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Your Member Benefits

Take advantage of all the benefits, services and savings that come with your OVMA membership.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for or want more information, contact Cheryl Coulombe, manager of member services.  

To ensure that you get the most prompt service, remember to have your membership I.D. available when contacting member service providers.

 

thumb-icon-32  Your OVMA member benefits

  • Continuing Education – Attend the OVMA Conference and Trade Show, the Great Ideas Conference and JumpStart! Boot Camp at a significant discount, and access free webinars through OVMA's Virtual CE Lecture series!

  • Free Legal Advice - Call the Legal Counsel Service at 1.877.636.8557 for free legal advice about any topic, personal or professional (except tax law). This service offers free summary legal advice via telephone regarding any personal or business issue, a 25 per cent discount on local lawyer referrals (does not apply to real estate law), free personal identity theft case management from a certified identity restoration consultant, free simple legal document review (if the document is six pages or less), and free simple legal letters, such as demand letters or travel consent letters. Veterinarians who don’t have legal expense insurance can also obtain assistance through OVMA’s Legal Counsel Service. While responding to complaints to the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO) isn’t part of the free service, the program provider will assign a lawyer to prepare a letter of response to a CVO complaint on your behalf for a flat fee of $500* per letter, payable by you. For more information, call the Legal Counsel Service at 1.877.636.8557. *If responding to a complaint entails reviewing more than 25 pages of documentation or if the complaint is very complicated, additional charges may apply.

  • OVMA Awards Program – Help us celebrate those veterinarians who inspire us – a colleague, a rising star or a mentor! Learn how to nominate someone for an OVMA award.

  • OVMA Group RRSP Program – Contact David Juniper at Manulife Securities Inc., at 1.888.669.7736 or 519.763.9479, or email davidjuniper@manulifesecurities.ca.

  • OVMA Insurance Program – The best coverage and special member rates for all your insurance needs, including commercial, home and auto insurance, professional liability, disability, malpractice, and group life and health (extended health and dental care) coverage. Research shows that investing in staff wellness not only improves their health, but also decreases staff costs and improves revenue. Contact BrokerLink (administrators to the OVMA Insurance Program) at 1.888.681.2862 or ovma@brokerlink.ca

  • Pregnancy/Parental/Disability Leave Membership Discounts – Active individual members who will be on Pregnancy/Parental or Disability Leave for four months or more during their OVMA membership year are eligible for 50 per cent off their annual membership fee. For more information, email ccoulombe@ovma.org.

  • Public Relations Services – Includes help with social media and traditional media. Available to members free of charge. If you have an event or a unique story you want to share about veterinary care, let us know. Submit your questions or stories to smorrison@ovma.org.

  • Regulatory and Government Relations Services – Take the guess work out of understanding CVO regulations, by-laws and government issues that affect veterinarians. Submit your questions or concerns to bdeimling@ovma.org.

  • Veterinary Information Network (VIN) Discount – Receive a 10 per cent discount on VIN subscriptions. The discount applies to both individual and group (practice) subscriptions. OVMA members with individual VIN subscriptions can expect to save about $70 CDN per year. Practices with a three to five veterinarian group membership can expect to save about $140 CDN per year. Savings are available to both current and future VIN subscribers. Call VIN at 1.800.700.4636 and let them know you're an OVMA member to take advantage of your discount.

 

smiley-happy-icon-32  Your well-being

  • Annual Health Assessment with Medcan – The Medcan Clinic offers a head to toe physical assessment to OVMA members at the special rate of $2,345. For more information, see our Annual Health Assessment page, call 416.350.3621 or email clientservice@medcan.com.
     
  • GoodLife Fitness Corporate Wellness Program – Receive a significant discount on regular GoodLife Fitness membership rates, access to 200+ GoodLife Fitness Clubs across Canada, towel service where available and an opportunity to extend this special corporate rate to two additional family members.

  • iMatter – Strategies and resources to help you and your team better cope with and respond to the challenges you face in your professional and personal lives. Visit i-matter.ca.

  • Member Assistance Program – Free access to expert advice and counselling to help you with all of life's challenges, including mental health and stress, managing relationships and family, financial guidance, workplace challenges and much more. This service is confidential and available 24/7.

  • Pregnancy and Veterinary Medicine – Pregnancy can present unique considerations for women working in healthcare settings. Medical experts are available to provide you with all the information you need concerning risks you might encounter in a veterinary practice. See our Pregnancy and Veterinary Medicine page.

 

user-necktie-8-icon-32  Your career

  • Career Consultations – Free career consultations for associates, students and locums. Get advice on landing your dream job, communicating with your current boss, negotiating, compensation, goal setting and work/life balance. Request your consultation with tshastri@ovma.org.

  • Free online 'Veterinarian Available' ad – Associate veterinarians, students, and new graduates can place a Veterinarian Available or Student Available ad on our website for free. Send your classified ad text (maximum 70 words) to info@ovma.org.

  • Locums Bank

  • Reports and Surveys – A wealth of information to help you make the most of your career, from compensation, to the health of the veterinary job market in Ontario, pet owner perceptions and topics specific to large/mixed and small animal practices. Complete our surveys and you can win prizes.

  • Student and Locum Resources – Highlights member benefits of interest to students and lists all the information you’ll need to successfully practice as a locum.

  • OVMA’s Accounting Service is administered by VetCPA, a full-service accounting firm that caters exclusively to Canada’s veterinary community. Whether you’re a new grad working as an independent contractor, running a thriving practice, or a practice owner nearing retirement, VetCPA can support all stages of your veterinary career. Members can contact VetCPA's Greg Toner by emailing greg@gregtoner.ca or calling 1.855.CPA.4.VET. For more information about OVMA’s Accounting Service, read this article or contact Darren Osborne, director of economic research, at dosborne@ovma.org.  

 

shop-3-icon-32  Your practice

  • Budget and Coaching Service – Designed to help Clinic Members manage their revenue and expenses to meet financial goals. Includes a monthly budget analysis and review. For Clinic Members only for an annual fee of $500. Email dosborne@ovma.org to sign up. This benefit is available for Clinic Members.

  • Bullfrog Power - Reduce your carbon footprint and choose renewable energy. Bullfrog Power, Canada's leading renewable energy provider, injects green electricity or natural gas onto the system to match the amount of power or gas your home or business uses. Members receive a special reduced electricity rate of $22.50 per megawatt hour (MWh) on commercial accounts and a $50 one-time discount on new residential accounts. To sign up your business, email Alex Onwudiwe at alex.onwudiwe@bullfrogpower.com or to sign up for a residential account, visit Bullfrog Power's website and enter the promo code OVMAgreen.

  • Client Satisfaction Survey Kit – Clinic members who use the kit gain valuable insights into what their clients want and are better equipped to deliver superior results and services. Available free to Clinic Members only. Email skrane@ovma.org to order yours.

  • Commercial On-Hold Marketing Services – OVMA members can receive a 25 per cent discount on Commercial On-Hold Marketing's (COHM) services. In addition, for each new clinic that signs up, COHM will donate $20 to the Farley Foundation. Contact Jessica Scarrow at 1.800.267.5229 ext. 105.

  • Digital Empathy – Receive a 10 per cent discount on website design and ongoing maintenance. For more information contact Robert Sanchez at 1.858.405.4916 or robert@digitalempathyinc.com.

  • Go Beyond Collection Agency Inc. (previously Collectrite Collections Canada) – Recover money on unpaid accounts. Contact Lyle Roda at lyle@gobeyondcollect.com or 905.546.1212, ext. 584.

  • Hands-Free X-Rays – Receive a 10 per cent discount on the Hands-Free X-Rays workshop. RACE® approved, the hands-free approach combines positioning devices with improved efficiency and technique to keep the patient comfortably in place, while allowing the radiographer to increase their distance from the X-ray tube. For more information or to register, email info@handsfreexrays.com or call 647.502.4843.

  • Human Resources Consultations – Includes advice on how to successfully implement staffing and responsibility changes within your practice, coaching skills, conflict resolution and leadership development. Email tshastri@ovma.org.

  • LifeLearn – Receive a 10 per cent discount on the WebDVM website platform, the ClientEd library, the veterinary decision support tool Sofie, the complete telehealth solution Petriage, and the ALLYDVM communication, retention and reminder system. Call 1.800.375.7994 or request a free consultation.

  • Mystery Phone Shopper Service – Helps you understand how effective your team is at handling information calls and filling the appointment book. Get clear examples of how to improve your staffs’ phone skills. Email tshastri@ovma.org.

  • New Practice Start Up Resources – Everything you need to know to start a successful practice from.

  • OVMA Web Store Service (vets.myvetstore.ca– Establish your own online store to sell medications, diets, and other products to clients, and have those products delivered right to the client’s door. Your online store can also be set up to accommodate wellness plan billing. To request a demo, or to sign up for the web store service, email info@myvetstore.ca or call 1.877.788.5028.

  • Practice Consultations – Get a detailed snapshot of how your practice is performing compared to other practices in the province. Client numbers, staffing, production expenses and fees are examined to determine the hospital's strengths and weaknesses. Then a strategy is outlined to move the practice forward. Free for all Clinic Member practice owners. 

  • Practice Dashboard – Register to receive automated monthly reports on your practice revenue and active clients, including a comparison of how you're doing compared to other practices in the province. It's free and easy to set up.

  • Preventive Health Care Plans are one of the most effective ways for practices to increase client visits, according to the 2011 Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study. These plans offer a variety of annual wellness services, with the cost of the services spread out in regular installments. Not only do they encourage clients to visit the practice, they can improve patient care and provide the practice with a regular, predictable source of income. 

  • Radiation Safety Institute of Canada X-Ray Safety Online Course – Available to members at the discounted rate of $98.60. If registering three or more participants, an additional 20 per cent discount will apply.

  • Reports and Surveys – A wealth of information is available for OVMA members. Research on staffing, compensation, practice economics, pet owner perceptions, and topics specific to large/mixed and small animal veterinarians. 

  • Smart.Vet Virtual Vet Support - Smart.Vet's telemedicine service removes all of the heavy lifting of virtual care, providing support for staff to reduce the burden of high demand and alleviate burnout. Our two-tiered approach to 24/7 telemedicine (DVM consults + RVT triage) is performed on a referral basis from the hospital. With the support of over 150 Ontario-based veterinary professionals, Virtual Vet Service will effectively serve as an extension of your hospital staff. Exclusively for OVMA members, there’s no cost to the hospital (note: hospitals with on-call will pay a low fixed monthly fee). Learn more or sign up for the service at the special OVMA member rate.

 

heart-icon-32  Charitable services

 

book-17-icon-32  Free and discounted publications

  • Bailey's First Visit to the Veterinarian – Children visiting your clinic will enjoy learning about veterinary care through an activity book that comes with crayons. Visit the Client Publications section to order printed copies and view other available client materials.

  • Dog and Cat Owner Handbooks – Your clients will benefit from receiving a copy of our Dog and Cat Owner Handbooks that reinforce the value of regular veterinary care and explain a puppy and kittens first year. View the dog and cat handbooks online, or visit the Client Publications section to order printed copies and view other available client materials.

  • Focus Magazine – Mailed to all OVMA members bi-monthly and available online. Each issue is full of informative content about practice management, government/regulatory news and updates, financial management and how to make the most of your career, practice and well-being. 

  • Health and Safety Resources and the WHMIS Handbook – Members get free access to our health and safety handbooks. 

  • Newsletters – The NewsHound e-newsletter provides timely veterinary news and updates by email. The JumpStart! e-newsletter provides tips for practice owners and managers that can be implemented today.

  • The Compendium of Veterinary Products (CVP) is free for members who register. 

  • The Veterinary Profession: A Career Guide – A detailed booklet on what it takes to become a veterinarian. Designed for teens who are considering joining the profession. Share the digital version

 

Join or renew now to get access to these benefits.

Or see what benefits you get with each membership type.

 

 

Phone: 905.875.0756 / (toll free) 1.800.670.1702

Email: info@ovma.org

Contact Us

 

© 2023 Ontario Veterinary Medical Association

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