If This Is Team-Based Care, Then Where’s the Team?

I'm done.

I'm done with surface-level solutions. Done with quiet exclusion. Done hearing people talk a big game about "team-based care" while still centering only one voice.

Every time I open LinkedIn or read a new industry report, it feels like I'm hit with another post focused solely on veterinarians. Veterinarian burnout. Veterinarian productivity. Veterinarian hiring. Even the conversations about veterinary technician utilization are framed in terms of how we can make the doctor more efficient. When did we decide that this profession could be dissected and understood one system at a time, like we’re running lab work instead of leading living, breathing teams?

“When did we decide this profession could be dissected one system at a time?”

Let me be clear: I deeply respect and appreciate veterinarians. But this profession is not made up of just one role. And I’m tired of seeing everyone else get left out of the conversation.

It’s everywhere: webinars, panel discussions, podcasts, white papers, “state of the profession” reports. Over and over again, we analyze the health of veterinary medicine by looking only at the experience of veterinarians. We talk about shortages, productivity, burnout, and leadership, but we rarely talk about the credentialed technicians, assistants, CSRs, kennel staff, and practice managers who are just as essential to the health of this profession.

This isn’t just frustrating, it’s dangerous. Because when we talk in silos, we solve in silos. And veterinary medicine is too complex, too collaborative, and frankly too strained to be “fixed” by only focusing on one role.

“This isn’t just frustrating—it’s dangerous.”

Worse still, when support staff are mentioned, it’s usually in the context of "how they can better support the doctor," not how they can be better supported as professionals themselves. Not how we improve their career sustainability, wages, mental health, or training access. Not how we reduce their burnout. It's always about how we can get more out of them for someone else.

And then there’s the tug-of-war between our professional organizations. People love to point out that NAVTA used the word "veterinarian" only once in their report, while the AVMA used the word "technician" a few more times in theirs, as if this one-upping somehow proves progress. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. NAVTA still answers to the AVMA. And NAVTA can’t gain traction when the AVMA holds the keys. This is the same AVMA that, let’s be honest, has literally shut off the mic (lights and all) on the past NAVTA president for asking hard questions.

“Until the major players act like collaborators instead of competitors, we’re going to keep spinning our wheels.”

This petty scoreboard-keeping doesn’t move us forward. It only highlights the deeper problem: these organizations should be working together, not defending their corners like it’s a turf war. Until the major players start acting like collaborators instead of competitors, we’re going to keep spinning our wheels. Until credentialed veterinary technicians have more than one seat at the proverbial table, we won't see any real progress.

Imagine assessing a sick patient by only looking at its liver. You’d never do that. You evaluate the whole body. That’s how we need to approach the veterinary profession: as a living system where every part matters.

We need a whole-team approach. A systems-based model. Not just in marketing, not just in theory - but in data, in decisions, and in strategy. Reports need to reflect the entire team. Conferences need to elevate every role. Leadership development can’t be reserved for one job title.

Because here's the truth: veterinarians are not burning out in a vacuum. Technicians are leaving in droves. Managers are overwhelmed. CSRs are absorbing endless emotional labor. Assistants are expected to do it all with little training. And yet—we keep putting one role at the center of every solution.

This cycle isn’t going to break unless we step back and start asking better questions. Like: How do we design workplaces where everyone can thrive? How do we lead like a team, instead of just treating our teams like tools?

If we want to heal this profession, we have to treat the whole body. And that starts with finally seeing, and supporting, the entire team.

When you're constantly being treated as 'less than' because you’re not a veterinarian, it can feel like you have to shout just to be heard.

And look, it's not just the veterinarian-centric perspective that’s a problem. I’ve seen technician-centric messaging do the same thing, center one role at the expense of others. I’ve probably even done it myself. When you're constantly being treated as 'less than' because you’re not a veterinarian, it can feel like you have to shout just to be heard. As a veterinary technologist (a graduate of a four-year bachelor's program) I know what it’s like to be overlooked despite your education and experience. So yes, sometimes we fight tooth and nail just to get a seat at the table. But here’s the hard truth: that fight, when it turns into tunnel vision, is getting us nowhere.

We don’t elevate ourselves by diminishing others. We won’t fix a broken system by carving out louder silos. True progress means all of us, together. Every role, valued. Every voice, heard.

I’ve committed to building stronger, more inclusive teams. I'm working to create programs to elevate credentialed veterinary technicians, consulting with hospitals to address real cultural gaps, and mentoring leaders who want to build something better.

So if you’re actually ready to talk about what team-based care really means, then I'm here for it.

Until then, I’ll be over here doing the work, and making sure the rest of the team gets seen.

xoxo,

Suzanne

Please note: As I'm sure it's obvious, but still needs to be said to protect myself and others - The views expressed in this article are my own and do not represent those of NAVTA, AVMA or my employer.