Small Ideas, Big Effects - E. Czerwinski

October 21, 2025

Emily Czerwinski, AVC 2026, travelled to Hopedale and Sheshatshiu as one of the student participants on the Chinook Project. As part of the experience, the students craft various pieces of writing.

In veterinary medicine, providing a positive patient experience is always a team effort. This was especially clear in high stress environments, such as our pop-up spay, neuter, and vaccine clinics in Sheshatshiu and Hopedale. Many of the pets we saw were already nervous in new environments, surrounded by new people, strange smells, and unusual noises. It was not enough to simply focus on providing veterinary care, it was equally important to build trust with our patients through creative handling techniques and positive interactions so that future veterinary visits would be less stressful.

One of the most memorable patients for me was a dog-aggressive male who was scheduled for surgery in Shetshatshiu. He was a very sweet older male that was nervous from the moment he arrived. As a student, I felt responsible for keeping him and everyone safe while others worked to prepare his sedation for surgery. Alongside my classmate Kat, I decided to try something simple but different so I got out my phone to play some music for him in hopes it would distract from the echoes of other barking dogs in the clinic. It was such a small adjustment, but I was amazed to see how much it helped him settle. His body language softened and we were able to move forward with his care in a way that felt safer for both him and us.

That moment taught me an important lesson that I have carried with me since my time on Chinook, that creativity and adaptability are just as vital to veterinary medicine as clinical skills. That really it is easy to apply small solutions to provide a better clinical experience for our patients. Even in resource limited settings these small interventions can make all the difference. This picture perfectly illustrates how a small idea can have a lasting positive effect on patient care and how easily fear free techniques can be used in clinic settings.