Interview with Dr. Ernie Ward about his Fetch Charlotte 2025 presentations

Ernie Ward Fetch Charlotte 2025 interview

Successful practice begins when leaders stop pointing fingers and start owning their influence so their teams feel inspired to do the same. Ernie Ward, DVM, CVFT, reveals how embracing personal accountability can elevate both patient care and team morale.

: Yeah, another one of my talks that I’m super excited about is “Own It: A Culture of Accountability.” Without a doubt, one of the most common questions practice owners and managers ask me is, “How do I get my team to take ownership?” They just don’t seem to want to be accountable or responsible for their actions—they want to blame me as an owner or leader, or someone else.

I think it all begins with your own attitude and actions. If you’re a leader or manager—or really anyone who works with other people—you have to understand that the behaviors you project on the world are not only how the world sees you, but often how it responds to you in return. That’s why the session is called “Own It.” We have to understand our responsibility and role as leaders: to set the standard and exemplify to staff, coworkers, friends, and family the behaviors we expect of ourselves. Accordingly, we can expect those behaviors from others.

One of the most frustrating things I encounter with practice managers and owners who are struggling is their focus on externals—all the people and problems they can’t control. The first thing I always say is: look in the mirror. We can’t control everything, but we can control our own thoughts, actions, attitudes, and habits—and those shape the world around us. So again: own it. If we want accountable staff members who take pride in their work, it begins with us.

I believe that if attendees apply even a few tenets from this talk on accountability culture, they’ll see immediate improvements in patient outcomes and client service. By nature, when people begin to take pride in their work, they understand that their contributions matter—not just to the patient or client, but to their colleagues and coworkers.

For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of my veterinary career has been collaborating with other professionals. When we all take ownership of our actions, we elevate and transcend what we thought were our normal boundaries. If you’re looking to spark a new surge of growth in your practice—whether in client service or patient care—this is the session that will leave you inspired.

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In this sneak peek, Dr. Ernie Ward, DVM, CVFT, explains how leaders can model accountability to spark a culture of pride and performance

Building a culture of accountability starts with leadership

Aaron Shaw, OTR/L, CHT, CSCS breaks down key indicators that a professional may be burning out

Recognizing the warning signs of burnout

In this video, Aaron Shaw, OTR/L, CHT, CSCS, host of the podcast Healthspan Digest, highlights some of the red flags that may indicate burnout. According to Shaw, key indicators include a persistent sense of dread and preoccupation with work, a lack of control over one's work, and more. 

 with Shaw, he shares some ways to manage stress and prevent burnout.

Below is the interview transcript, lightly edited for clarity:

I think some of the warning signs to be concerned about with vets having some mental health challenges, I think one of the biggest ones would be the sense that the stress of work is on the mind 24 hours a day. So, there's a sense of dread going into work. There's a sense of, you know, [unease] during the work day and stress and feeling overwhelmed, and then leaving work and just being preoccupied with the idea that ‘I’m going to have to go back into the office and do this again tomorrow and the next day’ or the next month, or the next years.

I think those are red flags, because I think that all jobs are challenging, and all careers can be challenging, and so it would be normal to have stressful periods, and then periods where you feel like you have more control. The warning sign is really when somebody feels that they don't have any control over their work, how they do work, don't have any control over themselves and being able to manage stress, that's a sign of being a little bit out of control.

One, it’s certainly a sign for somebody who may not be long for the career and it's really hard to sustain [a] prolonged sense of being uncomfortable and overwhelmed and burned out, but it's really dangerous. I mean, dangerous, you know, from a mental health perspective and a physical health perspective. I mean, our bodies aren't designed to be under constant stress. But there are ways, there are things we can do to help mitigate some of that. Some of these things to decrease stress and to decrease the risk of burnout, require some proactive activities.

How to recognize burnout warning signs

Joya Griffin, DVM, DACVD, offers advice for veterinarians with cases of unusual skin disease in cats

Approaching unusual feline skin disease cases

Earlier this spring, Joya Griffin, DVM, DACVD, practicing dermatologist with the Animal Dermatology Group in Louisville, Kentucky, and star of the National Geographic Wild television series 

Kitty Conundrums: Dermatologic CATastrophies

, presented at the Fetch dvm360 conference in North Carolina, Charlotte.

In this video, Griffin shares how she approaches unusual skin disease cases in cats. She highlights the importance of prioritizing advanced diagnostics, such as skin biopsies, to avoid misdiagnosis. Although cats are often associated with itchiness, Griffin explains that clinical signs can point to more serious conditions, such as autoimmune diseases or paraneoplastic syndromes related to internal diseases or cancer.

According to Griffin, disease have different patterns and presentations. Yet, feline patients with severe diseases are often misdiagnosed with allergic disease.

Yeah, so I think that cats are often forgotten, and in veterinary medicine in general and definitely in dermatology there's a lot that we still don't know. But whenever I'm presented with an unusual cat case, I really hone in and I try to prioritize advanced diagnostics like biopsy because I think we often think of cats as just being itchy cats, but there are some clinical presentations that they will come in with that are related to autoimmune disease, sometimes paraneoplastic syndromes where there's internal disease or cancer somewhere that's causing lesions on the skin. And I think those cases look very different. Dermatology is a visually distinctive disease, and after a while, you start to recognize these patterns of lesions. And whenever something looks a little scary or very unusual, I think you always have the right to biopsy, because some of these cats have very severe diseases that are often misdiagnosed for allergic disease.

When Jessie was 10 months old, she was brought to a veterinary clinic in Mount Vernon, Washington for a health check after being rescued by an area organization from a California shelter. While she was at the clinic, she met Ken Baber, DVM, who instantly fell in love with Jessie, and the duo have been together for almost 12 years now.

Fast forward to October 2024, Jessie woke up in the middle of the night and began to frantically pace, alarming Baber.

Jessie had surgery at the Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital to remove a rare tumor on he adrenal gland (Image courtesy of Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital) 

“I thought there must be some animal outside because she was really agitated, panting uncontrollably, shaking, tremors, elevated pulse,” Baber explained to WSU Insider.

 “It was almost like a dog experiencing anxiety over fireworks. After about an hour, she settled down.”

At first, Baber shrugged the incident off, but he knew something was seriously wrong when the episodes continued after that. He brought Jessie to local veterinary clinics for testing and discovered she had a pheochromocytoma, a rare form of tumor, on her left adrenal gland. According to WSU Insider,

 these types of tumors can cause the body to create excessive amounts of hormones that are responsible for the fight or flight response, leading to anxiety and in severe cases, cardiac arrest.

Pheochromocytoma tumors are notorious for aggressively spreading and becoming entangled with the blood vessels surrounding it. The adrenal glands themselves are between 2 major arteries, making removing them surgically a very risky procedure as well. With his medical background, Baber knew he needed to act fast and immediately started looking for a surgeon willing to perform the surgery on Jessie.

“It takes some courage to do adrenalectomy,” Baber said. “They’re fraught with potential complications, so it really should be done by an experienced board-certified surgeon.”

Baber was able to get Jessie in at the Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital after a cancellation provided an opening for Jessie. Baber and Jessie drove the 5 hours to the hospital to meet with Boel Fransson, DVM, PhD, DACVS, whom Baber was already familiar with after taking her laparoscopic workshop 15 years earlier, and now needing her expertise first hand.

A month and a half after Jessie first displayed symptoms, she was at WSU for surgery. Adrenal tumors can be removed through traditional open surgery, laparoscopic procedures are preferred when the tumor has not spread yet because it leads to a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery.

With the assistance of surgery resident Natalie Heape, DVM, Fransson was able to make 3 small incisions in Jessie’s abdomen and carefully move the camera and specialized instruments to separate the tumor from delicate blood vessels and the surrounding tissue. The surgery lasted 2 hours and had no complications, both the tumor and adrenal gland were removed successfully.

Days after the surgery, Jessie returned home and now months later, is not experiencing symptoms from the tumor. Her prognosis is good, as almost 9 in 10 dogs that have successfully undergone the procedure are alive after 3 years.

“We don’t know what the future holds for Jessie, but we’re hoping we’ve bought her some years of continued robust health and that she can remain active as she gets older and more gray, just like me.” Baber concluded.

Rokyta D. WSU surgeons remove rare tumor from retired veterinarian’s dog. WSU Insider. Published April 18, 2025. Accessed April 18, 2025. https://news.wsu.edu/news/2025/04/18/wsu-surgeons-remove-rare-tumor-from-retired-veterinarians-dog/

Articles

Surgeons at Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital removed a pheochromocytoma from a 12-year-old dog named Jessie

Rare tumor removed from canine patient in Washington

Total hip replacement is a relatively new procedure in cats, despite the procedure having been successfully performed in dogs for decades.

Recently, the Veterinary Referral Center of Central Oregon (VRCCO) shared a case of a particularly complex feline total hip replacement from September 2024 in a small patient that only had 1 back leg.

Veterinary surgeons have only been able to replace smaller hips, such as those in cats, in the most recent years.1 Yet, there is still little research on long-term follow up on these felines.

To date, few surgeons have obtained the specialized training required to perform the procedure on small breeds, according to VRCCO.

 Unlike traditional canine hip replacements, the nano and micro hip implant systems are distinct and require their own set of specialized instruments.

The patient brought to VRCCO, Moira, a domestic shorthair cat, had sustained a severe fracture to her right hind leg prior to her visit to the center, that led to its amputation. Following the amputation, it was found that Moira had also experienced an injury to her pelvis, including a chronic luxation, or dislocation, of her left hip.

Moira. (Image courtesy of Veterinary Referral Center of Central Oregon)

“She was using [her leg], but not well and [was] just kind of swinging it out to the side and didn’t want to walk around a lot,” said Moira’s owner in a video by Veterinary Referral Center.

 “...I knew priority one was bringing her in and seeing what kind of surgery could be done for it to help her be more comfortable.”

At the Bone, Joint and Spine Center of VRCCO, Moira’s owner met with Mauricio Dujowich, DVM, DACVS, CCRT, who examined Moira and suggested a total hip replacement surgery. According to VRCCO, Moira’s small size and her only having one back leg made the case an especially challenging one as her new hip would have to carry a substantial amount of weight immediately following surgery.

“Being such a small patient, we basically only had one chance at it—we really needed to get this right the first time” said Dujowich in the video.

 According to Dujowich, the team performed a computed tomography (CT) scan and utilized 3D printing technology to create a replica of Moira’s hip and femur. The team then practiced on the 3D model prior to performing the procedure.

“Given how small her bones were, precision was critical. Understanding her specific anatomy and practicing on the 3D models of the hip and femur allowed the team to refine their approach, ensuring everything went well on surgery day,” said Dujowich in a news release.

“I don’t think I would have felt comfortable doing her surgery had I not had a dry run at it. Having that technology available to us really made a big difference in making sure that we’re doing what’s right,” he said in a video.

When it comes to hip replacement, efficiency is important, according to Dujowich.

 “The more time we’re in surgery, the higher the chance that we can develop an infection,” he said.

 “If we can have a team that’s not fast, but a team that’s efficient, it makes a huge, huge difference so that we can get in and out as quick as possible.”

According to VRCCO, the surgery was successful, and Moira is now thriving.

VRCCO also commended Moira’s owner for seeking treatment for Moira to determine the best treatment option for her.

Surgeon performs life-changing total hip replacement for three-legged cat. News release. Veterinary Referral Center of Central Oregon. April 16, 2025. Accessed April 18, 2025. 

https://www.newswire.com/news/surgeons-perform-life-changing-total-hip-replacement-for-three-legged-22550075

Warren R. Young cat back to full activity after total hip replacement. UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. March 29, 2024. Accessed April 18, 2025. 

https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news/young-cat-back-full-activity-after-total-hip-replacement

Veterinary Referral Center Youtube page. Accessed April 18, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gPVIdwWKkM

Veterinary surgeons have only been able to replace feline hips in recent years 

3-legged cat undergoes complex total hip replacement procedure

Feline diabetes mellitus (DM) is currently understood to have strong similarities to human type 2 diabetes. Veterinarians have traditionally relied upon insulin therapy to treat feline DM. However, responses to insulin vary, and cats may remain significantly hyperglycemic.

The FDA recently approved 2 sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, bexagliflozin and velagliflozin, for the treatment of uncomplicated feline DM. SGLT2 inhibitors decrease renal glucose reabsorption. This increases glucose excretion and, in patients with DM, may normalize blood glucose concentration. SGLT2 inhibitors are routinely used in the management of human type 2 diabetes and have been shown to mitigate hyperglycemia effectively and reduce the risks of cardiovascular and renal compromise.

Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics

 has published a study that shows SGLT2 inhibitors, such as bexagliflozin and velagliflozin, may offer a safe and effective oral treatment option for cats with uncomplicated DM.

Exploring the FDA-approved SGLT2 inhibitors for cats

These oral hypoglycemic agents are a suitable option for many newly diagnosed cats, with rapid improvements in glycemic control and clinical signs. Suitable candidates must have some residual β-cell function, as some endogenous insulin production is required to prevent ketosis. Appropriate patient selection and monitoring are necessary, and practitioners should be aware of serious complications such as 

The SGLT2 inhibitors are seen as an exciting new addition to current treatment options for uncomplicated feline DM. For many owners, a once-daily oral medication is highly preferable to twice daily insulin injections, and this simplified approach is likely to improve outcomes for a substantial number of cats. SGLT2 inhibitors’ additional advantages include improvements in blood pressure, body weight, and fat distribution, along with a low propensity for clinical hypoglycemia. 

This study recommends that prescribers consider SGLT2 inhibitors as an alternative to insulin therapy for cats with stable, uncomplicated DM. The authors advise ongoing monitoring for adverse effects such as dehydration, ketonuria, and changes in renal function. When used appropriately, SGLT2 inhibitors can offer improved convenience and potentially better quality of life for both feline patients and their owners.

Adverse effects of SGLT2 inhibitors in cats

 is a 2025 PharmD candidate studying veterinary pharmacy at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

Cook AK, Behrend E. SGLT2 inhibitor use in the management of feline diabetes mellitus. 

. 2025;48 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):19-30. doi:10.1111/jvp.13466

The FDA recently approved 2 oral SGLT2 inhibitors that are a suitable option for many newly diagnosed cats. 