My story: from frustration to rediscovering the clinic

My journey in the small animal clinic began like that of many veterinarians. I decided to move to another country at the start of my career, and there I met one of the most inspiring leaders who taught me the importance of leadership.

But this story is not just about leadership: it's about client communication and how learning to build trust completely changed my perspective on the clinic.

How a training program changed our way of working

When I was on the verge of leaving the clinic due to frustration —feeling that every day was a string of 15-minute consultations— my boss enrolled us in a customer service improvement program called “Who Cares, Wins.”

It was three days where, guided by a specialist, the entire team learned to:

• Communicate better with each other and with clients.
• Distribute tasks efficiently.
• Take ownership of our part of the business to fulfill the profession's mission: to care for patients in the best possible way.

We discovered that there is a key barrier in the veterinarian-client relationship: without trust, it is very difficult to gain and maintain client collaboration.

Why interpersonal skills are essential

As veterinarians, we dedicate a lot of time to learning techniques and staying up-to-date clinically. However, we rarely invest the same effort in improving our interpersonal skills.

The techniques we learned not only improved our clients' impression but also changed my perception of work. The clinic stopped feeling like an assembly line and became a place where I connected with people who sought the same thing as me: the well-being of their pet.

With that connection established:

• Clients more readily accepted recommendations.
• They left more satisfied, even after routine consultations.
• Cost complaints decreased: they felt at home.

I had to wait 8 years for these skills to be taught to me; I believe they should be taught starting in university.

ClínicaLeaders: communication and veterinary leadership training

This and much more are the skills I was passionate about learning and that I now want to share with other professionals through ClínicaLeaders. Our goal is to help clinics and veterinarians to:

• Break the daily routine and regain motivation.
• Improve communication with clients and teams.
• Build a stronger, more humane, and sustainable clinic.