Compassion Fatigue in Veterinary Medicine

The goal of the presentation is to identify some of our struggles and how to manage them and focus on caring for ourselves.

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Approved for 1 hour California Statutory Approved CEU

Speaker: Melissa Tompkins, BS, CVPM, PHRca, CCFP

Melissa started working in the veterinary field 18 years ago starting out as a tech assistant/receptionist.  She worked her way up to become a practice manager in 2005 and she never looked back.  She has worked in general practice (Feline only), specialty, and emergency.

She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science from Cal Poly Pomona in 2005, became a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager in 2011, and earned her PHRca certification in 2020.  Last year, she became a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional, and is now helping hospitals deal with burnout and compassion fatigue.  She owns her own consulting business; South Coast Veterinary Management Solutions and she can help multiple hospitals with training and other business needs.

In 2018 she was the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association’s Paraprofessional of the year.

She is a published author of multiple articles in DVM360.com, Veterinary Team Brief, Firstline Magazine and Veterinary Economics.  She has also been a speaker at several annual conferences and symposiums including VHMA’S management exchange, CVS’s Veterinary Forum, Oklahoma’s Annual Conference, ASEC’s Conference, AAFP National Conference, and Fur Paws Consulting’s Spring/Fall Symposiums.  She also helped train veterinarians on how to create a feline friendly practice through AVSG’s annual wet lab.

Melissa is highly active within the local veterinary community co-founding the North Orange County Veterinary Hospital manager group, an active member of the VHMA and is on the Board of Trustees for the SCVMA.  She has been serving as the secretary of VHMA’s CVPM Board since 2019 and she truly enjoys this role.  She loves helping other managers and team members grow within the veterinary profession.

She spends her free time running or walking in 5k’s & half marathons.  She also spends time with her friends and family.  She shares her home with her boyfriend, his son, and their 5 furry babies.