204: Breaking down the barriers to veterinary nursing as a sustainable career

Sponsored by VEGAs a career emergency veterinarian since 2003, David Bessler, VMD, has a passion for helping people and their pets when they need it most. His intense focus on families made him realize emergency care was broken and wasn’t working for anyone. Bessler took a holistic view of the ER experience, from start to finish, and from every angle, to make it better. Pets would be treated like people and pet parents like human beings. In 2014, armed with a vision and a dedicated team of like-minded people—the first VEGgies!—he purchased his first VEG hospital. They worked to reinvent the emergency experience. It was in this first hospital that VEG became “not normal,” in a good way! This new experience was fully transparent, with an open floor plan. They created a comfortable setting for pets, even if that meant getting on the floor with them; and keeping people and their pets together throughout treatment. Bessler also defined a positive company culture to make sure VEG would deliver on this revolutionary shift. It was exactly what pet parents and emergency vet professionals wanted, as VEG has the highest NPS in the vet industry.During his 20+ years in the field, Kenichiro Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC), (SAIM), has dedicated his career to reimagining veterinary nursing. He obtained his VTS certification in emergency and critical care as well as small animal internal medicine and achieved his master’s degree in Veterinary Science. He is currently the Chief Veterinary Nursing Officer for Veterinary Emergency Group, and the Program Director for the RECOVER Initiative. Over the years, he has received the Veterinary Technician of the Year award by NAVTA, the Veterinary Technician of the Year award by the California Veterinary Medical Association, the RVT of the Year award by the California RVT Association, and the AVECCTN Specialty Technician of the Year award. Yagi co-edited the Veterinary Technician and Nurse’s Daily Reference Guide for Canine and Feline, and the Manual of Veterinary Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking, and publishes articles and presents internationally on topics in ECC, transfusion medicine, and the veterinary nursing profession. Yagi works to bring further recognition of the vital role of the veterinary technicians and nurses through work with organizations, being a Past President of National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, and President of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society. He is also an advocate for the Open Hospital Concept, encouraging veterinary practices to invite the pet owners to “the back” as a part of the team.