b'EMPOWERED TO INSPIRE, ACHIEVE AND LEAD TOGETHEREMPOWERED TO INSPIRE, ACHIEVE AND LEAD TOGETHEREMPOWERED TO INSPIRE, ACHIEVE AND LEAD TOGETHEREMPOWERED TO INSPIRE,VETERINARY WOMAN CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGEACHIEVE & LEAD TOGETHERS U M M A R Y Hey! Im Millie: VCA Mentor and Dog-Friendly Advocate atdealt with as less important or separate to the clinical matters Optivet Referrals Havant. Snake-mum, wildlife enthusiast, soloof the case. But as Temple Grandin said at LVS 2024 (where IBackground:Im Millie Barrett, VCAtrekker, historical fiction writer, hEDS (hypermobile Ehlers- was honoured to collect a 30 Under Thirty award last year), if Mentor and Dog-Friendly AdvocateDanlos syndrome) battler. I, like many, came to veterinaryyoure not looking after the emotional wellbeing of animals, at Optivet Referrals, Havant. With avia a winding road. I have a BSc Hons in Wildlife Ecology andyoure not practicing best medicine. Both pain and fear cause background in wildlife conservation, IConservation, have worked nose-to-nose with Scotlandssuffering. We actively monitor the former (though this wasnt returned to veterinary care in 2022 after aEurasian beavers and on some incredible conservationalways the case!), and I endeavour to ensure that we actively personal shift in focus. projects.monitor and enact change for the latter. Mission: Im passionate about patient-centric care and emotional welfare,COVID-19 altered a lot of lives. I found myself scrabbling forWorking on our wards, I quickly realised that we had no working to implement protectivework just to keep myself afloat. When my mental healthprotective behaviour protocols. No SOPs for how to manage behaviour protocols and empower VCAswore out as duty manager for a large chain, my focus shiftedhuman-directed aggression. I saw this as detrimental not to take on more impactful roles. back to veterinary. After college, I had asked myself one ofonly to staff safety, but also to patient welfare. So, along withChallenges: Convincing others tothe toughest questions one is forced to ask early on in life:colleagues from different departments, I attended some prioritise behaviour monitoring andWhat do I want to do? It was between veterinary nursing andexcellent CPD and set out to make the protocols. I devised a establishing new protocols has beenecology for me, but how does a young, wild creature make thatsimple, quick-to-use monitoring system to work within our tough, along with advocating for thecall at the age of 17? I have spoken to so many young peoplepre-existing digital hospitalisation sheets. This enables the often-under appreciated VCA role. during my time as a mentor, and it so often comes down toteam to record incidents of protective behaviour, including:I mpact: The protocols and mentoringthis. How do we choose? What are the ramifications? I had Describing the behaviour (who, what, where?)programme Ive introduced havecarried out a few weeks work experience at general practices Identifying triggers (when did it happen? What was improved patient care, reduced stress,during college. In 2022, my path took me back to veterinary ashappening at the time?)and strengthened team communicationa fresh-faced VCA, and I loved it. and trust. Please summarise how you are working towards change Suggested/attempted interventions (what is the plan goingAdvice: Always believe in change andin the veterinary professions and why do you feel this isforward? What worked/did not work?)advocate for yourself and your patients.important? A numerical and colour-coded ladder system allows us to Educate, empower, and create aI am spinning a few plates at once, so hold tight: grade and track the patients behaviour at a glancewarning supportive environment. of escalations or signalling de-escalations. This tool enablesNext Steps: Im focused on completingEncouraging and facilitating patient-centric care with ahigh quality information sharing, leading to adaptive, the protective behaviour protocols,focus on emotional welfare is my main passion. Ive beenpreventative care plans. This, in turn, reduces bite-risk and achieving dog-friendly clinicworking across departments to gain Dogs Trusts dog-friendlyprevents mental trauma to both parties. We often wish our accreditation, and becoming a FearFree TM clinic accreditation for our practice. This means practicalpatients could talk. The truth is, animals perform a plethora and ISFM cat-friendly professional. environmental changes, but also changes in the way we thinkof behaviours designed to communicate with us; I think about our patients. I actively encourage processes that enablewe do them a disservice if we, as an industry, do not try to us to view an animal as a whole, such as emotional welfareincorporate behaviour and body language into our monitoring scoring, extensive history-sharing and adaptive care plans tosystems. safeguard patient mental wellbeing. Monitoring patients behaviour has not always been a readily- Lastly, I helped to pioneer the new role of VCA Mentor accepted concept. The resistance seems to centre aroundalongside my deeply experienced and talented colleague. The the belief that an animals behaviour should be viewed andskills and capabilities required of a VCA are incredibly diverse. www.veterinarywoman.co.uk 34'