The anatomy of an effective nutrition recommendation

Communication strategies to enhance clients’ adherence to your nutrition recommendations

Research has found that veterinarians’ attempts to initiate proposals for long-term dietary change are often met with client resistance. This resistance is often based on diet-related or proposal-relevant information shared by clients after the veterinarian’s proposal has been made. Findings highlight the importance of gathering a complete nutritional history including information specific to the animal, their diet, their environment as well as the client’s perspective (e.g., their beliefs, their expectations, etc.). Understanding a client’s perspective provides the groundwork for making a nutrition recommendation that has value for your client. Informed by research, this webinar will introduce a number of communication strategies that can be used to understand your client’s perspective and make your nutrition recommendation stick.

By the end of this presentation participants should be:

1. More aware of the direct role communication has in the outcomes of veterinary care;
2. Positioned to pay more attention to the impact of their own communication practices specific to nutrition;
3. Able to communicate a nutrition recommendation in a way that leads to greater client investment/commitment.

About the speaker

Jason B Coe DVM, PhD

Professor, Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Jason Coe is a Professor at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. After graduating from the College in 2001, he returned from mixed-animal practice to complete a PhD in the area of veterinary communications in 2008. In the same year, Jason joined the Ontario Veterinary College in the Department of Population Medicine where he has established an active research program examining the human-animal bond as well as the role of interpersonal communications on the outcomes of veterinary care. In his current role at the College, he coordinates the clinical-communication curriculum across all 4 years of the veterinary program and is involved in teaching students about the relationships that exist between people and animals.

Over the past decade, Jason has established an international reputation for his leadership in veterinary communications, primary-care veterinary education and understanding the human-animal bond. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, including co-authorship of the 2021 AAHA Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. Jason currently holds the VCA Canada Chair in Relationship-Centred Veterinary Medicine (2021-2026), at the Ontario Veterinary College, dedicated to research and education in communication and relationship-building to improve the outcomes of veterinary care. In 2021, Jason was honoured with the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award for his notable contributions to the veterinary profession.

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