Moving to new veterinary software can raise many questions:
How will our team find time to train? Will the system fit the way each service works? What happens when new questions come up after launch?
In a recent Instinct Academy webinar, members of our education, adoption, implementation, product, and data teams shared practical ways to help teams build confidence with Instinct before, during, and after go-live.
Amanda Benton, VMD, brought firsthand experience to the conversation. Dr. Benton works on Instinct’s implementation team and practices emergency medicine at Coral Springs Animal Hospital in Coral Springs, Florida. The 24-hour hospital, which provides specialty, referral, emergency, and general practice care, is preparing to transition from its legacy PIMS, in use for more than 30 years, to Instinct EMR after first adopting Instinct Treatment Plan.
“Our ER and ICU use it, love it, could not live without it,” said Dr. Benton. “And most of the hospital is very excited to use one PIMS versus a separate treatment sheet. But obviously, a lot of people are scared. So Instinct does make the transition easy for the administration, as well as for the staff.”
Instinct EMR is a PIMS that combines medical excellence with complete practice management, so you can run your clinic with all-in-one trusted software. Book a free, no-pressure demo today.
Build Training Around the Work Each Person Does
A CSR, veterinary nurse, clinician, inventory manager, and hospital administrator each use different parts of Instinct. Role-based training helps each person focus on the workflows they will use rather than sitting through the same broad overview.
Instinct Academy divides its self-paced courses by role and into short lessons that staff can complete during downtime or a break. Progress is saved if someone gets interrupted, and managers can request reports to see how the team is progressing.
Teams should also spend more time on unfamiliar tasks. Staff who already use Instinct Treatment Plan may need less practice with treatment sheets and more with charts, invoicing, or analytics. Live patient walkthroughs and test patients help connect individual features to a full day of care.
“The curriculum is tailored to your specific role in the hospital, so if you are a nurse, a CSR, an admin, or an inventory person,” Dr. Benton said. “The lessons are short and succinct. They’re easy enough to work on during downtime or a break.”
Prepare Every Service and Shift
A single training session rarely reaches an entire veterinary hospital. Day and overnight teams may have little overlap, while general practice, emergency, ICU, and specialty services may follow different workflows.
Coral Springs Animal Hospital began assigning Instinct Academy courses about five weeks before go-live. Dr. Benton completed the training alongside the staff, and the hospital added a friendly competition to encourage participation. The Instinct team also offered daytime and evening sessions and dedicated time for the hospital’s general practice workflows.
Implementation can also be a useful time to clean up old data. Coral Springs Animal Hospital inactivated outdated entries and updated pricing that had needed attention for years. Its implementation plan provided a checklist for tracking decisions and completed work across a large product list.
“At the beginning, after the kickoff call with the Instinct team, you get a roadmap,” Dr. Benton said. “It’s kind of your organization’s checklist for the entire EMR project. The best part is you don’t have to make it. It’s made for you.”
Read: Find the Right Patient Information Faster With Instinct EMR
Read: How to Manage Change Effectively in a Veterinary Clinic
Keep Asking Questions After Go-Live
Some of the most useful questions appear only after staff have worked in a new system for several weeks. Once the basics feel familiar, teams may see opportunities to refine templates, adjust workflows, or revisit features they did not need during launch.
Instinct support continues beyond go-live and the initial adoption period. Teams can use 24/7 in-app chat and email support, review user guides and training videos, or ask their customer success manager about a refresher session or live Q&A.
New hires can use the same role-based learning paths instead of relying entirely on coworkers to explain the system during a busy shift. Instinct Academy also includes dedicated training for tools such as Instinct Stockroom.
“We recognize that weeks and months later, after using Instinct and feeling more comfortable and confident on it, you may have some additional questions,” said Polaris, Senior Adoption Specialist at Instinct. “Our adoption specialists and our customer success managers would love to provide you with some meetings, some Q&A, even to help freshen up some training if you need it. We’re always happy to help.”
Use New Features to Make Daily Work Easier
Continued learning helps teams find tools that can reduce everyday friction. The webinar highlighted Universal Search, the General Ledger report, and a beta feature for multi-location product management.
Universal Search lets users search for patients, invoices, charts, documents, and more from one place. Results include a preview so staff can confirm they have found the right record before opening it. Users who prefer the previous search can manage Universal Search through their profile preferences.
The General Ledger report provides a live view of revenue, payments, account credit, and accounts receivable for a selected day or period of up to 31 days. Multi-location product management, currently in beta, is designed to let organizations maintain one product while setting pricing, costs, fees, and visibility by location.
“The General Ledger report answers questions like, ‘How much money did we earn today? What did we earn today? How much cash came in and by what different methods?’” said Denise Clark, Data Analyst at Instinct. “It can really help close at the end of the day, as well as reconcile with your bank.”
Read: How the Instinct Team Supports Veterinary Practices Before, During, & After Go-Live
Give Your Team a Clear Place to Start
No one needs to memorize every part of Instinct before go-live. Staff just need to know how to complete their core responsibilities, where to find reliable guidance, and who to ask when they get stuck.
Managers can make that easier by assigning role-based training, scheduling practice across services and shifts, and encouraging questions after launch. Instinct Academy, help resources, customer success managers, and in-app support give teams several ways to keep learning.
If your team is preparing for go-live, onboarding new employees, or needs a refresher, contact your Instinct representative or reach out via in-app support.
“I always tell people that when you sign up with Instinct, this is the worst version of the software that you’re going to get because we’re always improving it,” said Nicole Baldwin, Education Manager at Instinct. “If you have a feature request, if you guys have an idea, please let us know because we do take those things seriously. We want to make your lives easier so that you can do what really matters and take care of your patients and not have to do a bunch of computer stuff.”
Thinking about moving to a cloud-based platform built for the way your practice works? Reach out and book a free demo to learn what a migration to Instinct would look like for your practice!
Interested in watching the Instinct Academy recording? View it here. Passcode: 7xUJMg?$
