AI for better client communication
AI won’t replace veterinarians—but poor communication and burnout might. This session is for AI skeptics who want better medicine and calmer days. We’ll fuse Conscious Care (listen first ? offer good/better/best options with pros/cons/costs ? co-decide) with low-risk, high-leverage AI that actually saves time and strengthens trust: plain-language discharge rewrites, option-grid drafts, estimate explanations, triage text templates, and documentation summaries. You’ll learn clinic-safe prompts that support—not replace—clinical judgment, plus guardrails for privacy, bias, and chart integrity. We’ll demo before/after phrasing that lowers defensiveness in under 30 seconds and build one AI-assisted option grid live. Leave with a one-page AI Safety & Style Guide, copy-paste prompts mapped to the Conscious Care pillars, and a 30-day rollout plan (micro-drills, metrics) that reduces cognitive load and raises adherence—without longer appointments or tech headaches.
This session originally was presented at AVMA Convention 2026.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Differentiate hype from clinic-safe AI using a simple risk screen.
- Apply a 3-question “heard-first” opener and generate a plain-language summary in =60s.
- Construct a good/better/best option grid with AI, then revise to clinic standards.
| Dr. Melissa L. Magnuson is a veterinarian, entrepreneur, speaker, and practice owner helping veterinary medicine answer one of its most urgent questions: How do we use artificial intelligence to make practice more human, not less? A 1998 graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Magnuson owns three AAHA-accredited veterinary hospitals in New Hampshire, including Canobie Lake Veterinary Hospital, named the 2024 AAHA Practice of the Year. Her hospitals are known for high medical standards, but also for something increasingly rare in modern practice: the ability to combine clinical excellence, strong culture, operational innovation, and deeply trusted client relationships. Known publicly as The Conscious Vet, Dr. Magnuson has built a growing platform focused on improving decision-making for both pet owners and veterinary teams. Her work sits at the intersection of medicine, communication, leadership, technology, and trust — the exact place where veterinary practice is changing fastest. |
