Kenichiro Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC) (SAIM), discusses the unique opportunity for veterinary professionals to learn this emergency rescue technique with a hands-on element.

Practicing CPR with simulation

The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) is hosting a RECOVER workshop May 28-29, 2025, during the NAVC SkillShop event in Orlando, Florida. The workshop aims to have attendees earn CPR certification and CPR instructor certification. In a 

 interview, Kenichiro Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC) (SAIM), chief nursing officer for Veterinary Emergency Group and program director for the RECOVER Initiative, discusses the workshop and the opportunity it provides for veterinary professionals to learn CPR with simulator technology.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Kenichiro Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC) (SAIM)

:The whole premise of the RECOVER workshop, the rescuer workshop [is], to begin with, that [the] workshop has a structure of people learning through a nice, interactive online course the concepts of RECOVER guidelines and how to perform CPR based on an evidence-based guideline. And they come in and actually practice performing CPR with a simulation-based learning, high fidelity simulators that actually makes them be able to believe that they're actually working on a real animal. And that kind of practice is something that is very difficult to get in on the hospital floor, that they have a patient that's dying in front of [them]. That's not the time to practice. You want to be practicing before you get to that point, which is why simulation exists.

Videos

Dental mistakes pet owners make

Oral health is a critical component of overall well-being for companion animals, yet pet owners often rely on misguided “rules of thumb” that do more harm than good. In the above video, Mary Berg, BS, LATG, RVT, VTS (Dentistry), FVTE, dispels pervasive myths about pet dental care so your clients can keep their pet's dental health in top shape. 

Eating hard kibble will keep my pet’s teeth clean

Hard kibble fragments on contact rather than scrubbing tooth surfaces, and many pets swallow it whole, rendering it ineffective. Feeding a veterinary dental diet that encourages true chewing—squeegeeing plaque from the teeth—is a far better strategy.

Dogs need to chew on bones and antlers for dental health

Although appealing to dogs, bones and antlers can crack teeth because a dog’s jaw lacks the side-to-side motion humans use to grind food, leading to painful fractures and possible abscesses.


Shiny, white enamel can mask underlying periodontal disease; it’s the gingiva (gum tissue) and subgingival health that truly indicate oral wellness since most periodontal damage occurs below the gum line.

Age itself is not a contraindication for anesthesia—older pets often need dental procedures even more, because untreated infection in the mouth can spread to the heart, liver, kidneys, or other organs.

While a mild “warm, sweaty” odor can be expected, offensive halitosis signals bacterial activity under the gums producing volatile sulfur compounds that indicate periodontal disease.

Dogs have a strong survival instinct and often continue eating despite dental pain; chewing alone is not a reliable indicator of oral health.

From crunchy kibble to old age excuses, many pet owners fall prey to dental myths that put their animals at risk

An industry-wide association—Revitalizing Veterinary Teams, Amplifying Fulfillment and Purpose (REVAMP)—is reaching out to veterinary practice leaders to participate in a pilot survey aimed at improving employee retention and engagement. REVAMP is a coalition of industry and institutional leaders, including individual practitioners, corporations, veterinary medical associations, hospitals, and institutions focused on addressing systemic challenges in the veterinary health profession that may be hindering growth.

The initiative, which is being led by Richard Goldstein, DVM, global chief medical officer, head of medical affairs at Zoetis, is placing special focus on veterinary health teams who have long sought fair compensation, appreciation, career development, and supportive leadership, according to a report by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

Inconsistencies in addressing the needs of veterinary health teams and “optimally leveraging” these professionals have left veterinary health teams everywhere feeling overworked and unfulfilled.

Launched in 2024 during that year’s Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX), REVAMP aims to help create a strong talent pipeline and empower veterinary professionals to adopt innovative tools as well as programs and frameworks to ensure a well-balanced profession.

 In its mission, the organization identified 3 areas of greatest need for a more fulfilling veterinary career, including the following

Credentialed veterinary technician/team utilization:

 Involves establishing a “standardized, open-source competency framework” for transparency and career advancement of veterinary health teams.

 Involves developing programs centered around a welcoming and collaborative workplace with strong leadership support and accountability, with the aim of helping attract and retain “top talent.”

 Allow practices to implement modern technology into their clinics to help improve patient outcomes and support a flexible veterinary health team.

As part of its efforts to assess workplace well-being and improve employee retention and engagement, REVAMP is commissioning Qualtrics to conduct an engagement survey. The move, which is REVAMP’s most recent initiative in workplace culture, has a target registration of 100 small-animal practices throughout the US, according to the AVMA. Each of these practices will have at least 2 practice leaders, 3 veterinarians, and 15 employees.

The survey will be validated and peer reviewed, covering 25 areas of employee engagement, and it will provide recommended follow-up actions with the results. It will consist of 60 multiple-choice questions that will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

The survey is by invitation only and will be distributed June 1 through June 27, 2025. According to the AVMA, representatives of REVAMP are aiming to share the survey results at the 2026 VMX.

REVAMP - Revitalizing Veterinary Teams, Amplifying Fulfillment and Purpose. REVAMP. Accessed May 27, 2025. https://www.revamp.vet/about-us

Industry coalition recruiting veterinary practice leaders to participate in engagement survey. American Veterinary Medical Association. May 23, 2025. Accessed May 27, 2025. 

https://www.avma.org/news/industry-coalition-recruiting-veterinary-practice-leaders-participate-engagement-survey?utm_source=delivra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=todays-headlines-news

Articles

REVAMP aims to share survey results at the 2026 Veterinary Meeting & Expo.

Industry coalition to launch employee engagement and retention survey 

In this interview with dvm360, Craig Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology) and Christine Mullin, VMD, DACVIM (Oncology), share more on what makes a veterinary patient a good candidate for ELIAS Cancer Immunotherapy  

Video interview with Craig Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology) and Christine Mullin, VMD, DACVIM (Oncology)

 interview, oncology specialists Craig Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), and Christine Mullin, VMD, DACVIM (Oncology), explain which patients are ideal candidates for ELIAS Cancer Immunotherapy (ECI), a newly released product. Approved in March 2025 for the treatment of canine osteosarcoma, ECI is the first autologous prescription therapy to receive FDA approval for this type of cancer.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity:

Craig Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology):

 Part of it will depend upon the owner’s ability to be present for all of those time periods. Geography matters—are you near one of the treatment centers? Because if you’re not, then the owner is clearly going to have to make a big drive, maybe even stay at a hotel for the entire course. The logistics of that can be challenging.

I also think about whether the owner is looking to follow [the] standard of care or wants to pursue this instead, or even consider a combination. We know that in human oncology, immunotherapy is often combined with another immunotherapy or paired with a standard therapy, like radiation or chemotherapy, which really helps us get another step ahead. It may be that we start to explore those same kinds of combinations in veterinary patients as well.

Christine Mullin, VMD, DACVIM (Oncology):

 ELIAS is doing just that. There are 2 clinical trials ongoing right now that combine different immunotherapies to see how far we can push the immune system to attack—and really thinking about attacking these cancers from multiple angles. If you just keep doing the same thing over and over against a cancer, it’s going to mutate and evade very quickly, especially with the tough cancers we’re targeting, like melanoma, osteosarcoma, and hemangiosarcoma. So, we’re excited to see what comes out of those studies. Certainly, immunotherapy is the most exciting, inspiring facet of therapy right now for us and on the human side as well.

 Yes, that’s one of the new pillars of oncology.

Craig Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), and Christine Mullin, VMD, DACVIM (Oncology), discuss the logistics and implications of immunotherapy treatments for canine oncology patients.

What makes a patient a good ELIAS Cancer Immunotherapy candidate?

Team success relies on a winning combination of communication, accountability, coachability, and trust. Having the right players in place is also key.

These messages were delivered by former basketball coach Donnie Campbell and resonated with an audience of veterinary professionals on Monday, May 26, 2025. In his welcome reception address at the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) SkillShop in Orlando, Florida, Campbell spoke of career wins and losses that taught him lessons he then applied both on the court and in life.

“You can coach your team to be really, really skilled at what they do, whatever it might be…but that doesn't mean they're going to play together as a team. That doesn't mean they're going to work together. But if you can develop your...players to be the best version of themselves, I promise you, there will be sustainable success, which is what we all wanted—sustainable success,” Campbell said.

Campbell is a career mathematics teacher, currently instructing students at Lee’s Summit North High School in Missouri. As a basketball coach for more than 30 years, he spent time working with students at Shawnee Mission West High School in Overland Park, Kansas. There, his rosters included a then-teenaged Jason Sudeikis, the actor and comedian in the eponymous role of the television show 

In public interviews, Sudeikis has said that Campbell served as the inspiration for the Lasso character, an American football coach who is hired to lead a soccer team in England. According to Campbell, the show incorporates some of his coaching traits, including signature phrases and analogies, which Sudeikis delivers humorously. While he watched the show, Campbell said he saw “many lessons that I taught Jason and his teammates 30 years earlier.”

Speaker Donnie Campbell discusses his coaching style and its' tie to the television show "Ted Lasso" during the NAVC SkillShop welcome reception. 

Dana Varble, DVM, CAE, chief veterinary officer for NAVC, said Campbell was chosen as a speaker for SkillShop for his ability to bring positivity. She was also reminded of the "believe" message in the show, written on a sign that she thinks every veterinary practice should have placed in the clinic.

 as a show really spoke to the idea...to have confidence in yourself…. There’s something about the way that Coach Donnie Campbell is and, of course, the show that he inspired, bringing the sense of positivity. Everything’s not easy. Everything’s not perfect, but it’s OK. We’ll get through, and we can do it in a way that we’re still good people. We’re still friendly. We’re still empathetic. That is a great message to remind people of,” Varble said in a 

Speaking to veterinary professionals, Campbell used basketball analogies and stories from his successful coaching career, including anecdotes about Sudeikis, to score points with the audience and deliver wisdom. “When you create better people, you create winning teams,” Campbell said, evoking a mantra that he elaborated on throughout the talk.

He said that when focused solely on winning early in his coaching career, his teams lost games much more frequently than they won. However, by pivoting to focus more on shared values and the character of his players, teams were more successful on the court. “It's about developing my players to be the best version of themselves, to be the best people they can be,” he said.

Another takeaway from the talk was that teams don’t necessarily need the “best” people but rather the “right” people. Teams need to be built on trust, accountability, and commitment, Campbell noted. As an example, he shared a story about the coach who mentored him cutting the most skilled player from a basketball squad, much to his and the player’s surprise. In his mentor’s opinion, the young athlete wasn’t the right fit for the team. “Coach looked at me and said this: 'Donnie, we have to have people [who] we can count on. We have to have people we can trust,’” Campbell said.

One person that is “wrong” for the team can potentially have a negative impact. “There's an old saying, ‘You can pick captains, but you can't pick leaders.’ Those [who] control the locker room control the team; those [who] control the office space control the team. They better be having the same message as you, and you have problems [if you don’t] pick the right folks,” Campbell said.

The longtime coach also shared what he learned through experience about leadership. “To me, a true coach—a true leader—is someone who sees potential in a team and does everything they can to help guide that team to be successful [and], ultimately, to be great. That's what a leader does. Ted Lasso says, ‘I do love a locker room; it smells like potential.’ I'm the same way,” he said.

Donnie Campbell, the coach who inspired Ted Lasso, shared experiences leading teams with NAVC SkillShop attendees. 

A game plan for team success

“My tip would be to practice...saying ‘no’ to something that you know just pushes you over the edge,” advises Aaron Shaw, OTR/L, CHT, CSCS.

Wellness Tip of the Week: Setting boundaries at work

Last week, Shaw offered 3 tips veterinary professionals can incorporate into their daily routines before bedtime for better sleep. The full video can be accessed 

For this Wellness Tip of the Week, Healthspan coach Aaron Shaw, OTR/L, CHT, CSCS, is sharing advice on setting boundaries at work to support a healthy and long career. In his video, Shaw encourages veterinary professionals to practice setting at least 1 boundary, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing emotional well-being to continue caring effectively for patients and loved ones.

Below is a partial transcript, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

Hey, everyone. This is Aaron Shaw with another Wellness Tip of the Week. Today, I want to talk about boundaries. I don't mean setting boundaries like I'm walking out the front door and saying “forget it” with this career. I'm talking about setting realistic boundaries that can help you be more resilient and durable for a long, healthy, vibrant career—what we call "vetspan."

We know that chronic stress without recovery will...keep our nervous system in overdrive. We know that your baseline cortisol levels will stay elevated if you’re in a constant state of stress—it'll mess up your sleep, it'll mess up your concentration, [and] your immune system.

Setting boundaries can help protect...yourself [and] your emotional well-being. And we really need to be clear that you're not struggling because you're not tough enough. The struggle is not having an opportunity to reset your body [or] your nervous system, and this is done in no small part by learning how to set boundaries.

Some examples of boundaries could be saying no to an extra shift. It could be setting a boundary for yourself. That could mean saying, “I'm going to choose to go outside for 10 minutes during my lunch break and get some fresh air and leave my phone inside.” Give yourself a little bit of discipline and set your own boundaries for your own mental health and your own emotional well-being.

But we need to also be clear that setting boundaries isn't a sign of weakness; it’s actually a sign of strength. If you want to practice "toughness," if you will, and protect your peace of mind, your time, your long-term health, your long-term personal physical health, and your long-term resilience for this career, setting boundaries is essential. I know it can be so challenging for those of us [who] are in caregiving fields. The default is often to take care of everybody else first and second and third and fifth and 10th, and then put ourselves at the very, very back of the list—if we have time at all for that.

But ultimately, we don't want to be sabotaging our own well-being and our ability to take care of our clients and take care of the people [who] we love or the animals we love.

“My tip would be to practice...saying no to something that you know just pushes you over the edge,” advises Aaron Shaw, OTR/L, CHT, CSCS.