We’re nowhere near the end of this pandemic, and one concern we have is opening things up too quickly and losing the benefits of all the sacrifices that have been made to “flatten the curve.” As restrictions get lifted, we’re not going straight from “now” to “normal.” We’ll have to continue with good physical distancing
veterinary clinics
Practical ways to help vets during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of strain on a lot of people, and those in the veterinary profession are no exception. Thank you, Captain Obvious. Self-care and mental health support at times like these are critical, but can be hard to come by for many still working on the front lines in clinics,…
“Urgent” veterinary care, Ontario: Slightly revised guidance document
In Ontario, veterinary medicine is considered essential, but is currently restricted to “urgent” care only. What constitutes “urgent” is a grey zone. We’ve avoided trying to create a comprehensive list of “what veterinarians should and shouldn’t do” because there are so many factors and nuances to consider in every individual case. Instead, we’ve focused…
Urgent veterinary medicine triage (plus some new translations)
The approach to veterinary care during the COVID-19 pandemic is variable. Veterinary medicine has been declared an essential service in many areas, but all aspects of veterinary medicine aren’t lumped in with that. That’s causing confusion. In Ontario, the essential services guidance from the provincial government was revised to indicate only “urgent” care should now…
COVID-19 veterinary clinic contact guidelines: Updated (and now in Russian)
Here is an updated version of the decision tree for screening of owners / patients coming to veterinary clinics, which I originally posted a few weeks ago, to help with identifying higher risk situations. We also have a Russian translation courtesy of Dr. Varvara Solovyeva.
You can use the links below to download the…
Distanciation sociale chez le vétérinaire: Vidéo
Here is the version française of the client-oriented video I made earlier this week about social distancing at veterinary clinics.
Social distancing and veterinary clinics: A video
I took a break from COVID-19 to play around with some animation (of… well, COVID-19 stuff. It was still a nice diversion though).
Anyway, here’s a quick animation for pet owners about social distancing practices in veterinary clinics. It was my first crack at animation, but if anyone wants to use it, you should be…
Social distancing WITHIN veterinary clinics
I’ve written several posts in the last two weeks about social distancing and small animal veterinary clinics. They’ve mostly focused on social distancing between veterinary personnel and pet owners. However, veterinary clinics almost always have multiple people working in the clinic itself, and sometimes close contact between staff is unavoidable. I’m getting lots of…
Veterinary medicine, essential services and social distancing
Updated April 6: Revised guidance document
Ontario announced a shutdown of non-essential services yesterday. Wisely, veterinary medicine was classified as essential. However, it’s not business as usual. Rather, it’s “best as we can” given other restrictions and social distancing that are absolutely necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19. There’s no clear way to…
COVID-19 impact on veterinary clinics
After my last very long post, here’s a quicky. Like most professions, veterinary medicine is being impacted by COVID-19 and the urgent need for social distancing. Many aspects of veterinary medicine are essential to public health, food safety and animal welfare, but we also can’t forget the importance of the human-animal bond, especially in…