There Is Hope for Leadership in Vet Med

I completed my first full day of AAHA Con, and despite the early morning and very late night, it was absolutely worth it.

There is a lot I could unpack from today. Probably several blogs' worth, actually.

But the biggest thing I walked away with was something I wasn't necessarily expecting:

There is hope for this industry.

I think AAHA is changing. There seems to be a genuine effort to connect with the people working in veterinary medicine—not just in a transactional way, but in a way that actually creates conversations about what is happening inside our practices.

And those conversations were probably my favorite part of the day.

Since one of my goals for attending AAHA Con is earning the in-person continuing education I need before applying for my CVPM, I attended quite a few non-medical CE sessions. That gave me the opportunity to meet managers, CSRs, technicians, veterinarians, industry professionals, and people from practices all over the country.

And I listened.

There are people who are genuinely afraid of where veterinary medicine is headed.

There are also a lot of people who are determined to change where it's headed.

That gave me hope.

One small interaction today has been sitting with me more than I expected.

During an introduction, a CSR introduced herself, explained her role, and then jokingly added something along the lines of being the "CSR down on the totem pole."

I couldn't help myself.

I had to chime in.

Because absolutely not.

Our CSRs run the clinic.

They control the flow of information. They are often the first person a client speaks to and the last person they interact with. They manage phones, appointments, emotions, expectations, communication, emergencies, upset clients, happy clients, and about 47 things happening simultaneously while someone is standing at the front desk asking if their prescription is ready.

They are not at the bottom of anything.

And I really, really need our CSRs to know that.

That interaction also made me think about something else I heard repeatedly today: people being given responsibilities that don't necessarily align with their actual roles.

There are people carrying responsibilities they were never trained for.

People being asked to lead without being taught how to lead.

People taking on management responsibilities without management titles, support, or compensation.

People who genuinely care about veterinary medicine but are exhausted by the way we've always done things.

There is a lot to unpack there.

And I probably will.

But somewhere between the CE sessions, conversations, introductions, and hearing other people's experiences, I realized something about myself too.

I really am committed to making a difference in this industry.

Not because I think I have all the answers. I absolutely don't.

But I am willing to ask the uncomfortable questions.

Why do we accept certain things as "just veterinary medicine"?

Why do we continue doing things simply because that's how they've always been done?

Why are some of the most important people in our hospitals made to feel like they're at the bottom of the totem pole?

Why are we surprised that people are burning out when we've built systems that practically require them to?

And what happens if enough of us start questioning those things?

Today reminded me why I started MyUnmuzzledMind.

I want it to be that space.

A place where we can talk about the business of veterinary medicine, management, leadership, client behavior, team culture, burnout, boundaries, and all of the messy things happening behind the treatment-room doors.

A place where we don't have to pretend everything is fine.

But also a place where we don't just complain about what's broken.

We talk about how we change it.

Because after today, I don't think veterinary medicine is doomed.

I think veterinary medicine is uncomfortable.

I think it's changing.

And I think there are a lot of people quietly deciding that they aren't willing to keep doing things the way we've always done them.

Turns out, some of them were sitting right next to me at AAHA Con.

And that gives me a whole lot of hope.

The best part? I still have a few days left.

So I'm excited to keep learning, keep meeting people, keep listening, and probably come home with about 100 new things I want to change.

But that's kind of the point, isn't it?

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