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Making full use of a veterinary nurse’s skills and competencies can help more pets get the care they need and make the practice even more successful.

I’m certain that readers will agree when I remind them that veterinary professionals are brilliant, charming, good-looking, popular and humble. Can’t forget humble. In fact, we’ve never been more popular. Don’t believe me? Just look at your appointment book. Everyone wants to spend time with you. An American Pet Products Association survey reported that 11.38 […]

Remember to assess your practice for workplace hazards at least annually, and then draw up mitigation plans and share them with all team members.

Workplace safety is a general term used to address workplace hazards. Veterinary professionals face many risks while on the job, some of which do not have specific Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. These risks fall under the general duty clause, which states that every workplace is responsible for worker safety regardless of whether an […]

The pandemic upended how veterinary care is provided. Make sure your business is adequately protected.

COVID-19, the little virus responsible for so much tragedy, changed our collective future in a few short months. We are at a crossroads today. On one hand, we mourn the unprecedented loss. On the other, we rejoice in an incredible scientific achievement: Modern science and technology delivered multiple highly effective vaccines within a time frame […]

When done properly, exit interviews encourage departing employees to give valuable feedback and inform practice leaders about underlying issues.

Among the most valuable assets at your veterinary practice are your employees. A team member’s permanent departure can present both a challenge for a clinic as well as a silver-lining opportunity for management to gather insights through an exit interview. To help your practice extract maximum value from the situation, I’ll address the who, what, […]

Sit down with a team member whose work is falling short and chart a plan for getting the person back on track.

Do you have an employee who has potential but is habitually underperforming? A performance improvement plan (PIP) might be the answer when typical feedback, coaching and corrective actions fail to move the needle on the team member’s behavior. The PIP is a human resources tool found in many corporations. It’s a formal document that clearly […]

Employers pay the price if they don’t follow the rules on who is and isn’t an independent contractor.

Are they employees of yours or 1099 independent contractors? On Jan. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor clarified the guidelines for classifying workers as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which among other things establishes minimum wage and overtime pay for private-sector employees. The final rule, which went into effect March 8, […]

Purge your practice of social media outlets that aren’t worth the effort. Facebook and Instagram might be all you need.

When time and staff are in short supply, putting energy into social media — particularly multiple platforms — can be hard. As social media evolves, you will find more opportunities to drive business to your practice along with more opportunities to waste precious time. First, let’s review the landscape. Ignoring business registries like Google Business, […]

A calm and cooperative animal is essential to the accurate diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal issues. Don’t rule out sedation.

Cortisol is a well-intentioned, very powerful hormone. It is a normal part of the physiological stress response when the body perceives something fearful or threatening. It initially acts as a strong anti-inflammatory and temporarily reduces the pain response when the body experiences an acutely painful episode. In veterinary patients with chronic pain, the cortisol release […]

Fine-tune how your hospital is run so that you don’t have to work so hard.

A great catchphrase is: “Practice smarter, not harder.” But what does it mean exactly? Here’s what veterinarians and practices can do to bring the concept to life. Leverage Your Team Leveraging has to do with the number of full-time support staff you have compared with the number of full-time doctors. The “normal” practice has a […]

If you’re an independent practice owner, don’t rush into a sale to a consolidator. Here’s what to watch for. 

Remember when veterinary practice buyers were scarce and hospital owners were concerned about finding one — or they expected the pool of buyers to be small? Then along came the consolidators, who used outside money to cherry-pick the best of the best practices. Today, as the inventory shrinks, the competition to buy practices has intensified. […]