Written By This Author
Practice Management
Long COVID’s Legacy
A pandemic-driven wellness check shows how the veterinary profession can serve clients and team members better.
Human Resources
Veterinary Employers Need to Do More Vetting
Listen closely to a job candidate’s words and make note of what’s not said. Body language can be revealing.
Veterinary Education
From the Finish Line to the Starting Line
As Oregon State veterinary student Brooke Weinstein nears graduation, her focus turns toward her future employment.
Practice Management
Improving Efficiency
"When you add training and delegating, you can create a very well-run machine that is thriving on control instead of wallowing in chaos."
Client Communication
From Lickability to Likability
If you want clients to return, you must pass their sniff test. So, start by understanding the liking principle.
Veterinary Education
Surgeries and Resumes
As Oregon State got back on track, third-year veterinary students pondered their patients and post-graduation plans.
Diversity and Inclusion
Our Courageous Conversations
A pained phone call between two friends led to a podcast series that opened their eyes to the other’s perspective on race, politics and the veterinary profession.
Practice Management
Unraveling a Few Emerging Problems
Veterinary life got more complicated during the pandemic, saddling teams with personal and practice-wide challenges.
Practice Management
Our Trusty Retrospect-o-scope
Practice leaders focused on the needs of their teams during the pandemic, ultimately putting people before profits.
Patient Care
Crack the Code
You can tap into many diagnostic tools, but remember that each test you run must have a diagnostic value to the pet and client.
Practice Ownership
Rise Above the Rest
The primary focus in determining your practice’s business model is knowing what pet owners want and value.
Patient Care
Complement With a Supplement
Can supplements be a profit center for veterinary practices or should we just stick to legend drugs?
Veterinary Education
Creating Virtual Virtuosos
At Oregon State, veterinary students display flexibility and a determination to succeed in a Zoom-dominated learning environment.
Veterinary Industry
Six Growing Issues
The veterinary world is getting more complicated. It’s time to embrace change for the good of the profession, clients and patients.
Client Communication
The Choice Is Yours
When it comes to fleas and ticks, clients will be motivated to buy preventives from you if you focus on convenience, cost, compliance and a select number of products.
Pet Insurance
Insurance Assurance
Clients will follow your lead if you show confidence in pet health insurance. Veterinary teams need to choose a couple of favorite companies and brush up on policy basics. Appointing a point person is a good idea.
Practice Management
I Dare You to Delegate
Give yourself a well-deserved and well-justified break by assigning some of your tasks to people qualified to take them on. Everyone from your patients to your staff will benefit, and so will your clinic.
Veterinary Education
An Unforgettable Freshman Year
The author’s daughter completed her first year at veterinary school amid the pandemic. Then she did what many people did — she adopted a dog.
Finance
How to Survive the Recession
Cash is king whether it’s coming or going. You should explore all the ways to persevere and succeed during tough times, from negotiating with vendors and lenders to training and trusting your team.
Innovation/Technology
Win Back the Drug Dollars
If you don’t use an online pharmacy, why not? Millennials and just about all other pet owners desire the convenience of home delivery. Start slow and the money will follow.
Practice Management
What Now?
With little warning, the COVID-19 pandemic pummeled the veterinary industry and transformed patient care, client relations and staffing. Will we ever return to the “old normal,” or is more upheaval still to come?
Patient Care
Ear Ye, Ear Ye
Diagnosing and treating otitis can be a real pain if a client is non-compliant. Honest conversations and even the convenience of your online pharmacy can provide comfort, if not a cure, to both the pet owner and patient.
Practice Management
12 Ways to Sustain Your Practice
Tough times need tough people. This is a great time for caution tempered with common sense.
Personal/Professional Development
My Daughter, the Veterinary Student
Veterinarians aren’t perfect, but what we do makes the world a better place for animals and people.
Patient Care
Find the sweet spot
Diagnosis of a diabetic pet is the first step in a long course of regulation, maintenance and ongoing care. What you do from the start can put the client’s mind at ease and ensure long-term compliance.
Patient Care
Get to the heart of the matter
All the drugs you need to fight heartworm are at your disposal. Now it’s time to educate and advocate.
Patient Care
You Can’t Handle the Tooth!
A gap exists between how we usually approach pet dental care and what we ultimately can achieve. The opportunities to improve patient health and boost practice revenue are huge.
Merchandising
Keep some skin in the game
Skin conditions are often long-term problems with some seasonality or chronicity. Clients get frustrated when the symptoms don’t get better.
Patient Care
Give it your best shot
If your practice act allows, you can essentially run a vaccination clinic each day, every day, for clients whose pets had a qualifying full physical examination and met the VCPR.
Patient Care
The missing link
Dog owners frequently have cats that we don’t even know about, let alone provide with veterinary care.
Client Communication
Reach Out and Touch Someone
Focused marketing efforts can cure the ups and downs of seasonality.