Veterinary Speaking Engagements - Dr. Kate Boatright

Speaking

upcoming lectures

September 15: Delaware VMA Practice Management Symposium (Dewey Beach, DE)
“Utilizing the Clinical Team to Improve Preventive Care Compliance”
Promoting Wellbeing in the Workplace”
September 27: “Communication Skills to Make Clients Love You” webinar for Vetcetra, 7 PM EST
October 4: “Improving Communication and Reducing Error When Working with Community Pharmacists” webinar for Vetcetra, 7 PM EST, Co-presented with Lauren Forsythe, PharmD, DICVP
October 9-11: Fetch Coastal (dvm360):
Oct 9, 9 am: “Emergency Stabilization for General Practitioners”
Oct 9, 11 am: “Improving Outcomes for Clients with Financial Limitations Through a Spectrum of Care Approach”
Oct 9, 1 pm: “Isn’t That Just Medicine? The Art and Science of the Spectrum of Care”
October 11, 2023: Kansas State University VBMA – “How to Create a Career You’ll Love”
October 14, 2023: “Improving Communication and Reducing Error When Working with Community Pharmacists” – Co-presented with Lauren Forsythe, PharmD, DICVP, for VetCE Virtual
December 6: “Double-Edged Sword of Workplace communication” webinar for Vetcetra, 7 PM EST
February 2024: Midwest Vet Conference – Practice Management Track, Date and Topics TBA

veterinary professionals

Dr. Boatright Speaking Topics – 2022-2023

Practice Pearls: Emergency Stabilization for the Emergency Practitioner

Do emergency cases cause you anxiety? This presentation will review common emergency presentations to the veterinary hospital including blocked cats, trauma cases and foreign bodies. Initial evaluation and stabilization that should be performed by the general practitioner prior to transfer to an emergency clinic will be the focus of this lecture as well as client communication tips.

Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: Building Your Wellness Toolbox

How do you thrive in your veterinary career for 5, 10, 50 years? You learn to make self-care a priority. This lecture will begin with a review the state of mental health in the veterinary profession. A discussion of recognizing burnout and tools for recovery will follow using Dr. Boatright’s personal walk through professional burnout. Skills that you can cultivate to keep yourself at the top of your game: boundaries, resiliency, and networking will be discussed as well! [Note: This lecture can be presented as a 1 or 2 hour session].

There’s More Than One Way to Treat a Cat: A Practical Approach to the Spectrum of Care

Do you find talking about money stressful? Working within client financial limits is one of the biggest stressors veterinarians face in practice, often on a daily basis. In school, students are taught the gold standard of diagnosis and treatment. The clients and patients we see on clinical rotations at our teaching hospitals tend to be those who have the means to pursue advanced diagnostics and treatments. After graduation, away from the ivory tower, veterinarians are often faced with balancing tighter financial limitations of clients with the best interest of the pet. There are often flexible ways to get the information we want and need for a patient while still working within a client’s means by embracing the concepts of the spectrum of care and incremental care. (Previously titled “Tales from the Trenches: Working Within Client Financial Limits”)

How to Provide Mentorship to Early Career Veterinarians Using the Whole Clinical Team

New and recent graduate veterinarians have unique needs for mentorship in order to thrive in practice. Join Dr. Boatright for a discussion of how to set up a mentorship program in your practice and the role that every team member can play in helping these young veterinarians gain confidence and become superstar clinicians.

Consistent Team Communication to Improve the Client Experience

Is your team communicating efficiently between the front desk, the technicians and veterinarians? No matter how good your medicine is, client perceptions of your practice will often come down to communication. By ensuring that all team members are providing a consistent message, your practice can improve the client experience and patient care.

Communication Skills to Make Clients Love You

Excellent communication skills are crucial to develop client bonds and improve client compliance. This lecture will review basic communication tools and then discuss their application in various situations in the clinic, including talking to upset clients, managing critical emergencies, discussing complications, and more.

The Double-Edged Sword of Workplace Communication

Dr. Boatright has completed the AVMA’s Wellbeing Educator program to be able to offer this presentation, which was developed by the AVMA through an educational grant from Merck Animal Health. This session is approved for 1 hour of AVMA Continuing Education Credit.

Communication is considered a double-edged sword because of its power to move us closer to, or further away from, authentic, healthy connections. For example, 24/7 news coverage can be informative and increase anxiety, social media can be used for networking and cyberbullying, and how we communicate with each other in the workplace can induce more psychological distress and be a buffer to or help prevent psychological distress.

In the process of managing our day-to-day work life, we often lose sight of how communication patterns and the ways we interact with each other impact our well-being and the wellbeing of our colleagues. Effective communication is a cornerstone of healthy workplaces, and yet it is often an afterthought. Under duress, communication can become transactional—focused on short-term gains, alleviating symptoms rather than addressing root causes of conflict, and prioritizing winning over problem resolution and relationships. Teams that communicate effectively are more likely to have higher psychological safety, encourage innovation and timely decision-making, create goodwill, minimize miscommunication, and be better equipped to successfully navigate difficult situations.

This interactive seminar teaches core communication skills to promote connection, support a strong sense of belonging to the team, increase trust in the organization, and facilitate candid and open communication among team members.

There’s More Than One Way to Treat a Cat: A Practical Approach to the Spectrum of Care (VBMA BCP Category 3)

Join me in my most popular student lecture, as I guide participants through an interactive, case-based presentation on one of the biggest challenges veterinarians face in practice. In school, vet students learn the gold standard of diagnosis and treatment. The clients and patients we see on clinical rotations at our teaching hospitals tend to be those who have the means to pursue advanced diagnostics and treatments. After graduation, away from the ivory tower, veterinarians are often faced with balancing tighter financial limitations of clients with the best interest of the pet. There are often flexible ways to get the information we want and need for a patient while still working within a client’s means. (Previously titled “Tales from the Trenches: Working Within Client Financial Limits”

Wellness Toolbox: Essential Skills for Success (VBMA BCP Category 4)

How do you thrive in your veterinary career for 5, 10, 50 years? You learn to make self-care a priority. In this lecture, we will review the state of mental health in the veterinary profession and discuss my own journey through burnout. Then we will discuss skills that you can cultivate to keep yourself at the top of your game: boundaries and resiliency! [Note: This lecture can be extended to 1.5 hours and include a discussion on networking.]

How to Create a Career You’ll Love (VBMA BCP Category 4)

One of the best things about a career in veterinary medicine is the huge variety of career paths that you can pursue. During this lecture, I will trace my own career path and discuss tips for launching a successful career. Participants will learn networking tips, discuss the age-old question of whether an internship or mentorship is best for them, and review tips for choosing a first job following graduation.

The Valuable Associate: Understanding Production Numbers (VBMA BCP Category 2)

This lecture will help students to understand the common pay structures offered to associates (salary, production, hybrid models). We will discuss important key performance indicators (KPIs) for associates and how they impact your production and compensation packages and evaluate a detailed breakdown of production numbers to evaluate your medical practices as an associate.

Communication Skills to Make Clients Love You (VBMA BCP Category 3)

Excellent communication skills are crucial to develop client bonds and improve client compliance. During this lecture, we will review basic communication tools and then discuss their application in various situations in the clinic, including talking to upset clients, managing critical emergencies, discussing complications, and more.

Difficult Conversations: End of Life Decisions (VBMA BCP Category 3)

One of the most difficult conversations to have with clients involves end of life decision making. These conversations must balance the patient’s needs with the emotional and financial needs of the client and can take a large emotional toll on the veterinary team. We will discuss management of cases where clients refuse euthanasia in a critically ill patient and others where clients request euthanasia for a patient that could be treated. How do we, as veterinarians, handle these conversations, advocate for our patients, serve the human-animal bond, and preserve our own wellbeing?

Roadmap to Mentorship

More information coming soon, debuting Fall 2022

Can I Have It All? Parenting in Vet Med