This is Fabienne (and Magnus) ...
Fabienne is the senior veterinarian at Noah's Ark Veterinary Clinic. The clinic is located in a large town and mainly services families and their domesticated pets such as dogs, cats and birds, occasionally they see a more exotic pet like a snake or an injured native animal. Her responsibilities include consulting with clients about their animals, treating a variety of conditions and injuries, performing surgery (both routine and emergency) and supervising a mix of staff members. Fabienne is regularly required to source information for animal care needs.
What sort of information do you need in order to do your job?
Lots and lots! For every patient, we obtain a detailed patient medical history which includes all their previous vaccinations and treatments as well as general identifying information such as their species, breed, colouring and also any ownership information. All of this information is important because certain breeds are pre-disposed to medical conditions and injuries so we need to inform the owners.
I also research new product information before offering it to clients or using it on our animals. I can't recommend a product if I am not confident of its ability to work.
The other area of information that I often source and keep up to date is the contact details of our various partner industry services such as emergency hospitals, native animal rehabilitation services or animal shelters. We often have to refer patients to these places because they require complex surgery which we are not equipped for or ongoing care and rehabilitation. Out of date information is not helpful in an emergency situation.
How do you obtain the correct information?
Our clinic is a member of various industry associations which have a good reputation for providing accurate information on new products, medical techniques and treatments and also new industry trends, therefore I usually go to their websites first. I also utilise a variety of Government websites to obtain information about legislation, regulation and local animal registration requirements. It is important that I source my information from reputable sources so that I can be confident of its authenticity.
How do you record or maintain information that you have sourced so that it can be shared within your workplace?
I use my research to update our workplace policies and procedures and also our contact list directory. We also have regular staff meetings and I share any relevant information with our staff during this time. For example, if we are going to be stocking a new line of flea control treatment then I will inform all the animal care workers and also our receptionist because she is responsible for selling this over the counter medication to customers.
