Submitted by Julie Liu, DVM
If you’re anything like me and find yourself playing with your cat five minutes after starting a webinar, you’ll understand why I was excited to attend the 2023 Veterinary Leadership Conference in person. I love Chicago and was looking forward to face-to-face discussions with other veterinary professionals, hearing challenging topics that would help me grow personally and professionally, and reconnecting with the leadership team at the AAFP, which sponsored my attendance as a rising leader. I came away from the conference invigorated and inspired, with some key observations.
First, there are so many roles that a veterinary professional can have! I met practice owners, retired vets, public health vets, a lab animal supervisor, vets in academia, a fellow relief vet, vet students, associates, leaders of veterinary organizations like state VMAs, and encouragingly, several techs from a couple of different clinics. Veterinarians and veterinary organizations must do more to elevate vet techs, CSRs, and other support staff and provide them with an opportunity for CE. They give so much to the profession and make it possible for us vets to do our jobs, and yet many do not have any allowance to further their own education and advance in the field. As a relief vet, I’ve met several support staff members who are interested in learning more but lack a CE budget and CE days, making a conference often economically unfeasible. If you’re a practice owner and a vet conference ends up in your city, I hope you’ll consider sending staff members from every department. It can only benefit your practice.
Next, vulnerability is the new black. Hearing the keynote speakers and other speakers at the conference share deeply personal, sometimes difficult stories made them infinitely more relatable as leaders. I learned about psychological safety a few months prior to attending the VLC, and hope to hear more about this topic at future vet conferences.
Finally, don’t shy away from the VLC because you’re an introvert. Anyone can be a leader, and we need everyone’s voice. As an introvert myself, I always found the idea of networking to be anxiety-producing and sometimes avoided events that seemed likely to be overwhelming. Rest assured the conference organizers did an excellent job of ensuring there were chances for small group discussions along with larger gatherings so that everyone could find their comfort zone. One of my favorite business writers, Dorie Clark, wrote a great piece about networking for introverts for the Harvard Business Review in 2014, I recommend checking it out.
Hope to see you all in Chicago in 2024!
Submitted by Hidayah Martinez-Jaka, DVM
The best location for a veterinary conference is a block away from the ultimate toe bean – Chicago’s Cloud Gate, affectionately called The Bean. On the Chicago River, during an unusually warm January weekend, veterinary professionals from across the country convened to hear and voice opinions on the state of veterinary medicine and attend lectures on improving leadership, communication, and practice culture.
I graduated from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in May 2022 and have joined NOVA Cat Clinic in Arlington, VA, with Dr. Marcus Brown. Inspired by his service to the veterinary profession and feline medicine – and with his encouragement – I applied and was honored to be chosen by the AAFP to attend the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference. VLC always kicks off with regional reunions: District Caucuses. As a Virginia native, I may be biased in saying District II (VA, MD, DC, PA, NJ, DE) is not only the most densely populated district but also the best. At the District Caucus meeting, the Delegates (two from each state) discuss current events and trends in the region. Following the official meeting, dinner brought great conversations, including delving into the dynamics of a good mentee/mentor relationship. In doing so, I learned a lot and gained long-distance mentors in the Delegates from Delaware – something that cannot be replicated anywhere but at a conference like VLC. If you have yet to connect with your District, I highly recommend contacting your state’s AVMA Delegates. There is a wealth of information, support, and networking waiting for you!
Having served as National Student AVMA President during my final year of veterinary school (2021-2022), coming to VLC 2023 was a wonderful opportunity to strengthen connections and make new ones while sharing the great work the AAFP does for the profession. Not many specialty associations have a program like the AAFP’s Rising Leader program, nor do they send a representative to VLC (yet!), so I was able to share this model with other organizations.
Because the majority of my clinical experience in vet school was curbside, one of the highlights of the conference was a session on body language for successful leaders. The session discussed ways we can project warmth, competence, and charisma as clinicians and leaders. Additionally, they described micro-expressions (brief, involuntary facial expressions displayed with emotions) that can show up on teammates or clients, and how to respond to them.
Lastly, the conference set aside time from sessions for all attendees to observe the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) session. Among the subjects discussed was the Veterinary Information Forum (VIF) topic of a mid-level practitioner. This garnered much in-depth discussion during the HOD and when they split into Reference Committees, with the conclusion that time and money need to be invested in our current credentialed veterinary technicians rather than attempting the band-aid of a new position being tossed into the mix. I acknowledge it is easier said than done, but those who shared examples of ways their practice improved and made commitments to their teams gave me hope that change will come. In order for the veterinary profession to survive and eventually thrive, it will take all of us. Every member of the veterinary healthcare team.
VLC 2023 was overall such a wonderful experience. From discussing breeding standards policies in committee meetings to talking with VTS-certified credentialed veterinary technicians, to a lovely dinner with AAFP leaders that ended in a walk to the ultimate toe bean, and everything in between, I’m grateful for such a perfect way to kick off the year.