4124. How to ... create a compelling vaccination REMINDER card

Mar 23, 2020.

1. FROM DR SING KONG YUEN
The 4 images were given to a vet intern. The title was "How to create a compelling vaccination REMINDER card." The key word is "compelling". So, the intern must know what it means and
write to show and tell what constitutes "compelling". Hence, make use of the 2 case studies and
elaborate.

1.1  Free commercial card from a drug company for all vets in Singapore

Photo is attractive. However, some dogs look "cloned". Not bright. The background is patchy,
as if there is poor lighting. Overall, a poor impression of printing quality. 

Commercial free VR card

 1.2  Vaccination Card created by Dr Sing Kong Yuen for Toa Payoh Vets

Customised VR Card with colours, attractive image of cat and dog
from Vistaprint services. Each card costs $0.54/card for 50 cards being
printed as at May 23, 2020. The QR code was not inserted
in the actual card but it is very useful for the younger generation
to scan and send WhatsApp message to the vet.. 

INSTRUCTIONS TO INTERN:

Use 3 D's

Answer the question.
Why is there a need to create a compelling vaccination card? Use the above two as case studies.
It is the same as why you will buy one product over another.

(Research - marketing books)

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2.  SCRIPT WRITTEN BY INTERN:

Hook: Do you find it difficult to keep up with your pet’s vaccinations? Perhaps…you often lose the vaccination card and find yourself having to dig it up? 

Presenting to you, the importance of a visually compelling vaccination card!

Vaccination cards are useful health records that contain information about vaccination dates and dosage. This information is helpful for pet owners, vaccination providers and public health researchers.  HOOK ONE EXAMPLE OF ENACTMENT BY INTERN.... Can be in an illustrated cartoon form. A POSTMAN IN A SMALL VAN, BIKE. ---GOES TO HDB LETTER BOX. CARD INSERTED IN BY POST MAN. Can use illustrations. (Sometimes, the intern has to be proactive....

Afternoon round for this postman

Internship helps you to develop your initiative, resolve challenges of lack of resources and get to know the case studies well as you had done the work.) CLOSE UP OF CARD....."Use the Commercial Vaccination Reminder Card". He sees another VR Card.... Colour, Text, Images..... Compelled to read. CLOSE UP. He keeps his card carefully, brings home, puts on his desk table desk to remind himself of the date......(Use Toa Payoh Vets card).



MUST HAVE A TRANSITION SLIDE (BELOW). Not to rush into "Details".

Dialogue: 

Oftentimes, vet clinics will call to remind the pet owner of their pet’s upcoming vaccinations.

The vet nurse calls a patient, “Hello, is this Snowy’s owner? Snowy is due for her vaccinations soon!”

The owner replies, “Oh! Really? I lost her vaccination card and forgot about her vaccinations…” DOG OWNER PHONES TP VETS...….FOR APPOINTMENT

Details:

Firstly, a vaccination card needs to be eye-catching and be able to capture the attention of the pet owner. This will make sure that the pet owner is reminded of their pet’s next vaccine whenever they come across the card and do not misplace the card.

Secondly, a vaccination card should briefly cover the importance of keeping up with their pet’s vaccines. Pet owners often neglect following up on vaccine appointments because they do not recognize the importance of vaccinations. Beyond the prevention of diseases in pets that may rack up large veterinary bills, it also protects families from contracting zoonotic diseases such as rabies from their pets. Diseases such as parvovirus also have a high fatality rate and are highly infectious, which may infect other animals in the household and lead to death.

Finally, a vaccination card should include contact details for a veterinary clinic in order to ease the process of vaccinating the pet. These details should be placed at a prominent position on the card such that pet owners are able to easily locate a contact number and book an appointment for vaccinations. 

COMPELLING. WHAT IT MEANS? COMPELLING. 2 CASE STUDIES. IS FIRST CARD MORE COMPELLING THAN 2ND? WHAT ARE THE DESIGN ARTWORK THAT MAKES IT COMPELLING? FRONT SIDE

1. Hook - Title text must attract reading 2. 3 parts - Introduction, Body, Conclusion. How you place them. 3. Cross-selling (a product or service XX%). Covid-19. Premium face mask for kids. discounted with this card 4. Call to Action. QR Code.

BACK SIDE UPDATE us if there is change of address or health of pets QR Code, email tel website

Discovery: 

A vaccination card that is visually appealing is crucial in ensuring that pet owners vaccinate their pets in a timely manner and is important in preserving the overall health of pets in the long run Veterinary services are a business. For an employer, it must be profitable to survive and last over the years. Revenue comes from pet clients and referrals. A tidy and clean clinic makes a good impression. So should marketing materials. Clients will go to competitors who give them good impressions, among other things. The following should be inside the card. Elaborate on points No. 1 to 8 No. 1 = title 2= services 3= why bother to do it? 4= contact 5=contact QR code 6 = cat should be there 7=dog (some VR cards show dog only) 8 = give space for cross-selling a produce/service e.g. 5% discount on dental scaling, premium face mask

USE OF COMPUTERISATION. Not all clinic owners can afford to pay the high costs of computerization. There is a recurring annual fee payment. This article provides tips to the smaller vet clinics to help them in their business. Compelling VR postcards are a "personal touch", like a friend sending you a post card during her travels (show a travel postcard).

This may be a competitive advantage compared to computerized mailings or texting, as there is a personal touch involved if you write instead of putting on address labels. CONCLUSION
First impressions count. A compelling vaccination reminder card gives a good impression as the prospects will not think poorly of your business operation compared to a poorly designed VR card.


CREDITS FOR MORE INFORMATION

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMENTS BY DR SING: The following are NOT in an organised order as the intern will then by spoon-fed. They are pointers ... 1. The topic should be "How to create a compelling vaccination REMINDER card." This is my mistake. This angle is from the veterinarian's point of view. Veterinary services are a business. It has to be profitable to survive over the years and to upgrade its equipment. VR cards are one way to generate revenue and to prevent diseases in the pets. However, many busy owners in Singaporfe do not find time to vaccinate their dogs and cats. A VR is a timely reminder and they appreciate it. However, there is a need to create a compelling VR as many owners will ignore the poorly designed ones but may keep the compelling ones on his or her desk. 2. There is a vaccination card (details of pets etc) in veterinary practices, but this topic is not referring to that. Also the four images shown are Vaccination Reminder Cards. 3. The intern must look for the key words. This is a "How to.." video. 4. Do Research: google "how to create a vaccination reminder card" and get many pointers. 5. Do re-write another script with some pertinent points are given by me as follows: 1. What is the meaning of "compelling" in this Dog and Cat VR card? Compelling card will refer to a card that "evokes interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible way".

2.  How to make the card compelling? This topic is related to marketing and advertisements. The vet school does not teach this topic. The vet has to do research. That includes "google search".

3. Why bother to make the card compelling?
Money is spent on printing the card. Make a good impression if you want to retain your clientele who
has numerous choices of service providers. .

4. Why not use the free VR cards? They usually are not up to design standards as shown in this case study:
Analyse and explain the front side, the back side.







This free card is meant to promote the company's heartworm vaccination. That may not be what
the pet owner cares about. The deadly diseases are distemper and parvoviruses. The card design is what
most professional designers will rate as good. Not cluttered. Attractive dogs.

What should be on the front side?
This is a card from Vistaprint. It costs around $0.54 cents to print both sides in colour as at May 2020.
Vistaprint permits customisation of text, image, colours and QR code.

The design of the card by Dr Sing is as follows:

1. A hook as the heading. "Prevent COSTLY diseases..."
If you just title "Vaccination Reminder Card", your card is not compelling.

2. Services provided.

3. Conclusion. To reinforce and to remind the pet owner that pets are family. And those who love their pets do
consider them family members.

4. Contact details wih a message - website.

5. An image is important. Best is to have a dog and a cat unless you want
to print separately. 6. What is missing is the QR Code. This is very important nowadays.

Use the QR code from the following advert when you create your template. Do not copy above design. Think how you will improve on above layout.

QR code is usually placed on lower right. Code is the same as above.

7. In your design, add it one feature as shown in Vistaprint's card (XX% off). You can 

hand-draw your design - so that the font sizes can be inspected by me for size and clarity.

Make space for one produce/service   XX% off in your design.

8. Now we analyse the back side of the free VR card. Some pet owners think they should contact
"Age D'Or" as there is no clinic contact. So I made two stamps. The whole presentation is very unimpressive

but this is a free card!  

9. More professionally designed. The right hand side should have the services/products offered. The person usually reads the RIGHT side first. 10. Any updates should have a QR code. "Please inform us of any changes in your address and health of your pet. This should be in a "box" with QR code beside it. Some pets may have passed away; the owner has a new vet. The owner will have been reminded to contact the clinic. In conclusion: This video is created for the small practices that do not have a computerized vaccination reminder system. A good designer still needs your input on how to make a compelling VR. So, you have to do the artwork for the designer TIPS AND ADVICES Computerised VR is best as it can implement the Reminder and RECALL VR vacc reminder cards.

Intern: To re-draw and not copy wholesale the 2 slides.

4123. A red-eared slider lays eggs around once a month.

2 May 20. After oxytocin injection at Toa Payoh Vets. Laid 9 eggs inside the car

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UPDATE ON MAY 10, 2020

Thanks for your 2 emails ref egg laying. It seems that Kame lays eggs around 2 weekly, based on the last 2 events in your email. Pl keep a diary of the dates.

You spoke yesterday, May 10, that Kame was restless and that there may be some eggs left over, although 9 were laid. Has she laid the eggs naturally?

According to the owner, the slider went to the garden in the evening. She searched for a good spot, dug a hole and sat there for around 20 minutes. The owner wanted to bring her home. On arrival, the slider was  ravenous. She fed him some 40 shrimps and proceeded to boil the big grey prawns (not the Tiger prawns which the slider dislikes). The slider ate 2 prawns and wanted more.

"She must have expelled all the tissues inside her uterus," I said. "Like ruptured eggs and malformed soft-shelled eggs not seen in the X-ray. Those tissues could have been infected and hence she did not have good appetite for one week after the oxytocin injection!"

"Normally she would eat around 3 days after the injection," the owner had experience of two oxytocin injections for her slider earlier. "But this time, it took more than 7 days and she had signs of wanting to lay eggs!". This could be stressful for the owner as the slider kept wanting to go out.

"Why not put a sand box inside your apartment?" I asked.
"We tried," the owner said. "Kame just hopped out of the box!". This showed that the slider preferred to lay eggs in the sandy soil of the garden.

"The condo management does not prohibit you from doing it?"
"No, but I chose an area near the pandan leaves. That area has few flowers."
"How did the residents feel about this slider digging holes in the garden?" I asked.
"No problem. Kame covers up the hole when she had laid the eggs," the owner elaborated. "Besides, the residents loved seeing her. Some dogs would sniff at her!"
"Be careful," I said. "The dog may bite her head off".
"I will not permit any dog to go near her."


Now that Kame had her appetite, it was calm at the condo. She would be watching TV with the couple as Covid-19 circuit breaker demands that all residents in Singapore stay at home if they do not need to go buy grocieries.



 






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APRIL 13, 2020. EGG LAYING NATURALLY

13 Apr 20. Laid 7 - 8 eggs naturally via digging the sand and soil.  The slider would be restless, lose appetite, wanting to go out to the garden by pushing at the front door of the apartment. 

4122. A 26-year-old red-eared slider

4121. Do rabbits suffer from toothache? Malocclusion

BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY STORIES

DO RABBITS SUFFER FROM TOOTHACHES?
A rabbit has overgrown front teethWritten and narrated by: Natalie.......
Natalie See
Mentor:  Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)


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STORY TELLING USING THE 3D's to sell a product or service

Details
Dialogue
Discovery
All wrapped up in Drama

see below example of the dog with a case study.

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DETAILS

Rabbits do suffer from toothaches. The most common cause is malocclusion.
What is malocclusion?  Malocclusion means misaligned teeth. The upper and lower teeth do not meet to cut or grind the hay and other food properly and therefore do not wear out.

In people, (image of your front teeth), the permanent teeth stops growing. But not in the rabbit. His teeth are constantly growing but if they are not worn out by chewing and grinding of the food, they overgrow sideways, foreward or backward. (IMAGES.. see my blog, do not use other people's images.)

Toa Payoh Vets has a case of malocclusion. (Video footage of the misaligned teeth - few seconds). The 4 upper incisors grow inwards towards the mouth and the 2 lower ones grow outwards. They also grow sideways.   The 2 lower could have fractured as they looked very short.

ANATOMY. ILLUSTRATION OF THE 6 FRONT TEETH. YOU CAN USE THEIR MEDICAL NAMES MAXILLARY, MANDIBULAR.

ILLUSTRATION. SIDE VIEW OF CHEEK TEETH.

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DIALOGUE  (Listen to the owner's voices and remarks in the video and then construct a narrative. I cannot do for you. Some narrative will be ENACTMENT. A  Q & A.

Owner: "Doctor, my rabbit has such long and twisted teeth. Why other rabbits don't have this problem?" 

Doctor: "Your rabbit's upper and lower front teeth do not meet normally. The upper jaw is too  (short?) while the lower jaw is  longer than normal.  Therefore........


Owner:" He cannot eat his hay properly. Pieces keep coming out. What can be done to help my poor rabbit to eat normally? 


USE NARRATION TO ANSWER THE 5W'S AND ONE H.


Doctor: "I need to examine the cheek teeth as they may not be worn out normally. 
Owner: "How do you do it? Can you see them really?"  



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DISCOVERY

1. Malocculsion is a serious condition affecting the rabbit's health.  /...lose weight, ileus....

2. Vets need to look for molar spurs when the front teeth are affected. Palpation, otoscopic examination, dental gags........

3. For owners, Two choices of treatment. Trimming every month. Extraction of all 6 front teeth is preferred for the rabbit. Must be in good health to take the anaesthesia.

4. In this case, more expensive treatment...molar spurs. Sometimes dental abscess...cheek tooth extraction....cost more.

5. Prompt attention is best for your rabbit.  

How it is developed?

A rabbit’s teeth are constantly growing and it is crucial that the normal process of chewing wears down a rabbit’s teeth. When the teeth are not worn down, they overgrow. The top incisors grow inwards towards the mouth and the bottom ones grow outwards. This can lead to the rabbit at risk for jaw infections causing pain and discomfort.

Why is it important?

If left undetected, your pet will eventually stop eating. Rabbits need a continual supply of roughage moving through their digestive system to prevent gut stasis. Even 12 hours without food can cause serious digestive disorders and further health complications like death. The rabbit dies if he is not treated as he becomes malnourished and dehydrated over time.

How it is diagnosed?

Malocclusion is diagnosed by the physical examination of the rabbit’s mouth and X-Ray of the jaw and tooth root. The treatment will depend on the severity of the malocclusion.

Reasons for Malocclusion?

Rabbit malocclusions can be either hereditary or acquired. Hereditary malocclusion are observed more in dwarf breeds due to their shortened heads and jaw developments. However, majority of malocclusion are acquired when the teeth are not ground down properly over time and are often due to poor feeding practices. It’s recommended the majority of a rabbit’s diet comprises hay (80%), with a limit to vegetables (10%), fruits (5%) and pellets (5%).

Malocclusion

Preventions for Malocclusion?

Malocclusion can be easily prevented by the correct diet advised by veterinarians. Hay is a crucial ingredient in a rabbit’s diet as it helps trim the constantly growing rabbits teeth. Routine health check every once to twice a year ensures that the rabbit’s teeth are not overgrown. When abnormal growing of the teeth is observed during vet visits, the teeth are trimmed before it gets overgrown.

Treatment for malocclusion?

The overgrown teeth are being trimmed by the veterinarians.

In severe cases, surgery to remove the affected teeth may be an option. Any tooth with deep pockets, mobility and purulent debris is subject to extraction, especially if an abscess is present. Extraction of the overgrown front teeth will have prevented the development of molar spurs and dental abscess which are expensive treatments.

In this case, the extraction of the 6 front teeth enables the rabbit to eat properly. Rabbits without their incisors use their lips and tongue to pick up food and move it to the back of their mouth, where it's ground by the molars. However,

Rabbits cannot live without any teeth. Therefore, it is important to detect malocclusion earlier or even better to prevent it. Is it crucial to remove the teeth or trimming is sufficient and a better choice?

Other dental problems (Is it needed to include molar spurs?)

Molar spurs are sharp edges developed by the overgrown molars. They are present when the incisors are overgrown and causes difficulty in chewing the food properly. The inability to grind the food properly leads to the sides of the molars to get worn out abnormally.

The developed sharp edges cut into the inside of the cheeks causing cheek ulcerations and entrapment of the tongue, making it difficult for the rabbit to move its tongue to eat properly. Molar spurs causes incorrect positioning of the molars, leading to bacteria entering the roots of the molars causing dental or jaw abscess.

Complications of dental problems are very painful and expensive treatment. Therefore, it is very important to bring your rabbits for regular dental exams every once to twice a year. Prevention is always better than cure.

The 4 upper jaw teeth are known as maxillary incisors and 2 peg teeth) were overgrown and grew sideways. The 2 lower jaw teeth (2 mandibular incisors) were overgrown and broke off. Therefore, it appeared very small.

https://www.vetstream.com/treat/lapis/freeform/dental-malocclusion-overgrowth

https://www.bellemeadanimalhospital.com/blog/rabbit-teeth-malocclusion-detection-and-treatment/

https://www.ufaw.org.uk/rabbits/netherland-dwarf-dental-malocclusion








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STORY TELLING USING THE 3D's to sell a product or service
Details
Dialogue
Discovery
All wrapped up in Drama

-----------------

BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY STORIES

DO DOGS SUFFER FROM TOOTHACHES?
A dog has carnaissal tooth abscess
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)

DETAILS
Dogs do suffer from toothaches. I will say that the most painful one must be the carnassial tooth
abscess. The canine carnassial tooth is the 4th premolar tooth. When there is chronic gingivitis or tooth fractures, the bacteria destroys the periodontal ligaments attaching the tooth to the gums. Bacteria destroys the tooth and forms a carnassial tooth abscess. An abscess is a collection of pus.

Carnassial tooth abscess is a common disease in the older dog that has poor dental care. It is very painful. The presenting sign is a festering facial wound below the eye. Pus and blood seep out daily like an active volcano spewing hot lava and ash daily. Home remedies like antibiotic powder and silver cream or antibiotics are ineffective. Most owners think this is just a traumatic wound. But this open facial wound never heals, despite medication and cleansing as shown in this case of a 4-year-old Pomeranian seen at Toa Payoh Vets in 2007. 

DIALOGUE

“I am sick and tired of cleaning this wound for the past many weeks,” Mrs Jaswant Singh pointed to the wound below the Pomeranian’s left eye. “I pour antibiotic powder and also gave antibiotics, but the wound keeps discharging dirty blood daily! My cat could have scratched my naughty baby causing this wound or something sharp had poked into his face!”

“This wound is a result of a tooth root infection,” I took out the Hills’ illustrated drawings of this common dental disease in dogs in Western countries. It is easier to show than to tell. I lifted the dog’s left upper cheek, but the carnassial tooth showed thick tartar and an inflamed gum. No pus and blood leaking out from the gums. “The permanent cure is to extract the rotten carnassial tooth. Antibiotics will not resolve the problem.”

“Just get on with the tooth extraction,” Mrs Singh showed me her dog’s discharge stain in her silk black sari with big red flowers. “My saris are very expensive as I buy them from New Delhi in India, not from the shops in Little India here! My baby keeps soiling them. I have to clean the soiled bed, sofas and mop the floor to remove her discharges for the past weeks! I have no maid to help me.”

“Hey, wait, wait, wait,” Mr Singh interjected. “Are you sure our dog suffers from carnal, cunning or whatever?”  As this was their first visit to Toa Payoh Vets, the husband eyed my diagnosis as money-making.

“This doctor is talking nonsense,” Mr Singh whispered, not too softly in his wife’s ear. “The tooth and the wound are so far apart and separated by the sinus bones. How can infection travel so far? He must be nuts and out to make money from us!”

“I can take an X-ray to show you that the root or roots of the carnassial tooth is infected,” I said when Mr Singh turned towards me. “No need to do it,” the husband put up his hand. “Thank you very much. We will let you know if we want you to pull out the tooth.”

Around 2 months later, Mrs Singh consented to the dental extraction. There is the root canal and associated treatment, but it will be expensive. I extracted the loose left carnassial tooth and the first molar.

DISCOVERY
ADVICES TO DOG OWNERS:  In the blink of an eye, 6 years passed by when Mrs Singh had her Pomeranian treated for bad teeth. “My dog’s facial sore healed within 10 days,” Mrs Singh reminisced. “Hence, I do not see you.” 

She did not get her dog’s teeth checked yearly as advised by me. Her dog had not suffered another carnassial tooth abscess in the right side but now had several loose and decayed teeth extracted.

Carnassial tooth abscess is also known as malar abscess or oro-nasal fistula. Some vets do mis-diagnose this disease as allergies or infected traumatic wounds. A spot-on usually accurate diagnosis is made if there is a festering non-healing facial wound below your dog’s eye. Dental extraction is the least expensive effective treatment. Yearly dental check ups will prevent most of your dog’s teeth from decaying so that your dog has teeth up to old age.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Phone 6254-3326, 9668-6468, judy@toapayohvets.com, www.toapayohvets.com

VIDEO PRODUCED





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General anaesthesia for dental works.  Periodontal Disease.
4th premolar and lst molar teeth are encrusted
with thick tartar. There is inflammation of the gum area - chronic gingivitis 

Image 2. Rotten 4th premolar and lst molar teeth extracted  and are shown
to the owners

Image 3. No more oro-nasal fistula since the
dental extraction 6 years ago

4120. The brown butterfly in Singapore

A rare sighting of a brown butterfly in Yio Chu Kang, Singapore. It does not have several eye spots as seen in the common ones.

The common ones are the dark brown with many eye spots.  Other butterflies have shades of brown colour