Lunch & Learns for Veterinary Teams

What Are RVM Lunch & Learns?

Our Lunch & Learns are 1-hour, AVMA-approved continuing education (CE) sessions that address key challenges facing veterinary teams. These interactive modules empower participants to:

• Develop effective communication strategies to enhance connection and collaboration
• Navigate workplace stress with evidence-based coping mechanisms
• Manage challenging client and team interactions with confidence
• Cultivate a positive and psychologically safe work environment

Each session blends scientific insights, practical tools, and real-world scenarios to ensure that participants leave with actionable strategies that can be implemented immediately.

Available Lunch & Learn Modules

• Module #1:

  The Double-Edged Sword of Workplace Communication

  Communication can be a powerful tool for fostering authentic connection or a source of distress that leads to disengagement. In high-stress environments like veterinary practice, communication often becomes transactional—prioritizing quick fixes over meaningful connection. This seminar highlights the impact of communication patterns on team wellbeing and explores how relational communication can strengthen team trust, innovation, and psychological safety.

  • Objectives:

    By the end of this session, participants will:

    • Define workplace wellbeing
    • Compare and contrast transactional and relational communication
    • Describe two core communication skills that promote connection
    • Identify one communication pitfall that undermines connection

• Module #2:

  Leveraging Your Vet Med Superpowers to Combat Rudeness in the Workplace

  Rudeness and incivility in the workplace are on the rise, taking a toll on veterinary professionals’ emotional and physical wellbeing. This seminar explores the root causes of workplace rudeness and offers evidence-based approaches to address challenging behaviors. Participants will learn how to apply the same skills used to manage reactive patients to difficult human interactions, creating a more respectful and compassionate work environment.

  • Objectives:

    Participants can expect to learn about:

    • Factors contributing to the rise of rudeness
    • The limitations of kindness campaigns in addressing incivility
    • Applying veterinary skills in managing reactivity to challenging human encounters

• Module #3:

  Managing Stress: Controlling the Controllables

  Stress is inevitable in veterinary practice, but how we respond to it makes all the difference. This seminar teaches participants how to distinguish between what they can and cannot control, helping them develop healthier approaches to managing stress. Participants will explore the concept of the “illusion of control” and learn practical, evidence-based strategies to reduce occupational distress and burnout.

  • Objectives:

    At the end of this session, participants will:

    • Define stress and its impact on wellbeing
    • Understand the illusion of control and its pitfalls
    • Identify modifiable factors that contribute to occupational distress
    • Compare and contrast two effective coping methods

Why RVM’s Lunch & Learns Matter

Veterinary teams are increasingly navigating emotionally charged situations, interpersonal challenges, and rising workplace demands. Our Lunch & Learn modules address these pressing issues by:

• Enhancing team cohesion and trust
• Promoting psychological safety and mutual support
• Strengthening communication and conflict resolution skills
• Empowering teams with strategies to prevent burnout and build resilience