Another method is to have the trainee superStaff Training 223 vised by one or more other staff technicians rotating through the various services for a comprehensive training program. The training technicians must not only have the technical expertise but also need teaching skills to be effective. When there are several technicians in a practice, the chief of staff will often single out the most qualified of the group and either designate him or her as personal assistant or give them the title of chief technician. The chief technician then becomes the trainee's mentor and teacher. In a large facility it is often necessary that chief technician status be divided between two people because of multiple shifts. The training program is based mostly on supervised one-on-one, hands-on learning as well as textbook and literature review. The hospital library should include as many AHT books, publications, periodicals, and hand-outs as possible. A written policy manual explaining hospital policy and outlining the job description should be given to the trainee on the first day of employment. A typical job description for an exotics technician may include the following duties and responsibilities: _9 Assist doctor with outpatient clients: putting clients in room, preparation of needed medications and instruments, handling and restraint, client education and review of discharge instructions. _9 Perform routine laboratory tests, including gram stains, microbiology, drawing and performing blood work, urinalysis, etc. _9 Prepare samples for submission to outside laboratories. _9 Keep exotics wards, outpatient rooms, pharmacy, and laboratory supplies well stocked and organized. _9 Perform regular equipment checks, and note any necessary repair. _9 Expose, develop, document, and file all radiographs taken. _9 Maintain an inventory of food (both retail and food for in-house use) and keep well stocked and organized. _9 Provide a communications link between members of the staff regarding exotics issues. _9 Medicate and otherwise treat hospitalized patients. _9 Assist doctor with telephone calls: triage, patient follow-up, advanced informational calls, progress reports to owners about hospitalized pets, communications with laboratories. _9 Assist in surgery: preparation of room, instruments, and patients; anesthesia; surgical assistance; recovery; clean-up and sterilization of specialized instruments and supplies. All technicians should be encouraged and possibly even sponsored to attend at least one continuing education program per year and share the pearls of wisdom gleaned from the meeting with co-workers. Following is a list of yearly conferences: _9 Association of Avian Veterinarians annual conference _9 Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians annual conference _9 North American Veterinary Technicians Association conference _9 Western States Veterinary Conference _9 Central States Veterinary Conference _9 Technicians Expo _9 International Conference on Exotics Regularly scheduled staff meetings are invaluable for the hospital director, the veterinary associates, and the staff. Not only does the hospital director have the opportunity to discuss topics with the staff, but staff feedback can be very constructive and beneficial to the operation of the hospital. At these meetings the pulse of how feelings are running becomes evident, and often problems can be intercepted before they surface. Staff meetings can also be used as an effective teaching device by choosing a topic for discussion and having a doctor or technician present the topic, which then becomes open for discussion. Aside from staff meetings, employee interviews should be scheduled for each employee one-on-one, with the chief of staff once or twice per year. During these interviews goals should be established and determined if previous goals have been met. Both positive and negative work ethics should be topics of discussion, and anything that the employee thinks is pertinent to his or her performance should be explored. This interview is not just for negative criticism, but also is an opportunity for the employer to give praise and to thank the employee for his or her efforts in contributing to the success of the team effort. Outstanding achievement should be rewarded with bonuses or added time off, or even 224 Michael Doolen something as simple as dinner and theater tickets. Veterinary Associate The training of a new veterinary associate will be under the supervision of the chief of staff and other qualified veterinary staff members. The amount of training necessary will depend on the level and quality of his or her previous experience and expertise and that individual's ability to assimilate and put to practical use the material that is offered. For a new or novice practitioner, many hours of supervised clinical observation are required before this individual can attempt to handle cases on his or her own. Starting out with routine simple cases and graduating to more complex clinical problems, the beginning avian and exotic practitioner will advance as his or her expertise develops. Conferences and hands-on workshops are excellent ways to acquire current pertinent clinical knowledge. An essential ingredient for maintaining an efficient, motivated, high-energy, industrious team is to maintain a high level of morale. Employees that enjoy what they do, feel fairly compensated, are appreciated for their efforts, and interact positively with their coworkers will represent their hospital in a very positive way. This attitude is readily recognized by clients and is one of the best advertisements a hospital can offer. It is also one of the best environments for keeping long-term employees. Conversely, disgruntled, unhappy employees are like a virus spreading malcontent and dissent throughout the hospital and must be dealt with quickly before any major damage is done. Morale must therefore be instilled in employees from their moment of arrival and throughout their working career. Most employees in the veterinary profession are dedicated to their jobs because of the enjoyment and self-satisfaction they gain from it. High salaries are certainly not commensurate with this field of medicine, so people entering any aspect of clinical veterinary medicine are rarely money oriented. By making the workplace a pleasant, happy experience and by stimulating and challenging their intellectual curiosity as well as bestowing benefits within and commensurate with the structure of the profession, hospital personnel should be content with their choice. It is necessary to remember that a good word always goes a long way. A closely integrated and motivated professional staff that is satisfied in their workplace is one of the greatest assets that a veterinary practice can have. To achieve this status the staffmust be well trained in all aspects of their individual staff positions and acquire a high level of expertise in their field. These attributes, coupled with a high level of morale, will allow the practice to achieve its desired level of proficiency and productiveness
TNT (05/18/2008)
Another method is to have the trainee superStaff
Training 223
vised by one or more other staff technicians
rotating through the various services for a comprehensive
training program. The training technicians
must not only have the technical expertise
but also need teaching skills to be effective.
When there are several technicians in a practice,
the chief of staff will often single out the
most qualified of the group and either designate
him or her as personal assistant or give them the
title of chief technician. The chief technician
then becomes the trainee's mentor and teacher.
In a large facility it is often necessary that chief
technician status be divided between two people
because of multiple shifts.
The training program is based mostly on
supervised one-on-one, hands-on learning as
well as textbook and literature review. The hospital
library should include as many AHT books,
publications, periodicals, and hand-outs as possible.
A written policy manual explaining hospital
policy and outlining the job description
should be given to the trainee on the first day of
employment. A typical job description for an
exotics technician may include the following
duties and responsibilities:
_9 Assist doctor with outpatient clients: putting
clients in room, preparation of needed medications
and instruments, handling and restraint,
client education and review of discharge
instructions.
_9 Perform routine laboratory tests, including
gram stains, microbiology, drawing and performing
blood work, urinalysis, etc.
_9 Prepare samples for submission to outside
laboratories.
_9 Keep exotics wards, outpatient rooms, pharmacy,
and laboratory supplies well stocked
and organized.
_9 Perform regular equipment checks, and note
any necessary repair.
_9 Expose, develop, document, and file all radiographs
taken.
_9 Maintain an inventory of food (both retail and
food for in-house use) and keep well stocked
and organized.
_9 Provide a communications link between members
of the staff regarding exotics issues.
_9 Medicate and otherwise treat hospitalized patients.
_9 Assist doctor with telephone calls: triage, patient
follow-up, advanced informational calls,
progress reports to owners about hospitalized
pets, communications with laboratories.
_9 Assist in surgery: preparation of room, instruments,
and patients; anesthesia; surgical assistance;
recovery; clean-up and sterilization of
specialized instruments and supplies.
All technicians should be encouraged and
possibly even sponsored to attend at least one
continuing education program per year and
share the pearls of wisdom gleaned from the
meeting with co-workers. Following is a list of
yearly conferences:
_9 Association of Avian Veterinarians annual conference
_9 Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians
annual conference
_9 North American Veterinary Technicians Association
conference
_9 Western States Veterinary Conference
_9 Central States Veterinary Conference
_9 Technicians Expo
_9 International Conference on Exotics
Regularly scheduled staff meetings are invaluable
for the hospital director, the veterinary
associates, and the staff. Not only does the
hospital director have the opportunity to discuss
topics with the staff, but staff feedback can be
very constructive and beneficial to the operation
of the hospital. At these meetings the pulse of
how feelings are running becomes evident, and
often problems can be intercepted before they
surface. Staff meetings can also be used as an
effective teaching device by choosing a topic for
discussion and having a doctor or technician
present the topic, which then becomes open for
discussion.
Aside from staff meetings, employee interviews
should be scheduled for each employee
one-on-one, with the chief of staff once or twice
per year. During these interviews goals should be
established and determined if previous goals
have been met. Both positive and negative work
ethics should be topics of discussion, and anything
that the employee thinks is pertinent to his
or her performance should be explored. This
interview is not just for negative criticism, but
also is an opportunity for the employer to give
praise and to thank the employee for his or her
efforts in contributing to the success of the team
effort. Outstanding achievement should be rewarded
with bonuses or added time off, or even
224 Michael Doolen
something as simple as dinner and theater tickets.
Veterinary Associate
The training of a new veterinary associate will
be under the supervision of the chief of staff and
other qualified veterinary staff members. The
amount of training necessary will depend on the
level and quality of his or her previous experience
and expertise and that individual's ability to
assimilate and put to practical use the material
that is offered.
For a new or novice practitioner, many hours
of supervised clinical observation are required
before this individual can attempt to handle
cases on his or her own. Starting out with routine
simple cases and graduating to more complex
clinical problems, the beginning avian and exotic
practitioner will advance as his or her expertise
develops. Conferences and hands-on workshops
are excellent ways to acquire current
pertinent clinical knowledge.
An essential ingredient for maintaining an
efficient, motivated, high-energy, industrious
team is to maintain a high level of morale.
Employees that enjoy what they do, feel fairly
compensated, are appreciated for their efforts,
and interact positively with their coworkers will
represent their hospital in a very positive way.
This attitude is readily recognized by clients and
is one of the best advertisements a hospital can
offer. It is also one of the best environments for
keeping long-term employees. Conversely, disgruntled,
unhappy employees are like a virus
spreading malcontent and dissent throughout
the hospital and must be dealt with quickly
before any major damage is done.
Morale must therefore be instilled in employees
from their moment of arrival and throughout
their working career. Most employees in the
veterinary profession are dedicated to their jobs
because of the enjoyment and self-satisfaction
they gain from it. High salaries are certainly not
commensurate with this field of medicine, so
people entering any aspect of clinical veterinary
medicine are rarely money oriented. By making
the workplace a pleasant, happy experience and
by stimulating and challenging their intellectual
curiosity as well as bestowing benefits within and
commensurate with the structure of the profession,
hospital personnel should be content with
their choice. It is necessary to remember that a
good word always goes a long way.
A closely integrated and motivated professional
staff that is satisfied in their workplace is
one of the greatest assets that a veterinary practice
can have. To achieve this status the staffmust
be well trained in all aspects of their individual
staff positions and acquire a high level of expertise
in their field. These attributes, coupled with
a high level of morale, will allow the practice to
achieve its desired level of proficiency and productiveness