Central Line: The AAHA Podcast

Welcome to Central Line, the official podcast of the American Animal Hospital Association. We are so excited to bring you these conversations to help you and your entire team simplify your journey towards excellence – which we know encompasses so much more than the medicine. In each episode, our host, Dr. Katie Berlin, talks with thought leaders and experts in hospital management, workplace culture, mental health, communication, and, of course, patient care, for advice on tackling the most persistent pain points in veterinary medicine today. We hope veterinary professionals in all roles, from client care to practice owner, will enjoy and benefit from these conversations.

Join us as Central Line takes you to the heart of exceptional veterinary care.

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Guest: Dr. Cherice Roth

Episode Description:

Cherice Roth, DVM, MS, is the kind of person you just don’t want to stop talking to. So we asked her back for a second episode (check out her first one here!), this time to talk about how telehealth can increase access to veterinary care – not just for people who want high-touch service, but for people who can’t afford to take off work to bring a pet in, who may not know when their pets need to be seen, or who might not realize that veterinarians can have a lot more in common with them than a love of animals.

It’s impossible not to feel optimistic about the future of our profession by the end of this conversation!

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Learn more about Dr. Roth or get in touch on social

• LinkedIn @chericeroth
• Facebook @RothDVM
• Instagram @cherice.roth
• Twitter @chericeroth

Get autographed copies of Dr. Roth’s books, as well as other goodies for kids and adults, at The Real Doctor Store. You can also find her books at Amazon and other retailers.

Pay a visit to PrideVMC and the Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association (MCVMA) - thanks to these amazing groups for all they do to benefit our profession and our people!

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

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Guest: Ross Palmer, DVM, MS, DACVS

Episode Description:

Are we letting our new grads down? Ross Palmer, DVM, MS, DACVS, returns to Central Line to discuss an area he’s particularly passionate about: continuing education. From his position as Associate Director of Education at CSU’s Translational Medicine Institute, he thinks a lot about CE and the gaps he sees in what he calls “the continuum of postgraduate lifelong learning.” Dr. Palmer introduces ideas from commercial pilot training programs, including their approach to hands-on skills and risk mitigation, that may change the way we think - not only about CE, but about ourselves.

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Find out more about veterinary CE at Colorado State here.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

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Guest: Cyndie Courtney, DVM

Episode Description:

In July of 2021, Cyndie Courtney, DVM, wrote an article for AAHA’s Trends^® magazine called “Client Expectations, Rights, and Responsibilities : Setting Client Expectations to Protect Practice Culture.” The article made waves because it faced head-on the question of whether we, as veterinary professionals, might be able to set boundaries for how we want our teams to be treated - while helping our clients have reasonable expectations for how we will treat them. In this episode, Dr. Courtney tackles some difficult topics and offers tips to help improve trust and transparency with clients.

Catch up with Dr. Courtney on her website, TheJerkResearcher.com, on Facebook, or on LinkedIn.

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Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

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Guest: Tierra Price, DVM, MPH

Episode Description:

Tierra Price, DVM, MPH, founder of BlackDVM Network, was changing veterinary medicine before she even graduated (which she did at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). In her bio, she says she wants to show up as her entire self and “inspire others to boldly take on challenges in veterinary medicine,” and in this episode she does just that. Having already accumulated a wealth of experiences in her first two years of practice, Dr. Price offers thoughts on how we can improve awareness and options for families who face significant barriers to seeking veterinary care for their pets.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

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Generously supported by CareCredit

Guest: Joanne Intile DVM, MS, DACVIM (oncology), Certified Veterinary Journalist

Episode Description:

A special report in the March 15, 2022 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) shed light on whether the written instructions and summaries we send home with pet owners are actually readable for most of them. Joanne Intile, DVM, MS, Dip-Oncology, was one of the authors on this study and sat down to talk about why “don’t worry, I’ll write it all down for you,” might not always help as much as we might think. Dr. Intile talks about how these findings may affect how we train our teams, the care we provide for our patients, and the way vet students learn.

Connect with Dr. Intile on Facebook | @DrJoanneIntile

Looking for an app that helps determine readability of written materials? Try Hemingway or Grammarly.

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Learn more about Connexity^® 2022 as registration is now open.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

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Guest: Senani Ratnayake BSc RVT

Episode Description:

As veterinary professionals, we work where days (and nights) can get long, where stakes and emotions run high, and where demands on our time and energy can sometimes seem unreasonable. But nearly all of us have a “why” - a reason for starting down this sometimes complicated, always challenging road and that keeps us coming back. Senani Ratnayake BSc RVT uses her “why” to help veterinary teams work together better – by rediscovering, sharing, and digging into their own.

Listening to Senani speak reminds us that while our work can seem to require tough skin, our vulnerability can be our strength.

Reach Senani at Motivatum Consulting, and Canadians can join Vet Alliance and work with her and other talented professionals there.

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Learn more about Connexity^® 2022 as registration is now open.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

Listen where your favorite podcasts are found:

Guest: Dr. Cherice Roth

Episode Description:

If anyone can convince kids (and adults!) that anything is possible, it’s Cherice Roth, DVM, MS. Besides being a mom of two, Chief Veterinary Officer at Fuzzy Pet Health, volunteer and Special Projects Chair at the Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association, and practicing veterinarian, Dr. Roth is also the author of two children’s books, with more to follow. Her books show kids of all backgrounds that “real doctors” can do almost anything – and look like anyone, including just like them. Don’t miss this uplifting conversation with one of the most optimistic, dynamic, and multitalented people in vet med today.

Download transcript

Learn more about Dr. Roth or get in touch on social

• LinkedIn @chericeroth
• Facebook @RothDVM
• Instagram @cherice.roth
• Twitter @chericeroth

Get autographed copies of Dr. Roth’s books, as well as other goodies for kids and adults, at The Real Doctor Store. You can also find her books at Amazon and other retailers.

Pay a visit to PrideVMC and the Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association (MCVMA) - thanks to these amazing groups for all they do to benefit our profession and our people!

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

Listen where your favorite podcasts are found:

Guest: Deborah Thomson, DVM

Episode Description:

What does working on Capitol Hill have in common with a puppy vaccine appointment? Deborah Thomson, DVM, Chair of the World Veterinary Association’s One Health Education Subgroup, founder of One Health Lessons, and author of The Art of Science Communication, shares what she’s learned through her work as a teacher, clinical veterinarian, and Science Policy Advisor about having productive conversations about science - with ALL kinds of people.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

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Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

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Generously supported by CareCredit

Guest: Patty Casebolt

Episode Description:

For lots of us in veterinary medicine, the alleged benefits of a mindfulness and meditation practice haven’t been enough for us to stick with it – or even, in many cases, to give it a try. Patty Casebolt, Chief Operating Officer at Medical Eye Center and certified Mindfulness/Mediation facilitator, comes to us from the human side of healthcare and offers a real-life take on how busy professionals can work “mindful moments” into their days. Studies show that even a few minutes daily can actually retrain your brain – no cushion or chanting required. At the close of this episode, Patty leads us in a mindful moment of our own, and from one skeptic to another, trust me – you’ll feel better afterwards.

Note: For a small percentage of people who have a mental health diagnosis or have experienced trauma, mindfulness and meditation can provoke anxiety or other negative emotions. If you fall into one of these categories, you may want to check with your health care provider beforehand.

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Generously supported by CareCredit

Guest: Ross Palmer, DVM, DACVS

Episode Description:

Ross Palmer, DVM, DACVS, knows a thing or two about orthopedic surgery (and a lot of other stuff). But even he found himself in a room one day with a very overweight Lab, talking at a client instead of talking to him. Hear what Dr. Palmer learned from Griz and his owner that day about communication, expectations, and what we can achieve together if we avoid assumptions and take the time to listen.

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Find out more about veterinary CE at Colorado State here.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

Listen where your favorite podcasts are found:

Guest: Stacee Santi, DVM

Episode Description:

Stacee Santi, DVM, CEO and founder of Vet2Pet, didn’t set out to revolutionize the way veterinary practices communicated – she just wanted to send her clients a notification to help them remember to give their monthly prevention. In this week’s episode, Dr. Stacee explains how the right technology can help bond clients to our practices (you won’t believe how many clients, on average, will leave the exam room today and never come back!) and free up time and energy for our teams – and she gives some great tips on how anyone in the practice can make a few minutes of real-time contact really count.

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Hear more from Dr. Stacee on the podcast she co-hosts with our guest from episode #2, Dr. Caitlin DeWilde, #IVETSOHARD, connect with her on LinkedIn, and check out her company, Vet2Pet.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

Listen where your favorite podcasts are found:

Guest: Cynthia Otto, DVM, PhD

Episode Description:

One of the most beautiful things about veterinary medicine is our front row seat to all the different ways the human-animal bond shows up. Cynthia Otto, DVM, PhD, sees some pretty amazing examples of that bond in her work at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center. Dr. Otto, chair of the task force for AAHA’s 2021 Working, Assistance, and Therapy Dog Guidelines, shares her wealth of experience with us – including some valuable lessons any vet team can learn from the challenges of working with working dogs.

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Learn about the Penn Vet Working Dog Practitioner Certification

Make a donation: Penn Vet Working Dog Center, Search Dog Foundation, Assistance Dogs International

Check out the 2021 AAHA Working, Assistance, and Therapy Dog Guidelines - these Guidelines are worth a read even if you don’t routinely see working dogs! - and check out all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

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Generously supported by CareCredit

Guest: David Ballard, PsyD, MBA, MA

Episode Description:

When an entire profession is struggling, it’s a problem that will take more than self-care to solve. David Ballard, PsyD, MBA, the former head of the American Psychological Association’s Office of Applied Psychology, has spent much of his career focusing on how to create psychologically healthy workplaces in professions facing many of the same challenges we do in veterinary medicine.

Dr. Ballard has ventured into vet med by way of Veterinary Visionaries, where nearly 50 organizations are collaborating right now to find ways to improve wellbeing and mental health in the profession as a whole. This episode will leave you believing that you could be a changemaker, no matter your role in your workplace.

Find out more about Veterinary Visionaries, including how to log into the solving platform to share and vote on ideas, https://veterinaryvisionaries.org/. The top four ideas split a $5000 cash prize! Be sure to log in before the platform closes on May 27, 2022.

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Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

Listen where your favorite podcasts are found:

Generously supported by CareCredit

Guest: Debbie Boone, CVPM

Episode Description:

Just talking to Debbie Boone, CVPM, makes you feel calmer – it’s easy to see how she built her career out of helping people communicate better. But she maintains that anyone can learn skills like active listening and de-escalation, and she gives some terrific tips for implementing these skills in practice. While we intended this conversation to speak directly to our colleagues in client service, Debbie’s advice will ring true for anyone who deals with people on a regular basis (so... that’s all of us).

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Find Debbie on Facebook and at 2 Manage Vets Consulting, and check out one of our favorite books, Crucial Conversations, which Debbie says should be required reading for the entire planet.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

Listen where your favorite podcasts are found:

Generously supported by CareCredit

Guest: Eric Garcia

Episode Description:

Companies with strong branding don’t take breaks from advertising just because their popular products are out of stock – and, according to our guest, Eric Garcia, veterinary practices shouldn’t take breaks from marketing themselves just because there’s no extra room in the schedule right now.

Eric is a digital marketing expert and sought-after voice on the veterinary speaking circuit, and he recommends that practices take a data-driven approach to marketing themselves.

This conversation isn’t just for practice owners and managers – Eric outlines some simple things anyone in the practice can do to improve the day-to-day client experience (because that’s marketing, too!) when the schedule is packed.

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Get in touch with Eric on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, by email at [email protected], or on his website.

Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

Listen where your favorite podcasts are found:

Generously supported by CareCredit

Guest: Garth Jordan

Episode Description:

Veterinary medicine is a field full of problem solvers – we are all experts at working together to troubleshoot tough cases and doing our best with what we’ve got. Garth Jordan, CEO of AAHA, believes that solving the big issues that affect all of us will take teamwork on a much larger scale. Garth joins us to talk about Veterinary Visionaries, a project designed to allow us to help each other solve the most persistent problems facing the veterinary profession today.

Find out more about Veterinary Visionaries here.

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Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

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Guest: Tasha McNerney, BS, CVT, CVPP, VTS (Anesthesia and Analgesia)

Episode Description:

We’ve got pain on the brain around here, thanks to the release of the 2022 AAHA Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats – good thing Tasha McNerney, CVT, CVPP, VTS (Anesthesia/Analgesia), never gets tired of talking about pain. Tasha joins us to share her insight on involving the whole team in the management of pain, what she’s learned in her time teaching vet teams, and why, when our credentialed technicians are thriving, our practices and the rest of our teams are more likely to thrive too.

Find Tasha on Facebook and at Veterinary Anesthesia Nerds.  

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Find all of AAHA’s most up-to-date Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

Listen where your favorite podcasts are found:

Generously supported by CareCredit

Guest: Caitlin DeWilde, DVM

Episode Description:

We’ve all had a perfectly good day ruined by a bad online review. It can be tempting to shun social media entirely to avoid the negativity, but then we lose what can be a big-time builder of client loyalty and trust. Caitlin DeWilde, DVM, of The Social DVM, gives us great advice for improving how we receive and respond to reviews – both good and bad! - and for reshaping our social media protocols. (It’s OK if you don’t have those. Start here!) 

Get in touch with Caitlin at The Social DVM and check out the podcast she co-hosts at #IVETSOHARD.  

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Guest: Alison Gottlieb, CVT, VTS (ECC)

Episode Description:

Alison Gottlieb, CVT, VTS (ECC), joins us this week to help us celebrate the release of the 2022 AAHA Pain Management Guidelines. Ali served as a member of the task force behind these Guidelines, and she’s passionate about pain (and all things feline). Her main takeaways when it comes to managing pain in pets: We need to be proactive, and we need to work together.

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Find all of AAHA’s Guidelines, including resources for your clients and team, at aaha.org/guidelines.

Send us feedback or questions anytime at [email protected].

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