Leaders in the veterinary field need to be supported and trained because they impact the rest of their organization. Too often, they are thrown into positions with no education on how to be leaders. Dr. Sally Ryan has a wealth of experience in the veterinary industry, and she is the founder, consultant, and instructor of Veterinary Leadership Services. In this conversation, we talk about some barriers that cause this lack of education as well as some core principles for teaching adults with busy lives.

There are various barriers that lead to a lack of training in the veterinary industry. The two big ones: staffing and time. First, you have to have the staff capable of creating and leading a training program; in bigger organizations, that can be a job in itself. Second, time is always an issue. When are you going to create the training? When are you going to lead it? Will it be during normal hours or outside hours? You have to come up with a plan that everyone can get on board with and make it meaningful.

Adults are busy. One of the most crucial core principles is to make training topics relevant and efficient. You don’t want to waste people’s time; you want to enrich it. Dr. Ryan mentions creating problem oriented training, using diverse formats to layer the education, being clear on the why, and preparing for impending changes as big principles as you develop training.

ADDIE is an acronym for the training model Dr. Ryan recommends that aids in the creation of an efficient program.
Analysis – what do you want to achieve?
Design – Who, what, and how of the content.
Development – Bring all the goals and resources together to create the elements of training.
Implementation – Start the training with a smaller, more receptive group to work out the kinks.
Evaluate – Is this working? Do you need to make any changes? Are you seeing the desired outcomes?

A culture of learning creates confident staff members, more job enjoyment, and better performance—a win, win, win! You can find out more about Dr. Sally Ryan and Veterinary Leadership Services by emailing her or visiting her website.