2020 Annual Meeting & Conference

Superhero Leadership: How Everyday People Can Have An Extraordinary Impact
Speaker: Brett Culp

Leadership starts with the ability to look at every challenge—even the mundane tasks—as an opportunity to make a positive impact. Brett shares powerful stories from his filmmaking adventures of ordinary people who have accomplished extraordinary things. He demonstrates how everyone has the opportunity and capacity to embrace leadership and make an impact. By learning to see themselves as leaders contributing to a noble, shared vision, attendees will feel empowered to bring greater confidence and enthusiasm to their everyday tasks. This shift in perspective ignites the heroic spirit in audiences, equipping them to bring the truest, most powerful view of themselves to every aspect of their work and life.

Roundtable Discussions

Program descriptions coming soon.

Track A: Workplace Restrictions and Accommodations
Speaker: Timothy A. Davis

In this session, participants will be guided through the common management and statutory compliance issues that arise when managing employees with medical conditions. The group will also collaborate to identify effective strategies for addressing legal and practical challenges that arise in the practice.

Track B: Panel Discussion–Overcoming Challenges in Practice Ownership
Speaker: Leslie Mamalis, MBA, MSIT, CVA

Your peers discuss the process of becoming an owner and lessons learned when facing potential obstacles.

Track C: Trends in Veterinary Licensure Impacting your Practice
Speaker: James T. Penrod, CAE, FASLA

1. Licensure for Veterinary Professionals
   Licensure 101
2. American Association of Veterinary State Boards
   Who is the AAVSB and What Do We Do
   Regulatory Board Structure in the U.S.
   Online Licensure Verification and the Benefits to Your Hospital
3. Regulatory Issues Impacting Veterinary Hospitals
   Telehealth
   CBD and Regulation
   Opioid Prescribing
4. Veterinary Technician Utilization
   Model Scope of Practice for Technicians
   The Public Understanding of Veterinary Technicians

Track D: Referral Marketing: Strategies to Stand Out
Speaker: Emily Fink

In the growing field of specialty and emergency veterinary medicine, primary care veterinarians have many choices when referring patients. How does your hospital stand out? This course will explore how various types of marketing (including digital, relationship, event, B2B vs. B2C, print and more) can be utilized to build and maintain strong relationships and therefore referrals.

The discussion will include common pain points in the referral process and ideas on how to alleviate them.

Track A: Leader? Manager? Find Your Niche!
Speaker: Bethany Bankovich Mihalik, CVPM, MHRM, CVT, CCFP

An excellent leader is not necessarily an exceptional manager. An amazing manager is not just a leader in training. Intrigued? In this session participants will take an in depth look at these statements and explore the innate qualities and preferences that support these assertions to better understand which role is more compatible with the individual’s skills and interests.

Defining the focus of each role
Great leaders look outward - they scan the horizon for opportunities and potential threats and use their skills to capitalize on opportunities and dodge perils. Great managers, by contrast, look inward: They focus on capitalizing on the strengths of individual team members and areas of opportunity within the business itself.

To function effectively and thrive, organizations must fill these roles with qualified and talented individuals. But because the area of focus for each role is distinctly different, it is rare that the same person can excel as both leader and manager.

So where are you headed---outstanding leader or remarkable manager? In this session attendees will have the opportunity to review their personal styles, attributes, and interests to better understand the pathway that is best suited to them.

Track B: Customer Loyalty Does Not Mean Exclusivity
Speaker: Kimberly Ness

Nearly 25% of pet owners use more than one source for veterinary care. Pet owner options for obtaining veterinary care have grown exponentially. In today’s environment loyalty isn’t necessarily defined as exclusivity. In this session, you will learn where pet owners are obtaining care, what motivates them, and how to enrich your client relationships to keep them coming back to your hospital. Valuable insights and data will be presented from a series of ongoing surveys of 1,000-1,500 pet owners.

Track C: What It Means to Pay Employees a Living Wage
Speaker: Darren Osborne, MA

A living wage is not minimum wage, which basically meshes with federal poverty guidelines. A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet the cost of living in the area in which s/he lives. Many hospitals are interested in paying their employees a living wage because it can improve a worker’s quality of life and it demonstrates to staff and clients that the practice takes care of its employees. This session will focus on calculating a living wage and identifying strategies employers can take to reach that target number.

Track D: Alphabet Soup: A Guide to the ABCs of Employment Laws
Speaker: Timothy A. Davis

More than 180 federal laws---and numerous state and local laws--- govern employment. In a world that is continually changing, the one constant is the need to be up to date with these requirements. This session is designed to help owners and managers understand the legal obligations and challenges they face in complying with these laws.

Track A: Crisis or Crossroads? Understanding What Credentialed Veterinary Technicians Bring to the Practice
Speaker: Leslie Boudreau, RVTg, BASVT, CVPM, PHR, PHRca

The current status of the veterinary technician profession has been described as being “in crisis” and at “a crossroads of change." Practice managers can impact how the role of the veterinary technician is perceived. The discussion will focus on how hiring credentialed veterinary technicians and utilizing them to their fullest extent (by law and skill) can transform the practice and increase profitability. Economic studies by the OAVT and AVMA will be examined, as well as optimum DVM to technician ratios. We will also explore how veterinary practices are leveraging technicians with telemedicine and technician appointments and how to attract, hire, and retain veterinary technicians.

Track B: Yes, You CAN Own a Veterinary Practice!
Speaker: Leslie Mamalis, MBA, MSIT, CVA

Practice managers face different challenges than associate veterinarians when they buy a stake in a veterinary hospital. This session covers what you need to know to become an owner, even in states that don’t allow non-veterinarian ownership. We will also discuss potential lenders, choosing the right business partner, and factors to consider when you are ready to exit practice ownership.

Track C: Envision, Execute, and Experience – Creative Strategy for the 21st Century
Speaker: Ed Goodman

Explore the emerging “experience economy” and its potential to engage customers and staff in personal and memorable ways. Learn the principles of creating experiences that benefit your practice and business. Discover the essence of experience staging and how these concepts are benefiting highly regarded businesses. Begin to think about your specific applications and potentials.

This session will introduce a new, inclusive, creative problem-solving technique that enables inventive solutions to rise to the forefront quickly and easily. Spiral Thinking is a new method and process that helps organizations craft solutions, envision new horizons, and develop an executable plan. Learn to discover your best ideas, design strategies and plans for execution and experience a new future.

Track D: Fine Tuning Specialty and ER Fees*
Speaker: Darren Osborne, MA

This session will offer valuable insights into Emergency and Specialty practice fees. A few weeks prior to the lecture, enrollees will be asked to complete and return a survey with detailed information about hospital fees. The aggregate results, which will be shared anonymously, will be revealed when participants meet and will guide the group discussion. Attendees will be encouraged to compare and contrast the results, determine how their fees stack up against others, and decide if the fees should be fine-tuned.

*This master class is limited to 20 participants. Be sure to specifically select this session on your registration form to guarantee your place.

The Truth About Pricing (It’s Not About the Cookie)
Speaker: Melina Palmer

How to price products is something every business (regardless of size or industry) struggles with. Countless hours have been wasted agonizing over the perfect price, but there is something no one has told you. There is an unwritten truth about pricing – a secret Melina will uncover in this session using her proprietary “it’s not about the cookie” method. In this session you will learn: (1) how the brain makes decisions about pricing, (2) why the order things are presented in matters much more than the items themselves – or the price and, (3) specific tips for commanding premium prices for any product. Attend this fun and engaging session for actionable, concrete tips and mind-blowing revelations about behavioral economics and the human brain that will change your business (for the better) forever.

Using the VHMA Compensation and Benefits Survey to Win in a Competitive Job Market
Speaker: Darren Osborne, MA

The data contained in the VHMA Compensation and Benefits Survey is valuable, but can be daunting. In this session, managers will learn to use the results from the non-DVM and associate surveys to calculate attractive job offers in an overheated labor market. The results can also help managers negotiate higher wages and better benefits for themselves.

Future-Proofing the Practice
Speaker: Chris Ragland

This session will highlight a set of powerful, unique, and actionable business intelligence tools. Among the topics covered are the Veterinary Consumption Index---an important proxy for patient growth and variability across the markets---the evolution of the cost of goods for the practice, a study of consumer preferences and trends in veterinary spending, and an analysis of practice performance, which includes a review of 5,000+ small and mixed animal practices. Get a handle on trends and developments in the practice and the industry to be well-prepared for the future.

Track A: Dare to Lead^TM -  Part I
Speaker: Mimi Darmstadter, PPC

Leaders regularly find themselves in workplace situations (e.g. out of box thinking, difficult conversations, unpopular decisions) where the threat of risk, uncertainty, and/or emotional exposure challenge their capacity, despite a calling, to be brave. In this interactive session inspired by the research and curriculum of Brené Brown, the presenter, who is one of 700 individuals globally certified in Dare To Lead^TM program delivery, will share the Dare to Lead^TM framework and the four skill sets on which it is based:

• Rumbling with Vulnerability
• Living into our Values

Track B: The Economics of Competition in Veterinary Services
Speaker: Roger Haston, Ph.D.

The role and importance of pets in people's lives continue to increase in the United States, with an estimated 60% of all households owning a pet. Despite the growth of the veterinary service industry, there is growing recognition that many pets go without adequate veterinary services. The growth of low-cost providers has raised concerns about the impact of competition with the veterinary services market. Roger utilizes stochastic modeling to incorporate a wide variety of demographic and published data to demonstrate the economic impact of competition within a market. The introduction of low-cost providers within a market increases the overall economic value of the market. Total veterinary visits, revenue, and households served all increase substantially in a market with price dispersion. This modeling highlights significant opportunities for mutual benefit and collaboration between different providers, be it for-profit or non-profit, by increasing the awareness and opportunities for people to seek health care for their pets.

Track C: A Business Case for Improving Client Experiences with Death - Part I
Speaker: Coleen Ellis, CT, CPLP

Attendees to this session will hear how they can move the death process for their clients from an event to an experience. Various elements of the experiential process, as well as the physical aspect of a building’s layout, will be discussed, to include:

• Better names for your “comfort room” 
• Inexpensive and creative elements to include in the room to make an impact
• Scheduling the appointment, and the process
   - Phone Scripts
   - Email Scripts
   - Appointment Scripts
• Revising the appointment for the experience
   - Rituals during the appointment
  - What the entire staff can do to re-frame this time with the family from “euthanasia/failure” to “beautiful option/celebration of a life.”

Attendees to this session will walk away with white papers on:
• Phone Scripts
• Email Scripts
• Appointment Scripts

Bonus: How to ask for money for euthanasia and final arrangement charges - Script

Track D: Working at Communication to Make it Work for Your Team
Speaker: Susie Crockett, CVPM

Communicating with the many and varied stakeholders in a veterinary setting can, at times, be taxing. If that setting is a hospital or practice that operates 24/7, 365 days a year, the challenges can be formidable. Although managers may think that getting staff on the same page is unachievable, with work, managers can create a climate that fosters effective communication. In this session, participants will learn strategies for bridging communication gaps, improving listening, and developing and implementing plans to strengthen staff connections.

Let's Talk Benchmarks
Speaker: Sheri Gilmartin, CVT and Ester Fraser

Join VetSuccess data experts Sheri Gilmartin, CVT and Esther Fraser for a relaxed, yet informative, social hour where the focus will be on veterinary industry benchmarks. Armed with compelling stats, Sheri and Ester will walk us through a behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 VHMA Practice Performance Benchmarks. Important KPIs for growth, like Change in Active Patients and Revenue Per Unique Patient, will be discussed, and participants will walk away with actionable insights from a CVPM colleague. Also on the agenda is an in-depth look at industry benchmarks for dental services, parasiticides, and professional services. With VetSuccess providing free food and drinks, this is sure to be the most fun you've had with Math.

Track A: Dare to Lead^TM -  Part II
Speaker: Mimi Darmstadter, PPC

Leaders regularly find themselves in workplace situations (e.g. out of box thinking, difficult conversations, unpopular decisions) where the threat of risk, uncertainty, and/or emotional exposure challenge their capacity, despite a calling, to be brave. In this interactive session inspired by the research and curriculum of Brené Brown, the presenter, who is one of 700 individuals globally certified in Dare To LeadTM program delivery, will share the Dare to LeadTM framework and the four skill sets on which it is based:

• BRAVING Trust
• Learning to Rise

Track B: OSHA Administrative Requirements
Speaker: Philip J. Seibert, Jr., CVT

The job isn’t done until the paperwork is complete! That’s true for the hospital’s safety program as well. In this session, we’ll discuss exactly which forms, posters, plans or documents are required by OSHA. We’ll also work through the most practical ways to get all those written plans completed!

Track C: A Business Case for Improving Client Experiences with Death - Part II
Speaker: Coleen Ellis, CT, CPLP

Immediately applicable training techniques will be discussed to help team members feel more comfortable and at ease with an emotionally charged appointment and client family. Attendees will walk away with quick tips for their team on how to create a more peaceful energy in the room with the loving pet family.

A variety of short speed-style learning modules will be reviewed for how various members of the family will deal with the loss of one of their own “pack members.” Understanding how children and surviving pets handle the loss of a pet friend will set the stage for even more deep-dive thoughts on how to revise business protocols for families. For instance, children are very organic when it comes to death and loss. What’s natural to them is leaving and re-entering a room, therefore being aware of this behavior and how to assist them in the clinic will be one part of the discussion of children. Also, pet lovers will appreciate understanding how pets grieve, and how a small gesture such as advising the other pets to accompany the family to the appointment will truly set the clinic apart as a resource for all stages of a pet’s life.

The final aspect of this session will have attendees taking notes on the emotional aspects of providing an experience for a family in the death of their pet with learning such as this:
- The perfect words to say to a grieving family
- The finer points of “Honoring the Journey”
- “We can only take others as far as we’ve gone ourselves”
- Companioning families begins with self-companionship
- We are responsible “to” those we work with, not “for” those we work with

Office leadership teams will receive a condensed training sheet with training discussion points to review with their own teams when returning to their respective clinics.

Track D: Career Panel

If you ask veterinary hospital managers what they do, most will say that they are responsible for overseeing staff, policies, and finances. Still, the manager’s role can vary from organization to organization, depending on the size, specialty, and ownership model. Additionally, veterinary management careers are not limited to the practice setting. VHMA has assembled a diverse panel of professionals, including those who have leaped from the practice setting to consulting and industry. The panelists will detail the varied roles they play and will reveal the pathways that got them to where they are now. Whether you are new to the profession or searching for career options, this candid discussion will provide fresh perspectives on the full range of choices available to veterinary practice managers

Managing Up Techniques for Surviving (and Thriving) with the Dreaded “Difficult Boss”
Speaker: Dana Brownlee

Unfortunately, too many workplaces have degenerated into an “us” vs “them” mentality where team members talk past each other, label the other as “difficult,” and miss valuable opportunities to team and collaborate for joint success. A key to success for virtually everyone in the workplace is adapting a “managing up” mentality that focuses on how each of us can help our bosses (and other senior leaders) be successful – even if they’re not the “perfect boss.” This presentation explores proven techniques for managing common varieties of the “difficult boss.”

Track A: Team Development Diaries: Building high-performance teams that drive practice performance
Speaker: Melissa Mauldin, BSBA, CVPM, SHRM-SCP

If you’ve ever been part of a great work team, you know how inspiring it can be to feel engaged with and committed to the practice. Many components contribute to creating a great team and a high-performance practice. The staff is one of the most significant contributors to success. This session focuses on talent development strategies that can be applied to develop, motivate, and retain productive and engaged employees who will help the practice achieve its goals.

Track B: Controlling Controlled Drugs: Registration, Security and Access
Speaker: Philip J. Seibert, Jr., CVT

There are specific rules that must be followed for veterinarians to obtain, store, or dispense controlled drugs. In this session, we’ll explore when a veterinarian must register with the DEA, the LEVELS of security that must be afforded the drugs in the hospital, and how to determine which staff members can be given access to those drugs.

Track C: Merck Animal Health Veterinarian Wellbeing Study II
Speaker: Christine Royal, DVM

A comprehensive new study of U.S. veterinarians documents the state of wellbeing and mental health in the profession. It also provides new data on burnout, substance use, job satisfaction and suicide attempts. The Merck Animal Health Veterinarian Wellbeing Study is a follow-on to a similar study conducted two years earlier. Conducted in collaboration with the American Veterinary Medical Association and Brakke Consulting, the new research is based on a representative sample of 2,871 veterinarians, both practitioners and non-practitioners.

In this session Dr. Royal will provide an overview of the wellbeing and mental health of veterinarians over time, benchmark findings against physicians and the U.S. general population of employed adults, and review new insights into stress and burnout, and how they can be avoided and/or dealt with more effectively.

Track D: Innovaton Jam

This is not your typical brainstorming session...this is a hackathon! Experienced managers from across the industry will work in small groups to suggest and promote unconventional approaches to common problems that arise in the practice. Participants will share their expertise and insights and pool their knowledge to reframe standard responses to frequent practice challenges. Managers will gain a fresh perspective from these interactions, which will ultimately contribute to a broader understanding of the range of solutions that can be implemented.

The Gig Economy Just Got a Puppy! How remote and part-time staffing are helping veterinary practices thrive!
Speaker: Bash Halow, BA, CVPM, LVT

The Gig Economy (a subset of our overall economy characterized by short-term contracts or freelance work) has grown by nearly 20% in the past 10 years. Gig’ jobs afford workers the independence, additional money, autonomy, job satisfaction, and flexibility that many U.S. citizens crave. Small businesses that employee Gig workers stand to increase productivity, the qualitative outcome of projects, and to decrease payroll, liability and other costs. Best of all, everyone seems to be happier and small businesses can once again compete with the biggest and the baddest. Is your curiosity piqued? Join Bash Halow for a fast-paced, new-horizons look at how to employ eager, smart, nimble Gig workers that will keep you and your healthcare team leading the pack.

CVPM Roundtable Discussions

Program descriptions coming soon.