Case: Preparing for Vet Visits

Overview

When: Saturday, January 27, 2024

Where: Kamloops BC SPCA Community Room

Description: Join us for a Learning Exchange Workshop! Bring your questions, experiences, and strategies to share as we explore preparing for vet visits. We’ll start by asking what you think about when your pet needs to visit the vet, and we will consider goals, mindset, and expectations. And finally, we’ll share ways to make visits to the vet a more enjoyable experience for both of you. Come prepared to share – we want to learn from each other!

People only – no pets, please!

Facilitators: 

• Pat Cutler
  Professional Dog Trainer

• Anne Flemming
  Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

• Denise Hitt RVT
  Faculty, TRU Animal Health Technology

What happened?

This is how we planned the workshop:

1. Met for coffee to discuss the plan and distribute the tasks 

2. Very little communication was needed following that meeting because facilitators were familiar with the LEW format. 

We began by asking: 

• Vet visits can be challenging. 

• What are your biggest concerns? 

• What advice would you give your best friend about preparing for a vet visit / an emergency / 

We then incorporated the silent think-write-post activity that had worked well in the first Kamloops LEW. 

We gathered the post-it notes and arranged them on the window. The primary emergent themes (clusters) were:

1. Before the visit (suggestions, concerns, personal emotions, questions, helpful preparation and training, pharmaceuticals)

2. During the visit (client experience, veterinarian staff experience, strategies for reducing stress) 

This provided a framework for the discussion that followed. 

A display table was set up for participants to browse books and others resources on cooperative care, safety, and reducing stress.

Key success points

• Facilitators all had expertise in this topic area

• Two of the facilitators had participated in the previous LEW

• Participants had many stories and questions to share

• We asked participants who were uncomfortable with sharing of photos to place a sticker on their shirt (All were comfortable but this is a useful strategy when reviewing and uploading photos post event.) 

Poster