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Since starting work at the Belmont Vet Centre I have strived to engage, educate and support the local community through various programs and events. This has been an invaluable program that has been extremely rewarding for the entire BVC team.
We have achieved this through creating a strong social media presence that allows us to interact with our online community. This has been a great medium to educate on different pet health issues depending on the time of year or if we have seen a specific medical case that week. It is also a great way to show the community who we are and what we do – giving the public a behind the scenes look at all things BVC.
Another great part of our Community Outreach Program are our Client Education nights on a variety of topics from 'FLUTD', 'Arthritis' & 'Skin issues' to 'First Aid'. With strong support from industry reps we have been able to offer our clients a forum to learn about conditions that their pet may be suffering from in a client friendly manner. These nights also give clients direct access to information from reps & concentrated learning from our team as well as the opportunity to trial various recommended products.
Animal Welfare is also an important part of what we do in clinic – with this in mind we have fostered relationships with local animal welfare groups and rescue groups to help and support them with the amazing work they do. This has materialized with the introduction of a 'Kitten adoption program' which has increased our cat client numbers, promoted esponsible pet ownership as all adoptees go to their new homes de-sexed, micro chipped & vaccinated, as well as helped the local welfare group re-home the copious number of kittens that they receive during kitten season. Win win situations for everyone. We also offer support to rescue groups through discounted medical treatment and healthcare support. This gives the animal rescue groups the means to help more fur babes in need as well as opening up a database of potential clients through referrals and rehomed pets.
Another rewarding part of community outreach is the fundraising component. As a clinic we have really gone wild with raising money for various causes as well as attending various events eg. RSPCA Million Paws Walk etc. These have been great for staff morale, showing people that we have valuable information that they can easily access, getting the clinic out into the community and expanding our client base, whilst also helping worthy causes.
School visits are also a vital part of what we do. Educating the younger generations in safe animal handling, general animal husbandry and responsible pet ownership has been a fantastic and lucrative endeavor.
Being a part of the veterinary profession gives us such an amazing platform to make a difference in so many ways – these ideas are just a fraction of what’s possible with Community Outreach Programs and I hope that I have inspired you to get involved in your local community if you aren’t already. You will be surprised at how positive and life changing your returns can be.
Laura Hayden is a Senior Veterinary Nurse at Belmont Vet Centre in Geelong, Victoria. She has been a vet nurse for 3 years, is Cert IV qualified and is currently enrolled in Diploma of Veterinary Nursing. Her areas of speciality are Community Outreach and Client Relations.
Connect with Laura Hayden, Senior Vet Nurse, VNCA Vet Nurse of the Year:
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