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Giving your team the gift of gratitude can be as simple as writing a quick “Thank you” on their paycheck envelope. We’ve compiled 25 simple and fun ideas for you to show your team gratitude thanks to the members of our Uncharted Community!

Our Community is filled with leaders who want to make their practices the best they can be. They are outside-of-the-box thinkers, who have come up with some amazing and creative ways to show their teams’ gratitude.

Sign up for our Uncharted mailing list and we will give you this fantastic resource with 25 ideas to show your team how much you care.

By Heather Quilty, RVT

Do I have your attention?

The veterinary profession is hard, on all ends of the spectrum. The hours are long, demands and emotions are high and the salary and wages less than ideal. From kennel workers and vets who must give up their weekends and holidays to care for pets to office managers and RVTs who take on extra duties and hours to make sure the business is successful we are giving it our all.

Then the imposter syndrome/phenomenon rears its ugly head and we start wondering who we are to even be capable of doing the things we do. When will people find out we don’t have a clue? Despite the years of schooling, the successful board exams, the earned promotions and the hundreds/thousands of cases we’ve helped we are still convinced we don’t have it figured out. The RVT or Dr. across the room for sure knows way more than us (unless maybe they are thinking the same way?)

I think this combination of internal and external stressors are a big reason why so many people leave the profession. So, I have a plan and I want you to join me in the plan. Do you want in??

The next time you place a catheter in a 2 pound dehydrated Chihuahua (or whatever magical superpower you have) and someone says, “Holy cow, that was awesome!!!” I want you to respond with, “Thanks!!! I know!!”

And the next time you see one of your co-workers performing their super skills, tell them they’re awesome and make sure they believe it.

Own your awesomeness and then share it. We have such a hard time accepting praise when we clearly deserve it. If we don’t take the time to recognize the value in each other and ourselves, why do we expect everyone else to do it? I guarantee the more times your team members hear you lift each other up, the more they will want to join in.

In addition to owning the “awesome,” teach with it, too. If you are the go-to person for fractious cat restraint, or the RVT with the magic touch when it comes to blood smears, or if you have a way with those not so happy clients, share your skills. Teach your colleagues your special gifts and ask them to do the same.

I can honestly say I have been in awe, in one way or another, of every RVT I have ever worked with. We can learn so much from each other.
If you are new to the field, find a mentor. If you’re a pro, take a new grad under your wing. I bet you’ll both learn new things.

You can thank me later.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Unchartedvet.com editorial team.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heather has been an RVT for just shy of 18 years and has spent time in small animal practice, large animal/farm animal practice and teaching veterinary assisting at the college level. Currently, she is the practice manager of a growing small animal practice.  In addition to her RVT designation, she has a B.Ed in Adult Learning/Post-Secondary Education from Memorial University.  Heather is also very active within the RVT profession and has sat as vice-president, president and past-president of RVTTC.  She is also the current vice-president of the EVTA.  She lives and works in Newfoundland, Canada with her husband, 2 children and 2 cats named Chicken and Fish.

This week Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss talk about what to do when a staff member humiliates and tears down their boss. This type of behavior is way too common, and it is usually devastating to the leader who is trying their best to be a good boss.

Love the podcast? You should be in the Uncharted community! Head over to www.unchartedvet.com and join us.

We’re taking a new look at our Uncharted Community by shining the spotlight on our team! Our first Uncharted Team Member interview was with the one and only Stephanie Goss, co-star of the UVC Podcast and practice management guru. Enjoy this look into the behind-the-scenes world of Uncharted!

For anyone who doesn’t know you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a technology geek. A PMS nerd. I love spreadsheets and data analysis, which is shocking since I barely passed the maths requirements for secondary school graduation. I have been working in veterinary medicine for 16 years now. I beat Andy to the punch because I founded an HIV Awareness conference in high school that still runs at that school to this day. I studied music and theatre at university, ran a teen theatre company, and taught both high school and university sex education classes before finding Vet Med. I am a sexual assault crisis counselor. I am a total bibliophile (I have two book-related tattoos already and plans for at least 3 more). I am just slightly Harry Potter obsessed. I love glitter in a slightly unhealthy way. I have a two human spawn and a German Shorthaired Pointer named Birdie Goss. 

What tasks do you work on as part of the UVC Team?

I am the co-host of the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast with Andy (sometimes we are funny, you should listen sometime!). I am part of the creative team – I help coordinate/create our content for live events as well as the online community and school. I teach a variety of webinars and masterclasses for the community – I really enjoy getting down to the nitty-gritty and helping practices figure out how to solve their problems. I am so passionate about bringing educational and leadership training opportunities to members of our paraprofessional teams. I have the pleasure of coordinating our MicDrops program. And the most important job I have… I get to pick the badge ribbons and craft selfie props for the photo backdrops for each live event. 

What were you looking for when you joined Uncharted?

I joined on a whim after seeing Andy talk about Uncharted on Facebook because I was burnt out, felt adrift and was considering leaving practice. After hearing Andy talk about his vision for Uncharted, I figured if anything could get me excited about practice, it would be a conference where the focus was on actually talking about what was working and what wasn’t working in your practice and how to try and fix it. I attended a pre-conference event in San Diego and meeting some of the attendees got me super excited about trying to figure out how to tackle the challenges in my practice. Meeting Andy at that same meetup, quite literally, changed the course of my career and life. Which sounds dramatic AF and will probably go to his head. Hahaha.

Who is one of your favorite people you’ve met through Uncharted and why?

There are SO many… I feel like this is a trick question because I want to name every. single. person. Who I have come to love and adore. There are so many people who I have met over the last three years who have literally changed my life in some way. If I named them, it would be the Oscar acceptance speech where they literally drag the cameras away because you ignored the music cue they gave you to shut up. But for real… Jenn Galvin is one of the best gifts Uncharted gave me. She is one of those people where you meet them and you wonder where they have been all your life. She never fails to make me laugh. She tells me hard truths when I need to hear them the most. She is an amazing accountability partner. During our second year of Uncharted, I had some serious medical issues and Jenn was right there with me, every step of the way. She kept my spirits up, let me whine and rage when I was feeling helpless and she never failed to check in on me, even when I would ignore her because I didn’t feel like I could handle talking to anyone. She never hesitates to say yes when I say “hey, do you have a second, I could use your help…” She is an incredible leader, boss, and friend. She is totally who I want to be when I grow up. 

What is your favorite hobby and how did you discover it? Would you recommend it to others?

Musical theatre. I love everything about it. Whether directing, producing, working on a show or seeing a show on Broadway, I soak up every single minute. Theatre is a family affair – my dad ran lighting and sound for most of my childhood as his side gig. I went along for the ride and was hooked from the start. Don’t ask me to pick one favorite, I could never do it. My Pandora is almost always found on my musical theatre channel and I sing show tunes on payroll day – it helps me focus. I would absolutely recommend it to everyone and will happily nerd out with any other UVC members (besides Saye Clement who already nerds on musicals with me) who want to talk about or go see musicals with me.

What is one thing you never thought you could do (or were afraid to try) that you’ve done since joining Uncharted? 

Be the center of attention. Believe it or not, I hate being in the spotlight. I focused on theatre production for a reason – I like being behind the scenes and I am unbelievably uncomfortable in a crowd let alone in front of one. I get incredible stage fright, I always have. So putting myself on stage, in front of everyone, is a HUGE stretch for me. 

What is your end-of-workday guilty pleasure? 

Empires and Puzzles. It’s an online game I play with some of my best friends. We nerd out, pretty hard. 

Where is one place in the world you would love to see?

The Great Barrier Reef. Specifically the view under the water, from a Great White Shark cage. 

What is one thing you believe all veterinary professionals can do right now to make Vet Med even better? 

Stop thinking that just because “we have always done it this way” means it is the only way. We suck at change management in veterinary medicine and learning to not only adapt but thrive in dealing with change is something that is desperately needed in so many areas of veterinary medicine.

Tune into the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast on Itunes, Soundcloud, Google Play or wherever you listen to podcasts!

You can join the Uncharted community and meet people like Stephanie by visiting www.UnchartedVet.com and registering to become a member!