It can often be said that technicians are the backbone of the veterinary clinic. They spend their days (and nights) in the trenches and see little of the glamour of veterinary medicine – if there is such a thing. With Fear Free certifications blossoming around the country (and world), it’s important to understand how technicians play a role in the Fear Free process. In this podcast, hear firsthand from two leading Fear Free certified technicians, Emily Korber and Tabitha Sias Kucera, talk about the role technicians play in Fear Free.
Emotional Medical Record Template
A customized care routine is crucial to a successful Fear Free veterinary visit. Use this Fear Free Emotional Medical Record (EMR) template to organize each patient’s preferences of examination area, motivational aid, and specifics of incidents of FAS. Templates are available for dogs/cats and also for birds.
Fear, Anxiety, and Stress (FAS) Scale
Because it is critically important to rate an animal’s level of FAS, Fear Free created this FAS scale for certified professionals. This scale will give you the opportunity to be consistent in assessing and recording every animal’s FAS level, and it will give you recommendations on how to proceed. Page two of the scale is your tool to record details on each animal.
Print out the scale, laminate it, and hang it on the wall. The second page goes into each patient’s medical record. Scales are available for dogs, cats, horses, and birds.
Body Language and Signs of FAS in Dogs & Cats
Understanding and assessing your patients’ body language is an essential part of Fear Free. It also plays an important role in client education for a client to understand and buy into Fear Free and your recommendations. Print out the two pages of body language slides, laminate them, and place them into each exam room. You could also place them into your waiting area, and into your staff common areas to serve as an educational tool.
FAS Spectrum Handouts
The bulk of communication between humans is through body language and the same goes for animals. It’s important for both your team and your customers to understand the often subtle signs of fear, anxiety, and stress that their pet is expressing. Use these FAS Spectrum sheets to visually explain the different signs of FAS and the corresponding levels of arousal. Handouts available for dogs, cats, horses, birds, and rats.
Becoming Fear Free certified is certainly an accomplishment, but it doesn’t stop there. Seeing the benefits of how you implement Fear Free theories, techniques and strategies into your practice takes more than just a certificate. This introductory Episode Zero in our highly anticipated series of podcasts is the precursor to a series of monthly podcast discussions featuring certified Fear Free professionals that are on the forefront of Fear Free. With real world examples, advice, insights and more, this series will help put your certification into action.
The Fear Free Veterinary Certification Program teaches veterinary healthcare professionals how to eliminate fear, anxiety, and stress for happier patients, more compliant clients, and safer veterinary healthcare teams.