Low-stress care gains traction as a staff safety strategy

A new AVMA Veterinary Vertex podcast is spotlighting low-stress care as both a patient-welfare strategy and a workplace-safety issue for veterinary teams. The episode, “Calmer Pets, Safer Vets: The Power of Low-Stress Care,” published December 13, 2025, points listeners to a related JAVMA study showing that small animal general practices with practice-wide certification in stress-reducing care reported fewer patient-inflicted staff injuries than clinics with only partial or no certification. In the study summary and related trade coverage, practices without full certification were about 3.5 times more likely to report injuries at least monthly. The podcast format itself is part of a broader Veterinary Vertex effort to translate research into practical clinic skills, including recent episodes on communication tools such as agenda setting to improve appointment efficiency and client experience. (podcasts.apple.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this reframes low-stress handling from a “nice to have” into an operational and risk-management tool. CDC guidance notes that animal contact is a substantial source of injury for veterinary workers, while AAHA behavior guidelines caution that forceful restraint can interfere with care and recommend moving at the animal’s pace, adjusting handling, and using previsit medications when appropriate. The broader Veterinary Vertex lineup also underscores that safer, smoother visits are not just about restraint technique but about communication and workflow, such as setting the client’s agenda early so teams can manage concerns efficiently and reduce friction during already stressful appointments. In other words, calmer visits can support safer teams, more accurate exams, and better client follow-through. (cdc.gov)

What to watch: Expect more practices, educators, and managers to ask whether low-stress care training should be built into hospital-wide protocols, onboarding, and injury-prevention programs—and paired with communication training that helps teams structure visits more efficiently from the start. (podcasts.apple.com)