09/07/2024
𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
We promised to post highlights of our important August 29th Community Gathering which addressed the necessity of a shift towards a more multidisciplinary, collaborative care model. Many thanks again to guest collaborators Michele Haman, AAETT president; Lola Michelin, NBCAAM co-founder and Vice Chair; and Laurie Edge-Hughes, RAAHP Canada Chair.
No one wants this meeting to be a one-off – we all want to maintain the momentum, keep the conversation going. So please watch the replay to hear from our guest collaborators about the initiatives already taken and planned by the organizations they represent. Go to the bottom of this page: vetcompendium.org/community-gatherings/
The comments below were expressed by either our guest collaborators, some of our 40 participants, or by Dr. Haussler. We have organized them into categories. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.😊
Also check out Dr. Haussler’s call-to-action slide here. His final words were: “Do something, move forward. Reach across the aisle, create synergy where the sum is greater than the parts. For the sake of the animals.”
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
- Once organizations (certification boards, registries, professional associations) set specific educational standards (minimum body of knowledge, minimum number of hours of training including hands-on, etc.), it becomes easier for a new student to choose a serious training program and then further credential by passing national board exams. This protects the animals we treat but also reassures veterinarians and helps them, and owners, to choose qualified practitioners with whom to collaborate.
- The educational standards that organizations set for non-veterinarian practitioners need to “fit into” (reflect) the standards of education that have already been set by regulatory boards and the big associations. Otherwise, new non-vet professional associations will be fighting an uphill battle – it won’t matter how great their certifications are.
- Why do massage therapists have the onus of providing scientific proof for, for instance, massage therapy – a 7000-year-old practice – when veterinarians are not asked to prove the effectiveness of their work?
Dr. Haussler: We are in dire need of more research for all modalities, but when a veterinarian uses a device, for instance, to treat an animal, at least we can be assured that he/she has received training in clinical reasoning, how to perform differential diagnoses and comprehensive assessments… compared to the practitioner who purchases a laser on Amazon and does not possess these fundamental skills.
- When non-vet practitioners post photos of client horses yawning and report that their work was effective, this does not reassure veterinarians. Why is the horse yawning? What does it really mean? Is this a good sign or a bad sign? Does the practitioner know what he/she is talking about?
- We need to raise the bar, set standards of care equivalent to those in the human care industry.
REGULATORY BODIES / LEGISLATION
- Practitioners have two choices – you step up and regulate yourself or someone else regulates you – you need to be proactive. It is important to get a seat at the legislation-setting table (this is expensive but necessary) vs letting legislators set the legislation. Different states, provinces, countries have adopted different models of legislation but all aim to protect the consumer. Organizations (certifying boards, professional associations, registries, etc.) should propose legislative language to their legislators vs waiting for the legislators to do it, and then have to live with it. It is often confusing – working with a specialized attorney can help.
- Inform yourself about what your state or province is proposing and which of your colleagues are working on this, and get involved.
- Owners and practitioners joining forces in a groundswell to create change has made all the difference in my state.
RISK MITIGATION
- Recognition of non-veterinarian practitioners by the insurance industry is currently a major problem.
- Look carefully at your insurance policy and make sure that you are adequately covered. Your professional association can perhaps provide some guidance.
- Hopefully, your school/training program provides some guidance about your scope of practice. But it is your responsibility to know the legislation in your state, province, country. Ask questions. Respect your scope of practice, stay in your lane. Let veterinarians and other practitioners know what your scope of practice is.
TEAM BUILDING / COMMUNICATION
- Veterinarians need to be open to conversations with non-vet practitioners and be curious about what we do. Many are.
- It is important for non-veterinarian practitioners to network with their local vets, with owners of course, and with other scopes of practice.
- Offer your veterinarians to demonstrate your work, on a client animal or the vet’s, pro bono.
- Refer reticent vets to vets who are working with you and who trust your work.
- Vets, owners, trainers don’t know what non-veterinarian practitioners do, what training we have, how many hours of training, or what our professional titles stand for – we need to clarify using verbal communication, pamphlets provided by our training program, our website content, etc.
- Some peer-reviewed literature exists showing the effectiveness of our work– share that with veterinarians.
- How can we approach veterinarians who are not open to working with us or even discussing what we do and the benefits we can bring to the table?
Dr. Haussler: Some people are open, others are closed-minded. As a veterinarian, he watches how the non-vet practitioner acts around the animal, their demeanor, are they able to relate to that animal, are they safe around animals (veterinarians are concerned about risk mitigation), do they speak the language of the discipline that horse and owner practice, etc. Important to “show up” – demonstrate the effectiveness of your work – one successful case can make a difference in the eyes of the veterinarian who will then be more likely to refer other cases to you.
- One physiotherapy clinic adopted a referral request policy – they asked permission of the vet to work with the vet’s patient. When the vet did not grant this permission, the owner usually got involved – owners became big drivers in obtaining better collaboration between vets and PTs. We must be willing to lose clients sometimes in order to advance - Dr. Haussler agreed.
- Make a case with veterinarians that we can help them improve their own practice by helping their patients.
- Your professional association can provide guidance as to how to learn to work in a multidisciplinary team (e.g., conferences, CE activities)
- Unity is important in our industry – organizations need to collaborate with other organizations and create industry alliances.
- Misinformation on social media is rampant – pretty much the wild west. Educated practitioners need to control the message – websites, literature, factual social media posts, ethical communication. Example: a social media video showing a chiropractor making an adjustment on a dog, complete with sound effects. An effective way to confront/counterbalance that kind of video might be to post a different video saying: This is what chiro really looks like.
- Building trust, developing accountability is key. Non-vet practitioners need to demonstrate that their work is effective.
- Be proactive. Dr. Haussler: It is important to reach out to your local veterinarians, build a relationship, explain what you do. Much better strategy than finding yourself in the awkward situation where the veterinarian visits the barn and finds you working on “his/her” patient.
- Build a team one person at a time – work with those who are open-minded, don’t waste time with the reticent ones.
- Learn to be a good communicator, be able to clearly and concisely explain your session process, your scope of practice.
- A physiotherapy clinic: We have a good relationship with vets in our area. We educated them about what we do, invited them to the clinic. We send them reports, refer quickly, so have been able to build trust with them.
WHO SHOULD LEAD THE ANIMAL'S CARE TEAM
- Someone has to lead the team, take primary responsibility for the animal’s treatment plan. Many veterinarians think that should be the vet, others think it should be the owner.
- If the owner is to lead the team, that owner must take responsibility for educating themselves so that they can choose the best team and participate intelligently in decision-making for their animal.
Replay at the bottom of this page vetcompendium.org/community-gatherings/
