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The human-animal bond has brought monumental change to the veterinary industry. You can run with the pack and enjoy the riches, or you can be a slow-to-react naysayer.

Can veterinarians handle success? That’s a silly question, right? Of course, veterinarians can handle success, just like anyone else. But are you sure? Does handling success only mean applauding and cashing the checks while success unfolds around you? Or does it involve understanding the fundamentals of why success is occurring and then evaluating and implementing […]

Truth be told, misogyny is a problem in veterinary medicine. Our increasingly female profession can take constructive steps to even the playing field.

Back in late July, U.S. Reps. Ted Yoho of Florida and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York had a bit of a run-in on the steps of the Capitol. The episode stemmed from policy comments that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez made during a speech and that Rep. Yoho strongly disagreed with. He used strong words when confronting her. […]

Forced to adjust amid the pandemic, we proved we’re capable of radical change. We can do a lot more, from pushing for portable licensure to embracing asynchronous learning.

Our profession, an industry known for its aversion to change, has demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt, innovate and grow over the past few months. Historically, we’ve been the poster child for a belts and suspenders industry, one that’s exceedingly cautious, but in the face of crisis, we’ve learned much that will help us to […]

Change is coming to traditional veterinary education. Colleges long isolated from each other would do well to share resources, expand online teaching, embrace distributive clinical training and even rethink admissions requirements. 

Published nearly a year ago, our article “What Vet School Could Look Like” — read it at bit.ly/VetSchool — speculated on the veterinary learner of tomorrow. While at the time we were encouraged by the early green shoots of change in veterinary higher education, our expectations were low, frankly, given the glacial rate of change in […]

We have technology and wellness care down pat. So then, why are we so slow to empower veterinary nurses? They are capable of so much more. Doctors, it’s your move.

Meat Loaf the singer released his “Bat Out of Hell” signature album, the music of my youth, in 1977. (I know I’m old.) On the album was the power ballad “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” a great song and a sentiment I typically share. In the case of the pandemic, however, two out of […]

If your portfolio is sickly, you better have a treatment plan. A simple 10-part test can help determine whether you should get a second opinion.

As we look back to the beginning of the year — a lifetime ago, it seems — the economy was healthy and growing, the U.S. stock market was rolling along in a bull market approaching 11 years’ duration, unemployment was at levels not seen since the end of World War II, and personal income and […]

America’s love affair with companion animals is now engrained in society. The millennial and Z generations have made sure of that.

In May 2018 I got a phone call from a nonfiction literary agent. My Manhattan brother knew Kitty Cowles and said she might call me. I was surprised, but I knew her credentials, so I also was intrigued. Her message was simple: Major New York publishers wanted a book written that told the story of […]

It is not the job of people who are marginalized to educate you; it is your job to catch up.

This seems to be a crucible moment in our history. We are in the midst of a pandemic that brought most of the world to a screeching halt. We also were faced with the horrific video of an African American man, George Floyd, being killed on camera by law enforcement. For many of us, these […]

The investment program you and your employees participate in might not be the same one everyone turns to when it’s time to step away from the practice.

The decision to sell a veterinary practice is loaded with financial considerations, but don’t gloss over the need to clearly understand what you want to achieve. Are you tired? Frustrated? Burned out? At retirement age? Overloaded with management duties? Do you want to maximize the sale price or transfer the practice to an associate veterinarian […]

Under a subscription wellness plan, pets and their owners return time and again. Ongoing preventive care is great for the patient, good for compliance and a net gain for practices and their teams.

Secret formulas have been credited with the success of many well-known companies. Think Coca-Cola, KFC, Google with its algorithm and maybe Krusty Krab with its SpongeBob SquarePants Krabby Patty. What otherwise would have been pedestrian brands with limited potential instead became household names. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could mix up a secret formula […]