Mission

Vision

• Be student-centered, scholar-driven, community-focused, and performance-based;
• Be a leader in developing life-long learners who are highly educated, technically proficient, prosperous, and healthy;
• Understand the changing needs of Oklahoma and capitalize on new opportunities through ongoing engagement with society;
• Be recognized for excellence and seen as vital to the future of Oklahoma; and
• Celebrate and appreciate the unique mission of the faculty and supporting staff members and allow them to develop innovative collaborations.

Core Values

Excellence - We seek excellence in all our endeavors and are committed to continuous improvement.

Intellectual Freedom – We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge.

Integrity – We are committed to the principles of truth and honesty and will be equitable, ethical, and professional.

Service – We believe that serving others is a noble and worthy endeavor.

Diversity – We respect others and value diversity of opinion, freedom of expression, and other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Stewardship of Resources – We are dedicated to the efficient and effective use of resources. We accept the responsibility of the public’s trust and are accountable for our actions.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal One: Provide a state-of-the-art clinical teaching laboratory facility and equipment necessary for clinical teaching (veterinary student, post-DVM graduate continuing education and/or specialization), research, and service.

Critical Success Factors:

• Appropriate faculty offices, laboratory space, and conference rooms
• Completion of delayed facility maintenance issues and remodeling of present building
• Continued equipment updating and replacement
• Expanded role of the pharmacy and improved methods of pharmaceutical dispensing and inventory control
• Convert diagnostic imaging to filmless technology by January 2005
• Fully utilize improved methods of information technology

Objectives:

• Establish need as a means of faculty, staff, and student recruitment and for obtaining and maintaining an image of excellence.
• Develop a report specifying the relationship between a new facility and excellence in teaching, research, and service.
• Obtain cost estimates.
• Secure financial energy through private investor(s).
• Convince Oklahoma State University President, Regents, and Legislature of the need for a bond issue to secure funding for this building.

• Prioritize maintenance needs and areas needing remodeling.
• Keep present cost estimate of $2.0M updated.
• Establish need as a means of faculty, staff, and student recruitment and for obtaining and maintaining an image of excellence.
• Categorize according to personal/animal health and personal/animal safety.
• Provide estimates of dollar values of increased productivity and savings in utilities and manpower.
• Convince Oklahoma State University President, Regents, and Legislature of the need for a bond issue to secure funding for these maintenance needs.

• Maintain a prioritized list of equipment needs on a continual basis.
• Budget for non-major equipment purchases and equipment repair ($250,000) needs on a fiscal year basis.
• Keep the Development Officer apprised of specific equipment needs, equipment use, and how it will benefit the animal, the client, the student, and the faculty.

• Employ a pharmacist to expand opportunities for clinicians and service to clients. Salary and fringe benefit cost is estimated at $93,000 per year. One-time start-up cost is estimated at $25,000.
• Installation of 2 Pyxis? drug-dispensing systems to insure drug cost recovery, accuracy of dangerous drug inventory, and improved efficiency of service for clinicians and clients. Estimated cost of one new system is $80,000. Annual lease cost is approximately $18,000.

• Obtain sufficient information to accurately select the correct system for our present and future needs.
• Visit other teaching hospitals and practices with digital imaging in place.
• Consult with University and College Information Technology resource personnel to insure ability to take advantage of tele-radiology.
• Keep present estimated cost figure of $450,000 updated on a regular basis.
• Employ services of the Development Officer to assist in securing necessary funding.
• Consider Master Lease Program, if needed.
• Improve the efficiency and quality of imaging provided by this section.
• Improve the opportunity to recruit additional radiologists.
• Leverage productivity of our single radiologist by establishing a list of external boarded radiologists to provide image interpretation with timely written reports, via web-based technology.

• Purchase UVIS Hospital Management and Medical Records System by 2005.
• Convert to paperless medical records system by 2006.
• Increase the numbers of computers available to faculty, staff, and students.
• Utilization of e-mail to attach and send Discharge Orders and Case Summaries to referring veterinarians immediately following discharge of each patient.
• Network the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Special Medicine, and Teaching Hospital in such a manner as to have laboratory results go directly to the clinician and student of record on the case by 2005.

Goal Two: Provide highly trained support personnel and technology to support and assist faculty members in teaching, research, and service.

Critical Success Factors:

• Increase, by three, the number of registered veterinary technicians
• Encourage, support, and reward support staff member training.
• Employees with diverse backgrounds and experience that seemingly have the potential to meet and exceed expectations.

Objectives:

• Increase, by three, the number of veterinary technicians by 2006 at an estimated annual cost, salary and benefits, of $32,000 per technician.
• Actively recruit from Veterinary Technician Programs and private practices.
• Advertise to fill positions presently open.
• Develop new job descriptions for adding positions in appropriate sections.
• Encourage and support students in Veterinary Technician Training programs to do their practicum at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
• Provide salaries and benefits comparable to other Veterinary Teaching Hospitals and private practices.

• Provide funds for off-site seminars and continuing education
• Provide funds for University Staff Training Programs
• Provide broadband salary pay scale to increase compensation for increased responsibility as a result of increased training.
• Provide time and travel funds for specialized off-site training.
• Provide ongoing in-service training for technicians and other staff members.
• Cross training between sections to better understand responsibilities associated with each section.

• Actively seek highly qualified personnel with diverse backgrounds and experience.
• Provide a more global experience for students, faculty, and staff.

Goal Three: Provide an environment conducive to professionalism, cooperation, enthusiasm, efficiency, and financial accountability.

Critical Success Factors:

• Open communication within and between sections
• Faculty and staff serve as models of integrity and professionalism.
• Foster a teamwork mentality, using bottom up leveraging.
• Addition of patient coordinator (client advocate) position(s).
• Competitive salaries and benefits.

Objectives:

• Combined faculty and staff meetings on a quarterly basis.
• Making use of special occasions to have combined faculty and staff functions.
• Promote camaraderie via bi-annual social functions.
• Implement sectional faculty and staff retreats.
• Continue hospital-wide newspaper – “The Limelight”.

• Continued reinforcement of faculty and staff responsibility as role models.
• Student instruction at pre-clinic orientation concerning the importance of integrity and professionalism.

• Instill, encourage, and maintain a teamwork mentality in the workplace.
• Encourage each section to do their task in such a manner as to increase productivity in their section in such a manner as to enhance productivity in sections dependent on them.
• Educate each student, staff member, and faculty member of his or her importance in the Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital’s mission.

• Develop a job description.
• Identify a funding stream.
• Recruit and employ a person or persons with excellent organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Educate students, faculty, and staff of the benefits of this position and how to properly use to the advantage of the clients, patients, and the VTH.

• Monitor salaries in the various pay levels at teaching hospitals, private practice, and industry.
• Continued evaluation of individual salaries to determine if appropriate adjustments are needed.
• Provide mechanism for personnel to be rewarded for their efforts when sufficient carry forward is generated each fiscal year.
• Pay residents and interns for emergency duty.
• Pay surgery, radiology, and anesthesiology technicians for extra after hours duty.

Goal Four: Continue to build upon our reputation for excellence as a referral center for specialized clinical veterinary medicine and community practice.

Critical Success Factors:

• Identification of and building on established strengths.
• Identification of client and potential client needs.
• Maximize an open dialogue with referring veterinarians and animal owners.
• Support client and referral veterinarian education.
• Provide a client friendly atmosphere and exceed client expectations.
• Increased visibility.

Objectives:

• Utilize the College of Business to assist in developing an instrument to survey faculty, staff, students, alumni, referring veterinarians, and local clients.
• Survey veterinarians that employ our graduates to determine their level of satisfaction.
• Survey recent graduates to evaluate their educational experience.
• Maximize strengths.
• Support formation of strategic alliances with other veterinary student and post-DVM graduate programs to provide specialized training important for goal attainment of the trainee, minimizing duplication of effort by program providers.
• Eliminate or minimize support for weak areas.

• Utilize outside practice management consultants to assist in identifying unmet client needs.
• Provide regular faculty and staff training seminars on client service.
• Utilize college liaison committee as one method of obtaining referring veterinarian and referred client critique

• Identify the most convenient, effective, and preferred way of communicating with each client and referring veterinarian and have that information in the medical record.
• Have Discharge Orders and Case Summaries ready at discharge of the patient and immediately faxed, emailed, or U.S. mailed to the referring veterinarian.
• Develop an advisory group made up of referring veterinarians to meet with faculty twice yearly on a social / advisory basis.
• Appoint faculty, on a rotating basis, to attend local Veterinary Medical Association Meetings as a visitor, participant, or speaker.
• Attend Town Hall Meetings with practicing veterinarians in their locals.
• Provide pictorial directory of teaching hospital clinicians and diagnostic faculty.

• The Veterinary Teaching Hospital will assist in hosting and providing support in all client/animal owner and veterinary continuing education programs that are on-site.
• The Veterinary Teaching Hospital will provide transportation to all in-state client/animal owner education programs and veterinary continuing education programs held off-site.

• Have helpful and friendly receptionists making initial client contact.
• Provide the client with a written copy of available veterinary teaching hospital financial arrangements.
• Train veterinary students in the value of client care in addition to patient care.
• Maintain a clean and functional reception and examination area.
• Keep the client informed at all times.
• Communicate with the referring veterinarian immediately after examination and assessment of the patient (he or she needs to be part of the team).
• Be efficient, friendly, and unhurried at the same time.
• Communication, communication, communication.
• Provide clients with an accurate fee estimate to help them make an informed decision on treatment and / or surgery options.
• Have the trial invoice, prescriptions, and written and oral discharge instructions completed and communicated to the client prior to exiting to the payment clerk.
• Always let the client and referring veterinarian know that they are important to us.

• Provide the College Public Relations Office with opportunities to publicize good things that are going on that would be of public interest.
• Provide the College Public Relations Office information concerning new equipment purchased or donated, how it will expand or enhance patient care, and how the animal owning public will benefit.
• Support faculty in their clinical research and publications in state and national lay and / or peer reviewed journals.
• Support faculty, students, and staff in providing civic programs locally and statewide.
• Improve and expand the Veterinary Teaching Hospital web site.