Program

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - Registration and Breakfast

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.:

Welcome Energizer

Crucibles of Leadership: Embracing Growth Through the Fire!
Speaker: Julie Nash, CVPM, PHR, SHRM-CP

The crucible is often described as a vessel in a refining fire - a place where materials are tested, purified, and strengthened. Similarly, as managers, there will come a time when you find yourself walking through the fire. Whether you are currently in the midst of a challenging situation or have experienced one in the past, these moments have the power to shape and define you. By embracing a new identity and adopting a fresh approach, it is possible to transform yourself during life's hardest and most difficult times.

In order to navigate these crucible moments, it is essential to understand the principles of crucible leadership and to explore powerful examples of personal and professional growth and transformation. By studying these examples, you can gain insights into how individuals have overcome challenges and emerged stronger and wiser.

Utilizing the concepts of crucible leadership as a guiding model, you can then develop a personal learning strategy to effectively confront future challenging situations. This strategy will enable you to extract valuable lessons from these experiences and learn what it takes to be an effective leader. By consciously engaging in deliberate learning experiences, you can nurture and develop new leaders who are equipped with the skills to grow through adversity. These experiences should aim to cultivate resilience, humility, and a lifelong curiosity for learning.

By embracing the crucible and its transformative power, managers can navigate difficult times with grace and emerge as stronger and more effective leaders.

Networking Break

Application Stations 
Application stations give attendees the opportunity to create tool kits they can take back to their practice and immediately implement.

Station 1: Unique Human Resources Practices
Station 2: Creative Ways to Shake up Staff Meetings and Check-ins 
Station 3: Interviewing and Onboarding Processes that Help Retain Staff 
Station 4: Wheel of Fortune Team Activities

Sponsored Lunch Program

2024 Employment Law Changes and Challenges / Discipline and Termination the Right Way
Speaker: Lara de Leon

It has been another busy year for lawmakers and courts.  Ensure you are prepared for the changes ahead!  This workshop will begin by highlighting important new changes that every employer needs to know heading into 2024.  From new rules on workplace accommodations, retaliation standards, and even labor union protections, this is a session you will not want to miss.  

With the number of lawsuits and charges soaring, it’s never too late to shore up your performance management practices. This part of the session will discuss the three golden rules optimizing performance and minimizing the legal risk associated with disciplining and terminating employees.

This session will be presented by Attorney Lara de Leon, whose legal practice concentrates on labor and employment law from a management perspective.  Lara is licensed to practice law in both Texas and California, and is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Networking Break

Roundtable Discussions
Roundtable Discussions are among the most flexible and informal educational formats offered at VHMA education events. Roundtable Discussions allow for extended discussion among a small cohort of professional colleagues. Roundtable Discussions are excellent venues for giving and receiving targeted feedback and engaging in-depth discussions. Attendees are broken up into groups of 6-10 individuals and are presented with predetermined topics for time-limited discussions.

5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. - Welcome Reception

5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - Hospital Tour (optional) - Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - Registration and Breakfast

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.:

Welcome Energizer

Metrics for Managing More Effectively in 2024
Speaker: Brenda Tassava Medina, CVPM, CVJ, VLCE

Data is an integral part of strategic planning. We can't plan for our practices' futures without knowing where we are now and how we measure up. But what data is most important to pay attention to, and when will we launch our strategic plans? This workshop will focus on benchmarks in the veterinary profession and the most important key performance indicators you should be monitoring. We're not simply going to share the metrics; we're going to share best practices for getting those numbers to move in the direction you want them to go.

Key Objectives and Takeaways

• A better understanding of benchmarks and how to best use them as references.
• How to develop meaningful key performance indicators personalized to your veterinary practice.
• Best practices for pricing and other levers to produce success.
• How to train your team to better communicate with clients regarding veterinary fees.
• Effective methods for measuring and reporting progress.

Networking Break

Application Station 
Let’s do this! Resilience in yourself and your team application stations will give attendees the opportunity to create tool kits they can take back to their practice and immediately implement.

Station 1: Creating Skill Growth Boards
Station 2: Technician Triage
Station 3: Susan Wins the Lottery and Quits...What Every Manager Needs to Have Ready
Station 4: VHMA Organizational Diagnosis and Design Toolkit

Mastering Whole Team Utilization and Efficiency: Key Steps for Success (Part I)
Speaker: Heather Prendergast, RVT, CVPM, SPHR
Mastering Whole Team Utilization and Efficiency: Key Steps for Success
While the topic of technician utilization and increased efficiency is presented at every national conference, successful implementation in the practice seems to be the larger struggle. The implementation of unfamiliar protocols while trying to break old behaviors develops change resistance and builds a barrier to team buy-in. This session will focus on implementing best practices, demonstrating expected behaviors and skills, and role-playing the changes you need in your practice. Participants will be expected to share ideas and discuss hurdles they have overcome in their own practices.

Learning Objectives:
•    Recognize and articulate three common reasons for resistance to change.
•    Demonstrate comprehension of conducting a SWOT and gap analysis.
•    Devise a training and development program utilizing SWOT and gap analysis findings.
•    Apply best practices in practical scenarios.
•    Appraise the significance of role-playing during the implementation of new practice flows.
•    Construct practice-specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that facilitate effective monitoring and management.

Networking Break

Triumphs and Blunders 
The good, the bad and the ugly disrupter “mini case studies” will be shared in this no holds barred session. Predetermined presenters will share the entire story – from the reasons why they decided to make a change to the final outcome (whether good or bad). Audience discussion and dialogue will add another meaningful dimension to this program.

5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - Bowlero (optional

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - Registration and Breakfast

8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.:

Mastering Whole Team Utilization and Efficiency: Key Steps for Success (Part II)
Speaker: Heather Prendergast, RVT, CVPM, SPHR

While the topic of technician utilization and increased efficiency is presented at every national conference, successful implementation in the practice seems to be the larger struggle. The implementation of unfamiliar protocols while trying to break old behaviors develops change resistance and builds a barrier to team buy-in. This session will focus on implementing best practices, demonstrating expected behaviors and skills, and role-playing the changes you need in your practice. Participants will be expected to share ideas and discuss hurdles they have overcome in their own practices.

Learning Objectives:
•    Recognize and articulate three common reasons for resistance to change.
•    Demonstrate comprehension of conducting a SWOT and gap analysis.
•    Devise a training and development program utilizing SWOT and gap analysis findings.
•    Apply best practices in practical scenarios.
•    Appraise the significance of role-playing during the implementation of new practice flows.
•    Construct practice-specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that facilitate effective monitoring and management.

Networking Break

Panel Discussion on Operations/Accountability/Team Communications