CVTs.

The pressure experienced by CVTs in a time of short-age can be overwhelming. The burden masks the limitless career opportunities for CVTs and cuts us off from the sup-port that is becoming increasingly available (I mean, who hasn’t read at least 10 articles on mitigating compassion fatigue in the last week?) The end result is that we leave the

profession in an effort to relieve our personal pain. Bring-ing light to this cycle illuminates the reality of what feels like an uncertain future. Together, we can break this cycle.

The staff and board of CACVT—all of whom are CVTs in various career phases–have made a commitment to im-pact career sustainability by supporting aspiring veterinary technicians and CVTs throughout their career. What this means to us is advocating for the profession, remaining a resource for quality education, and creating awareness of the opportunities for CVTs—all with a community focus.

The changing landscape of veterinary medicine—with the added obstacle of shortage—can be difficult to traverse without the experience of those who have come before and the energy of those who are new to the journey. Wherever you are in your career and whatever your role, we implore you to get involved with CACVT in 2020 as we seek to iden-tify what will have the most impact on career sustainability and provide support to CVTs.

Having trouble hiring and retaining CVTs? Not sure if you want to stay in veterinary medicine? Join us in the conver-sation to get to the root issues. Visit us at cacvt.org to keep informed of our plans for 2020! As Brené Brown would say, “let’s DIG deep—get deliberate, inspired, and going.” n

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PAGE 16 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

OF NOTE2019, Issue #4

Banfield Introduces CVT Appointments Genevieve JM Grammer, DVM Chapel Hills Banfield Pet Hospital

With an estimated 60 million pets nationwide not receiving routine veterinary care, Banfield Pet Hospital feels a re-sponsibility as the largest general veterinary practice in the U.S. to create additional pathways to care.

At Banfield, we also recognize the value of credentialed veterinary technicians (CVTs) as part of the solution—and believe that when our veterinary professionals get to practice at the top of their license, we get the best results: engaged clients and teams that deliver high-quality, com-passionate care to pets.

I’m proud to announce that nearly 300 Banfield hospi-tals nationwide will offer CVT appointments by Novem-ber 2019, including four Colorado Springs-area hospitals! These appointments create opportunities for our CVTs to grow and utilize their skillsets, opportunities to create avail-ability and accessibility for our clients, and opportunities for pets to get the care they deserve.

As one of a select few hospitals nationwide that had the opportunity to participate in our CVT appointment pilot earlier this year, I saw firsthand how our doctors were able to accommodate more ill and new patients, while CVTs per-formed services they are trained and qualified to deliver in partnership with a doctor, such as venipuncture, diet and training education, and administering injections for chronic and preventive care.

In addition to CVT appointments, Banfield has taken several other steps to support and elevate veterinary tech-nicians in recent years, including increased hourly pay, tripling continuing education allowance, expanding learn-ing opportunities with national veterinary conferences, and sponsoring a program through Penn Foster for aspiring veterinary technicians, in which more than 2,000 Banfield associates are currently enrolled.

Another way we are working to support veterinary technicians within the profession is through Banfield’s Veterinary Technician Externship Program, through which veterinary technician students receive hands-on learning and coaching they need to thrive in their new career, as

well as school credit, and if permitted by their school, compensation.

Since these changes have gone into effect, we’ve not only seen more veterinary technicians choosing to stay with the practice, but we’ve also heard overwhelmingly positive anecdotal feedback that their needs and desires are being not just heard but acted on.

Other than vet tech appointments and externships—which you may already be offering at your clinic—how can you help further elevate and empower veterinary techni-cians? Get involved, and be a part of the conversations that are happening in your hospital and local veterinary com-munity. Whether it’s signing on in support of the Veterinary Nurse Initiative or becoming familiar with and educating your hospital on your state’s practice laws, we can all be-come advocates for the engagement, utilization, and recog-nition of these critical members of the hospital team.

At Banfield, we are immensely proud of our teams in Colorado and across the entire practice that are helping us empower every member of the hospital team and live our purpose: A Better World for Pets. And we look forward to hearing and learning from your stories of veterinary tech-nician empowerment and success! n

�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ���������������� ����������������������� � ���������� ������� ����������� �������������������������� ����������������� ����� ������� ����������������������� ������������������������������������������������������ ������������������� �������������������������� ��������������� ���� ���� ���������������������������� ���������� ����� ������� � � ��� ������������������������

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PAGE 18 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

2019, Issue #42019, Issue #4

BRIEFINGS

CVMA CE offerings and determined which CE should be enhanced, consolidated, or discontinued.

What will remain the same:CVMA will focus on ensuring the quality and vibrancy of

its “Education Jewels” such as convention and SkiCE.

• CVMA Convention will continue to be held mid to late September.

• SkiCE will take place in one of Colorado’s storied ski areas in late January.

What will change:

• CE West and CE Southwest will be consolidated into CVMA West which will be held the first weekend in June in a rotation of different Western Slope locations.

• BIG Ideas and its governance meetings will be incorpo-rated into the CVMA Convention.

• The Professional Development Series will be offered in collaboration with Chapter 6, offering four sessions and a total of 16 hours of CE each calendar year.

• Topics of CE Equine and Agricultural Animal will be of-fered at CVMA Convention and will no longer be offered as standalone CE programs.

Looking ahead, watch for a new “CE Hub” on the CVMA website (colovma.org) that curates and points to CE offer-ings of interest to members. It’s another way that CVMA can help members find quality CE of interest and value.

Print publication is shifting to digital—VOICE to become annual in 2020We see this trend everywhere! Newspapers, magazines, books are all available electronically, and we want them on our phones as well as on our computers! In response to this big trend, CVMA is shifting VOICE to one annual printed is-sue. You’ll continue to receive the punchy eVOICE 52 weeks a year. You’ll see more great postings on the CVMA blog (colovma.org/news), and more activity on social media (facebook.com/colovma), all of which are intended to provide you with meaningful content in “real time.”

Practicing veterinary medicine in a community of friendsIn an increasingly technological world, having a cadre of professional colleagues who understand the profes-sional and personal challenges of being a veterinarian is an essential contributor to wellbeing. CVMA intentionally brings people together and encourages human connec-tions between colleagues and within veterinary teams. We foster the happy combination of people, CE, food, and fun all with the intention of building community. In 2019 we added one hour of CE from the State Veterinarian’s Office to the Chapter Visits which already had people, food, and fun! We enjoyed seeing members across the state, and are

looking forward to increasing the CE and consolidating the Chapter Visits in 2020. Stay tuned for more information!

Leveraging technology to streamline operationsQuietly and behind the scenes, a big emphasis in 2019 has been improving and expanding CVMA’s use of technology to increase internal operating efficiencies. We’re excited about improvements to the member database, our new chart of accounts, electronic bill pay, and expense process-ing. All of these improvements are intended to make our interactions with members smoother and easier, and to free up staff time to invest in member services and ben-efits down the road!

We’re happy to help with the heavy liftingYour membership and participation in CVMA activities make CVMA’s work possible. CVMA’s board and staff take care to listen to members, to research other veterinary meetings, and organizations. Our aim is to do what is best for members, to be fiscally responsible, and to be a trusted resource for years to come. We value your trust, we appre-ciate your confidence, and we care about your wellbeing. Thank you for being a CVMA member. It is a pleasure to work on your behalf so that you have the freedom to create the world in which animals have the care they need. We’re happy to help with the heavy lifting! n

Briefings continued from page 5

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CVMA VOICE 2019:4 | PAGE 19

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRSSubstance Use Disorder Prevention CE Now Required for Veterinarians to Renew Licenses in 2020Diane Matt CEO, CVMA

In the last few days of the 2019 Colorado legislative ses-sion, Senate Bill 19–228 concerning Substance Use Preven-tion was passed. From the introduction of the bill in April through October of 2019, CVMA actively lobbied legislators and presented written and verbal testimony to participants at four town hall, stakeholder, and rulemaking hearings. In advocating on behalf of the veterinary profession, CVMA continuously voiced its position that:

• Veterinarians appreciate that substance use disorder is a problem and want to be part of the solution.

• Veterinarians’ patients are animals, not humans, and do not have substance use disorders.

• Physicians, along with other prescribing professions, must be required to satisfy the substance use disorder prevention CE requirements.

• Veterinarians who do not prescribe opioids should be exempt from the rule.

• One hour of CE on substance use disorder is sufficient for veterinarians.

• No increase is needed in the total of 32 hours of CE required for relicensing.

• Veterinarians are not authorized to practice human medicine or refer human beings for treatment of sus-pected substance use disorders.

CVMA is pleased that that the State Board of Veterinary Medicine included many of CVMA’s primary recommenda-tions in the final rule, and appreciates the opportunity to represent its members and stakeholders throughout the legislative and rulemaking process. Recordings of the vari-ous hearings on SB 19-228 are available on the Department of Regulatory Agencies / State Board of Veterinary Medicine web pages. Colorado’s Guidelines for Prescribing and Dis-pensing Opioids and the Veterinary Opioid Prescribing and Dispensing Policy are available at https://www.colorado .gov/pacific/dora/Veterinary.

CVMA is in the early stages of developing and creating a plan to offer the required CE so that members and stake-holders in Colorado can meet the CE requirement before the current licensing period ends on October 31, 2020.

In compliance with state law, the State Board of Veteri-nary Medicine adopted changes to Rule 1.2 on October 10, 2019. The relevant changes to Rule 1.2 are below:

Rule 1.2, Section A. 8 reads:

A licensed veterinarian applying to renew a license, or rein-state, or reactivate an expired or inactive license is required to fulfill the substance use prevention training requirements set forth in section (G) of this Rule.

Rule 1.2, Section G. Substance Use Prevention Training for License Renewal, Reactivation, or Reinstatement, reads:

1. Pursuant to section 12-30-114, C.R.S., every veterinar-ian, including every academic veterinarian, is required to complete at least one (1) hour of training per renewal period in order to demonstrate competency regarding the topics/areas specified in section 12-30-114(1)(a), C.R.S.

2. Training for the purpose of this section includes, but is not limited to, relevant and verifiable continuing edu-cation courses, conferences, or presentations, and distant learning. All such training must cover or be related to the topics specified in section 12-30-114(1)(a), C.R.S., and be in accordance with section (F) of this Rule.

3. The Board shall exempt a veterinarian from the re-quirements of this section who qualifies for either ex-emption set forth in section 12-30-114(1)(b), C.R.S.

4. This section shall apply to any applicant for reinstate-ment or reactivation of an expired or inactive license pursuant to section (E) of this Rule.

5. Applicants for license renewal, reactivation, or re-instatement shall attest during the application process to either their compliance with this substance use train-ing requirement or their qualifying for an exemption, as specified in section (G)(3) of this Rule.

6. The Board may audit compliance with this section. Veterinarians should be prepared to submit documen-tation of their compliance with this substance use train-ing requirement or their qualification for an exemption, upon request by the Board.

7. Subject to the approval of the Board, completed sub-stance use prevention training hours that also meet the requirements for continuing education, as specified in section (F) of this Rule, may be applied towards the minimum continuing education hours required in section (F) of this Rule.

8. The statutorily required training for veterinarians in-cludes the following topics/areas: best practices for veterinary opioid prescribing; recognition of human substance use disorder; use of the electronic prescrip-tion drug-monitoring program; and referral of human beings with suspected substance use disorders for treatment. To the extent the statutorily required train-ing pertains to the practice of human medicine, this training does not authorize veterinary medicine prac-titioners to engage in the practice of human medicine nor does it require the veterinary medicine practitio-ner to refer human beings to treatment for suspected substance abuse disorders.

As always, CVMA will continue to monitor legislative action at the capitol when the new legislative session kicks off January 8, 2020. For updates, please visit colovma.org /advocacy and colovma.org/news. n

PAGE 20 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

2019, Issue #4

IN PRACTICEBurnout in Veterinary TechniciansJosh Vaisman Flourish Veterinary Consulting

The AVMA recently conducted a study, published in 2017, to look into how costs of care and clients’ economic limitations might be im-pacting veterinarian’s professional satisfaction and experience of burnout. Over 1,100 small animal DVMs in the U.S. and Canada were surveyed.

As part of the survey, participat-ing veterinarians were asked to

rate their current experience of professional burnout.I was struck, saddened, and not all that surprised to find

that 49% of respondents reported currently experiencing “moderate-to-substantial” burnout in their work.

Burnout is defined as a prolonged, negative reaction to chronic stress at work. Common responses are:

• Physical and emotional exhaustion• Cynicism toward clients, patients, and/or co-workers• A significant decrease in productivity, effectiveness,

and/or self-efficacy

Simply put, burnout sucks the passion out of work and, not surprisingly, contributes to ineffective, inefficient, un-pleasant work environments.

49% of veterinarians.Reading this study got me curious. What about veterinary

technicians?I’m familiar with NAVTA’s recent survey suggesting over

half of technicians leave the profession within 5 years of graduation. But I haven’t come across anything measuring technician burnout rates in a similar manner to the AVMA study.

So I took matters into my own hands and collected the data myself.

Flourish Veterinary Consulting Survey of Veterinary Technician Work Satisfaction, Stress Management, and BurnoutIn early September, 2019, I created a brief survey specifically for veterinary technicians.

The survey allowed for a relatively loose definition of “technician” to include credentialed (CVT, LVT, RVT), non-credentialed, VTS, and supportive positions such as techni-cian assistant or kennel technician.

The purpose of the survey was to measure veterinary technicians’ current perception of three work-related expe-riential categories: Work satisfaction, stress management, and burnout.

The survey was anonymous and voluntary. To solicit participation, I shared a link to it across my national (U.S.

and Canada) professional network as well as a few large, vet-tech-only Facebook groups with presumed national membership.

The link was open for one week during which I received 1,240 responses.

Of the 1,240 respondents, the largest group were cre-dentialed (CVT, RVT, LVT) technicians, with a population of 804 (65%). Those identifying as “non-credentialed” techni-cians were 338 (27%) of the total responses. Forty-five (just under 4%) participants identified as credentialed VTS (Vet-erinary Technician Specialist) while the remaining 53 (just over 4%) identified as some other position such as techni-cian assistant or kennel technician.

I did not collect additional demographic data such as location, tenure, years’ experience, etc., though that would be valuable information for future research.

Survey resultsWork satisfaction

When asked to rate their agreement with the statement, “Overall I find my work as a veterinary technician highly satisfying,” across the entire survey population, 81.5% moderately (62.4%) or completely (19.1%) agreed. Only 1.4% completely disagreed.

Stress management

46.3% of respondents believe they are moderately-to- completely equipped to cope with the daily stresses of their work as veterinary technicians while 38.9% reported being

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IN PRACTICE

moderately-to-completely unequipped to cope with work stress.

I also asked respondents to rate the stress management support they receive from co-workers, managers, and hos-pital owners.

42.6% moderately-to-completely agreed they receive stress management support from their co-workers. 31.3% moderately-to-completely disagreed.

The perception of stress management support signifi-cantly decreased as the questions moved up the “chain of leadership.”

35.6% of respondents moderately-to-completely agree they receive stress management support from their man-ager while only 25.2% believe they receive such support from hospital ownership.

Burnout

I provided survey participants with a simple, academic definition of burnout derived from the work of Christina Maslach, an expert in professional burnout. I then asked them to rate their current experience of burnout as a vet-erinary technician.

51.1% said they are currently experiencing moderate-to-substantial burnout in their work, quite similar to the results AVMA found among veterinarians. Only 5.2% of respondents reported currently experiencing no burnout.

DiscussionI find these results deeply troubling. But, given my experi-ence in the industry and having experienced debilitating burnout in the veterinary field as well, I’m not surprised.

Of course, this data only shows us that, despite high levels of work satisfaction, burnout is happening through-out the veterinary technician population at disturbing rates. Further more, our technicians do not feel particularly equipped or supported in managing the stress of their work.

Veterinary professionals deserve more.Getting to “more” begs two important questions:

1. “Why is this happening?”2. “What can we do about it?”

I intend to apply my resources toward answering these two questions and sharing the results of my work with the veterinary community. More to come!

Josh is a positive psychology practitioner and co-founder of Flourish Veterinary Consulting. He’s served the veterinary industry since 1998 in roles ranging from technician to prac-tice manager to hospital owner. Pulling from a variety of post- graduate certifications and a masters in applied positive psychology & coaching psychology, Josh is now dedicated to helping cultivate environments in which veterinary profes-sionals can thrive. n

Continued from previous page

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PAGE 22 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

2019, Issue #4

IN PRACTICETechnician Shortage? What Do the Numbers Say?Rebecca Rose, CVT and Denise Mikita, MS, CVT CATALYST Veterinary Professional Coaches, LLC

Colorado has a high concentration of veterinary techni-cians.1 Why then are there conversations around the short-age of credentialed veterinary technicians? Our inquiring minds want to know!

We were invited to create an article about the shortage of veterinary technicians in Colorado. This led us down a path where we first identified numbers and educational levels of technicians, both in Colorado and nationally. We then dove into the “shortage” discussion to identify what might be hap-pening. Finally, we pondered if there were steps that could be taken to lessen this feeling of constantly being short-staffed.

This was our mental journey that we now invite you to follow.

Veterinary technicians by the numbers

Our exploration of the numbers begins with looking at the education of veterinary technicians and the general wages for those degrees.

Students attending AVMA-accredited veterinary technology programs have an option to receive either a two-year (Associ-ates in Applied Sciences-AAS-veterinary technician) or a four-year (Bachelor of Science-BS-veterinary technologist) degree.

After completing either one, the graduate may then take the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE), and upon passing, be eligible for credentialing in a state. Since both degrees take the same national exam, it seems that the level of veterinary care delivery would be similar. However, there may be greater opportunities for veterinary technologist (BS degree) to work in colleges, universities, and industry.

In the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America’s (NAVTA) 2016 Demographic Study,2 it showed 55% of the respondents had an associate degree while 30% had a bachelor’s degree. Approximately 43% of the

respondents were making between $15 and $20/hour (see graph). Unfortunately, this survey did not differentiate between levels of education.

2016 NAVTA Survey results2 The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports veterinary tech-

nologists and technician wages as of May 2018.1

EmploymentMean hourly

wageMean annual

wage

106,680 $17 .10 $35,560

Colorado FREAKY FACTS!Digging deeper into Colorado BLS information, we learn even more. Colorado has over 4,000 individuals listing themselves as veterinary technicians (not all are creden-tialed). This is one of the highest percentages of veterinary technicians in the U.S. (tied with Vermont).3

State EmploymentEmployment/

1000 jobs

Hourly mean wage

Annual mean wage

Colorado 4,000 1 .52 $17 .49 $36,390

Fort Collins has one of the highest concentrations of vet-erinary technicians for a metropolitan area. Coincidentally, the other higher metropolitan concentrations were in cities with veterinary universities.

Metropolitan area Employment

Employment/ 1000 jobs

Hourly mean wage

Annual mean wage

Fort Collins, CO 540 3 .37 $17 .39 $36,170

Some of the top paid veterinary technicians within the state are in the Northwest part of the Colorado.

Non-metropolitan

area EmploymentEmployment/

1000 jobs

Hourly mean wage

Annual mean wage

NW CO 200 1 .69 $18 .97 $39,460

The Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Techni-cians (CACVT) maintains the credentials and directory of veterinary technicians in the state. CACVT is one of the

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nation’s largest veterinary technician associations with approximately 2,400 credentialed veterinary technicians.4

So why the shortage? This is the million-dollar question! Overall, there isn’t one is-sue that stands out as the originator but rather multiple fac-tors. We address a few, although we’re sure there are more!

Graduates

Since we’ve been discussing technician programs and wages, let’s look at these first. Graduates don’t necessarily stay in the state where they attend school, thus we will ad-dress the national numbers. These numbers are approxi-mations from AVMA Professional Resources for Veterinary Educators surveys. They are meant for comparison only and not exact figures.5

YearAAS

programsBS

programs Total AAS

gradsBS

gradsTotal grads

2011–2012

184 17 201 5,127 238 5,365

2012–2013

195 17 212 5,749 729 6,478

2017–2018

170 21 191 4,804 540 5,344

Today it appears we are graduating fewer technicians with AAS degrees, the ones more likely to work in clinic settings.

Salaries

In “Career Choices for Veterinary Technicians” (2013),6 Rebecca commented, “Veterinary technicians earn salaries that compare favorably to those in other fields requiring a similar education.” Does this statement still hold true today?

According to a May 2018 article from Smartasset, in general, the annual salary for someone with an associate degree in the U.S. is $41,496 (roughly $20.00/hour), where those with a bachelor’s degree made an average of $59,124 (roughly $30.00/hour).7

This is similar to the BLS May 2018 report of the median annual wage for all workers with an associate degree of $38,640.8 This is the wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Yet for veterinary technicians, it was reported as $34,420.8

It appears the veterinary industry is not maintaining with national averages and Rebecca’s statement no longer holds true.

Growth

Pet ownership in general is on the rise in the U.S. And it’s not just dogs and cats but also includes exotics.9 This trend

doesn’t look to slow with a global companion animal mar-ket projected to rise 6.3% from 2018–2023.10

In addition, there is an increase in the U.S. commercial production of beef and boiler meats due to an increasing population and rising income levels.11

While we haven’t been able to verify the actual numbers, from conversations held with industry representatives, there is a growing number of physical veterinary hospitals emerging in Colorado. We can speculate that this is occur-ring in other areas of the U.S. as well.

Clinic management

Even without increasing the number of hospitals, there is a trend to increase services provided and/or hours of opera-tion to accommodate the growing demand for veterinary care. With this comes the obvious requirement to increase staff.

This isn’t just veterinarians. Research has shown clear links between increased use of credentialed technicians and higher practice revenue. The most efficient ratio ap-pears to be one veterinarian to six non-DVMs.12 This is an increase from previously held ideas of 1:2 or 1:3 ratios, thus increasing the demand for more technicians in the clinic setting.

Exodus of technicians

Finally, there is no doubt that technicians leave clinics and sometimes the profession all together. According to the 2016 NAVTA survey, when people left veterinary hospitals, 45% went to work in human healthcare field, veterinary technology education or veterinary pharmaceutical sales.2

While many view salaries as the factor, in reality it’s a combination including culture, lack of proper management, and underutilization. In addition, it’s a physically and emo-tionally challenging job. Sometimes people have had enough.

Solutions?Now that many areas have been identified to explain the high demand for veterinary technicians, is there anything that can be done?

Of course! We wouldn’t want this article to be all doom and gloom.

While you may not have control over some of the factors such as graduation rates, increased pet ownership, or the hours of the veterinary practice down the street, you can control other internal influences.

Inefficiency of the delivery system

This concept of fully leveraging everyone on the team is still morphing. Within Colorado, there is no laundry list defining the duties for a veterinary technician. Essentially, they can be leveraged to do all tasks except diagnose, prescribe, treat, and perform surgery (licensed DVMs only, please!).

Continued from previous page

Tech Shortage continued on page 24

PAGE 24 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

2019, Issue #4

IN PRACTICE

This chart, created for the Veterinary Nurse Initiative (VNI), shows the levels and some advanced skills that quali-fied team members can perform. Are you truly leveraging your credentialed veterinary technicians to perform these types of duties?

No surprise, the NAVTA survey shows there is a direct correlation between utilization and job satisfaction.2 Proper utilization can decrease team turnover, increase productivity and improve the delivery of veterinary medicine.

Wages

Let’s be real, there is an economic component to every-thing. We recognize the rising cost of medicine is mak-ing veterinary care less and less affordable. It’s a tough dilemma. However, the technician AAS wages have not kept up with average national pay as previously noted.

Help is coming!

Because of the crisis the veterinary industry is experienc-ing in the shortage of veterinary professionals, the AVMA created the Veterinary Technician Task Force to evalu-ate trends, challenges, and solutions.13 This is exciting as topics such as team utilization will be receiving additional attention.

ConclusionBelieve it or not, Colorado is lucky when it comes to techni-cians. But even with our high number and what seems to be adequate pay, we still succumb to the shortage issue.

There are a variety of reasons for this deficiency, some which are out of our control. It’s more important now than ever to focus on the areas you can control. When you find a veterinary technician that fits into your culture, take ad-ditional steps to keep this person.

Focus on retention by evaluating job descriptions, in-creasing utilization, maintaining job satisfaction, and com-pensating appropriately.

There is no easy fix. By doing many little things right, it will add up to weathering the storm of the technician shortage.

Resources1 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov) Veterinary Technicians:

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes292056.htm 2 National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America De-

mographic Survey Results. 2016. https://www.navta.net/page /Demographic_Survey?&hhsearchterms=%22demographic +and+survey%22

3 Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018 https://www .bls.gov/oes/current/oes292056.htm#st

4 Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians. Email conversation with Executive Director, Erin Henninger, BA, CVT, VTS (ECC). October 23, 2019.

5 AVMA Professional Resources for Veterinary Educators. https://www .avma .org /Professional Development /Education /Accreditation/Programs/Documents/CVTEA%202014%20Mini %20Survey%20Results_Distance%20Website%20Report.pdf

6 Career Choices for Veterinary Technicians, AAHA Press 2013 revised edition, Rebecca Rose and Carin Smith, https://www .amazon .com/Career-Choices-Veterinary-Technicians -Opportunities-ebook/dp/B00OQT9DGI

7 Smartasset, The Average Salary by Education Level, May 2018 https://smartasset.com/retirement/the-average-salary-by -education-level

8 Occupational outlook handbook, veterinary technologists and technicians https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinary - technologists-and-technicians.htm

9 Pet ownership is on the rise. Nov 19, 2018. AVMA study pro-vides economic insights & data to drive veterinary care conver-sations. https://atwork .avma .org /2018 /11 /19 /pet -ownership -is -on -the -rise/

10 Companion Animal Care Market – Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2019-2024). Mordor Intelligencehttps://www.mordor intelligence .com /industry -reports /companion -animal -care -market

11 Veterinary Industry Outlook—top global trends & statistics. Business Research Company. July 3, 2018. https://blog .market research .com /veterinary -industry -outlook -top -global -trends -and -statistics

12 AVMA : More veterinary technicians, higher practice efficiency, DVM360 Sept 2019, http://veterinarybusiness .dvm360 .com /avma -more -veterinary -technicians -higher -practice -efficiency

13 AVMA establishes veterinary technician task force. April 18, 2019. https://atwork .avma .org /2019 /04 /18 /board -update -avma -establishes -veterinary -technician -task -force/

Tech Shortage continued from page 23

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IN PRACTICEConnect with Your Audience by Incorporating Storytelling into Your Marketing EffortsAlexis Wells, CVPM Senior Practice Coach, Veterinary Growth Partners

Almost every practice nowadays utilizes social media as part of their marketing efforts. We post pictures of cute puppies and kittens that come into the practice, before and after of dental cleanings, and informational content we think our audience will like. The question is, are we truly connecting with our target market or intended audience with our content?

The human brain has been hardwired for stories since birth and are a great way to educate your clients and to build trust. Being able to convey stories is an incredibly valuable skill to have and utilize in your marketing. It isn’t good enough to just post a picture with a short blurb and hope we will get likes, comments, or shares. We need to connect with our audience, and we can do that through story telling. The best part is that stories can be incorpo-rated into all your forms of your marketing: Social media posts, blogs, websites, and even in communicating value to your clients.

So, what is a story?The best definition of story comes from Ken Haven in his book “Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story.”1 The reason this definition is so good is that, un-like the dictionary definition, his definition stresses that the power of story comes primarily from its characters. The dictionary emphasizes a description or narrative of events, but people don’t just care about events. They care about people and those they love. This includes the animals they love and their stories. So, without further adieu . . .

A story is a rich character-based narration of a character’s struggles to overcome obstacles and reach an important goal.

Characters can be people like your pet owners, your doc-tors, your staff or they can be the animals you care for. Your practice is filled with potential stories because you have lots of characters who are struggling to reach an im-portant goal. The goal could be the goal of wellness, a pet recovering, or overcoming an illness. It could be a struggle of a found litter of kittens or an old dog looking for a new home. You can look for and find stories in your day to day and draw from real-life events.

How to create a good storyIt takes just a little bit of extra thought to craft a compelling story:

• Have a main character • Use story structure (beginning, middle, and end with

character struggles along the way)

• Connect with emotion and be truthful and honest• Your character should somehow be changed by the end

of your story• Leave your audience wanting more!

The take-home messageA good story can help spread your message and capture your audience’s attention. You will be able to increase en-gagement with your target market and essentially build a community through “connecting.” Using stories can also provide important context that enhances understanding. This can greatly improve both recall and retention of your message. And you want your message to be retained!

Differentiate your practice from your competition through stories. Look for them in your day to day and be sure to utilize all the elements of a good story. Utilize story-telling on your website, social media platforms, and in your practice. Connect to your intended audience and leave them wanting more . . . from you and your practice.

Resources1 Haven, K. F., Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power

of Story. Libraries Unlimited, 2007.

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PAGE 26 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

2019, Issue #4

IN PRACTICEWant Staff Wellbeing? Got Technician Utilization? Kristina Guldbrand, BS, CVT Veterinary System Services

Hospitals are constantly looking for ways to increase efficiency, revenue, and employee satisfaction. One of the fastest ways hospitals can accomplish this seemingly im-possible goal is by having each employee operate at the top of their license.

Simply put, operating at the top of your license means, spend time doing tasks you went to school to do! Many hos-pitals have not taken the time to track how many hours their credentialed technicians spend each day doing non-technical tasks. In fact, there are still many hospitals that use their credentialed technicians to do laundry and deep cleaning. It is hard to battle with the “way we’ve always done it” attitude but here are three benefits to having your technicians work at the top of their license.

1. Increased motivation: No technician gets excited to clean and do laundry. When I worked on the floor as a technician, a lot of my job was cleaning. The most exciting parts of my day were when I had an opportu-nity to perform a procedure that I hadn’t done before or rarely had the chance to do. When technicians are able to use their skills, it ignites the desire to learn even more.

2. Increased efficiency: Are your technicians glorified assistants? If your credentialed technicians are spend-ing their days restraining patients, cleaning, and walking dogs then it is also likely that your DVMs are performing technician duties. Many DVMs will still perform venipuncture, routine vaccinations (not includ-ing rabies), and client education. If those duties were done by a credentialed technician, and the technician had assistance with other non-technical duties the efficiency in your hospital increases.

An article written by the College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (https://college.acaai.org/publications

/college-insider/improve-your-well-being-having-staff -work-top-their-license) refers to a pilot study con-ducted by Dr. O’Hollaren: “Physicians went from work-ing with one medical assistant each to working with two medical assistants; in exchange, they were asked to see two additional patients per day to offset the extra expense. The result? Physicians were actually able to see five extra patients per day AND trim 15 hours per week from their administrative workload!”

A trickle-down effect happens when credentialed technicians operate at the top of their license. If your hospital hires a technician assistant to do the non-technical duties for a much lower hourly cost, then the rest of the hospital will benefit. DVMs can see more patients and every staff member will experience better workload management and increased job satisfaction.

3. Increased happiness: When credentialed technicians are utilized it not only creates meaningful work but it also gives a sense of purpose. Daniel Pink’s (https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/05/09/daniel-pink-drive -rsa-motivation/) TEDtalk on The Puzzle of Motivation shares the research behind why money doesn’t always motivate employees. Instead, studies have shown that autonomy, mastery, and purpose are much big-ger motivators for employees. When technicians have growth opportunities and are supported to do the job they love and it can drastically increase workplace wellbeing.

When technicians are used for non-technical roles it takes away from their purpose. The American Institue of Stress (https://www.stress.org/burnout-is-now-an -official-medical-condition) recognizes that boredom can actually lead to burnout!

It can be hard to know where to start implementing changes to utilize your credentialed technicians. Here are a few tips to get started.

• Hire a technician assistant: Technician assistants are a valuable tool that will increase efficiency. When I worked on the floor, assistants were helpful in making sure our appointments were kept on time by restraining for blood draws, prepping laboratory slides, and helping keep the hospital clean in between appointments. Tech-nician assistants were a valuable asset that let me focus on client education, patient care, and it helped everyone leave on time.

• Teach your staff to delegate: Delegating tasks can be a big ask for some teams. Not only are you battling with changing an old habit but there also needs to be trust among team members. To break the habit of the “I will do it myself” attitude try: ⚬ Have the team ask themselves “is someone else trained to do the task?” or “is this the best use of my time?”

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⚬ Set clear expectations. In Brene Brown’s book Dare to Lead (https://brenebrown.com/blog/2018/10/15 /clear-is-kind-unclear-is-unkind/) she says clear is kind, unclear is unkind. Be clear on what you expect when you delegate a task. This will not only help hone your communication skills but will also give your colleagues guidance and a clear goal.

⚬ Review what is going well and what is not going well. No new habit will be perfect in the beginning. Make sure you are reviewing how things are going and make changes accordingly.

• Build trust: Trust is a crucial element that effective teams must have. If your team is lacking trust, plan for some team-building activities, such as:

⚬ Doing an activity together ex: Rope courses or escape rooms

⚬ Creating a company-wide challenge ex: Getting healthy challenge

⚬ Having a facilitator come in and do communication games and personality assessments

It may seem like having your staff do as many jobs as possible will save money; however, the cost is much greater. Utilizing your technicians to the fullest extent of their license will create a wellbeing ripple effective through-out your hospital that will save money and help retain your staff—and that is worth the change. n

Continued from previous page

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PAGE 28 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

2019, Issue #4

IN PRACTICELeadership Lessons Learned on the Inca TrailWendy Hauser, DVM AVP, Veterinary Relations Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group

In late May 2019 my family and I hiked the terminal 27 miles of the Inca Trail, ending at Machu Picchu. As a child, I heard vivid stories of Peru from my father, who grew up in the mountains outside of Lima. This trip was so much more to me than a vacation; it was a way to honor my father’s memory in the place that he most identified with, where he felt most at home.

As we planned this supported trek, I gave little thought to my expectations of our guides. I trusted they would oversee the logistics of our pre-trek day trips and the three nights on the trail, get us from point to point safely and provide some education about what we were seeing along the way. The last thing I expected was to observe actively reinforced leadership and clearly articulated mentorship!

Our guide, Edwin, was the best example of a leader that I have encountered. His motivation to help the indigenous

population of the Sacred Valley was selfless and authentic. He worked individually with por-ters, almost all local to the area, to increase their proficiency in English and enhance their interactions with their clients, our group of 12. Edwin continu-ally looked for ways to develop our assistant guide’s effectiveness, creating space for him to lead and teach us. When an emergency occurred within our group, Edwin calmly and proficiently man-aged the situation, while

understanding and addressing the emotional impact the event had on the rest of us. He was thoughtful, engaging, and transparent in sharing his hopes for the future.

I feel privileged that I had the opportunity to watch Edwin as he took a group of 28 porters, one assistant guide and 12 guests and created a cohesive team in less than seven days! What did Edwin do that was so impact-ful to his followers? How can those lessons be applied to our businesses to help create cohesive teams and great cultures? Edwin excelled in the following four leadership characteristics:

AuthenticityEdwin led from a place of authenticity. He knew who he was and what he believed in. He clearly aligned his personal beliefs and values to the roles of educating and growing each of his followers, including us. At the same time, he was interested in learning and understanding the perspectives of the individuals in the group.

• How often do the leaders in your organizations ask questions about how the team is feeling and what they think?

• Are the leaders in your company true to their core beliefs, resisting the temptation to compromise them-selves for personal, professional, or financial gain?

• How do the policies and procedures in your work-place align with and reinforce the values of the em-ployees, enabling them to be authentic in their roles?

VulnerabilityEdwin was humble, truthful, and transparent in both his actions and words. His vulnerability encouraged the group to be honest in the context of their feelings, challenges, and fears. It was by modeling this behavior that he was able take a group of strangers and generate the trust to create a unified team that could support and encourage each other.

• How do the leaders in your organization show their vulnerability?

• Does your team feel safe enough to ask each other for help, apologize when their actions or words are hurt-ful to another, and admit their mistakes?

Emotional cultureEdwin understood that as participants in a rigorous, prolonged trek in a remote area, we would have many emotions. He created the space and communication for the group to recognize and share what we were feeling. This was particularly important when two members of our group were unable to continue on the first day of the Inca Trail trek. By acknowledging the sadness we felt by their departure, the concern for their health and wellbeing and the fears that we too might not be able to withstand the challenges of the trek, he was able to understand and shape the emotions in the group to the benefit of all.

• How do the leaders in your company recognize and manage emotions into the workplace?

• What role does each team member play in creating an emotional culture that supports the values of the organization?

PassionEdwin had studied civil engineering in college, but found that his heart lay in the Sacred Valley, teaching others about the rich history of the Incan civilization. He has used his career as a guide to not only touch the lives of

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CVMA VOICE 2019:4 | PAGE 29

IN PRACTICE

countless tourists, but also to enrich the wellbeing of the Incan population living within the Sacred Valley. He has created a rich training ground and pathway for porters to earn tourism certificates, becoming guides themselves. He is establishing his own company, which will center on homestays with local Incan families for a more immersive experience. He is building a community center where the wives of the Incan porters will cook culturally authentic meals for travelers booked through his company. Finally, he is creating an educational exchange, where tourists can teach languages in a local school and receive a discount on their trekking experience. Edwin’s passion for Incan community, its history, lands, and people is his ‘why’; it is his purpose, cause and belief. The product of his passion will be making the lives of the Incan families in the Sacred Valley more sustainable, as climate change and tourism threaten their existence.

• How does your passion make a difference in your community? In the lives of your coworkers, clients, and pets?

• How do your leaders model the organizational beliefs of the company?

• How do employees model the beliefs of your company? Do you as an employee know what those beliefs are?

The role of mentorshipEdwin understood the importance and the transformative power of mentorship. He consistently sought out ways to create learning experiences for the porters and Miguel, our assistant guide. An example was when he asked our per-mission to have a porter spend time one evening practicing his English language skills. Edwin understood the barriers to becoming conversational in English. He had a six month course in English verbal skills, which was insufficient to be able to converse adequately with clients. A self-starter, he took the initiative while serving as an assistant guide to ask for help from the guests who spoke English and became highly proficient in the language. Edwin’s commitment as a mentor to this young man was to help open doors that would help him to succeed.

His work with Miguel ranged from teaching in-depth his-tory, flora and fauna facts, to more practical lessons, such as where to stand to get the best picture of the group. He provided immediate and private feedback after Miguel had taken the lead on explaining the significance of historical sites. Edwin did not wait for his followers to ask for help, he offered help when and where it was impactful. His mentorship was never overbearing or demeaning; it was offered in the spirit of lifting up and strengthening his followers.

Mentorship is often looked at through the lens of fur-thering career development. There is some research to

suggest that mentorship is most beneficial when it is ap-proached from a more holistic aspect. When mentorship of the entire person is undertaken, discussions about values and behaviors outside of career development can occur. Understanding these values and behaviors are integral in helping people realize their full potential. Mentorship is about empowering your followers to bring out the best in themselves.

• What is the role of mentorship in your company?• How does your company encourage mentor/mentee

relationships?• What guidelines exist to help each person understand

their role in the mentor/mentee relationship?

Conclusion Leaders like Edwin are not “accidental” in nature, but have followed paths that have led to their ability to find purpose in their actions and commitment to their vision. They are quick to praise, and ask clarifying questions when things don’t go as planned. They give credit to the group, rather than seeking it themselves. They recognize the value in helping others reach their potential, and derive personal satisfaction when their followers succeed. Like leadership lessons learned on the Inca Trail, where will your leader-ship path lead you?

About the Author: Wendy Hauser, DVM is AVP, Veterinary Relations, Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group. In 2015, she established Peak Veterinary Consulting, after working as an industry Technical Services Veterinarian. With a DVM from OK State in 1988, she has practiced for 30 years as an associate, owner and relief veterinarian. She is highly engaged in AAHA leadership and currently serves as the AAHA Delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates. She is the co-author of “The Veterinarian’s Guide to Healthy Pet Plans.” n

Continued from previous page

Where will your CVMA membership take you in 2020?

Your membership. Your voice. Your CVMA.

Renew your membership by December 31

colovma.org/membership

CVMAMembershipRenewal_Sept19_FINAL.indd 1 9/9/19 5:27 PM

CVMA VOICE

CVMA VOICE 2019:4 | PAGE 31

CVMA NEWS

CVMA chapters are a vital part of the CVMA community fabric; your chapter is your connection to local CVMA col-leagues in your area. Read about what CVMA chapters have been up to from around the state.

Chapter 6 | DenverMichelle Larsen, DVM2019 Chapter 6 President

As 2019 comes to a close, I want to thank both our mem-bers and our leadership team. 2019 was an exciting year for Chapter 6.

We responded to you

At the end of 2018, we offered a survey incentive and asked our members to give us their thoughts on what they wanted out of Chapter 6 activities. We received some great feedback on CE locations and times that work best for our members. As a result, we added some weekend events, more credit hours, and new venues—reaching more areas of the greater Denver area then previous years.

We collaborated: Together we are stronger

2019 saw the first joint chapter event with Larimer and Weld counties at the Wild Animal Sanctuary. This tremendous event had our largest attendance for the year and featured renowned speaker, Dr. Elise Christensen, presenting on cases members submitted and common behavior questions/topics. We also offered a Chapter 6 discount to the fall Pro-fessional Development Series session to encourage participa-tion in this traditional CVMA event held in our backyard. In 2020, we’ll have even more collaboration between Chapter 6 and CVMA on Professional Development Series—stay tuned!

We focused on professional wellbeing

2019 was the first year we offered two interactive wellbeing symposiums: A camping retreat and a workshop at Hudson Gardens. While attendance was lower than we hoped, we know from surveys that these events matter and we plan to continue to “build this area, hoping you will come.”

As your outgoing president I want to thank the amazing CVMA staff and Chapter 6 leadership team. Without amaz-ing people working hard and brainstorming, none of these accomplishments would have happened. My vision was to create value and leave the chapter stronger than when 2019

started, and thanks to our members, sponsors, speakers, vol-unteers, and CVMA staff I can easily say 2019 was ground-breaking. I hope our members can see the value in organized veterinary medicine and that you attended one or more Chapter 6 events last year. If not, there is always 2020! n

Join the Chapter 6 Facebook group! facebook.com/groups/colovma6

C O L O R A D O V E T E R I N A R Y M E D I C A L A S S O C I A T I O N

Chapter Connections

Keep Your Technicians, Save Your Practice From Costly TurnoverIt’s no secret—everyone knows how costly employee turn-over can be. To help hospitals retain employees, CVMA is proud to recognize and certify the designation of CVMA Certified Veterinary Assistant (CVA) as a benefit exclusively for CVMA members. The CVMA CVA program provides continuing education for veterinary medical personnel, en-abling them to become more informed, skilled, and trusted members of the veterinary medical team. Investing in your employees saves your practice from having to deal with turnover and costly replacement and retraining efforts. Now offering CVA levels I–III!

CVA graduatesPlease join us in congratulating the newest graduates of the CVMA Certified Veterinary Assistant program!

Samantha Barela | Level IGamble Pet ClinicFort Collins, CO

Emily Andrade | Level IGamble Pet ClinicFort Collins, CO

Sam Bishop | Level IBuffalo Mountain Animal

HospitalSilverthorne, CO

Kelley Furia | Level I Brooklyn Veterinary ClinicCastle Rock, CO

Thea Lamb | Level IIEastern Colorado Veterinary

ServicesArriba, CO

Lauren Wyatt | Level IINorthgate Animal HospitalColorado Springs, CO n

For CVMA Premium and Core members, the $325 enroll-ment fee for the CVA program is waived as part of your membership! Learn more at colovma .4act .com .

Questions? Contact Sara Eberhardt, CVMA’s Manager of Membership, at 303 .539 .7275 or info@colovma .org .

PAGE 32 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

2019, Issue #4

CVMA NEWSClass of 2019 Power of 10 Leadership Academy Participants Receive Recognition at ConventionFor eight years, CVMA has supported a very exciting initia-tive, the Power of 10 | Doctors Leadership Academy, and for three years, the Power of 10 | Practice Managers Lead-ership Academy, which have helped aspiring veterinary doctors and practice managers enrich their competency in leadership, communications, and business. CVMA Conven-tion 2019 marked the culmination of the Power of 10 jour-ney for both the 2019 doctor and practice manager groups. Congratulations, distinguished Power of 10 participants!

Power of 10 | Doctors Class of 2019:• Justine Barone, DVM, MBA• Karen Chandler, DVM, MPH• Raena Furtado, DVM• Ashley Gagne, DVM• Rachel Galluzzo, VMD• Danielle Lagana, DVM

• Jessica Rychel, DVM, DACVSMR• Claire Vaiden, DVM• Kelly Walsh, DVM• Jocelyn Whitworth, DVM

Facilitators: Hannah Klein, DVM and H. Howells, DVM

Power of 10 | Practice Managers Class of 2019:• Teresa Campbell• Brooke Doran, CVT• Rebekah Genereux• Bre Hass, CVT• Katy Huss, CVT• Kathy Kirk• Elisha Lewis• Karie Madigan• Cheryl Streater• Marta Wilkinson, CVT

Facilitators: Ashley Barton, CVT, Kaitlin Lindsey, and Josh Vaisman n

Power of 10 Doctors Class of 2019 Power of 10 Practice Managers Class of 2019

THANK YOU SPONSORS!

CVMA VOICE

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CVMA NEWSCVMA Service Awards 2020: Nominations Now Open!Do you know someone who has given unselfishly to the profession in Colorado? Someone who has made an impact in the field and deserves to be recognized? Nominate them for a CVMA Service Award for 2020! CVMA is seeking nom-inations in the following two categories:

Veterinarian of the Year to recognize a distinguished member of the CVMA who has contributed to the advance-ment of veterinary medicine in Colorado in the areas of organization, education, research, practice, or regulatory service (such service must be performed during the three calendar years immediately preceding the year the award is received).

Distinguished Service to recognize an individual who has contributed outstanding service to the advancement of veterinary medicine over an extended period of time in Colorado in any or all aspects of the profession (this indi-vidual need not be a veterinarian; however, veterinarians are not excluded from being eligible for this award).

These awards allow us to recognize and celebrate the ac-complishments and contributions of CVMA members who have greatly contributed to the veterinary landscape in Colorado, furthering the profession and the impact of vet-erinary medicine. By honoring and showcasing the achieve-ments of these two recipients, we can truly shine a light on the profession and share in the good work being done by our members.

Awards will be presented during the CVMA Convention 2020 in Keystone. Thank you for helping CVMA recognize those who have given so much to the veterinary profession!

Nomination deadline: May 1, 2020 n

SKI CE

JANUARY 26 - 29, 2020Vail, COLearn more at colovma.org/skice

ONCOLOGYGregory Ogilvie DVM, DACVIM

(SAIM & Oncology), DECVIM-CA

Nominations are available online: https://colovma.site-ym.com/page/awards

ADVOCACY

Representation with lawmakers on important issues impacting veterinary medicine in Colorado

Real-time updates on bills CVMA is fighting or supporting on your behalf

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CONTINUING EDUCATIONPreferred pricing exclusively for members—save $$ on CVMA CE!

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SERVICESCustomized rabies tags, sent directly to your practice, with special CVMA rates (supplemental tags also available year-round!)

The latest news and research, delivered to your inbox weekly via our eVOICE newsletter

Access to Peer Assistance Services, so you can put your wellbeing first

Practice enrollment for Certified Veterinary Assistant program—FREE! (Premium and Core only!)

Scholarships for the Power of 10 Leadership Academy for doctors and practice managers—$2,000 value! (Premium and Core only!)

Maximize your CVMA benefits today, and let us work for you.

Visit colovma.org/benefits.

As a veterinary professional, joining CVMA is the most beneficial and essential thing you can do for your practice, your team, and your career. Make the most of your membership—ensure you’re taking part in all the benefits your membership has to offer, including:

Your membership.

Your voice.Your CVMA.

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R

22002200 MMeemmbbeerrsshhiipp RReeggiissttrraattiioonn Join online anytime at colovma.org/membership!

Name: Title/Degree:

Business Name:

Preferred Mailing Address:

City: State: Zip:

Email (required): Phone:

Veterinary School: Graduation Year:

Step 1 - Select your membership level Amount Subtotal

PREMIUM $650

Optional benefits for Premium Members Please include a form for each veterinarian or practice manager being included.

Discounted CORE membership for veterinarians at practice ______ # of veterinarians @ $355 each (write amount in subtotal column) $355

FREE CORE Membership for non-veterinarian practice manager $0

CORE - SELECT APPROPRIATE DUES AMOUNT BELOW

CORE - Veterinarian $395

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BASIC $290

Step 2 – Complete your chapter membership - rreeqquuiirreedd Amount Subtotal

To determine which chapter you belong to and whether there are any chapter dues, please visit colovma.org/chapters.

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Please return completed membership form to CVMA:

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CCVVMMAA mmeemmbbeerrsshhiippss aarree nnoott pprroo--rraatteedd.. AAllll mmeemmbbeerrsshhiippss eexxppiirree DDeecceemmbbeerr 3311,, 22002200.. Tax Information CVMA dues payments are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. However, they may be deductible as business expenses, except that portion attributable to CVMA lobbying activities, which is estimated to be 6.5%. Privacy Policy By providing your name and address information, you agree that this information may be included in the searchable online member directory and may be used and distributed as provided in CVMA’s Privacy Policy, which can be found on CVMA’s website at www.colovma.org.

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PAGE 38 | CVMA VOICE 2019:4

2019, Issue #42019, Issue #4

SCIENCE UPDATECSU Team Uncovers Potential for Rift Valley Fever Virus Transmission in Colorado LivestockMary Guiden CSU External Relations

Rift Valley fever virus is a global health concern that is caused by infected mosquitos and the handling of infected animal carcasses.

Every 10 to 15 years, the viral disease has led to out-breaks in Africa. In the late 1990s, it spread across five African countries and infected 90,000 people, killing 500 of them. That’s not even counting the waves of livestock deaths reported by farmers and veterinarians.

What would happen if Rift Valley fever virus ever hit the United States?With multiple routes of entry into the U.S. and the most likely path of introduction being an infected traveler from overseas, the consequences for humans and livestock would be significant, according to research by a team at Colorado State University.

The researchers investigated mosquito communities near livestock feedlots in Northern Colorado to determine the potential for mosquitoes to transmit the virus. They found that Culex tarsalis mosquitoes, which were abundant in feedlots and at nearby sites, could serve as a vector or means of transmitting Rift Valley fever virus between live-stock and humans in Colorado.

The study was published earlier in 2019 in Transbound-ary and Emerging Diseases.

Rebekah Kading, assistant professor in CSU’s Depart-ment of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, said previous research analyzing possible transmission of the virus was conducted only in laboratory settings.

This new research and fieldwork adds ecological context to the lab data, in terms of determining which mosquito species actually feed on humans and livestock. This is im-portant to uncover clues as to how Rift Valley fever virus

might circulate in the real world. Combining this informa-tion from laboratory and field studies also will help deter-mine which mosquitoes would be a priority to control to prevent a possible outbreak.

Public enemy no. 1Culex tarsalis mosquitoes are the main vector transmitting West Nile virus in Colorado, and they are known to easily transmit other viruses in the lab.

“It’s one of the most medically important species in Colorado and in the United States,” Kading said.

Daniel Hartman, the study’s lead author and a CSU doctoral student studying microbiology, described Culex tarsalis mosquitoes as public enemy no. 1.

“Lab studies show these mosquitoes have very high transmission rates,” he said. “We’ve now found that this mosquito is in and near feedlots. It will bite a cow and, presumably, it would bite another cow. That’s the complete transmission cycle for a virus.”

The research team studied mosquitoes at four Northern Colorado locations, pairing livestock feedlots and sites without livestock less than 1.5 miles away. Mosquitoes were collected over several months in summer 2016. Re-searchers subsequently analyzed their blood meals to learn more about their diet.

Kading, who joined the CSU faculty in 2016, first became interested in the virus seven years ago, when she was working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases in Fort Collins.

She has traveled to the Zika forest of Uganda to study the role of bats in disease transmission and conducted research on malaria in Zambia as part of her doctoral dissertation.

Tracking behavior, virus transmission between mosquitoes, offspringHartman said he and the team are now taking a closer look at the behavior of the mosquitoes, to get a better sense of how different species of mosquitoes could contribute to transmitting Rift Valley fever if it was introduced in the U.S.

“We also know that deer are highly susceptible to this virus, so we can look at the magnitude of transmissions,” he said.

Kading said the team will continue to fill in gaps in the data related to this virus.

“With some of the mosquito species from our field study, we learned more about blood meals from deer and cattle,” she said. “But there is little or no vector competence data available for them. Now, in the lab, we want to ‘challenge’ those mosquitoes, to see if they’re capable of transmitting Rift Valley fever virus.”

In addition to this lab research, Kading’s team is looking at vertical transmission, the transfer of a virus from the mother mosquito to her offspring.

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SCIENCE UPDATE

Nicholas Bergren, a co-author on the paper and a post-doctoral fellow in Kading’s Lab, explained how the trans-mission works.

“The eggs get infected, so the female passes the virus on to offspring mosquitoes, which then continue to transmit the virus,” he said.

Researchers have documented this type of vertical transmission with bunyaviruses including La Crosse encephalitis.

Creating a human vaccine to fight the virusKading is also part of a team at CSU that is working toward developing a vaccine for humans against Rift Valley fever virus.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation and CSU announced in July 2019 a partnering agreement to advance this work. CEPI will provide up to $9.5 million for manufacturing and preclinical studies to assess a single-dose vaccine candidate to fight the virus. n

Continued from previous page

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