Vet tech background enhances her job

When Deb Straub takes phone calls from a referring veterinarian, she asks a lot of questions. The more the School of Veterinary Medicine’s hospital referral coordinator knows about a case, the better she’s able to determine which specialty service it should be routed to and how quickly it needs to be seen.

“It has made a tremendous difference,” says Pamela Sanftleben, a veterinarian who has practiced with Spring Harbor Animal Hospital in Madison for 14 years. “In the past, I had to play phone tag with the hospital’s residents before I could send a case in. Now, Deb does the steps that used to frustrate me. The referral process is much smoother and my clients are much happier.”

Thanks to her background as a veterinary technician, Straub has a solid sense for the urgency of a case.

“In the past, I might call with an urgent case and be told an appointment was available in four weeks,” says Randy Raasch, a veterinarian who refers cases from McFarland Animal Hospital in McFarland. “Deb helps me make a connection with a doctor. She speeds things up for my clients and for patients. It makes my job easier.”

Doctors in the teaching hospital also appreciate the new level of service.

“Some cases are urgent without being a true emergency,” says Lauren Trepanier, an internal medicine specialist in the teaching hospital. “Deb’s clinical experience helps her triage cases. If a case is urgent, she tracks us down personally and allows us to give referring veterinarians an immediate answer and bring the animal in if needed.”

Straub notes that her job can be a challenge at times. In addition to the 1,000-plus calls that come in each month, she also supervises the hospital’s phone bank, routes incoming radiographs from referrals, distributes reports such as CT scans or myelograms, and handles anything else related to referrals. and assists in sending copies of radiology, laboratory and other reports to referring veterinarians.

Her top goal, however, is to provide immediate answers for veterinarians when they call.

“The more information referring veterinarians can give me, the better our doctors can make a decision on how quickly a case needs to be seen,” she says. Sometimes she’ll even suggest a different service than the referring veterinarian is requesting, because she knows the animal would get more immediate attention for its problem.

Prior to taking the referral coordinator job in July 2006, Straub worked as a veterinary technician for 29 years. Having served in private practice, in an emergency clinic, and in the school’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in large animal, small animal and then critical care/anesthesia services, she knows what it’s like to be in a busy practice and need answers. She also knows how important customer service is, because she runs her own estate sale business in her free time.

It’s obvious that she enjoys her job. She says it’s a different way to use her veterinary technician skills.

“I don’t have to lift 100-pound Great Danes any more,” she smiles with relief.

Good customer service is her goal.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to find those answers and get things done for referring veterinarians,” she says.

She encourages veterinarians to call if they have questions.

“If a veterinarian has concerns, or their client is unhappy, I can get them to the right sources,” she says.